Type of AfL
Activating
students as
learning
resources for
one another
Technique
Share examples of work of different qualities –
students mark them
Checklists to support the feedback that students give
each other
Students as teachers/Cascade learning
Pros
Peer assessment modelling
Cons
Can lead to better quality peer
feedback
Reinforcing learning
Gives them responsibility
Player and coach
Good for top sets and 6th form
Younger students may still
struggle with this
Risk of getting it wrong
Time consuming as have to
allow time to teach it to them
first
Need motivated students
otherwise an opportunity to
chat
Coach asks questions (pre-determined with answers)
to player
Player answers as fully as possible until the full answer
is reached, if not they can ask for a clue from the
coach.
Information gap
One student has half the info, another has the other
half, have to find each other without saying key term
then share info and teach rest of class
Key Word Monitors
Students who struggle with the key words have to
make sure everyone is using the write key words and
in the correct way
Good variations (e.g. question
and answer)
Opportunity to differentiate
Someone with autism may
struggle
Good for Y7
How would we use it?
Question envelopes
Each student given an envelope containing a question
(can be multiple of the same)
They have to answer it and put it back in the envelope
Share envelopes together and discuss
similarities/differences in answers
Speed dating
Sharing knowledge in pairs in 30 seconds
Move on to another partner
Repeat as many times as appropriate
What extra information have you picked up?
Muddiest point
Students have a chance to tell the class a point that
they aren’t clear on – rest of class clean up the
muddiness (could be done in smaller groups/pairs)
Traffic lights
Clarifying,
understanding
and sharing
Students have cards on their desk. At any time they
learning
can put the red/yellow/green card on top to show how
intentions
they’re getting on
(Regarding feedback) – green I understand and can
explain, yellow I have difficulty understanding, red you
have lost me. Green help red, teacher explains to
yellow
Write down all you know about….
Good for evaluation
Takes pressure off kids
Time consuming
Good for 6th form
Rehearsed information
Depends on class size
Do as smaller groups/pairs so
not as public
Students may find that others
have the same issue as them
More private than thumbs up
Clear
More permanent (gives you
time to get round everyone)
Includes everyone
No resources needed
Good revision
Time consuming
Some students may get anxious
Thumbs up/down/half way
Easy/quick
Mini whiteboards
Instant feedback
Good for formative assessment
All answer the question at the same time on miniwhiteboard and hold it up to show the teacher
Wait time
Teacher waits before accepting an answer
3-2-1
3 things you can remember, 2 things you are going to
do next lesson, 1 thing you would like to know more
about
KWL
What I know, what I want to know (done at beginning
of lesson or unit), what I have learnt (done at end)
Multiple choice questions – they hold up a card with
the corresponding letter on it
Engineering
effective
classroom
discussions,
tasks and
activities that
Showdown
Groups write questions for each other then swap (they
also write the answers but keep them)
The other team has to write down answers on
whiteboards
‘Showdown’ - reveal all answers
Reflection time
Stops the dominant ones always
answering
Could fill in at the end of a
lesson
Shows progress
Establishes base point – avoids
repetition of things they’ve
already learnt
Good in a sequence
Can be skills or knowledge
Individual
Good for self and peer
assessment
Reflective
Shows progress
Not private – are they being
honest?
Bit ‘primary school’ for older
groups
No record of it
Affects pace getting them out
Behaviour – doodling on them
Some students would need to
write down
Time consuming
Not suitable for some subjects
or 6th form
Might not work for all subjects
elicit evidence Did they get them right? Did they add extra detail than
of learning
the question writers did? Discuss findings
Learning objectives aren’t shared until later in the
lesson – students have to guess what they are based
on what they have learnt so far
Heads together
Discuss an answer together in a group, number them
1-4 then choose a number to answer
Question catch
Ownership back on students
How would it apply to different
ability groups?
Takes away feeling of being
picked on
All students engaged
Stops same students dominating
without them feeling
disheartened
Competition works well
Students with anxiety would
need to be included but this
could be in a safe environment
Throw something to the person you want to answer –
they can pass it on if they don’t know
Can do it in teams where they win points for answers –
if someone doesn’t know they have to throw it to
someone in another team
Think, pair, share (involves thinking time and talk
Not relying on every individual
partners)
students own thoughts – they
can share together before the
Students have time to think of their answer on their
teacher
own, they then talk it through with a partner, then
Stops same person putting hand
share it with the class (on own, together, whole class)
up every time
Allows thinking time confidence
Exit ticket
Individual
All have to engage
Have to show knowledge/understanding of something
before they leave
In some classrooms throwing an
actual object would not be safe
Students may feel pressured
Noughts and crosses
Good for right/wrong questions
2 teams
Blank noughts and crosses grid on the board, each
space has a number
Choose a number from the noughts and crosses grid
Teachers asks question, get it right you get that
square, if not it passes over
Topic tennis
Other students have to wait
when others have a turn
Might not work for questions
needing a longer answer
Competition work well
May depend on subject
2 players and a scorer
Given a topic and have to take it in turns to say key
words about it
When one person can no longer go the game is over
Scorer keeps score and makes sure they don’t repeat
words (may write them down)
Bouncing questions
All engaged
Teacher asks a question and then bounces it to other
students e.g. “Sarah could you add more detail to
Luke’s answer” “Jimmy what do you think of Lucy’s
answer”
Definition 3s
Cards fit in to groups of 3 (key word, definition,
example) – can be used as a card sort, can read out the
definition and they tell you the key word, or any other
combination
Articulate
Works well in range of subjects
Students would enjoy it whilst
learning at same time
Might not work so well with
younger students
Danger of them following each
other not thinking for
themselves
Activating
students as
owners of
their own
learning
Like the board game but using key terms/things they
should know about – teacher listens to those
describing
Hands down
No hands up – teacher chooses people to answer
Post its
What they found difficult, what they want to clarify or
have more time on, etc.
One sentence summary
Stops dominant ones doing all
the work
Teacher has control – behaviour
management
Anonymous
All engaged
Some students may get too
embarrassed
Budget!
Get 6th formers to tweet it
instead
C3B4ME
Check 3 sources before asking the teacher
Minute feedback
Students write down the most important thing they
have learnt today within one minute
3 stars
Providing
feedback that
Criteria/objectives are built up from one star (all) to
two stars (all and most) and three stars (all, most and
some). Students have to have achieved the 1st star in
order to gain the other stars
Class write success criteria/
learning objectives
Crack the code
Quick
All have to do it
Chance for differentiation
Students have ‘the end in mind’
during the lesson
Gives them ownership
Allows them to reflect next time
Makes them think about their
feedback and engage with it
Time?
Only works on longer ‘essay’
style work
moves
learners
forward
Teacher gives feedback through a code – students
have to share their work and work out what each
number means
DIRT (Directed Improvement and Reflection Time)
Students have time to correct/redraft work based on
clear targets from the teacher
2 stars and a wish - 2 things they did well, 1 even
better if
OR
Feedback sandwich - Positive comment, constructive
criticism, positive comment
Younger students would like the
challenge element but may
work better for older students
Makes marking quicker!
Time to improve work
Makes them react to feedback
Learning from checking and
correcting
Quick
Can use in a range of situations
Good for peer assessment
Positive focus
Making sure all are doing what
they should
Change wording so it sounds
less ‘primary school’
Does it tell you anything?