John Parsons saw Nicola use this revision activity in a Year 11 Geography lesson last term. She borrowed the idea from Hannah. John said it was an “absolutely brilliant activity to help girls explore and remember links between concepts as they returned to a topic studied a year ago.” I love this activity – it feels like a more purposeful version of the quiz show game ‘Only Connect’ and it can be used across many subjects.
What is it?
- There are key terms in each hexagon which are joined using a letter from the alphabet.
- Students work by themselves or in pairs to suggest a link between the two key terms based on knowledge acquired previously in the course.
- The key differentiator is to push students to really justify the link, perhaps using named examples etc.
- The teacher then uses Q&A to further extend their ideas when sharing as a class at the end.
This is effective because…
- By connecting ideas, students are building schema in their long term memory. Schema are like networks which organise interrelated concepts in an efficient and powerful way. When we need to use ideas from our long term memory, recalling schema allows us to be more flexible with the limited space in our working memory.
- This task encourages pupils to understand a concept in multiple ways. Mentally tying together information/ideas is called ‘elaboration’. This is proven to enhance transfer into long term memory.
- It requires pupils to pithily articulate their thoughts and to justify themselves, building confidence in their knowledge and understanding.
- It’s fun and game-like!
- For more information on building long term memory, click here: http://theelearningcoach.com/learning/long-term-memory-and-learning/