It is been a while – but then again, I’ve been busy. Senior leader responsibilities take up the lion’s share of my work time, however teaching Maths has been a real highlight for me, with a fair few frustrations too through in there too. With more concrete knowledge / assessment in Maths than in English or PE, I have been tripped up on more than one or two occasions. Primarily, students have not been able to demonstrate what I think pupils have learnt previously in class. The appearance of learning / progress in lessons has certainly misled me on more than one occasion. Of course, there is David Didau and Michael Tidd keeping us honest.
This is not the first time I have taught a new subject, it is in fact the fourth. I am, by trade a PE teacher. Next I taught KS3 and KS4 ICT . Then two years teaching GCSE English. I loved teaching English but it was hard work. Then I added KS3 English and GCSE RE. Now I am teaching KS3 Maths. Each subject has taught me new skills, approaches and practices.
Fortunately for me, Maths has taught me the value of the textbook. I have also been make good use of the MyMaths teacher companion. As a result I have not been used QuickKey as much this year as last year. You see, MyMaths provides short check point quizzes or MyReviews and unit tests or MyPractice. Pupils then mark their own MyReview and target their knowledge blindspots both on and offline. The class then attempt the MyPractice paper. It is a cycle we have fulfilled four times now and the pupils seem to enjoy the routine.
We then mark the MyPractice and transfer their pupil results onto the Exam Feedback Tool. Pupils get a personal performance summary, with personalized targets.
I get a teaching effectiveness summary. We reflect, we identify areas for improve and if there is a faulty teaching process, I address it.
What that ultimately means is, writing a MCQ quiz is a hefty investment for a modest return, even if I have Quick Key to whizz through the marking phase. That does not mean I am ignoring Quick Key. Far from it. In fact I have asked MyMaths if they could write some QuickKey style MyPractice papers – that would be useful.
Back to QuickKey. The Android App has recently have an update and this week the team also announced the arrival of preloaded QuickKey answer sheets with student names and ID for Pro account holders. Just go to your Courses page and click “print tickets.” Although once the pupils knew their codes, this was hardly an issue, it is a welcomed accelerant for the first Quick Key lesson.
[qr_code_display]