Angles in parallel lines

I have to admit that this is not a topic I am personally brilliant at. Every time as a department we did a mock paper there would always be a heightened anxiety I had if there was an angles in parallel lines question on the paper. I am not great at spotting F and Z angles. I struggled with it at school. I was taught it as F and Z angles and they’re no longer allowed as descriptions! It’s just not my kind of topic, I have a brain that means I have to work harder with shape space and measure topics! I have some great lessons to demonstrate alternate and corresponding angles and I heavily rely on these to be clear in my demonstrations. I have to admit in my early years of teaching I had my fingers crossed that all the students would get on board with it and there wouldn’t be many questions! As the years have gone on I am more confident to field the questions that learners have on the topic but I can’t help but empathise with those learners that just don’t get it!

Have you ever sat in a training session thinking, nope no idea where this is going, what time is lunch? You can see that look on learners' faces sometimes and I see it more often than not in angles on parallel lines. One year I had a learner who was in a bridging provision, not quite an alternative provision but not a mainstream school placement, she just couldn’t grasp angles in parallel lines. I went back to teaching angles on a straight line and recapped that. She turned and looked at me and said “yeah what’s that got to do with this stuff though?” and I thought, oh yeah she’s right! It made me think. What is the best way to sequence angles on parallel lines? I wasn’t sure I had it right? I went back to the exam boards scheme of work. I then checked another exam boards scheme of work and both indicated angles in polygons and angle facts on lines were the building blocks to angles in parallel lines. So yes, what did it have to do with this new topic of angles in parallel lines?

I questioned myself. I know it is 2 sets of lines and angles facts but why do I teach it as an abstract standalone topic? Was it because of my previous lack of knowledge in the topic? Was I projecting my fears onto my learners? So being brave and taking the risk with my next group of learners I taught angle facts on straight lines and around a point then in the lesson on angles in parallel lines I left it as a challenge for them to calculate missing angle values in parallel lines. Unsurprisingly with their existing knowledge they were able to answer the problems. Obviously their reasons weren’t alternate and corresponding angles but their numerical value answers were correct. I then taught my usual lessons edited a bit so that we covered the reasons for parallel lines in the following lesson.

Now I teach GCSE resit to 16+ learners. I teach 16-18 and 19+ learners and as you can imagine both groups require different approaches. I find that 19+ often crave the knowledge for perfect answers and will tackle angles in parallel lines with greater ease than 16-18 learners. 16-18 learners have sat the exam already, if not more than once. They have seen angles in parallel lines in many forms already, they’ve learnt F and Z to help them remember but then had that crutch taken away and ‘should’ know how to calculate missing angles in parallel lines with reasons. However they haven’t achieved a grade 4 and have to sit the exam again and what if they still ‘can’t’ calculate angles in parallel lines? So I now teach it as 2 sets of angles on a straight line problem and that the angles repeat. For example:

When you look at the mark scheme, the majority of the marks are for the numerical values, 

This is taken from Edexcel Foundation Paper 2 2018. ¾ marks are for numerical calculations. This example had an isosceles triangle included as well as parallel lines. I have now, almost, enjoyed teaching angles in parallel lines this way. I find that if their angle fact knowledge is secure I can introduce the labels on top for alternate and corresponding angles easier. 

You may not have the difficulties I had with angles on parallel lines, you may not even teach maths! My point is had I not been challenged with “but what does that have to do with this stuff though?” I would never have looked at my sequencing on the topic. Perhaps you have a topic that often falls flat in class? It may be worth re-evaluating your sequencing up to that point, does it make sense, almost ask yourself, yeah so what? Why am I teaching it this way? I don’t need to remind you if you are in education of the need for impact impact, IMPACT! If you taught it this way what would be the intended impact and if you taught it that way what would be the intended impact? What is the actual impact? Can you trial both ways? 

We must, as educators evaluate where we have been on the learning journey in order to guide our learners to their intended destination. We don’t often have the time or prioritise the time to undertake such evaluations but hopefully this post inspired you to take a moment and think? 

Revision

Revision. Nope not leaping around the room? Flashbacks from glitter and sticky notes from your teenage years? Revision is hard. Last years cohort who never got to sit their exams know that. I know that the first time I revised for my mocks I struggled and my mock results reflected that. I know that the next time I revised and sat mocks I did better because I learned what worked best for me for my revision. Last years cohort didn't get that opportunity. Their early stage attempts and revising for Christmas mocks became their final shot. They didn't develop their own flow for revision. This puts them even more at a disadvantage now they have progressed. Be it vocational level 1, 2, 3 or Alevels they have sparse experience in revision. As well as dealing with the trauma of their exams last year that never came to be, they are now learning new content for their new course. They will have to learn fast how to revise and what works for them.

But what about the resitters to gcse? Those who are unhappy with thir CAG? They have the right to sit the exam in November. Meaning that they have even less time to learn how to revise before they actually begin revising for their resits. As experienced teachers we have a duty to help them develop this revision skill. The challenge is that this needs to be at a much more rapid pace than ever previously considered. But in our experience we have taught resitters before and some of those key lessons will still apply.

The main lesson of teaching resitters was summed up beautifully by Julia Smith on the Mr Barton Podcast. This is well worth a listen if you work in FE and teach resitters. Julia makes the point that resit has to look and feel different otherwise you will get the same results. Powerfully true in my experience. If I can give students targeted practice with a new way of approaching a topic they are more likely to be engaged than if they saw the same old thing over and over again. It's like when you teach prime factor decomposition. I teach it with Beyoncé single ladies. If you like it then you should have put a ring on it. So students remember to circle their prime factors. It looks and feels different but the content is still the same.

There is a mindset shift to be had in gcse resit. The task that you though was completed has been set again. You automatically become deflated and start from an unhappy place. Your mind had closed that door off believing it to be done and now you have to open it up again. The teachers role is holding that door open and offering a way through for students. The path has to be a different route to that gcse destination. Thinking about this year's resitters we need to give them more than we have ever given to help them make this mindshift change.

I love technology and I love a new tool. Thinglink has been a new joy to me. Especially when preparing for resit. I am able to give a motivational supportive message at the start to connect and engage my resitters. I was then able to use a revision mat as an assessment tool. If it makes sense and you could have a crack probably don't revise that topic too much. If it's a complete blank and you've no idea revise that topic first. Each topic then linked to more practise. All from the one Thinglink. It looks and feels different. It's positive. 

We have lots of resources for revision and we know it needs to be short, sharp and fast. Thinglink is a great tool to create revision tours with. You could display a whole unit of work on algebra. Linking each topic to existing resources. Giving students choice. Engaging students with new media. Connecting students with your own voice and your own explanations. We can curate resources in a whole new way for resitters by using Thinglink. Thinglink helps us change the path to the same gcse destination.

Here's my revision Thinglink here. If you make one you can make it oublicalky available too on Thinglink for others. Let's be the change. 

Flipgrid

You know when you hear the words, you see it happening but you actually have no idea what it is or how to do it? That was me with Flipgrid. I saw the sports teachers getting students to record their best efforts and then they watched them on a Flipgrid. In a maths lesson I was lost as to how to harness the power of this tool. I did a few staff happy birthday Flipgrids and learnt the basics, it was so easy to use! Then I started to think how can I make this feel normal and not shoe horned into my lesson?

Then I remembered Sled which I blogged about here. The aim of sled is to get learners to discuss their approaches to answering questions. Not AO1 style questions, the complex AO3 style about tiling a room or deciding if they have enough paint to paint a pattern on the playground. Those hard ones where students often dive in and are on the wrong track, before they know it they've filled a page with working out but none of it worthy of any marks. Sled is a nice way to ask them to pause before they dive in. Flipgrid can help with this. I have recently revised sled, renamed it to shed here.

The student is set an AO3 style question for independent study. They sketch, highlight, estimate an answer and then record their plan on a Flipgrid. I like that we can then all see everyone's responses at once. I like that we can learn why and where misconceptions arise. I ran this with my group in lockdown. It was fascinating hearing the wild theories of how to approach a ratio cement mixing question. So many answers from my learners. So few that would attract marks! We played some of the videos in Flipgrid on a Google Meet and after 1 or 2 whenever we selected the next video that student, who made that video, would say 'we don't need to see anymore I see what I did wrong' boom! That's it right there!

We know and have known for years that verbal or video feedback connects with a deeper level of learning than written feedback. Using Flipgrid like this allows the learners to see themselves and recognise their own mistakes. If they can develop that skill of self correction and reflection they will be very well equipped for the new wide world. Initially I thought they were asking me to stop playing videos out of embarrassment so I asked one student why. She said, 'I saw the question again and instantly thought of another way to answer it, I knew I had rushed it, you do though, you're glad you think you have an answer and you go for it but you should think about it'. So much power in her comments, re reading the question made her approach it differently. Confidence and lack of in the exam and the burning desire to get something down, anything down! The power of checking your answers before you submit. 

Rewind many years to my NQT or even PGCE years, when I had time to write and reflect more! What skills did I most struggle to teach learners? Check their work! Ask me in bottom set year 10 GCSE modular days, what skill did I struggle to teach? Checking answers before finishing within 3 minutes!!! (if you've ever had bottom set year 10, theyre very keen to finish exam papers and move on!) ask me when I started in FE with adults about where their mistakes were and what skills I wanted to teach them? Yep it's checking work again. It's a battle I've always had, it's kind of why I became fascinated with sled and now shed. It's one of the only mechanisms that has helped me make a breakthrough in helping students realise the importance of checking their work. Flipgrid has taken this to the next level. They are hearing their own thought process and correcting in their minds as they hear it. So for those big heavy makr questions, why not ask them to Flipgrid their response before they write it down? 

Screencastify

I moved into Ed tech a couple of years ago and one of the first things I was asked to do was to pass my master caster course. Nope, me either! An embarrassed Google later and I discovered Screencastify. It's a great recording tool in Google Chrome that allows you to record your screen with or without your webcam included or just record your webcam. The beauty of working on a chrome book is that you always have a webcam and microphone ready to go. Screencastify is not paying me for this post. No one pays me for my posts. There are alternatives to Screencastify; Loom, Screencastomatic, Awesome Screenshot, Nimbus, Hippo Video and We Video to name a few. All have their merits and a place in my heart and much of what I'm about to talk about can be achieved on all these tools. But none with the ease that I have found with Screencastify. 

I have openly admitted that I struggle with questioning in my lessons. I can ask for the answer, I can ask for someone to explain the answer but I can't pick pose pause pounce bounce or any other iterations. Questioning is not my strength. Likewise feedback. I can do right or wrong, I can do corrections needed. I can do next steps or go back over this, but, I can't do Star or any other iterations. I'm not sure if it's me or if its subject specific but I am not the best at either. I am especially poor at giving feedback on mock papers. I have built Google forms to help (and blogged about these previously, read about them here) but when I am marking I am going through a process and because I have three papers for each of my 22 learners per group, I don't have the time or the inclination to handwrite this process down. This is where Screencastify changed the game. 

I was sat marking a paper and I wanted to give the student full marks, the page was full of working out! The final answer was incorrect but not a million miles away. Yet I had to score the answer zero. Imagine being that learner and seeing that effort not being rewarded with a single mark. Previously I would have written, "you've gone on the wrong track, let's have a chat". That was the best I could do in the time allocated to mark that question. Not insightful for the learner, and requiring them to ask me for more information. The change is now I sit with my chrome book open as I mark and when I come to a question like this, I flick on Screencastify with my webcam only and chat as I mark. (the chrome book isn't fully open as to see what I'm writing the camera needs to be angled so the chrome book is partially open which often results in my colleagues entering my room to check today isn't the day I finally lose it as they think I'm talking to myself! I need a sign for my door to say recording in process!!!) 

I can orate to the learner how I am marking their answer. I can explain that if you used an incorrect method that arrived at this answer it is automatically a zero mark answer. I can explain that if you had carried on with this piece of working out here part way down the page you would have got 2 marks but because it was replaced with this working out it is a zero. This is powerful because the learner can hear my voice. They can hear my empathy, they can hear the effort I have put in to marking their work. I can flash them the mark scheme and show them what it says, this informs the learner and helps them decide on what they will do next. The learner doesn't have to come to me for feedback. I can post this just to them on Google classroom and they can privately reflect. They can reply with video too if they want to have another attempt. Or they can reply with their thoughts and feelings on my marking. This powerful because they can see their mistakes and the impact these had in a 1 minute video and they don't have to leave their house! They don't need to be in class to hear this, they don't need to ask a peer "what did you get for Q8 I got nothing but I wrote loads?". Screencastify is helping create a clarity in what we need to do next to improve. 

Once I have marked a batch of papers, much like a chief examiner, I can pick out things that went well as a theme and not so well. I can use my analysis grid (I have blogged about these before read about my love of them here!) I can see as a group what we did well on and what we can improve on. I can record this as a video with Screencastify. Very quickly I can explain an overall class picture, I can hide the names on my analysis grid and include my webcam as I talk over the whole class results. Including my webcam is not something I enjoy but I recognise the power of my learners feeling connected and seeing my expressions as I explain. I can explain that because we all did well on this we won't be coming back to it in class so it's something the learner needs to keep ticking over at home. I can explain that because we didn't do well on this as a class that we are going to need to spend a bit of time on it next lesson and what I need the learners to do to prepare. Screencastify is helping create a clarity in what our next steps are. 

If there is a particular question that many have done poorly on, I can model answers. I can quickly open Screencastify, webcam only, tilt my chrome book and model my working out on certain questions. I can show my learners what we were looking for. I can explain it in the way that we learnt it in class, using the examples we looked at linking to the event of the lesson, triggering memories in my learners. I can explain my frustrations at poor exam etiquette and illegible handwriting. My learners can reflect on this exam without leaving their home, just by picking up their phone they can see my Google classroom video on whole class feedback. Screencastify is helping create a clarity with that feedback. 

This was all before COVID and before things changed. Screencastify has now come more to the forefront as we look at blended learning becoming the normal. I can now talk over my slides like I would have done in class. I can share my screen and flick between resources. I can embed my webcam so my learners can see my face and feel connected to me. Screencastify allows me to plan as normal (ish) I can record my content that allows those outside the classroom to learn at their own pace. It allows them to go back over things they are unclear on. It helps them personalise their own learning in developing their understanding of the content. 

I also love to use Screencastify to orate my curation of resources. I have been using it to talk over my lesson plan and record why I chose that approach and that tool or that website for colleagues to help them begin planning for blended learning. But this is also powerful for my learners. I am now giving them choice boards of much wider choices as I am no longer constrained  by device limits or photocopying limits. In this choice though I want to explain why I have chosen what I have chosen as a resource and at what point in the learning journey a learner might want to access that resource. I can explain that "this website is great for this but I think it would sequence better if you practised with this task before you give the website activity a go". I can give my learners choice but explain why I have curated in this way. I can also orate my expectations of the tasks and how I will be giving feedback. Screencastify is helping me create clarity in why and what we are doing. 

The incredible ease of using Screencastify in a GSuite environment is that it automatically saves to My Drive. You can change the sharing settings to all within the domain in one click. In one click you can share your video to Google classroom. In one click you can export as an Mp4. In one click you can open the editor and begin easily editing and inserting more clips. It launches from chrome on 1 click too. It is an easy to use tool. I appreciate I have a premium account, and lack of editing and video length are an issue for free accounts, but I don't think premium is prohibitively expensive. Yes, I accept premium is significantly better than a free account. But all the one click sharing tools that I just described are available on the free account. And let's be honest if you're talking for more than 5 minutes about 1 thing to your learners they may have stopped listening anyway so a free account may help you keep it concise!