Step 12
Catch up planning
The pandemic in 2020-21 highlighted a need to identify where students were in their learning on their return to school after an extended period of absence. From that, teachers created catch-up plans to close the gap between where learners are, and where they would be had they not been absent. This is also a very useful activity for individual students who join the school during the academic year, or when you take over the teaching of a class.
Teachers can also use data to inform revision lessons at the end of the year by identifying topics students need to go over again.
find out where students are
end of year progress summary
formative and summative assessment
returning from long-term absence
find out where
students are
end of year
progress summary
formative
assessment
returning from
long-term absence
Ideal when you join a new school or take over a class you have not taught before in the middle of a course.
How
When you return from a long-term absence, or when you join a new school, or when new students arrive to the class mid-year, dedicate one or two lessons to a progress review.
Set the topic filters for the class to "teacher controlled" and only include all the topics taught so far.
Ask students to select "Terms" and use the deck builder to select Reflective terms, regular mode, all coloured cards, including "not assessed".
Ask students to look at each term and think about the definition / characteristics. Flip the card and record a RAG rating in the “regular assessment” box.
- Red if they don't remember anything.
- Yellow if they had some understanding.
- Green only if they confidently knew all the points listed on the card.
Use the Analytics Terms reports to review the data.
Why use Smart Revise
Terms is a quick and easy way to get an up-to-date snapshot of where students think they are in their learning. This is especially useful for subject leaders planning catch-up sessions, returning from maternity / paternity leave or when you join a new school.
Having an overview of the perceived strengths and weaknesses allows teachers to reflect on areas of teaching that could be improved for subsequent cohorts.
Terms data is updated through baseline assessments, end of topic tests, tasks, and end of topic reviews. Frequently revisiting subject specific terminology is hugely beneficial for students.
Top tips
Don't forget to reset the topic filters back to how you had them set before the review.
This is the end of the journey. Once you have implemented all twelve steps consistently you will be raising attainment and reducing workload. However, Smart Revise is a sandbox system, so you can use its Quiz, Terms, Advance and Task mode in many different ways.
Have a look at "I'm a student" on this website to see how students can use Smart Revise independently of their teacher.