Bridging the Gap: Enhancing Maths Engagement and Understanding Through Real-Life Contexts

 By Nadir Jebari

Many students see mathematics as abstract, irrelevant to their daily lives, and sometimes even daunting. As teachers, one of the most effective ways to change this perception is by making maths feel more connected to the real world. Bringing real-life examples into lessons helps students see the practical side of what they’re learning, making it more engaging and easier to understand. Here’s how you can put this approach into practice and assess its impact.

Why Use Real-Life Examples?

Using real-life examples in maths lessons isn’t just about telling stories – it’s a powerful way to help students understand tricky concepts. When they can see how maths connects to real life, it becomes more interesting and easier to grasp. For example, looking at payslips to understand tax and income or using cryptocurrency trends to explore percentages and growth can really grab their attention. Linking maths to things like money management and new technology shows students that what they learn in class actually matters in the real world.

Strategies for Using Real-Life Examples

Bringing maths to life with real-world examples helps students understand why it matters. Here are some simple ways to make different maths topics more relevant and engaging:

• Algebra: Show students how algebra is useful in everyday life by having them budget for a grocery shop or plan expenses for a trip. They can also use equations to split costs with friends or compare phone contracts.

• Geometry: Link geometry to real-world professions like architecture, where angles, areas, and shapes are key to designing buildings. Map reading is another great way to explore scale and distance by planning routes.

• Data & Statistics: Use sports to make data fun—students can analyse player stats, win rates, or even predict match outcomes. Class surveys are another hands-on way to collect and interpret data through graphs.

• Fractions, Percentages & Ratios: Everyday activities like shopping and cooking are full of maths. Students can work out sale prices, VAT, or recipe adjustments to see percentages and ratios in action.

• Probability: Make probability more exciting with games like dice rolling, card games, or even predicting the weather. These activities make the topic more hands-on and engaging.

• Financial Maths: Teach essential life skills by discussing savings, interest rates, and loans. Currency exchange is another useful way to introduce ratios and percentages in a global context.

• Time & Scheduling: Help students improve their time management by working with timetables, planning journeys, or organising daily schedules. These tasks make elapsed time calculations more practical.

By using examples that students can relate to, maths becomes more meaningful and useful beyond the classroom.

Collecting Data to Evaluate Effectiveness

To measure the impact of these strategies, data collection is essential. Gathering feedback from students through surveys or questionnaires allows us to assess engagement and understanding. Questions like, “Did this lesson help you understand the topic better?” or “Did you find the examples interesting?” can provide valuable insights. Additionally, using exit tickets with quick prompts such as, “What example helped you the most today?” can help gauge immediate responses.

Class discussions offer another avenue for student feedback, enabling open conversations about which real-life examples they found most useful. Performance data, such as comparing test scores or homework completion rates before and after implementing real-life examples, can provide quantitative evidence of impact.

Gathering insights from staff is equally important. Department surveys can help evaluate whether colleagues have observed increased engagement among students. Peer observations allow teachers to provide qualitative feedback on how students are responding to the lessons. Finally, staff meetings can be used to discuss findings, share successes, and refine approaches for even greater impact.

Analysing and Presenting Data

Quantitative data from surveys and performance scores can be used to generate statistics that measure changes in engagement and understanding. Presenting this information in the form of bar graphs or pie charts helps illustrate trends clearly. Qualitative data, such as recurring themes in student and staff feedback, can highlight which real-life examples were most effective and why.

A robust approach to evaluation involves triangulating data from multiple sources—student surveys, peer observations, and test scores—to draw well-rounded conclusions. By embedding real-life examples into maths lessons and systematically evaluating their effectiveness, we can make mathematics more accessible and meaningful for students.

Not only does this approach enhance engagement, but it also equips students with practical skills they can apply in their daily lives. The goal is clear: bridge the gap between theory and application, showing students that maths is everywhere—and it matters.

Teaching Outside The Classroom: Does It Make A Difference?

By Mira Jugoo

Learning outside the classroom is not a revolutionary idea and the benefits of fresh air represent a significant part of educational theory since time immemorial. Break and lunchtime at WA are less regulated and closely associated with building soft skills and well-being. They represent the times when friendships are formed, games are created, the pressures of the classroom are relieved, and for us as teachers, the chance to have those “playground” conversations with some of our most challenging students can make a difference in the classroom. The importance of learning outside the classroom to develop the cultural capital of our students and providing out-of-school learning opportunities is well recognised today (DfE, 2015). Additionally with the widened scale of learning loss experienced by our students as a result of the Covid pandemic, and, in particular, the impact on disadvantaged pupils (46.9% of the school population at WA) who have clearly endured the most, the use of learning environments other than the classroom is more significant than ever. Despite the positive associations of learning outside the classroom to improve pupils’ academic achievement in several subjects (Nielsen et al., 2019), the opportunity to do so is often restricted to PE sports fixtures and a few selective trips and is not fundamentally incorporated into learning contexts across the different departments. In a time of rigid curricula, significant loss of learning time over the pandemic, reduced school budget, high accountability frameworks, and a school environment in which leaders are very aware of the risk in every sense of the word, there is a justified fear that schools might deprioritise education outside the classroom. The benefits of learning outside the classroom are invaluable to our young learners as fundamentally it improves their engagement with learning, develops their IB profile, allows them to demonstrate their HERO values, and improves their resilience, self-confidence, and well-being. Teachers also benefit from these opportunities which boost cohesion and bonding opportunities, bring a sense of belonging, and widens and develops their pedagogical skills (Waite, 2011).

Y12 IBCP Marketing Trip to investigate the ice-cream market in Chelsea

Year 9 Young Enterprise pupils budgeting for their Christmas Market stalls Do Ofsted value outdoor learning and residential provision? It is not only teachers and pupils who recognise the benefits of outdoor learning experiences; Ofsted has celebrated the value of outdoor learning and published examples demonstrating how schools have effectively used this. Recent Outstanding Ofsted reports note that; ‘Extra-curricular opportunities include hiking, camping, adventure days, museum, and theatre visits. These make a profound difference to the pupils’ experience of the world and broaden their horizons. Pupils embrace all opportunities with open arms' Preston Muslim Girls High School, January 2017 ‘The curriculum includes numerous opportunities for pupils to learn beyond the school. Pupils participate in a broad range of trips which play a significant part in enriching the curriculum’ Oasis Academy Byron, June 2016 When planned and implemented well, learning outside the classroom contributed significantly to raising standards and improving pupils’ personal, social and emotional development (DfE, 2015). Ofsted also recommends that schools ensure that their curriculum planning includes sufficient well-structured opportunities for all learners to engage in learning outside the classroom as a key, integrated element of their experience evaluate the quality of learning outside the classroom to ensure that it has maximum impact on learners’ achievement, personal development and wellbeing ensure equal and full access for all learners to learning outside the classroom by monitoring participation in activities by different groups of learners and removing any barriers.

Recommendations:

Given the clear benefits of outdoor learning, more needs to be done to ensure that children and young people are provided with the opportunity to leave the classroom. To improve access for every child to an experience outside it is recommended that:

1. Senior Leader Teams are exposed to the benefits of the learning opportunities provided. Research suggests that when SLT members support learning outside of the classroom, a shift occurs across the rest of the school with teachers becoming more confident in holding lessons outside. This could usefully be included in programmes for aspirant senior leaders
2. Alter the language used to describe outdoor and residential learning so that outdoor learning is not seen as an enrichment activity, but rather an integrated part of the curriculum with clear learning objectives and outcomes.
3. Develop low cost or resource-light provision that makes best use of partnerships between schools and local businesses in the area.
4. Celebrate the participation of the students following the outdoor learning activity through the academy’s website / newsletter / Twitter page and reward their behaviour
5. Share the workload with other colleagues such as one member of staff could complete the Evolve form while another could draft the consent letter.
6. We are very privileged to have Ms Edwards as our ECA coordinator and this is a luxury for us as teachers. Indeed it has been reassuring and practical to benefit from her expertise during the planning and preparation of visits.

And finally... have fun with the students and enjoy the bonding experience. They will not forget these opportunities provided and will always be grateful. References: Department for Education. (2015). Supporting the attainment of disadvantaged pupils: articulating success and good practice. Retrieved April 21, 2017 from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/47 3974/DFE-RR411_Supporting_the_attainment_of_disadvantaged_pupils.pdf Nielsen, G., Mygind, E., Bølling, M., Otte, C. R., Schneller, M. B., Schipperijn, J., Ejbye-Ernst, N., & Bentsen, P. 2016. A quasi-experimental cross-disciplinary evaluation of the impacts of education outside the classroom on pupils' physical activity, well-being and learning: the TEACHOUT study protocol. BMC public health, 16(1), 1117. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-3780-8 Ofsted, 2004. Outdoor education: aspects of good practice (HMI 2151), www.ofsted.gov.uk/publications/2151 . Waite, S. 2011. Teaching and learning outside the classroom: personal values, alternative pedagogies and standards, Education 3–13, 39:1, 65-82, DOI: 10.1080/03004270903206141 Further Reading: Behrendt, M., & Franklin, T. 2014. A review of research on school field trips and their value in education. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 9, 235-245. http://doi.org/10.12973/ijese.2014.213a Gardinier, L. & Colquitt‐Anderson, D. (2010). Learning abroad. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 2010, 23-29, http://doi.org/10.1002/tl.417 Morris, M. 2019. Education Outside the Classroom:An Assessment of Activity and Practice in Schools and Local Authorities, DfES. Ofsted, 2004. Outdoor education: aspects of good practice (HMI 2151) www.ofsted.gov.uk/publications/2151 . Learning outside the classroom manifesto (ISBN 978-1-64478-861-3), DfES, 2006; Schauer, H., 1992. Education outside schools. Education and Computing, 8(1-2), pp.149-153.

Health and Safety Executive Outdoor Education Advisers’ Panel (OEAP); www.oeap.info

Bitesize Research: Using Cognitive Science To Enhance Student Engagement

By Jaya Carrier

I hope everyone’s had a great week so far! This week, I was interested in an article from September 2020 from Impact (the publication of the Chartered College of Teaching). This looks at what has been described as the ‘engagement myth’. Objectives:

To explain the importance of cognitive science in conjunction with engagement to ensure pupil learning. Summary:

The article makes several points about the nature of engagement and some misconceptions within learning and the teaching community:

• Engagement is a necessary not a sufficient condition for learning.
• It cautions against some misconceptions around engagement whereby appearing busy suggests learning
• It reinforces Professor Robert Coe’s famous indictment in 2015 about ‘engagement being a poor proxy for learning’ and gives some examples from the US-based Deans of Impact comparing strategies that prioritise engagement, and strategies that prioritise learning based on cognitive science.
• They argue that teachers have been exposed to and socialised to believe that engagement is equivalent to learning and caution that cognitive science is also really important for teachers to consider

How does this impact me and my practice?:

Some reflection questions arising from this that might be helpful to consider are:

• What does engagement mean to you? What does it look like in your classroom? How do I know if the students are engaged?
• How much do I consider cognitive science in my planning? What do I still want to find out?
  

If you would like to discuss this further with me - please let me know! I’d be delighted to open up these discussions and conversations.

Thoughts From A Librarian: How To Encourage A Love of Reading

By Sahar Rajabali

Students don’t do things that you tell them they “have to do”. This causes something of an issue when Ofsted have insisted great schools should be continuously promoting a love of reading. By trying to encourage reading for pleasure it can sometimes feel to students that they're being forced to read rather than wanting to for themselves. There are a few points that are generally considered important when engendering a love of reading;

• 
  Reading to students
• Talking about Reading
• Motivating reading

These seem abstract, but there are lots of ways to put these into practice to get your students excited about the wonderful world of literature.

In a secondary school, reading to students can sound a little forced or patronising but it has a lot of benefits; not only does it make sure students aren’t just staring at a page, listening to someone reading is shown to improve fluency and comprehension. I’ve implemented this in some of my reading classes by reading through a book of their choice which has proven to make a lot of students more enthusiastic about what they’re reading - especially since they were able to choose the texts themselves, rather than it being part of the curriculum. This might be a bit much to do during TTB reading but what some schools have done is, every Friday morning, instead of getting the students to read their own book, Tutors spend those ten minutes in the morning, reading something that they’ve enjoyed with your tutees. Whether it’s the first scene of a play, the thesis of an article you’ve read or played some of the audible books you’re listening to, sharing these with your students by reading them out loud with them will begin to grab their attention and get them excited about a range of genres. Also, by sharing texts that you, as their teacher, are enthusiastic about, you’re leading by example and acting as a role model to enforce the practice of reading for pleasure.

However, reading in itself is not the only way to get students to learn to enjoy reading. The key is to make reading seem like something informal which can be done by beginning casual conversations with your students about reading. When you see a student reading a book that you know and enjoyed, talk to them about it, compare your opinions and you’ll show them that reading is a way we can connect with people, and get them to evaluate the books for themselves. And if you haven’t read the book? Ask them about it! You’ll get to know them a bit better through what they read and you’ll be able to expand your own “to read” list as well.

The next step is then to get students to keep reading. The most obvious mode of motivation is by showing them that you’re reading - once in a while bring out your book and give yourself 10 minutes to read in the morning. It’ll be great for your health and theirs. You can also help motivate them by giving them some other recommendations. A lot of students are glued to only one series of books and become uninterested if that book is unavailable. Once you start having more informal conversations about books with these students, you’ll be able to recommend other books and genres that they’d be interested in, boosting their motivation. If you’re unsure of what to recommend, there are recommendations on the Reading Cloud website, and I’m happy to answer any questions on recommendations as well. When it comes to non-fiction books, it might even be worth asking other departments which books they would recommend for budding physicists or philosophers. Looking into their chosen subject will show that student you’re taking an interest in their reading, making them feel that this is an achievement they should be proud of and a hobby that’s worth investing time in.

You don’t need to get your students into Dickens (even I haven’t gotten that far) but reading in itself is such a valuable skill. As a school, we need to do our best to make sure that reading doesn’t become something that students are forced to do but something we encourage. By creating a suitable environment for reading, especially for those who can’t find this at home, we will help students to stretch their imagination, explore their interests and find some headspace in what is a scary and uncertain time in their lives.

How To Use Chromebooks Without Disruption

By Izzy Hilliard

Over the course of the last year, Google chromebooks have been a complete lifesaver. From zoom lessons to online assessments, WA has been ahead of the game when it comes to digital infrastructure and online learning. 

However as a return to “normal” learning inches ever closer, we are all experiencing the same issue. Students are on their chromebooks all the time. You haven’t asked them to be, but their reasoning of “wanting to see the slides” appears valid and slowly you notice a handful of students are on their chromebooks and you are not sure why. Whatever the reason may be, it is becoming more difficult to control our students on their chromebooks. 

What can you do to maximise the benefits of using chromebooks but minimise disruption?

1. Build routines

This seems obvious, but only because routines are vital when it comes to technology within schools. Chromebooks do not need to be out until a task needs them, and after the task they should be put back into their bags. Once the routine is set, your students will become quicker and quicker with this process. 

2. Make any use of chromebooks short and purposeful

The only reason students should be on their chromebook is when you have asked them to be. Having a short, interactive task such as a mentimeter for class discussion or a Google Forms quiz for AfL, these tasks should not take over ten minutes. After this point I find all minds begin to wander, whether that be towards checking emails or playing tetris. 

3. Make students know you’re watching

One of the many benefits of Google Classroom is that you can cast students’ work if needed. This isn’t just great for reflection and peer assessment, but also makes your classroom know that at any point you can showcase their work. I would not advise doing this as a name-and-shame as that is not beneficial to healthy relationships, but I think it does show you who is struggling, who is doing well and, potentially, who is being lazy.

4. Follow behaviour policy

If you have to stop your teaching to tell a student to put away their chromebook it is a disruption to learning. Even if they are looking at the slides, checking their timetable, or if they did just want to check their emails, it still counts. You had to stop teaching twenty five students to tell one off and this is disruptive behaviour when they know the routines you have set. 

5. Remember the good

Behaviour with chromebooks is still hard, even if you have the best routines and you ensure that all use is perfect, jazzy and interactive. It might still go wrong. Keeping in mind that we asked students to use their chromebooks for the better half of a year to learn. They have built their own routines over that time, where the chromebook is integral. Reconstructing this takes time and perseverance. The benefits chromebooks have given us over the last two years far outweigh the negatives we now have. 

How can Science Capital be used to engage students during Covid restrictions?

By Robyn Emms

‘What counts as science?’ ‘Whose science counts?’ 

These two questions, in Harding’s 1991 paper about Science Capital, have stayed in my mind since I read them as part of my teacher training. What leads students to consider themselves as a ‘science person’, and how can we use opportunities to engage students in Science, particularly during these times of restrictions and online learning?

Students’ interest in studying science has been likened to a ‘leaky pipeline’ (Taj, 2006) - primary students tend to express an excitement about studying science, so why is it that some students lose this interest as they grow older? How can we get students interested in science and motivated to continue their studies?

This post will discuss the research relating to science capital and what is being done within the Science department to raise the capital of our students, both in lessons and through extracurricular activities during covid restrictions and lockdown to help them engage with the subject and feel empowered that they are still able to ‘do science’.

One way this can be addressed is by working to improve students’ Science capital. The idea of capital is not unique to science - you may have heard the term ‘cultural capital’ used when discussing what students are exposed to outside of school. Science capital is similar, and is  composed of several parts. Louise Archer simplifies this into the metaphor of a hold-all bag, containing four parts: what students know, how they think, what they do and who they know. The culmination of these influences whether students would consider themselves a ‘science person’, and how likely they are to engage with the subject. 

Research shows that students from less economically advantaged families often have very low science capital when compared to wealthier peers (Archer et al, 2002). There are many factors that influence this - for example, the student may not have financial access to resources, such as trips to museums, science books or materials to try out home science experiments. 

It is important to recognise that parents and carers with lower economic capital may still promote the importance of science, or have the time to develop their child’s interest in science, by using what is available to them, such as television, free or low cost activities and discussing science at home (Archer et al 2012). 

We have aimed to capitalise on this to increase the ‘what students do’ part of the Science capital hold-all through the creation of a STEM Enrichment website, which has been promoted to students in all years to encourage them to engage in science outside of lessons. This has been increasingly important during lockdown to maintain student interest in science, when they do not have access to regular extracurricular activities. There are a variety of activities and opportunities on the website, divided into each key stage.

For Key Stage 3, students are encouraged to complete simple science experiments at home, such as constructing a seed propagator, designing a bionic hand using cardboard or modelling an oil spill and cleaning it up. All the experiments involve common household items, allowing students to complete practical activities at home. There are also videos posted that extend from the topics being studied in lessons, asking questions such as ‘Is fire solid, liquid or gas?’

GCSE students have links to ‘Meet the Researcher’ webinars, where students hear from and can ask questions to researchers in a wide range of fields. Students who attend this will get thinking about how their subject choices in the future could lead them into these exciting STEM areas. Other opportunities include a panel discussion about the response to Covid 19, or building a marble run for an engineering competition. Students have access to sign up for longer programmes, like summer schools or a technicians programme run by the Science Museum. There are so many opportunities for students to access, no matter what part of STEM they are considering for their future, or whether they just want to participate in some new activities. 

KS5 students can enhance their IB studies by taking part in webinars and workshops specifically designed for sixth form students on a wide range of subjects - from air quality monitoring to medicinal sciences. Longer programmes are promoted here too, for example a 2 year STEM Future Leaders programme, providing networking opportunities and work experience placements for successful applicants. If students just want to take five minutes to engage in some STEM activities, there are also short videos, to get students thinking outside of the taught content.

Covid has significantly limited the amount of practical work we are able to complete in school, and the lockdown has made delivering practical science incredibly challenging. However, we have been able to find ways to get students involved from home, particularly in KS3. Year 7 students have been learning about sound, and had the opportunity to investigate sounds at home using an online oscilloscope to measure and compare the sound waves as they made different noises. Students enjoyed this activity as they were able to complete an investigation for themselves at home, just using their chromebook and their voice.

We have made use of many online simulations to allow students to investigate ideas such as circuits, colour filters and gas pressure. Using these, students can test their ideas and work out concepts for themselves, despite not being able to physically complete the normal experiments. This has been particularly useful for Year 8 students studying electricity without access to circuit sets. These students have been able to build circuits online and use these in student-led investigations.

In the short time we have left online, we have more home experiments planned, using only the items that students will have at home. To investigate refraction, students will be encouraged to fill a glass with water and look through it at a penny or some writing on paper and will use their observations to explain this concept.

Another important dimension of science capital is who the student knows in a science related career (Godec, King, Archer 2017) - many of our students do not have this ‘who they know’ dimension in their science capital ‘hold-all’, so it is important for them to have exposure to ‘real’ scientists. This can also help students access information about careers options, whilst introducing them to potential options for their future. This then can increase science capital and engagement, as students gain motivation to study science.

Year 12 Applied Science students have had two virtual visits this year  from STEM ambassadors in industry - an Environmental Health and Safety officer and a lab manager for Rolls-Royce submarines. These are two career options students may never have previously considered, or even heard of. These guest speakers discussed their roles, background and education and answered the students many questions.

All subjects students study have a form of capital. How can we make all subjects relevant to students’ lives and increase their wider cultural capital? How can we help students see every subject in the world around them? I hope that through the examples given of how the opportunity to increase capital is being used in science, you are able to consider how this could be extended to your area of the curriculum.

How is this relevant to other subjects? All have capital - how are you making your subject relevant to their lives and increasing their wider cultural capital? How can students see your subject in the world around them?

References:

• Harding, S. G. (1991). Whose Science? Whose Knowledge: Thinking from Women’s Lives. Ithica, New York; London, England: Cornell University Press

• Taj, R. H., Qi Liu, C., Maltese A. V., Fan, X. (2006). Planning Early for Careers in Science. Science, 312(5777), 1143-1144

• Godec, S., King, H., Archer, L. (2017). The Science Capital Teaching Approach: Engaging Students with Science, Promoting Social Justice. London: University College London

For more information on the Science Capital holdall, see

https://www.ase.org.uk/system/files/5-7_13_0.pdf

T&L Activity: How confident are you that your answer is correct?

By Ruhina Cockar

Picture a student who is so confident in their answer, you pick on them to answer in front of the class, and they give you an incorrect answer. Why was the student so confident?

How can you train students to think about their level of confidence in their answers?

It’s a skill I know Historians use in their pedagogy - asking students how sure are they in the validity of the argument put forward or the source they are analysing - can this be transferred to other subjects?

An activity I recently observed a member of staff do was a Confidence-Weighted True/False Task, which I was really inspired by and transferred to a maths context to talk you through it. 

What is the activity?

I shared a google doc with this table of statements on google classroom as an assignment:

Q	Statement	True/False	Reason for answer	Confidence  (out of 5 where 5 is very confident)
1	The general form of an equation of a straight line is  y = mx + c
2	The gradient is a numerical value of where the graph crosses the y-intercept
3	m represents the y-intercept, c represents the gradient of the line
4	I cannot find the equation of a straight line given a gradient and one coordinate point
5	I can find the equation of the line given two coordinate points
6	A straight line graph is called a quadratic graph
7	Parallel lines have the same gradient and different y-intercepts

I gave students 10-15 minutes to work through this independently.

I then used this as an opportunity to do some assessment for learning and self-assessment simultaneously. I asked students to show me whether they wrote true or false and their confidence level on a mini whiteboard. I then picked on different students to explain their answers (you could pick someone with a high confidence level and a wrong answer, low confidence level and a correct answer). Students then either corrected their answers or added detail to them in green font.

We went through each statement with this process.

Here’s an example of a HPA student’s corrected version of the table:

Q	Statement	True/False	Reason for answer	Confidence  (out of 5 where 5 is very confident)
1	The general form of an equation of a straight line is  y = mx + c	True	The general equation of a straight line is y = mx + c, where m is the gradient, and y = c is the value where the line cuts the y-axis. This number c is called the intercept on the y-axis. A linear graph where the gradient is content - for everyone along, you go up. X has the power of 1.	5
2	The gradient is a numerical value of where the graph crosses the y-intercept	False	the gradient is the numerical measure of the steepness of a straight line	4
3	m represents the y-intercept, c represents the gradient of the line	False	C represents the y-intercept	5
4	I cannot find the equation of a straight line given a gradient and one coordinate point	False	You can do this by substituting the gradient and the coordinate into y=mx+c	3
5	I can find the equation of the line given two coordinate points	True	You can find the gradient using the difference in y divided by the difference in x coordinates, then substitute in a coordinate to find the y intercept.	5
6	A straight-line graph is called a quadratic graph	False	A straight-line graph is in the form of y = mx + c and is a simple straight line whereas a quadratic function is one of the form y = ax2 + bx + c and has a U-shaped curve. A straight line graph is called a linear graph.	4
7	Parallel lines have the same gradient and different y-intercepts	True	Lines that are parallel have different y-intercepts  This is because in order to be parallel you need to have the same steepness/angle	5

You will notice that this student felt confident in their true/false answer but was not as articulate in their reasoning - does this show the depth of understanding expected from this student?

Why you should try this activity

• It encourages reasoning and develops students literacy skills

• It encourages students to think in depth to be able to give a suitably detailed answer

• All students were engaged and felt encouraged to answer questions as they had already shown their confidence in their answer (i.e. that it was low) 

• Could link this to retrieval practice by making it a low stakes assessment a few weeks after teaching a topic

Other ways of approaching this activity:

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1475725715605627

It would be great to see your versions of this activity so do share them with me - I’d love to link your examples in here as an update!

Further Reading 

Correlating Student Knowledge and Confidence Using a Graded Knowledge Survey to Assess Student Learning in a General Microbiology Classroom