Low-Stake Spaced Quizzing
CPD: The CRAFT of Assessment (by Michael Chiles), topic 2.3.2
Low-Stake Spaced Quizzing
Begin the lesson with six low-stake questions where students are expected to actively recall information from their long-term memory to their working memory, without any aid from notes or peers.
Generating the right questions
- Generate questions that allow for retrieval of concepts and processes over time.
- For example:
- Two questions from last week.
- Two from last term.
- Two from last year.
- This creates opportunities for students to think hard and recall knowledge over a longer time.
Benefits of low-stake questions
- The low-stake nature of these questions means you can:
- Provide instant feedback after the quiz.
- Use the evidence to inform future planning.
- Explicitly re-teach a concept or process at that point before moving on.
- It is important to create a culture in which all pupils regularly reflect on their learning while understanding there are no or low stakes.
Sharing the science
- One of the key factors in generating reflective learners is for them to understand the importance of the science behind how we learn.
- Sharing this with your pupils can be a powerful tool to raise their awareness of how they can become more reflective learners.
- The following slides contain testimonials from students.
Emily, Year 10
- ‘I believe that having a quiz at the start of a lesson allows me to recap knowledge. They allow me to challenge my memory from past lessons and boost my overall knowledge of key information and facts. Without these short quizzes, I don’t think I would remember as many facts.’
Eva, Year 9
- ‘In my opinion, having an opportunity to recall knowledge leads you to memorise and understand subjects/topics a lot more because you are constantly recapping your knowledge. For example, at the beginning of Year 7, I got confused by the different processes of erosion. I can now remember what they are and what they mean. I believe that they are very effective.’
Test yourself on Low-Stake Spaced Quizzing
Which mix of six questions is best for helping students practice recall?
What are the advantages of using low-stakes questions?
Click the correct boxes.