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Chunks with slots for variables are called templates. Mental schema are another name for chunks or templates. |
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Consolidation is the process whereby a brain state in active or working memory is stored in long-term memory. This process modifies synapses on the dendrites of neurones. After retrieval of the memory, a similar process, called reconsolidation occurs whereby the old memory is altered and replaced by the new memory. Multiple retrievals and reconsolidations may be needed to build an accurate chunk. It seems we are not prompted to reconsolidate
Both consolidation and reconsolidation happen during sleep, so we can’t possibly know what a learner has learned during a lesson. We must wait for at least one nights sleep, to find out what has become learning and what has not. It seems that if recall is too easy, reconsolidation won’t happen at all or make a perceivable change in long term memory. This fits with Bjork’s desirable difficulties. It seems that by its very definition reconsolidation can’t happen at the end of the lesson where the skill is taught, because the learner hasn’t had a sleep yet to consolidate their learning. |
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The learner has built an incomplete chunk in long-term memory - despite timely practice layers being small and therefore easier to learn, sometimes the learner will need more support to build a chunk - the teacher, via feedback-dialogue, should work with the learner to find what is missing and help the learner fix it. See (5) fading scaffolding, below for more about this. We recommend assessing rather than marking of assignments, to assist with this. With marking, the teacher might writing write a note to the learner, showing the missing bits, but with feedback-dialogue, we help the learner add the missing bits to the chunk, ideally via questioning rather than telling.
The learner has not replaced/adapted an incorrect chunk built some time ago, with a new/adapted chunk in long-term memory. This is different from 1. in that the chunk to do the old incorrect method hasn’t been overwritten, despite perhaps a new chunk being built in the lesson. So here we are working on changing the trigger i.e. the learner choosing the new correct chunk, rather than the old incorrect one. The best way to do this, is to offer a reason why the old incorrect one is incorrect, that chimes with the learner’s understanding.
The learner is still reliant on some of the “unacknowledged scaffolding'' of the lesson e.g. placement of workings out on the page or use of a diagram etc. See (5) fading scaffolding, below for more about this.
The learner has misread the question or poorly applied their numeracy skills when answering the question. This is likely to be due to working memory overload - all learners, even the most able A level maths learners experience it. As they are learning and working through something new and hard, they are unable to accurately apply skills which are usually easy for them. I sometimes describe this effect to students as their brain isn’t very good at easy thinking and hard thinking at the same time. The best we can offer learners as they practise, is that they can look through their workings out for accuracy periodically. Sometimes I suggest they write “check for accuracy” on the answer line, as an aide memoire, for when they think they have solved the problem. We need to encourage learners to realise that making “silly mistakes” is often a sign of hard learning going on, not a sign that “they can’t even do the easy maths”.
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The difference between being able to answer questions in a lesson, where all the questions require the same, recently learned skill, and being able to answer the interleaved retrieval practice questions within the learners assignment is a little like the difference between swimming with and without a float. As teachers we are often unaware of how much scaffolding is in the classroom when we are teaching a topic e.g. notes on whiteboard, vocabulary fresh in learner’s minds etc. Additionally, in the lesson where teaching occurs, learners don’t need to use the triggers for their chunks in long-term memory, they just need to remember the topic of the lesson. Almost all the practice questions (except of course those in their timely practice assignment) that learners will do in the lesson, will be on the topic of the lesson.
Once learners , begin doing retrieval practice questions in their timely practice assignment, they have to
read the question and decide which skills to apply and
recall the complete process they learned in a previous lesson,
so we may , soon see , where teaching hasn’t become embedded learning (yet).
To help the learner , recall the scaffolding of the lesson for themselves, rather than us showing how to do the question we can use prompts to trigger the chunk e.g.
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When we ask questions like this we help nudge the learner to replace the external scaffolding of lessons with their own internal scaffolding - i.e. a better/bigger/more complete chunk in long term memory. It is often clear, that that is what we are doing e.g. as as soon as we say “what diagram”, we see the “aha” look and the learner wants us to go away away and leave them to get on, they know what they are doing. The diagram, often already has a chunk attached to it, in the learner’s long term memory.
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In our development of this version of timely practice we have created many scaffold pair layers, one of which carries with it , some of the scaffolding of the lesson. These make it easier for us to “reduce the amount of new” from one layer to the next. Here are 2 examples of scaffold pair layers.
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What we know from research on cumulative practice is that learners are much more likely to be able to solve problems, if they have mastered all the pre requisites. So timely practice provides a layer shape problems NC layer 2, to answer questions like 1. in the example above. I doubt that such a question will be asked in a GCSE paper, but the layer provides consolidation of the meaning of radius and diameter. Mastery of this layer and mastery of shape skills YC layer 6, how to find the area of a circle, might make solving problems like 2. within the learners grasp. Whereas I think, most maths teachers, with experience of teaching maths learners below the lower quartile, would be doubtful if such learners to would be able to solve problems like 2. and 3. in a lesson, but certainly would not expect them to be able to solve such problems weeks after the lesson.
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