BELL = BEst Learned Later

In a nutshell the question is

Will the learner, in the next week or two, “need too much help” to embed this learning?

and the answer to this question depends on the learning context.

Sometimes ....

... despite pre assess and careful planning using the topic dashboard the teacher will realise that they have taught the learner something which is taking too much feedback and practice time and the learner doesn't look like they will master that piece of learning soon, the teacher should assess the layer best learned later (the bell symbol).

The teacher should be pleased with themselves for doing excellent assessment for learning and recognising this.

The app will remove the layer from the retrieval practice cycle.

Remember ...

... without timely practice this layer, and many many other layers, would have been very quickly forgotten - the timely practice app is designed to save as many layers as possible from forgetting - but sometimes the teacher and learner's efforts are best used elsewhere. There are plenty of other layers which the teacher and learner can concentrate their efforts on - which will pay greater dividends in increased learning. Provided the teacher and learner concentrate on these, at some time in the future these other layers will provide sufficient firm foundations for learning and increased motivation so that the teacher can teacher this layer later with far less effort and feedback sessions.

The decision between feedback (FOB or FOA) and BELL (BEst Learned Later) can be complex, as we are deciding on the best use of the teacher’s and learner’s lesson time.

If the learner made errors/didn’t answer a recently taught topic, usually we will use the correct feedback symbol.

However if the learner made errors/didn’t answer a topic they’ve had feedback on a few times already, then it’s useful to decide “shall I BELL this layer?”

The question isn’t about just whether the teacher and learner can use the feedback process to “get the learner to be able to ask similar questions in the layer” but also about balancing the cost in lesson time allocated and the cost to the learner’s limited supply of motivation.

Questions which might help decide are

does the learner still have some motivation for the feedback process?
given the number of learners in the class/group - and how much time the teacher normally has to give each learner feedback - is giving more feedback on this layer sensible? e.g. a tutor with fewer learners in their group, might give choose feedback whereas a teacher with a larger class might choose best learned later,
thinking about the next fortnight, will there be enough time to embed the feedback into the learner’s long term memory? e.g. if there is only 2 days before a 2 week holiday, then the learner is unlikely to retain the benefits of feedback but if there is more than 2 weeks before the next holiday, the teacher might want to try to give a bit more feedback.

if the feedback on a layer isn’t going well, the teacher and learner are likely to remember, perhaps with a slightly sick feeling in the stomach, how the previous feedback-dialogue attempts went. They should both be honest about whether the feedback is working, in a case like this, deciding on BELL will open up more time and more motivation for other feedback.
the more feedback assessments per assignment, the less likely each is to result in embedded learning - usually 3 feedbacks per assignment is enough, so if a layer which has already had several feedback dialogues is the only layer needing feedback perhaps continue, but if there are 2 or 3 other layers needing feedback perhaps BELL the layer which has had several feedback’s already.