tpVocab

i.e. timely practice vocabulary

(0) Key vocabulary: BELL, cooldown, FOA, FOB, layer, our cohort, tpTeach, warmup

BELL: stands for BEst Learned Later. See assessANDfeedback(4)

cooldown: lessons where retrieval practice (and possibly more pre-assess) without teaching with timely practice is done prior to each school holiday. See planTeaching(6)

FOA: feedback on attempt. See assessANDfeedback(4)

FOB: feedback on blank. See assessANDfeedback(4)

layer: a small bite of learning on a topic. See tpVocab(1)

tpTeach: most lessons in timely practice are of this type which includes retrieval practice and/or pre assess within timely practice assignments and plan new teaching with the assistance of timely practice

our cohort: learners in the long tail of underachievement, those unlikely to achieve a grade 4 or above at GCSE.

warmup: pre assess with timely practice (see assessment and feedback), without teaching with timely practice (see plan teaching). Instead do fast track pre-assess (possibly) or do pre-assess instead of lesson warm up whilst teaching from the current SOL (probably).

(1) Categorising questions

Categories: topic themes contain topics, which contain layers, which contain questions

The app splits questions first into

  • topic themes: algebra, FDPR, geometryMeasure, integer, probabilityStatistics, wordProblems

then splits these into

  • topics e.g. sequenceT2T, decimalFraction, area, factor, discreteGraph and secretADDsign

then splits these into

  • layers e.g. sequenceT2T(4), decimalFraction(2), area(6), factor(1), discreteGraph(3) and secretADDsign(11)

and finally each layer is made up of a number of

  • questions, which are similar to each other but slightly different.

key layers and scaffold layers

Key layers are made up of typical questions found in text books, exams and tests.

Scaffold layers are of 2 broad types

  • internal: we split a traditional bite of learning into smaller bites, so e.g. 2 timely practice layers will teach the learner to be able to answer the kinds of question which may be found in a set of exercises within a text book,

  • traditional scaffolding e.g. including a representative or gaps within partially complete workings,

Whenever possible we prefer to learners to build chunks in long-term memory which provide the learner with “internal scaffolding” to learn harder layers.

Sometimes we use traditional scaffolding: often a representative, sometimes a partially complete question. Once the learner has mastered the layer with the scaffold, then the learner needs to be taught to answer questions without the scaffold. Sometimes this process happens naturally without feedback, sometimes the best feedback is “what diagram can you draw to help you answer this question?”

For each layer there are sets of questions

(2) The 3 timely practice app tabs

Classes/Learners' Tab

This tab is where the app stores data about learners within classes.

Level for Learner

there are only 2 choices

  • nurture: the learner is not expected to take GCSE or is expected to get below a grade 3

  • avoid GCSE retake: learner is already doing GCSE retake or is expected to potentially have to do GCSE retake.

The app will use the Level for Learner to begin the pre assess process in a manner which isn’t too demotivating but which will relatively quickly find the learners current learning strengths.

Pace for Practice

can be adjusted so that all learners take about the same time to complete their timely practice assignments within the lesson. Most learners will complete their assignments within a minute or two of each other, their pace can be left at the default 100%, adjust the pace for learners who finish their assignments significantly quicker or significantly slower than their peers. The Pace from Practice can be adjusted as frequently as desired.

Global Progress Tab

Think of this as SOL+

The app needs to avoid pre-assessing (finding out what the learners have Already Learned and Remembered) when the teacher is teaching these topics. To do this, the teacher will tell the app, what topics, the class has recently been taught, what they are learning now (the app will avoid pre-assessing these), what they will teach next and later (the app will prioritise pre-assessing these topics).

The app will attempt to colour code when the class is ready to learn more on a topic - however this won’t be accurate, because it is very rare for our cohort to have all learners in class for the majority of lessons. Hence, whilst most of the class may be have completed pre-assess on a topic or be ready to return to learn more on a topic, some learners won’t be ready. See - planTeaching(3) - for more information on this.

Planning and Preparation Tab

The Planning and Preparation tab does the most work. It helps the teacher ensure they are teaching in a manner which most efficiently embeds learning in low attaining or underachieving learners (those who aren’t expected to gain a grade 5 or above at GCSE).

(3) 4 types of P&P sessions: Warmup, tpTeach, Cooldown and Homework

Each type allows the teacher to create and download a timely practice assignment and has the other necessary steps for its function

 

Warmup

tpTeach

Cooldown

Homework

 

Warmup

tpTeach

Cooldown

Homework

Edit Taught

No

Yes

Yes

No

Assess t.p.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Plan Teaching

No

Yes

No

No

Create tp

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Download t.p.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Although warmup and homework have the same 3 necessary steps: Assess t.p. Create t.p. and Download t.p. they are different because the questions in the homework assignment will never come from fragile layers (recently taught or recently needing feedback)

Warmup

During the warm up process timely practice finds sufficient learning foundations so that future teaching is very likely to become retained learning and hence firm learning foundations for the next teaching of each topic.

The warm up process is several pre assess only assignments. The app is responsive, so e.g. setting 4 warm up assignments at one time will NOT give us enough data, instead do 4 rounds of assignments, each round has 3 parts: create warm up + learners complete warm up + teacher assess warm up

See Auto pre-assess for choices about the warm up process.

Warmup assignments can also be used to help learners catch up with retrieval practice as well as pre assess.

tpTeach

Teach on firm learning foundations + don’t allow teaching to become forgetting by using smart, personalised retrieval practice

Lesson planning with timely practice has 3 benefits

  1. assessment for learning data is accurate, easy to use and always done in advance,

  2. teaching will always be on firm learning foundations,

  3. teaching in one lesson is automatically followed up with smart, personalised retrieval practice beginning the next lesson.

    • Retrieval practice is repeated to stretch the durability of recall-ability,

    • is responsive to the need for feedback and

    • the time used for retrieval practice gives the teacher a block of time to concentrate on giving personalised feedback.

Auto pre-assess will usually continue during tpTeach and cooldown

Cooldown

Cooldown precedes school holidays (or other known breaks e.g. work experience) and allows the teacher to ensure that teaching before a school holiday stands the best chance of being sufficiently embedded in long term memory that very little extra feedback is required after the holiday.