Plenaries
Evidence from Ofsted and other research indicates that plenaries are the parts of lessons that are least effectively executed by science teachers. We all know why. Practicals overrun, the last ten minutes of the lesson are spent tidying up etc.,etc.
There is, however, a very frightening statistic that’s popped up in education research…
‘60% of learning is lost within 20 minutes if it isn’t reviewed at the end of the lesson’.
Now, as scientists we can all raise an eyebrow when statistics such as this are paraded, however, it’s unlikely that any of us have escaped from the frustration of finding that a class remember almost nothing from a lesson that took place less than 24 hours before. We might argue about stats but ther’s little doubt that there is an issue to be addressed here.
Like starters, plenaries often carry unwarranted an air of mystique. A plenary is simply a review of learning. As with any activity, the key is that the review should be active. It should involve pupils thinking about what they have learned, rather than the teacher telling them what they have learned. A plenary does not have to be complex or difficult to prepare. Some of the easiest are the most effective.
The key points for a plenary to include are:
- Pupils thinking about what they have learned (and, ideally, sharing this with others).
- A review of the objectives/intentions of the lesson
Effective plenaries will also give the opportunity to:-
- help pupils to understand and remember what has been learned
- create a sense of gain, completion and satisfaction
- take stock of where the class is in the task or sequence
and sometimes, but not always to:-
- take learning further and deeper
Importantly, feedback on children’s understanding, gained during a plenary, can very effectively inform our future teaching (Do we need to revisit some issues next lesson? Is the understanding of the class secure?)
TOP TIPS FOR PLENARIES
- The plenary is essential. Given the choice between completing a long a practical and finishing earlier to have a plenary your pupils will almost certainly benefit more from the plenary. If you are doing a long practical with many readings, have a set of results available to refer to if you don’t have time to complete the whole process.
- One of the simplest (and one of the most effective) plenaries involves simply asking the pupils to spend a couple of minutes deciding individually on the 3 most important learning points from the lesson. They can then compare these with a neighbour before the teacher asks for feedback from a few members of the class. If the ideas have been written down by the pupils, they can begin the next lesson with a review of their own main points.
- After getting the pupils to review their learning, refer them back to the objectives of the lesson and ask them to rate the success at achieving each one by showing between one and four (appropriately directed) fingers. This can also be done really effectively with traffic light cards.