The Pedagogy Underpinning CSUK:ReviseCS
1. Retrieval Practice - The Theory
Back in 2013, researchers from the USA investigated various learning strategies in order to discover the ones that were most likely to lead to long-term memory.
Their research concluded that one of the most effective strategies for developing long-term memory was retrieval practice.
Retrieval practice is the simple process of answering questions. They discovered that the form of questioning was not overly important. Whether the questioning was in the form of 'Multiple Choice Questions', 'Essay Questions', 'Past Exam Questions', it really didn't matter. Simply practicing the art of answering questions based on the knowledge acquired was the most important thing.
(Dunlosky et al, 2013, Association for Psychological Science)
How CSUK:ReviseCS facilitates this theory
With hundreds of questions on offer, at the click of a button, 'retrieval practice' is at the heart of CSUK:ReviseCS' offering.
Multiple Choice Quizzes
CSUK:ReviseCS offers revision zone, topic and course quizzes, to allow students to practice questions any time of day.
Interactive Learning Checks
In addition to MCQs, CSUK:ReviseCS offers a growing number of quick, interactive learning check questions, to help students check if they have understood key elements of the theory.
Written Exam Questions (coming soon)
As students will ultimately have their knowledge and understanding assessed answering written exam questions, it is imperative that students practice this form of questioning. At CSUK:ReviseCS this style of questioning is also facilitated. After submitting an answer, students will be able to self-assess their answers. Furthermore, teachers will have the option to review their students' answers and provide personalised written feedback.
Embedded & Printable Flashcards
Another offering to support 'Retrieval Practice' is the growing set of embedded and printable flashcards. With questions on one side and answers on the back, the flashcards offer further questioning practice, both on screen and on paper. Printable flashcards have been formatted to enable easy double sided printing, creating physical flashcard sets with just a few scissor snips!
2. Distributed Practice - The Theory
Another conclusion from the 2013 research was that 'Distributed Practice' was another highly effective strategies for developing long-term memory.
This is essentially the opposite of cramming, and is the art of 'spacing' out learning, spreading it over longer periods of time and revisiting the learning at later dates.
(Dunlosky et al, 2013, Association for Psychological Science)
How CSUK:ReviseCS facilitates this theory
With 'Task Setting' facilities, 'Task Deadlines' and accounts that don't expire*, CSUK:ReviseCS has been designed for 'Distributed Practice'.
Task Setting & Deadlines
CSUK:ReviseCS now offers a brand new 'Task Setting' feature, where teachers can set deadlines for various 'Revision Zones', 'Revision Steps' and 'Quizzes', to help students space their learning and distribute their practice.
Course Access Controls
In order to ensure teachers have complete control over what topic areas / learning resources their students can and cannot access at any given time, CSUK:ReviseCS now offers teachers the ability to lock and unlock 'Revision Zones', 'Revision Steps' and 'Quizzes'.
This is great if you want to focus your students on specific topics at the beginning of the course, as you will have the ability to lock down and restrict access to 'later' topics. Then, as the course progresses and you want your students to be able to access more content, you can unlocked further topic areas, supporting distributed practice.
Student Accounts Don't Expire*
Effective revision is a long process and at CSUK:ReviseCS, student accounts do not expire*. So it is advised to have student accounts set up at the earliest opportunity, so they can make best use of the time they have for the GCSE.
*for GDPR reasons, student accounts will be deleted if unused for over a year
3. Interleaved Practice - The Theory
A further finding from the 2013 research was that 'Interleaved Practice' led to improved long-term learning.
This is where, as students progress through the content, they begin to spend time practicing questions from the growing list of topics covered to date, instead of focusing on the current topic, in isolation.
(Dunlosky et al, 2013, Association for Psychological Science)
How CSUK:ReviseCS facilitates this theory
CSUK:ReviseCS doesn't just provide quizzes for each of the subtopics of the GCSE (Revision Zone Quizzes), it also provides a number of 'Dynamically Generated' topic and course quizzes, helping students 'Interleave' their learning.
Dynamically Generated Topic & Course Quizzes
CSUK:ReviseCS provides a number of quiz types which supports 'interleaving'. At the click of a button, students can take a 'Topic' or 'Course' quiz, which builds a quiz, on-the-fly, that picks a subset of questions from the question bank. This is fantastic for an interleaved approach, as students will be able to answer questions from a range of subtopics.
Backed up by pedagogy, CSUK:ReviseCS has a whole host of features and tools that can help support your students through their GCSE Computer Science course.
Purchase your CSUK:ReviseCS teacher membership today, via the CSUK Shop, and begin creating your groups and enrolling your students.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me using the form below and I will get back to you as soon as I can.