Teaching & Learning Page

Teaching & Learning Spotlight- Daily Reviews

For several years now, the Surfside staff have been learning about the Science of Learning. The Science of Learning summarises current research based on cognitive science, which is how we learn and connect it to the practical implications for teaching. At the beginning of our Literacy and Numeracy sessions, students consistently begin the session with a Daily Review, where the class go over things that they have previously learned through retrieval practice.Our reviews last from 5-15 minutes, involve whiteboards, concrete materials, and have lots of movement (seeing, hearing, feeling/doing) and constant checks for understanding.

Retrieval practice involves bringing already-learned information out of long-term memory, rather than trying to add new information in. This makes that learned information easier and quicker to remember in the future and fight against the Ebbinghaus’ Forgetting Curve (where we forget information we have learned if we don’t revisit it over time). Students review critical and important concepts that will support them in future learning for years at school. 

*For example, when you are learning to swim the freestyle stroke, you need to be able to kick, move your arms in an overhead motion, float, use cross-body movement, turn your head, breathe, etc. Each of these skills need to be introduced gradually and systematically whilst constantly remembering, reviewing, and practicing previously learned skills in a variety of contexts.  Between each new skill that is introduced, there is a gap between lessons, as the same skills are reviewed repeatedly, assessed and refined until the stroke becomes automatic for the learner. This is similar how to children new skills and concepts we learn in the classroom.

Here is a video of a Year 1 class doing a Maths Review: