Les ’low stakes quizzes’
Anne Dailly, professeure au lycée Thuillier d’Amiens, a pu assister à des cours de Mathématiques lors de sa mobilité professionnelle dans le comté de Durham en Angleterre.
Elle nous raconte ici (in English please !) comment se déroule le début de chaque séance, avec un petit test nommé ’low stakes quiz’.
I had the opportunity to observe different mathematics lessons during my stay at Durham and what captured my attention is that each mathematics lesson starts with a low-stakes quiz. Learners have 5 minutes to complete a low-stakes quiz called a Ninja skill check. The quiz includes 30 questions on 3 main areas :
- Mental strategies : questions developing the basics of mental calculation skills (addition, subtraction strategies, time management, ….)
- Time tables : learners need high levels of fluency with time tables to thrive in class.
- Key skills : four operations, negative numbers…
As soon as the pupils sit down, they know they have 5 minutes to answer the quiz. The teacher starts the timer. Silence is immediate. When the bell rings, everybody stops and takes a green pencil to correct the answers projected on the board. The pupils check their answers and mark their skills then the teacher gives feedback so that they can improve. Learners achieve a Ninja score which corresponds to a Ninja belt colour :
The teacher asks the pupils about the colour of the belt they have achieved. He asks them about their progression. He always congratulates and encourages them.
The students have a special notebook where the teacher can put a rubber stamp to congratulate the learners for their work. They are happy to receive their stamp.
