Accelerated learning

Demonstrating achievement

Encourage students to demonstrate their understanding of new knowledge.  This could be in pairs, small groups, or to the whole class.  Encourage students to demonstrate new skills.  Use this as an opportunity to celebrate success � and to encourage further development.  The demonstration can take a variety of forms.

• A student reads out a particularly descriptive paragraph to illustrate good use of adjectives.

• Several students read out poems they have worked on during the lesson.

• A group of students who have worked together summarise their arguments in favour of banning foxhunting.

• The teacher points out that over three-quarters of the class scored full marks in the five-minute quick-questions test.

• A group of students perform their improvised play based on "James and the Giant Peach".

• The teacher pins up several examples of students' finished artwork, explaining how each one fulfils the assessment criteria.

• Working in fours and fives, students discuss what they consider to be the two most important things to remember about the lesson.  A spokesperson from each group puts their case to the rest of the class.

• Four students are selected to demonstrate a complex passing manoeuvre at the end of a basketball lesson.

Such demonstrations also provide the teacher with an opportunity to informally assess whether students have achieved the learning outcomes and to identify areas that require further development.

Although it is not usually possible for every student to demonstrate what they have learned, if this demonstration phase is built into every lesson, over time all students will have opportunity to present to the class.  This will help to:

• promote a success-culture;

• recognise and value diversity of individual student's skills;

• remind every student that they are valued as learners;

• encourage every student to have a positive picture of themselves as learners;

• improve students' confidence levels;

• build students' self-esteem.

Accelerated learning overview

Learning environment - The big picture - Outcomes - Input - Activity - Demonstration - Review