The Folder Experiment

I'm trying something novel alongside my Year 11s this year.

I ended upward inwards a chip of a mess alongside this shape final year. Their practice books overflowed alongside worksheets, inwards fact it got together with then bad that at 1 betoken I was emailed past times a raise complaining most the amount of expose newspaper her boy was carrying around. Some of my students tried difficult to move on things tidy, simply my worksheet habit overwhelmed them together with fifty-fifty the tidiest books buckled nether the pressure.

I know I'm non the alone instructor alongside this problem. Here are closed to of the causes:
1. I don't convey access to textbooks. I role printed resources (often Don Steward together with MathsPad) inwards every lesson... I dearest resources, inwards instance you lot hadn't noticed.
2. I produce travail to display every bit much every bit I tin on the board instead of printing it out (to salve printing budget), simply most of my activities don't move every bit good if non printed out.
3. I used to learn girls - most would plication together with stick their worksheets beautifully (see painting exhibit below). I forthwith learn boys... most aren't together with then bothered most keeping things neat.
4. I'm non specially adept at reminding students to stick sheets inwards during the lesson.

I don't shout out upward that messy books are the worst matter inwards the world, simply I felt that in that place was room for improvement.

Good sticking!

My solution is to laissez passer on a telephone binder to each student. I've ever had my H5N1 degree students role telephone binders simply I've never done it at Key Stage four before.

So far, it's awesome. It's working actually well. I volition explicate hither what I'm doing, together with study dorsum after inwards the twelvemonth on whether it's nevertheless working well.

Worksheets
For each lesson I create 1 double sided A4 sheet which includes a starter, infinite for notes, the master copy classwork practice together with an extension activity. If they withdraw to a greater extent than infinite for notes or classwork, they convey a stack of newspaper at the dorsum of their folder.

The worksheets are forthwith a good established routine. They laissez passer on my lessons a actually clear construction - this fits good alongside my didactics style. With a dedicated infinite for notes together with examples, I'm seeing an improvement inwards their banking concern complaint taking (which was almost non-existent final year).

Revisiting Year 10 topics
My Year 11s convey nine hours of maths a fortnight (last twelvemonth Year eleven alone had six, together with then this is a big improvement). Because I convey immature children I alone move four days a week, pregnant that 1 of their nine lessons is taught by closed to other teacher. In her lessons my students are given a 1 lx minutes Edexcel topic seek out to move through (these tin live downloaded from the Emporium) - these are kept inwards a separate department inwards their folder. So 1 time a fortnight my students are spending an lx minutes doing seek out manner questions on previously taught topics. This is adept training for their upcoming mocks together with allows me to learn on alongside didactics novel content.

Multiple choice quizzes
I wrote here most the multiple choice opened upward mass quizzes that my Year 11s produce every week. I dearest these! There's a department inwards their folder to move on their marked quizzes. When they learn a quiz dorsum they tape their score on a tracking sail together with then they tin easily encounter topics that withdraw to a greater extent than work.

Marking
There's also a department inwards their folders for marked homeworks. This agency that when my Head of Faculty does a mass scrutiny she'll easily encounter the feedback I've given. In previous years my marked move oft ended upward lost inwards a stack of expose sheets, together with then it looked similar I never did whatsoever marking.

I educate 1 assessed homework per fortnight that I grade together with laissez passer on feedback on. This gives me a adept feel of how each educatee is getting on and, along alongside the quizzes, ensures they learn regular feedback. Every other calendar week I educate a self-marking homework. My workload is far besides heavy to grade homework every calendar week for every class.

Admin
My Year 11s convey an 'information' department inwards their folder which includes a topic checklist, topic timeline, progress information together with seek out information.

Considerations
So far I'm loving the switch to telephone binders. It's working actually well. My students' maths notes together with classwork are good structured together with organised. This volition live beneficial when they revise for their GCSEs. Although a few folders are getting a piffling chip messy (eg file dividers falling out), the bulk are inwards actually adept shape. I produce worry that the folders mightiness overflow past times May - mayhap lever arch files would convey worked improve given the mass of move nosotros learn through.

This was a fairly pricey experiment for me (I'm reluctant to pass whatsoever of my ain family's coin on equipment for schoolhouse simply this cost me £40 for folders, file dividers together with paper). One pocket-size setback is that I learn this shape inwards 3 dissimilar classrooms together with most direct to learn out their folders alongside me, which agency I convey to behavior folders betwixt rooms at the halt of the day. Life would live easier (in many respects) if I were based inwards 1 classroom.

Overall my folder experiment is going actually well. I volition study dorsum at the halt of the twelvemonth on whether I'll produce it 1 time again side past times side year!

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