Spiral Reviews Part 1.

 

One of the hardest things to do is to remember to include spiral reviews as part of the classroom routine.  Some books include a small spiral review section but it doesn't always focus on previously learned material. Instead, it focuses on materials learned several grades ago.  A spiral review is defined as giving students problems of topics they have learned for the rest of the year as a way of moving the learning from short term to long term memory. 

I took a professional development class that talked about including spiral review as part of class instruction.  The idea was simply after students have learned the material, you include problems for them to do so they continue practicing the material. In some districts, it is mandated while in other places, some teachers choose to do it.  Fortunately, this class made some practical suggestions to implement it but they didn't tell you when you should no longer focus on certain topics.

If you begin a spiral review at the beginning of the year, it doesn't take long before you have so many concepts and topics that you won't have time to teach a lesson introducing new material.  Since the goal behind spiral reviews is so students have a chance to master the material so it is important to base what you include in the spiral review on data you have gathered.  Data can be used to see what topics students have to master and which ones they've become experts on.  As they master topics, you can switch to asking questions on that topic once a week, or one every couple of weeks.

Since research indicates students are only able to focus for 8 to 10 minutes at a time, it is important to keep the spiral review short if it is done in class.  If you are doing it in class as part of the warm up, ask between 3 and 5 questions so students finish before they lose their focus.  If you place the spiral review in the homework, you'll slip a few questions into the whole assignment so they get practice that way.

It is important to make the spiral review a part of the class routine because the more time we spend on task, the more students learn.  When it is part of the routine, you don't lose time explaining how to do things or transitioning once you've taught students how to do it and when it will be done, it becomes automatic.  If the spiral routine is done correctly, it will only take 3 to 5 minutes of your class time while providing you data so you can determine if they've mastered the skill or they need a bit more instruction.

Sometimes, you might hear folks who talk about spiral reviews and spiral instruction as if they are the same.  They are not. Spiral instruction is when the skills and concepts are broken up and taught across the school year so they are introduced to new facets or components of the topic across the year.  While spiral review refers to give students the opportunity to practice skills they've already learned across the year.  

Spiral reviews are an excellent way to assess what they've mastered and what they still need practice on.  In fact, it can be used to provide the data you need to see where they are so you don't have to wait till the end of the section to find out what they need.

For the best use of spiral reviews, make sure you are indeed have students practice problems of material they've been taught rather than trying to teach them.  Keep the number of questions to between three and five so the review is short and can be done within 5 minutes.  Make it a part of your daily routine so it becomes automatic. 

On Wednesday, I'll discuss ways to do spiral reviews digitally so you don't increase the number of papers you have around and can reach all your students.  Let me know what you think, I"d love to hear.  Have a great day.