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High level essay and exam Qs (Part I) – What they are and why they’re so TOUGH!

What do you get if you cross the most dreaded type of exam Q with the one type of Q that’s almost always worth the most marks?

Nope, that was not the start of a joke – I’m useless at telling jokes.
And that would be a pretty dull joke, right?

I’m talking about a real combo that crops up in exams way too often for many students.

Here’s what it is and why these Qs are so dang tough!

(Just a heads up: There’s a lot I want to cover on this, so this is part one of two videos I’m going to do on this – so be sure to look out for the second one next week!)

For most students – or at least those who haven’t been through my exam technique training 😉
– this isn’t a good combo.

Because, who wants a situation where the one type of Q you don’t feel confident in,
the one type of Q you DON’T want to come up,
not only does actually crop up (pretty commonly) but also is worth a BIG chunk of marks on the paper.

And I can tell you, I was pretty clueless on how exactly to respond to these Qs when I was a student too.

You might’ve guessed what I’m talking about, because I’ve talked about these Qs before.
They’re right at the top of the pyramid of Bloom’s Taxonomy and Marzano’s Taxonomy.
They are the evaluation level Qs.

Go and check out my Blog entitled ‘Look out – these Qs are super common’ if you’d like to hear more about where and just how much they’re cropping up across all subjects right now.

 

But today, I want to explain WHY these Qs are so tough.

 

It’s not just because this is a command at the top end of cognitive processing.
Although that is the case and does in itself make these common high end exam Qs a challenge.

 

But, in the eyes of students, it’s because the wording of them just sounds so open or vague.

Or at least they do on first appearances OR if you don’t have a specific strategy and proven structure to tackle them.

These are the questions that just give a statement and then say –  ‘discuss’.
Just that word, ‘discuss’, sends students into waffle mode, or worse, total mind-blank.

 

These are also the Qs that start with the words: ‘To what extent’… or ‘Assess’…

They may even have the word evaluate in them, like ‘Evaluate the success of’….

 

So students struggle for two main reasons – and over this and my next blog, I’m going to give you the reasons AND solutions to these struggles, so stick with me 🙂

 

Firstly:
Students aren’t clear on how to identify an evaluate level command in the first place.

They need the training in identifying and making sense of commands and cognitive verbs and the different ways they can be expressed.
One way they can do this is to research Bloom’s taxonomy and then find heaps of example Qs and fit them to each level.
Or, an easier way is to go through Catapults 6 and 7 in my 10 Week Grade Transformation Program 😉

 

And secondly, even when they figure out that they’re looking at an evaluation level Q, they don’t have a clear strategy to tackle it or a structure to follow in their response.

So, the first thing they need to know is that any evaluation Q or task requires them to make a judgement.

Think about it, look at plenty of examples, and you’ll see this is true for any type of evaluation.

EXAMPLES:

A science evaluation means your teen’s judging how well the experiment went – was their data read or measured accurately, was the methodology correctly carried out, are their results reliable?

Or if they’re evaluating a product in Design Tech– they’re judging how well that product meets the needs and demands of the target audience, how well it meets the specifications.

And to evaluate in the arts subjects, they are judging how well an author  or message to the reader for a novel, or artist conveys a certain mood.
Or they’re judging how important a particular leader was in shaping events in History, or judging how effective a particular film technique is in making a documentary appealing or striking to an audience.

 

Be sure to catch Part 2 of this info in how to deal with those high level Evaluation essays and exam Qs in my next video next week where I’ll give you the EXACT words that’ll help ANY student make sense of these Qs, know exactly what they’re really asking AND be able to structure a response accordingly.

In the mean time, I explain ALL of this and give even more examples and full response templates for all subjects in Catapult 10 of my 10 Week Grade Transformation Program which builds on the Command Words training in the earlier modules and goes into this particular command in detail.
Plus we’ll be diving deep into evaluation level Qs in the  Exam Mastery Workshop.

Can’t wait to see your teen in one of those trainings very soon!

Until next week, let’s make this a fantastic week.

Katie 🙂

 

 

 

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Do *THIS* after every assessment

There’s one thing that every student should do after every exam paper they sit, essay they write or assignment they complete.

Now I warn you, it’s not glamorous, and sometimes it can actually be downright depressing.
But it’s something that the best students do and it’s something that I still see so many students NOT doing.

And that means they’re missing out on a huge practical and very specific learning opportunity that they can apply in their future assessments.

This one thing is reviewing and dissecting IN DETAIL the feedback (not just the grade) they get when it’s handed back and compare it to the marking guide.

So let me back track a little on everything I just said and break it all down.

 

Firstly, here’s why so many students don’t do it.

Reason Number one – they don’t see the point.

If they got a good result then they’re happy and they just wanna bask in the glory for a little while. They don’t see the need to go back with a fine toothed comb because they think ‘I did well, so I don’t need to’.
Of course the whole point in this case, is we want to identify WHY they did well, so they can replicate that in future.
Plus, we still want to identify any areas where there COULD still be improvement, because of course, what gets an A or a B in one year group, won’t still get that grade in the next.

 

Reason Number two – they got a disappointing or not so great result, and they just don’t wanna dwell on it.

I get it.
Why would we wanna spend even more time and effort on something we’ve already given quite a bit of that to, to then focus in on those things that are the reason we got that poor result?
It’s rubbing salt into the wound!

But of course, that’s exactly what we need to do.
It’s one of the key ways we can ensure we improve on it next time.
That’s what I meant by it can be a bit painful or depressing, but students have to focus on the positives of this exercise – of how, if they’d changed that, or left that out, or added in this instead then it would’ve achieved this criteria because…

Which leads us to…


Reason number 3 – they don’t know HOW to review and dissect their work.

Maybe they don’t REALLY understand what the teacher means in the feedback.
Or they know what it means, but don’t know how they’d act on it.
For example, I had a great email and video discussion with a parent and student recently where they’d had multiple teachers say things along the lines of – “she needs to expand her writing” and they were like: Okay – how do I do that?
And what does that really mean?
So I had to (and loved to!) explain exactly what that meant and precisely HOW it could be done.

Also in this third reason (they don’t know how to review and dissect strategically) is the situation where perhaps there is very little teacher feedback.
Or, just as frustrating – they’re not allowed to keep their work to be able to review it.
In these cases, your teen needs to be extra pro-active and ask the teacher to sit with them for 10 mins and review it with them.

 

So, yes – there are a lot of reasons that students are put off or struggle to do this.

But because it’s using specific questions and their own written answers, it’s not just trying to grapple with general ideas or advice, so it’s a fantastic way to stop making the same mistakes over again, and be able to level-up their future answers and responses in future.

 

If you’d like me to help your teen dissect an essay or assignment or exam question they’ve had returned, then feel free to send it through to me 🙂

Yes, really!
If they’re in any of my memberships or trainings, then I’ll be able to work on it with them, and even if they’re not, then I might just be able to use it as a case study exemplar for others, and if so, would love to review it with them 🙂

 

Now, until next week, let’s make this a fantastic week!

 

Katie 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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3 steps to make writing ANALYTICAL (and avoid the waffle!)

I got some great feedback on last week’s video – what to do when the teacher says “expand your writing”.
So I thought I’d go deeper on this topic as I know this is the time of the term where a lot of essays and assignments are being doled out!

Because there’s one thing I constantly see students struggle with when it comes to high quality essays. It’s not so much about their writing in itself, it’s about one specific element that’s required in every essay in Year 10 and above (and I’ve even seen a Year 8 essay require this too, just this week! Yikes!).

So, this week I’m gonna explain what the struggle is AND share the exact 3 step solution I use with my students.

 

 

First up, how do you know if it’s actually an issue for your teen?

Well, if they’ve ever had feedback or comments like “more analysis needed” OR “now link this to the title” or ‘to the question’,
then likely they’re struggling with this skill.

Or, if they tend to slip into #wafflemode with their essays, then this is definitely an issue too!

So here’s what it is…

It’s the analysis element of writing.

It’s required in all essays that require a discussion of an issue or the purpose of something. Even if the title of the essay doesn’t actually include the word ANALYSE.

 

So, this could be essay titles like
‘Analyse how the author creates a sense of mystery in the poem’
OR
‘Explain how ‘such and such a legal reform’ tries to achieve justice in Australian Society’
OR
‘Evaluate the effectiveness of ‘Person X’ as a leader during ‘period Y’’

 

What’s required in every case, is to:

– name a supporting example or quote or piece of evidence
and then

– explain WHY or HOW it is relevant,
and then,

(here’s the final part that most students either forget to do or don’t realise they need to do)

– they must to go on to elaborate on the IMPACT
(for example on the reader of the poem, the audience watching the play or documentary, or the relevant society or even better, different types of people or groups in that society).

 

If they don’t do that final step, then they’re simply giving an example and explanation. NOT an analysis.

 

So here are my 3 clear steps to actually ANALYSING:

 

ONE — State the example or quote or evidence

TWO – Explain the effect of or reason for it

And

THREE – Explain HOW that impacts the relevant people in relation to the title.

For example, with that poem one I just made up – HOW or WHY does that literary device make the reader feel ‘suspense’? Perhaps it brings a sense of fear or evokes the emotion of concern or wondering what will happen next. (By the way, this is where synonyms come in handy!).

 

Often this third step gets left off, not because the student doesn’t know what the effect or impact is, but they just didn’t realise that’s what’s needed for analysis.

Many students just think an analysis is an extended explanation.
It’s not.
It’s the step that LINKS the explanation to the key focus of the essay.
It’s like closing the loop 🙂

 

I hope that helps clear up what ANALYSE really means and, more importantly, gives you the HOW to have your teen conquer that element in any future essay.

Let me know in the comments 🙂

And you know what?…  I’m sure there’s a ton of students and parents out there who could use these 3 steps  – so please forward the weblink to this blog
or (for extra digi-love) 😉
share it on Facebook.
Okay! Let’s do this – Let’s make this a fantastic week!

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‘Expand your writing’ – Here’s how!

Has your teen ever had comments like ‘extend your points’

or ‘expand your writing’

or ‘more explanation needed’

on their work?

What about something like ‘give more detail’?

Have they ever struggled with those analytical tasks, like essays or expositions or inquiries? Ending up waffling around one point, rather than going deeper.

Well, I’ve got a simple way for them to respond to those situations and up the quality AND detail in their writing.

 

There are a LOT of different tasks and assignments these days where students have to provide extended explanations and be able give detail by linking points together.
And I know that many find it hard to know HOW to actually make or explain those links, or go into detail on issues or case studies without ending up going round in circles, repeating themselves or ending up in the ‘waffle zone’.

 

So, here’s what I get students to do.

Simply ask at the end of a statement or after an explanation or key point:

‘So What?’

 

In other words:

Why is that significant?

What does that or did that, lead to?

Who or what was impacted?

In what way?

And then…
What did that next point then mean?

i.e. Ask ‘So what?’ AGAIN!

What was the knock-on or secondary effect, or what were the impacts of that next point, that next event or linked fact?

 

Let’s use a quick example.

Take the case study of the Haiti earthquake in 2010.

We’ve got the basic facts, the simple descriptive statements, like:

– it measured 7.0 on the Richter scale,

– Haiti is a less economically developed country located in the Caribbean.

But let’s now  ask ‘so what?‘ after each of those.

This is where we get into the effects and the detail.

For example…
SO, as a result of the 7.0 earthquake over 180,000 homes were destroyed.

Okay, now ask again, so what?…
SO, this left around 1 and a half million people homeless.

So what?…

These homeless people were accommodated in over 1100 squalid camps with limited services such as water and sanitation.

So what?…
Well, now we can bring in the other statement of fact – that Haiti is an LEDC (less economically developed country).
So… because of poor facilities and sanitation, disease became a huge problem, for example Cholera claimed the lives of several hundred people mainly children.

Do you see how we’re now not only extending our explanations of the impacts, but also interlinking the facts and information we started out with.

All by asking ‘SO WHAT?’ at the end of each point.

 

Have your teen give this a go, with particular focus on seeing if, in those extended explanations, they can also connect different factors or pieces of research.

Because it’s those interlinkages that really show a higher level of analysis and explanation 🙂

And if you know this will be useful for your teen then go ahead and give this a like (on FB) or a thumbs up (on YouTube, and if you know anyone else who could benefit from this tip, then please go ahead and share it with them, and until next week, let’s make this a fantastic week.

Katie

 

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Caveman Brain sabotages student results!

Have you ever had that thing where you’re walking down some stairs and you think there’s another step but there isn’t and you kinda get a bit of a jolt and a shock?

It’s the same reason why students sometimes mis-read a question, or mis-interpret an essay title or the focus of an inquiry project.

Let me explain what’s going on and what we can do about this ‘caveman’ (or cavewoman!) brain of ours.

(Yep, we allllll have one!)

Our brains are always trying to predict the future.
We’re programmed that way as a survival technique.
Historically we needed to pre-empt any danger in order to avoid it and to work out where our next meal was coming from.

So our brains still do the same thing today but of course instead of this instinct focusing on danger or food for survival, they do it for the things that help us survive each day as a modern-day student.
Like surviving that Maths exam.
Or getting through that English essay unscathed!

 

Our brains look for and try to create patterns or systems of recognition.

So for anything that looks similar in any way to something we’ve seen or practiced before, our brain will apply that previous experience to that new situation.
It want us to be able to quickly make sense of it.

 

But when it comes to exams and assessments, this can be detrimental if students aren’t ready and able to dissect the wording with fresh ‘non-caveman’ eyes so to speak.

 

Because if they’ve done practice questions in revision, or written an essay in class on a specific topic, then chances are, when they see a similar question in the real exam, or an essay on the same topic, even if any of these are worded differently, their brains will naturally try to make this new question or title fit the previous one.

To be able to continue a pattern or to make something NEW, more FAMILIAR.

To keep things SAFE.

 

But the danger of this of course is that students may then interpret the question incorrectly or even misread it altogether.
Or they may miss the real focus of the essay title and although they’ll write accurately about the topic, they won’t necessarily have the appropriate level of discussion or structure to their writing.

This is one reason why students sometimes have that experience of feeling like they’ve written a great response, but the result isn’t what they hoped for.

Now of course, this isn’t to say that students shouldn’t practice example or past exam questions.
That is a GREAT way to revise and prep for exams 🙂
And it certainly isn’t an excuse that’s gonna get them out of writing that English essay either!
But it IS a reason why students need to learn and practice and hone their skills in dissecting every exam question for the specific command and demand of that question AND become really skilled in things like identifying the topic and focus of any essay title or question.

So that they don’t fall into that pattern of recognition and prediction that our ‘caveman brains’ have so cleverly designed for us, but in this case, unfortunately doesn’t necessarily work so well for us.

This skill of dissecting the question, identifying command words and know exactly how to respond to them is just one of the 3 key secrets I’m revealing in my online Term 1 Parent Information Event. So if you’d like to grab the essential insider dissection skills for your teen, then be sure to >register for it for free<.
TIP! – This Term 1 Event is for one week only, and spaces at each session are limited, so be sure to register now.

 

Let me know in the comments…
Have you ever read something, and read what you THOUGHT it said or was going to say, only to realise you made a mistake?
Has your teen ever mis-read an exam question?
If this situation resonates with you or your teen, then please share this blog post with other parents and students AND go register for the Term 1 info event!

And until next week, let’s make this a fantastic ‘Term 1 Event Week’!.

Katie 🙂

 

 

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Why this student dropped from a B to a D grade

Student true story time.

This Year 12 student had worked for hours and hours (and hours) preparing, drafting and perfecting the short story creative task they’d been set in Y12 English.

They submitted their story and they got a B grade.

The next week, they sat their exam, which covered the exact same task and content.

(Don’t get me started on this type of assessment – I’ll save that for another time! But as you can probably tell I’m not a fan – for a variety of reasons).

Anyway, they did what they thought was a good job.

BUT. Cue results…

They got… a D.

Whaaaat?!

(That’s what they were asking too).

But there WAS a clear reason.

This week, I’m explaining why this happened and exactly what we did to turn things around.

 

This Year 12 student had worked for hours and hours (and hours) preparing, drafting and perfecting the short story creative task they’d been set in Y12 English.

Because this was in preparation for real assessment of writing the short story under exam conditions, they’d been given the scaffold and all the requirements of what had to go in there. So that stage of practice and preparation and prpducing their narrative had mainly been about coming up with a good story line and then making sure all the specified elements were there and worked well together.

 

They submitted their story they’d worked on in class and for homework and the teacher marked it and they got a B grade.
They were pretty happy with that as creative writing was not one their natural strengths or something they particularly enjoyed. In fact, it was something they struggled with and would rather do the dishes every night for a month than have to come up with and write a story!

 

Anyhow, the next week, they sat the exam, where they had to write that story in exam conditions.

(Don’t get me started on this type of assessment – I’ll save that for another time! But as you can probably tell I’m not a fan – for a variety of reasons).

Anyway, they did what they thought was a good job. Of course they didn’t remember everything word for word. They left a couple of things out that they forgot, and changed or adapted a couple of parts , but they were confident they’d do pretty well.

 

Cue results and they got… a D.
As you can imagine they were pretty disappointed, but more than that, they were confused and disheartened. They didn’t understand why their mark had dropped so much.

 

They’d re-told the same story. It had the same beginning, middle and end. They’d got the same characters and setting.

 

So, I offered to take a look.

From the first reading I could see why they’d got a D.

 

And I knew the likely reason and situation that had led to this.

Because I’ve seen it so many times in different subjects and different types of tasks.

 

The reason they’d got a much lower mark was because the little bits that they’d missed out or forgotten to include, were the elements that were going to earn them marks!

 

In this case it was the specific literary techniques.

Things like using metaphors, onomatopoeia and imagery in their writing.

Using emotive language.

Also, the more mechanical elements, like including direct speech and formatting that correctly with accurate punctuation and line breaks.

And having a variety of sentence structures that enhance the events in the story at particular moments.

 

In other words they HADN’T REALISED WHICH WERE THE MOST IMPORTANT bits in their writing.

This student wasn’t clear on what was actually going to earn them marks in the exam.

 

And they didn’t know that the word-y syllabus criteria – that are so often an additional task in themselves to decipher and de-code – meant that these super-specific items are the things that markers are looking for.

 

They, like most students, thought it was more about the storyline, the events and the characters.

 

And that would make sense, right?
The task is to write a short story. So you’d be forgiven for thinking that the marking criteria would be centred around your storyline, setting, events and characters.

It’s not.

And the more students I can help to realise this, the more students are going to focus on the elements and techniques WITHIN the story, rather than the story itself.

 

You can get a better mark with great techniques but poor story, than with a great storyline but no techniques that the marker can tick off the checklist.

Which was what this Y12 student had ended up with in their exam. A great story that had virtually no specific literary techniques.

 

But this is ACTUALLY a true story with a happy ending. Because of course the good news is that armed with that checklist and then and run with it in their finals.

AND by sharing this story, I’m hoping that more students can live happily ever after in each and every creative writing or narrative task they do from now on.

Until next week, let’s make this a fantastic week.

Yours,

Katie 🙂

 

 

 

 

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Building lego without the instructions

Ever tried putting together flat-pack furniture without using the instructions?

Nope – me neither – partly because I’ve heard too many horror stories, and partly because I’m too much of a ‘follow the rules’ type-a-gal for that ?

But I do remember as a kid challenging myself to put together a lego-model without the instructions, just the pic on the box.

(Must’ve been having a rebellious moment, or just extremely bored on a wet English afternoon. Most likely the latter)*

Did I manage it?…

 

 

It was a pirate ship and me and my sister had made it plenty of times before, WITH the step-by-step instructions.

And how did this ‘no instructions’ version of said pirate ship work out?

Well I did it.

Eventually.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was pretty good. Let’s say it was a B grade pirate ship.

But it also took a lot longer of course.

A few false starts and quite a few episodes of taking bits apart and re-doing sections where I’d used a part I then realised I needed somewhere else.

Just like when students try to write an essay or complete an assignment without a clear set of steps, a template, a checklist or a clear plan to help them move step by step towards a clear end result.

 

In fact I see many students fumbling their way through an extended task, with no real idea of what they’re even aiming for, what it should do or say or look like at the end.

They’re working without even having the picture of the pirate ship from the box!

Let alone having any instructions for all the pieces.

 

So to take this a step further – let’s call the picture of the finished model, the ‘Model Response’ (geddit) 😉

Or the A-grade exemplar.

Sometimes students will be shown a model response for a similar task or question

and in exams, these are printed in the retrospectives and marking guides.

 

And they can be reeeeally helpful, for sure.

Just like putting together the pirate ship was a hell of a lot easier with the picture to look at.

 

BUT –

(yep, there’s always a ‘but’, right?!) 

Being given a model response isn’t enough if students are going to be able to work confidently and efficiently on their own task.

Because they don’t necessarily know WHY that’s an A-grade response, or what process the other student went through to create it, or what elements in there specifically make it an A-grade response.

 

That’s why they need to be clear on all the components AND the ways they’re put together AND how to do that for themselves.

 

That’s why I’m such a fan of giving students resources and trainings that are what I call ‘universal’.

Not spoon-fed ‘fill in the gaps’ type scaffolds that can only be applied to one particular task , but proven systems or blueprints if you like, that can be applied to a particular type of task across all different subjects and topics.

Like:

A checklist and system that can be used to proofread any piece of writing effectively.

Or:

A template that can be used to construct a response to any type of evaluation level essay.

And:

Proven steps to brainstorming and then selecting an A-grade idea or topic for an open-ended task.

 

So that they’re not just haphazardly trying to piece together whatever knowledge they have and aren’t having to re-do or re-draft or edit multiple times before they come out with a great pirate ship.

Sorry, I mean great essay/assignment 😉

 

Let me know your thoughts on this!

Does your teen love steps and clear instructions?

Or perhaps they’re the more creative type who is capable of crafting a ship that’s even better than the box cover (not me at all by the way. I’m not the creative type, but I play to my strengths – structure and systems)!

Whatever your feedback, let me know in the comments below.

Let’s make this a fantastic week.

Katie 🙂

*Definitely the latter. Rebel was not in my vocabulary. Still isn’t to be honest. Unless you count the time last week I jumped the take-out queue at a coffee kiosk. I’d never been to it before and I hadn’t realised there was a queue the other side… til I was stood waiting for my cuppa and saw the four people around the other end of the counter – oops!  So I guess even that doesn’t count, and I’m good with that ?

 

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Use this Little-Known Resource for Researching and Referencing

Many students struggle at times with researching, finding valid sources (i.e. NOT Wikipedia) and referencing.

Yet one of the best resources for this very task is in schools and just waiting to help!

The problem is that few students even realise this ‘resource’ is there or on offer, and even fewer use them.

Here’s a message I got from a Y10 student back in the middle of Term 4.

She said:

“Hi Katie, I’m trying to do research for my science assignment and I’m really struggling to find good resources. I’ve found a bit of info about the different compounds in laundry detergents but it’s not very scientific and I can find hardly anything on the effects of how it pollutes the rivers and water. I’ve used Google Scholar like you said, but I’m not sure about how to find any journals like you suggested in school. Do you have any other advice?”

I replied to Eliza at the time and she took my advice, and I’m going to share with you in just a moment exactly what I told her to do.

Because she emailed me again a couple of weeks ago to tell me her assignment result and how happy she was with it…  aaaannnd how brilliant that piece of advice was and how well it worked for her.

#happydance

 

So, this wasn’t something I specifically ended up helping her with – which is awesome news because that means ANY student can go do this 🙂

(And I know from experience that there are a lot of students out there who struggle with this, hence this blog video).

 

So, here’s the I advice I gave Eliza, and what any student can do to get extra help with their researching and referencing:

Go see the school’s Teacher-Librarian.

In my experience, they are one of the most under-used ‘resources’ (people!) in schools.

In most cases they are a qualified teacher and qualified librarian who therefore just loves helping students find info whilst also having a knowledge of how assignments and assessments work.

Perfect Combo!

*spreading fingers of both hands and inter-locking them together*

 

What’s more, because they work in the library, chances are they spend most of their time, with books and a lot of jobs that involve managing new orders, organising and admin.

Which is all good, but isn’t necessarily using all their skills and experience.

Which meeeeeans that when an actual real student – and a keen student at that – comes up to them asking for their expertise and assistance in the things they absolutely love to talk about and teach and work on, then chances are they’ll go all out to help them!

In fact – don’t tell them I said this and don’t get your hopes up too much, but I’ve even seen it happen where the teacher-librarian almost sits and does it all for the student, because they got so into it all. Not that that’s a totally perfect situation of course, but the student I saw this happen to, did thankfully sit and watch and listen avidly, following along with them so they could definitely do it themselves again next time.

 

But anyway, my point is, these staff are skilled in the exact thing students are struggling with and can’t wait to share everything and help those who ask for it.

So be sure to have your teen give this a go next time they have to research for an assignment or inquiry, and let me know how it goes when the time comes 🙂

 

Yours,

Katie

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How to come up with ideas (when you’re not naturally creative!)

If you didn’t already know…

I’m definitely *not* naturally creative.

I’m don’t like open-ended tasks.

But they come up often for students (and for me too in my first ever teaching interview!)

So, now I LOVE training non-creative students (like me!) to BECOME creative using the beauty of non-creative, hard and fast, checklists, steps and systems!

 

I’m not naturally great with open-ended tasks or any writing where you have to be imaginative.

(My husband always says I have zero-imagination! He’s quite into movies and I’m just like – well *that* wouldn’t happen).

So imagine my horror, when in my invitation to interview for my first ever teaching job I was asked to prepare to teach:

– a Geography lesson to a class of Year 9’s (no problem)

– that would be observed by the principle (bit nerve-wracking, but again, no problem –  this is what all teaching interviews involve back in the UK).

 

So. Teach a Y9 Geography lesson on the topic of…

ANY-thing!!!!

Whaaaatttt!!!!?!

 

I was like, come-on!

Please, give me something to go on!

 

Maybe they thought they were being kind, but for me, that was the worst possible type of lesson to plan.

I honestly would’ve preferred them to tell me to teach an interesting lesson about watching paint dry.

That would’ve felt like less of a challenge, because at least I’d have had somewhere to start with that. Some guidelines.

 

Because I like direction and instructions and steps.
(You’ve got that by now, right?!) 😉

 

And that’s why, over time, I’ve found ways to make the open >>>> structured.

The fuzzy >>>> clear.

And devised strategies to transform the downright confusing into steps, checklists and templates.
(Ahhhh. Those words are music to my ears)?

 

For a long time, this was just to help me get to grips with certain tasks or concepts myself.

But over time I’ve realised that it’s actually super-helpful to any teens whose brains work (even a little bit!) similarly to mine.

And here’s what I’ve found:

Often it’s best to start at the end and work backwards.

 

And for that, students need to start at the marking criteria and break down, in detail, exactly what the marker is going to be looking for in their work BEFORE they pick their topic or decide on their choice of – whatever options they can choose from!

 

Here’s an example:

If it’s a type of narrative, like a short story perhaps, then when students go through the mark scheme, they’ll realise that their marks and grades are less about the actual story or characters and more about their ability to use a variety of sophisticated literary devices, like imagery and symbolism for example.

So a setting or character that allows them to use plenty of those will be beneficial. Perhaps the story needs to involve some sort of theme or message that comes through and therefore they need to think about making that weave through the plot and/or characters.

 

And that brings us nicely then to the planning. They don’t want to be planning from the point of “hmmm, I wonder what’s going to happen in my story?”, but from the point of,

“OKAY – what sort of story will easily allow me to incorporate a variety of writing techniques like personification, metaphor, alliteration?”

“What sort of character would allow me to give some really interesting and detailed descriptions?”

“What sort of setting would I be able to adapt my writing to in terms of style and vocab?” – like using tech-y words for sci-fi, or lots of extravagant details for a romance.

 

And then they can start to consider what their story could be about.

Plus, now they also have a kind of checklist to work with.
Bonus! (Yay! A checklist!)

 

 

So really, it’s not about pondering on the main task,

like,

“Ooooh, what country should I investigate for my geography project?”

or

“Hmmm, what historical leader should I choose for my inquiry?”
or…

“What on EARTH should I write a story about?!”

 

Students need to figure out what needs to be in the finished product and then, asking themselves ‘What topic will give me the easiest AND most effective way to produce that?’

Or

‘What will give me the most and highest quality opportunities to convey those skills?’.

 

This is what I call the science behind creativity.

 

And it’s not *just* for students who aren’t particularly creative.

For those students who ARE the creative types, then it’ll provide them with that trusty checklist to see which of their wonderful and creative ideas is going to serve them best when it comes to the marking of their work.

#win-win

🙂

Let me know – is your teen naturally creative?

Have they ever struggled to come up with great ideas? (And if so, could this help them?).
I’d love your feedback! 🙂
Scroll down leave me a comment, give this post a ‘like’ or, just as useful – tell me what you didn’t like, or what else you’d like to hear about 🙂

Also, I’d really appreciate it (and so would they!) if you share this with anyone else who’d find it useful.

 

Until next week, let’s make this a fantastic week!
Katie 🙂

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