Teachers from Collège Sainte-Anne share their winning strategies to support their so-called “weak third” students, without lowering their expectations of others. Today, we are discovering a strategy adopted by Daniel Nadeau, physics teacher.
through Jean Desjardins and Isabelle Senécal, Sainte-Anne College
What happens to students when the teacher of such a demanding subject as physics decides to incorporate continuous assessment and automated feedback into his or her teaching? This is what Daniel Nadeau has been doing since last year (2014-2015). Indeed, thanks to his great knowledge of the Moodle environment, he has succeeded in creating a system of continuous evaluation of problems with random variables, offering immediate feedback.
The principles of the strategy:
- The division of the subject to structure its teaching around the specific difficulties encountered by the pupils.
- Continuous assessment to diagnose difficulties during learning.
- Problems to be solved, the difficulty of which is increasing.
- Random modification of variables in problems, which are therefore always new, to give pupils the possibility of collaborating and helping each other.
- Instant feedback to the student.
- Regulation of education based on data collected from students' learning.
Added value for the weak third:
- Reduced stress on summary exams.
- Allows formative feedback as you learn.
- Possibility of further reinvestment if feedback is prompt.
- Students regularly experience small victories, build their sense of competence and are therefore more motivated.