How was it used?

The activity was used as a revision activity before an end of unit test having studied the topic – Main Political and Social Challenges, USA 1910-1929.

• Pupils needed knowledge in order to link cause and consequences to the main areas of study in this topic.
• In using the resource I wished to challenge pupils to use prior learning to link various causes and consequences to the main political and social challenges in the USA. I also wished to use a stimulating and challenging activity to engage the pupils, to use prior knowledge to solve problems.
• Pupils were required to find two causes and four consequences for each change. Importantly many of the factors could be relevant to more than one issue but pupils ultimately had to limit their choices.
• This task is especially suited to more able and talented pupils as it encourages reasoning and allows them to debate points of view and creates discussions.
• This was an activity in which the boys were particularly keen to be involved as it allowed pupils to come up to the interactive whiteboard to use the trigger features within the resource to match causes and consequences with challenges. Boys’ participation was also increased as the activity encouraged pupils to work collaboratively. It also meant pupils with special and complex needs were engaged.
• Pupils provided each other with good peer support as it was they who ran the activity.
• At the end of the task pupils were asked to consider what they had learnt and whether a similar activity could be used in revision of other subjects covered.

Impact and Outcomes

• The activity played a significant factor in the development of pupils’ learning, thinking and communication skills. Pupils were able to develop links between cause and consequence and extend understanding of the topic studied. Performance in the end of unit test led to improvement compared to previous results.
• The use of more engaging visual resources and the use of the interactive resources encouraged greater participation of the boys in the class, especially since they could come up to the interactive board. Pupils with special and complex needs were also more actively engaged.
• The work contributes to the development of critical thinking skills as they need to support points made.
• The use of the activity resulted in improved concentration and engagement for pupils and thus led to the development of thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Pupils listened more attentively to their peers as co-operation and support was encouraged when pupils were engaged with interactive whiteboard activities. Pupils showed greater respect for others and were willing to wait their turn in answering questions knowing their opinion would be sought.
• Independent learning was encouraged as pupils were able work collaboratively without the involvement of the class teacher.
• More able and talented pupils were given the opportunity to develop lines of thinking and to present their ideas through verbal communication.
• The activity did not need to be adapted and could be used as it was but could be added to any existing PowerPoint presentation. The functionality was also straightforward which meant it was easy for pupils to use.

Learner feedback

“At the end of this I was clearer about the causes and consequences of changes in the USA and was able to use this information in the test we did. I could see how this activity could be useful before the summer exams.”

Lesson Learnt

Pupils should lead the activity and they should be encouraged to involve as many pupils as possible. An internet based random name activity could be good.

The activity could easily be adapted to create a revision resource for other areas of the GCSE syllabus.