Concrete Example - Teaching Bearings (2)

A second example of applying Unstoppable Learning to teaching bearings

Podcast is AI generated, and will make mistakes. Interactive transcript available in the podcast post.

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Earlier this week we took one look at how Unstoppable Learning can be interpreted to teach what we mean by ‘a bearing.’

Concrete Example - Teaching Bearings (1)

We now have a second example, gifted to use by Matt Dryden and Erin Thomson, at Lasswade High School, in Scotland.

This is especially interesting since Matt and Erin offered four alternative presentations, and were discussing between each other which of the three they thought might work best.

Full PDF here. Read the images below ‘row by row;’ left, right, left right…

All four options are structured NPPPN.

Each time, the sequence is the same. What they were really wrestling was how to guard against transient information effect - the risk that learners will forget what they were shown in the past, and so fail to see the pattern.

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

Option 4

It’s an interesting case because Lasswade is around 7 weeks into our Transformation Programme, so they were no longer concerned about getting the design of the sequence right. They had moved on to thinking more about how students would interact with the physical presentation of the sequence, live in the moment.

Matt then sent across a few more topics or consideration:

Should we keep the arrow or not?

Here are three cases of the same angle, measured explicitly with and without the arrow on the angle marker:

The arrow seems to confuse things, since all three of the above measure the same angle, so should we get rid of the arrow on the angle marker to avoid confusion between the three? Should we just stick to diagrams like number (3) above?

Next, what about bearings greater than 360, equal to 360, and equal to 000?

The instructional sequence shared at the start doesn’t seem to address this. Based on what had been communicated, students would be right to call (4) and (5) a bearing, but by definition, they are not.

Finally, might it be easier to start by introducing bearings as a three-digit angle?

So 30º is not a bearing but 030º is.

From here we’ll look at each of these questions:

1. Is there any way their instructional sequence could be improved?

2. Which presentation would we recommend, from the four options?

3. Should they retain or remove the arrowhead on the angle marker?

4. What should they do about bearings ≥ 360º, or = 000º?

5. Might it be better to start by introducing the numbering format instead?