Miss Norledge's Storeroom
  • Home
  • Resources by Topic
    • Number and Proportion
    • Algebra
    • Shape
  • Blog
    • Summer Blog Challenge
    • Staffrm 29 Days of Writing (2016)
    • Maths with Zoombinis
  • My resources
    • Downloads >
      • Mix Match
      • Rally Coach
      • Pass the Problem
    • Request a password
  • Links
    • Teaching blogs and resources
    • Web tools and apps
    • Exams and assessment
  • Privacy Policy
  • Home
  • Resources by Topic
    • Number and Proportion
    • Algebra
    • Shape
  • Blog
    • Summer Blog Challenge
    • Staffrm 29 Days of Writing (2016)
    • Maths with Zoombinis
  • My resources
    • Downloads >
      • Mix Match
      • Rally Coach
      • Pass the Problem
    • Request a password
  • Links
    • Teaching blogs and resources
    • Web tools and apps
    • Exams and assessment
  • Privacy Policy

             

  

Rally Coach

29/1/2015

 
During my NQT year, I worked at a school that was big on cooperative learning and using Kagan structures. I confess, I was never a huge fan - all the jazzy names got a bit complicated and all seemed to have the words "Round" or "Robin" in them. Interestingly, that fad seems to have fallen by the wayside now - I've not heard anyone talk about it for a while, in UK schools at least.

However...I love Rally Coach. I've not touched many of the other cooperative learning strategies for a good few years, but I still use this one. It's a fantastic way to jazz up those "do 10 questions to remind you about last lesson" starters. 

Students work in pairs. They choose who is A and who is B, and are given a set of problems to do. For any pesky groups of 3, two As and one B works fine.
Rally Coach example | NorledgeMaths
A template for Rally Coach problems (Image: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tennis_racket_and_ball.JPG, GNU Creative Commons license, author unknown)
Student A tackles their first problem, while B watches and either praises if the question is done correctly or coaches if A gets stuck. Once A has done their first problem, students switch roles and B does their first question while A praises/coaches as necessary. Students continue to alternate in this way through the problems until they have finished. 

Depending on how organised I am, I either put the problems on the board, or create a worksheet. I much prefer the latter as it has two major benefits:
  1. I've found that giving one worksheet between two means that students actually do the activity properly, rather than just rushing to answer their set of questions - as they are sharing the same sheet, they can't do the problems simultaneously (although I have seen one pair of students try and fail hilariously).
  2. Students can tear the worksheet in half at the end of the activity and keep their problems; particularly useful if they have corrected or written on each other's work!
However, we all have photocopying bills and a finite amount of time. The activity works adequately on a board or even with problems from a textbook.
Rally Coach worksheet example | NorledgeMaths
Example worksheet for a Rally Coach activity
The emphasis is on peer coaching and using independent learning skills (e.g. prior knowledge or notes from previous lessons). It takes a bit of training to get them doing this properly, but it's worth doing. The first few times I run a rally coach with a new class, I get them asking me straight away rather than each other - I just refuse to answer until they get the message! Once we've done it a few times, I tell students to put deliberate mistakes in if they think their partner isn't fully engaged and listening to what they're saying.


Comments are closed.

    Categories

    All
    #29daysofwriting
    A Level
    Algebra
    Algebra Tiles
    Area
    Assessment
    Bar Model
    Bar Modelling
    Books
    Celebration Of Maths 2015
    Challenge
    Circles
    CPD
    Cuisenaire Rods
    Data
    Decimals
    Displays
    Enrichment
    Equations
    Events
    Feedback
    Formulae
    Four Operations
    Fractions
    Functional Maths
    Gcse 2015
    GCSE Past Papers
    GCSE Revision
    Graphs
    Group Work
    HCF And LCM
    History Of Maths
    Intervention
    Investigation
    Lesson
    Lesson Ideas
    Literacy
    Lotw
    Loving Maths
    Manipulatives
    Marking
    Mastery
    #mathsconf
    #mathsconf2015
    #mathsconf4
    Maths In Pictures
    Multiplication
    Musings
    Negative Numbers
    News
    Numeracy Across Curriculum
    Parenthood
    Percentages
    Pick Of Twitter
    Pie Charts
    Primes
    Probability
    Problem Solving
    Proportion Problems
    Puzzles
    Pythagoras
    Quadratics
    Quadratic Sequences
    Ratio Tables
    Real Life Graphs
    Reflection
    Resources
    Revision
    Rounding
    Schemes Of Work
    Simultaneous Equations
    Square Numbers
    Stationery
    #summerblogchallenge
    #teacher5adaysketch
    Teaching And Learning
    Technology
    Top Ten
    Trignometry
    Trigonometry
    Vectors
    Venn Diagrams
    Websites
    Weebly Tutorials
    Zoombinis


    Archives

    August 2020
    September 2018
    August 2018
    October 2017
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    February 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.