SPAs encourage students to really understand and evaluate a topic. To run an SPA in the classroom:
Assign as normal.
When students are ready, click the Start button in the Assignments list. Make sure you have enough time; an SPA cannot be stopped half way through. You can adjust the time allowed at the start point, but not after.
Students will work through a 3-step process of write|judge|vote.
When they are finished, you can access their answers from the Assignments list. Answers are ranked by the process but these ranks do not correlate direct to grades.
Show this 2:15 orientation video to your students before they start.
After the exercise, find the responses listed at Assignments Tab->Results->Short text responses
SPAs work best with open questions that invite evaluation and explanation. They are not suitable for testing rote-learned facts. When assigning, please draw students' attention to the judgement criterion: the teaching point is actually subtly encoded in this.
These examples are intended to spur your thinking about how you might use SPAs. If you have particular ideas for SPAs in your subject, add them to our database via this form.
The questions are:
Introductory activity: 10-minute joke competition: Enter a really funny joke. Offensive jokes, copying from the web or including your name will get you banned.
Biology: cheetah vs. gazelle Why can a cheetah run faster than a gazelle?
Business studies: online monetisation Yu Yan runs a popular YouTube channel teaching people the best way to smile, but she makes no money. How might she monetise the channel? Explain how your ideas would work.
Chemistry: are metals plasmas? Explain why metals are sometimes defined as plasmas. Feel free to Google the question before you start.
Computer Science J276: Virtual memory Explain when virtual memory is needed, and how it works.. Written by Colin Hamilton at William Ellis School.
Computing and Business Studies: impact of smartphones People often want to buy the latest smartphone or other computing device, even though the devices they own still work. Discuss the impact of people wanting to upgrade to the latest smartphone. In your answer you might consider the impact on:
* stakeholders
* technology
* ethical issues
* environmental issues
Computing: Python program Write an Python program to input a user's name and then to print that name 10 times.
English or RE: The life-changing question Finish this story in your own way:
Walking down the street one day, you met a homeless man selling the Big Issue. You asked him how he came to be homeless. He said "I will tell all about it, but in return you must agree to answer one question of mine. I warn you now, my question will change your life!". You agreed. And so....
English: poetry competition Write a poem that involves skating on a frozen lake.
Geography CE13+: Settlement & sustainable urban development New urban housing developments (for example Wellborne in Fareham), should all be built in an environmentally sensitive way. Using examples and ideas from around the world, what features do you think all new housing developments should all have?
Geography: arguments for and against HS2 An exercise in producing a balanced argument on a topical theme. Written by Ali Gray at West Hill Park School.
Geography: world cities Where would you rather live; Singapore or Dubai? Why?
History: Norman serfs You are a serf in a Norman village. Describe your day.
History: effect of the railways What were the effects of Railways on Britain?
IT: OCR Cambridge Nationals: Project Life Cycle Discuss the advantages of the Life Cycle approach in the context of a provided example. Written by Kerry Parker at St. Catherine's College, Eastbourne.
Maths: volume of a dog How would you measure the volume of a dog?
PSHE and Computing: What to do about bullying on Facebook Your best friend tells you they are being bullied on Facebook, and they are really getting depressed about it. What are the first THREE things you do to help them.
Physics: the Niels Bohr barometer question How could you use a barometer to determine the height of a tower? Show what data you would gather and how you would calculate the height from it.
Xmas short story competition Write a Christmas short story on the theme of "The elf who did not want to help".
SPAs encourage students to really understand and evaluate a topic. To run an SPA in the classroom:
Assign as normal.
When students are ready, click the Start button in the Assignments list. Make sure you have enough time; an SPA cannot be stopped half way through. You can adjust the time allowed at the start point, but not after.
Students will work through a 3-step process of write|judge|vote.
When they are finished, you can access their answers from the Assignments list. Answers are ranked by the process but these ranks do not correlate direct to grades.
Show this 2:15 orientation video to your students before they start.
After the exercise, find the responses listed at Assignments Tab->Results->Short text responses
SPAs work best with open questions that invite evaluation and explanation. They are not suitable for testing rote-learned facts. When assigning, please draw students' attention to the judgement criterion: the teaching point is actually subtly encoded in this.
These examples are intended to spur your thinking about how you might use SPAs. If you have particular ideas for SPAs in your subject, add them to our database via this form.
The questions are:
Introductory activity: 10-minute joke competition: Enter a really funny joke. Offensive jokes, copying from the web or including your name will get you banned.
Biology: cheetah vs. gazelle Why can a cheetah run faster than a gazelle?
Business studies: online monetisation Yu Yan runs a popular YouTube channel teaching people the best way to smile, but she makes no money. How might she monetise the channel? Explain how your ideas would work.
Chemistry: are metals plasmas? Explain why metals are sometimes defined as plasmas. Feel free to Google the question before you start.
Computer Science J276: Virtual memory Explain when virtual memory is needed, and how it works.. Written by Colin Hamilton at William Ellis School.
Computing and Business Studies: impact of smartphones People often want to buy the latest smartphone or other computing device, even though the devices they own still work. Discuss the impact of people wanting to upgrade to the latest smartphone. In your answer you might consider the impact on:
* stakeholders
* technology
* ethical issues
* environmental issues
Computing: Python program Write an Python program to input a user's name and then to print that name 10 times.
English or RE: The life-changing question Finish this story in your own way:
Walking down the street one day, you met a homeless man selling the Big Issue. You asked him how he came to be homeless. He said "I will tell all about it, but in return you must agree to answer one question of mine. I warn you now, my question will change your life!". You agreed. And so....
English: poetry competition Write a poem that involves skating on a frozen lake.
Geography CE13+: Settlement & sustainable urban development New urban housing developments (for example Wellborne in Fareham), should all be built in an environmentally sensitive way. Using examples and ideas from around the world, what features do you think all new housing developments should all have?
Geography: arguments for and against HS2 An exercise in producing a balanced argument on a topical theme. Written by Ali Gray at West Hill Park School.
Geography: world cities Where would you rather live; Singapore or Dubai? Why?
History: Norman serfs You are a serf in a Norman village. Describe your day.
History: effect of the railways What were the effects of Railways on Britain?
IT: OCR Cambridge Nationals: Project Life Cycle Discuss the advantages of the Life Cycle approach in the context of a provided example. Written by Kerry Parker at St. Catherine's College, Eastbourne.
Maths: volume of a dog How would you measure the volume of a dog?
PSHE and Computing: What to do about bullying on Facebook Your best friend tells you they are being bullied on Facebook, and they are really getting depressed about it. What are the first THREE things you do to help them.
Physics: the Niels Bohr barometer question How could you use a barometer to determine the height of a tower? Show what data you would gather and how you would calculate the height from it.
Xmas short story competition Write a Christmas short story on the theme of "The elf who did not want to help".
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