Improvements shown with increased lesson breaks

13 May, 2008 in educational theory
Tags: active learning

I know this is a bit of a stretch, but interesting none the less. The NUT have a piece about an experiment that a school has been running which seems to improve young people’s learning:

A secondary school has begun teaching its pupils ‘mini-lessons’ in a bid to boost learning by catering to small concentration periods.

And pupils at Monkseaton Community High School in Tyneside are apparently increasing their results by half a grade, reports the Times, after taking part in the eight-minute lessons that are interspersed with breaks for educational games.

This seems quite similar techniques that will be very familiar to non-formal educationalists, and would fit quite well with some of the small group work and active learning that seem to have been promising in the Blueprint findings.