Reference
Exercise types
Seven exercise types are available when you build practice into a lesson. Each one pairs a reason to reach for it with a fixed question format, so you can pick the shape that matches what you want students to do with the concept.
01
Example-to-Concept
Pedagogy
Spotting the pattern first. Students look at particular cases before they are told the rule, and work the rule out from what the cases have in common rather than being handed it up front.
Format
Students work through three related examples sequentially, answering two comprehension questions after each. After completing all three, they synthesize what they’ve observed by describing the unifying concept in their own words.
02
Concept-to-Example
Pedagogy
Applying a rule you already have. Students start from the principle and then practise spotting and using it in several different situations, so it does not stay tied to the one example they first met it in.
Format
Students receive primer knowledge on the target concept followed by three relevant examples. For each example, they answer one comprehension question and then articulate the connection between the example and the concept in their own words.
03
Problem Set
Pedagogy
Practice, repeated. Working the same idea several times without the pressure of a grade is what makes the method quick and automatic.
Format
Students receive primer knowledge on the target concept, then complete two multiple choice and two short answer questions.
04
Equation Explanation
Pedagogy
Taking an equation apart. Instead of reading through a worked example, students go term by term and say what each part does and how the parts relate.
Format
Students receive an overview of the target equation, then answer one comprehension question per variable. They then work through three questions probing the relationships between variables, followed by three applied example problems.
05
Reverse Engineering
Pedagogy
Working backwards from the answer. Starting at a solution and retracing the steps that led there teaches students not just what the answer is, but why each step was needed.
Format
Students receive a situation paired with its final solution, then answer four multiple-choice questions that scaffold reconstruction of the solution step-by-step. A concluding open-ended question asks them to articulate the complete reasoning chain in their own words.
06
Prediction
Pedagogy
Committing to a guess first. Predicting the outcome before seeing it makes students use what they already know, and they pay far more attention to the result once they have something riding on it.
Format
Students read a setup describing initial conditions and a partially-completed process or change. They write a single open-ended response predicting the outcome and justifying each aspect of their prediction using the relevant concept or law.
07
Error Analysis
Pedagogy
Finding what went wrong. Correcting a flawed worked example forces students to hold it against the right method and say where the two part company — hard work, and it brings the usual mistakes out into the open.
Format
Students receive a problem statement and a multi-step worked solution containing deliberate errors. They identify each mistake, explain why it is wrong, and produce a fully corrected solution in a single open-ended response.