This collaborative strategy is simple but effective. Students roam the room finding new questions to answer together, and scan the code with an iPad to check their work. Then, they put all the answers together to unlock a secret code. The use of QR codes in class has greatly improved the effectiveness of student work because of their ability to stop and check their answers. Their enthusiasm for this activity is clear, and making it into a competition of sorts makes it all the more fun. I utilize the QR codes in everything from directions to links to activities. Still, my favorite use is monitoring groups during QR code breakers.
The neighborhood where my students come from can be full of negativity. My students need to learn how to support each other and accept the mistakes that come with the natural process of learning. Synergy is a strategy that is a core element of my blended model; it defines and reinforces the behaviors that successful teams use to work together to overcome a problem. Synergy has four basic expectations: 1) Push each other's thinking; 2) Share the load; 3) Use Accountable Talk; and 4) Move with speed. I use these expectations in a quick evaluation of each group every time we do group work, and the "winning group" receives a small prize, which reinforces my academic and social expectations and incentivizes friendly competition.
I use Daily Exit Tickets to assess mastery of the day's objectives and to make sure students have a clear understanding of how they're doing. Students answer a few targeted questions on a Daily Exit Ticket, and the following day we review mastery shown by each student and celebrate their achievement (please see the "Data Review" strategy video). I read out each student's name who achieved mastery, and we quickly celebrate to recognize their hard work. For the students who have not reached mastery yet, this motivates them to keep striving to get that checkmark on the board. Rather than just using outdated student data from summative assessments, Daily Exit Tickets give me and my students a quick read on how they're growing throughout the week. Though these mini-assessments do not connect to my grading system, they allow me to track my students' daily progress throughout each week.