The Quick Fire Five is derived
from Doug Lemov’s Do Now in Teach
Like a Champion 2.0. In
brief, a Do Now should:
- Involve students putting pen to paper
- Review previous learning (See also Rosenshine)
- Be completed in silence without any direction from the teacher
- Be consistent in delivery format e.g. on paper or on the board as students come in
- Take 3-5 minutes to complete
For more detail see here
Based on cognitive science,
Corinne Flett @FlettMiss
designed the Quick Fire Five (QFF) in 2017 whilst working as an Assistant Head
in charge of Curriculum and Assessment. QFF involves 5 questions which allow
for interleaving and spaced retrieval practice. The 5 questions should be one
question from:
- Last Lesson
- Last Week
- Last Month
- Last Term
- Any time
Many have asked for my bank of
QFF Do Now’s. I have included some examples here and here. However, I would say that
QFFs are best designed by the teacher, as they should be based on your own
students’ misconceptions and will vary based on your sequencing. Some think it
will take too long to make. After a year of making them, I can now modify
existing QFFs in 5-10 minutes. Writing new ones take 10-20 mins at most.
For more on cognitive science and
research-based practice visit:
Further reading:
How
We Learn (Carey)
Creating
Outstanding Classrooms (Knight and Beson)
Disclaimer: Whilst I embrace
research, I also value experience. Context will shape your practice as will
your own gut instinct as to what feels right. I’m a firm believer that there is
no “single best way to teach” – if there was, there would be no innovation and
no need for new theories. I think if you’re reading this, you’re open to
improvement and hopefully open to the view that many of the techniques in the
above texts will work but some may not.
William Lau
September 2019