1. Flipped Instruction Description

19. Prior Knowledge Assessment
Definition
Prior knowledge assessment entails assessing students’ knowledge at the beginning of a unit of work in order to teach students at an appropriate level. If prior knowledge does not take place, teachers may teach content at a level that is either above or below a class’s optimal learning level.
Benefits

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  Ensures the content being taught is at an appropriate level.
  
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  Respects the fact that students come into the classroom with pre-existing knowledge.
  
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  Identifies misconceptions students may have about a topic.
  
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  Enables teachers to take into account students’ cultural knowledge when preparing a unit of work.
  

Challenges

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  Ensure you assess prior knowledge well in advance so you can plan lessons based on prior knowledge. I’ve assessed prior knowledge at the start of a class before and realized the lesson I planned was completely useless!
  

20. Student-Teacher Conference
Definition
A student-teacher conference is a one-on-one discussion between a student and a teacher to take stock of a student’s needs. The conference usually involves a discussion of both strengths as well as areas for improvement. The conference should conclude with a list of goals for the teacher and student to mutually strive toward.
Benefits

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  An opportunity for both the teacher and student to express concerns and anxieties
  
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  Helps students to feel ‘seen’, valued and cared for by the teacher
  

Challenges

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  Hard to achieve in every lesson. Teachers could consider systematically conferring with one or two students per lesson until all students are met with.
  
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  There is a power imbalance in the student-teacher relationship which may prevent students from speaking candidly.