🧠 Brain boosts for end of semester

🎁 Ditch Summit prizes and details

Have you started earning prizes by sharing the Ditch Summit yet?

Yesterday, we opened our contest. And some of our subscribers already have won stickers — and are well on their way to other goodies!

Here’s how you can participate …

1. Go to DitchSummit.com and sign up. (I know, I’ve been telling you that if you get these email newsletters you’re already signed up. That’s still true. But if you want to win prizes, go sign up at DitchSummit.com. Trust me.)

2. In your Ditch Summit welcome email, you’ll get your unique referral link. (If you got an earlier welcome email, it might not have a link. Just sign up again.)

3. Go share your link far and wide! Every time someone clicks your link and signs up for the summit, you’ll get a referral.

🎁 I just lowered the numbers to make some of the prizes easier to reach!

• 5 referrals gets you a DTT sticker pack.

• 10 referrals gets you a DTT online course for free.

• 20 referrals gets you a t-shirt/tote bag from our merch store.

• 40 referrals gets you a hoodie from our merch store.

Easiest way to get referrals? Email your friends and colleagues to encourage them to register. You can copy/paste the text from this document for your email. Share on social media, too!

The summit is getting close! It opens on December 11 and runs until January 5. Get details here.

🧠 10 ways to improve students’ long-term learning

Ever teach something to students — and all the learning seemed to leak out their ears overnight?

It was as if you didn’t even cover it. 🤦🏻‍♂️

It can be especially hard at the end of the semester, when we’re preparing students for test and final exams and cumulative projects.

Brain science is here to help.

Here are three practices (followed by ways to use them in class):

• ⏪ Retrieval practice — Recalling information (bringing it to mind) without the use of notes, books, etc.

• 🔀 Interleaving — Mixing up concepts you’re studying (i.e. not studying one concept at a time)

• ⏭ Spacing — Leaving time between study sessions (i.e. not cramming all at once)

So … how can we use these in class? Here are five strategies to help students improve long-term memory (with more strategies in this post) …

1. 🚚 Brain dumps — Students recall everything they can on a given topic. On paper. To a friend. 🔑 Key concept: When they’re ungraded, they’re most effective for long-term learning.
   

2. ✌🏽 Two things — A simple, quick learning check. Ask students, “What are two things you remember about ___?” Or two things they learned yesterday. Or two things from their lives that relate to this lesson. Throw these into instruction multiple times for maximum effect. Here’s a Google Slides template.
   

3. 💬 Guided conversation — Come up with a series of questions that guides students on a discussion about your content. Put them on PowerPoint slides. Put students in pairs or small groups. Display questions one by one to guide a group recall session.
   

4. 🕰 Now, then, way back — One of my favorites! Pick a recent topic, a not-too-distant topic, and a topic from a long time ago. Ask students to recall three things about each. Here’s a Google Slides template.
   

5. 🖼 Recall information visually — Mixing visuals and text can be very brain friendly. Students can sketchnote (jot a quick sentence or idea next to a simple sketch of it). Do this on paper individually or in teams on the class whiteboard. Infographics are great, too. Here’s a Google Slides template.

Get even more long-term learning ideas — and even more “ready to use” templates — in our post …

10 ways to improve students’ long-term learning

(Note: With all Google Slides templates, you can download them for PowerPoint by going to File > Download as.)

🎧 DLP 037: The Changing AI Classroom with Peter Paccone

A couple things really got me excited to interview Peter Paccone on the Digital Learning Podcast …

1. He’s a high school social studies teacher who has been using ChatGPT and generative AI in his class.

2. He was on a College Board committee about AI in Advanced Placement (AP) classes.

In this episode, Peter shares how he’s been using AI in his class. He talks about the implications of AI on Advanced Placement classes. And he discusses the important equity piece that AI plays in education.

Listen: The Changing AI Classroom with Peter Paccone

PS: Have you subscribed to the Digital Learning Podcast? Find it in your favorite podcast player and hit “subscribe” so you don’t miss an episode!

🎟 Come to my AI panel in Cleveland on Thursday!

I’m speaking on an AI panel with Samsung on Thursday … and you can come!

Date: Thursday, November 30
Time: 11:30am to 2:30pm
Location: Business Network Team HQ, 12316 York Road North, Royalton, OH 44133
Cost: FREE (lunch included)

Our teaching and learning AI panel discussion will include me, Samsung’s Rachel Swanson, and BNT’s Austin Fleischer. The day will conclude with product demos and a tour.

Can’t attend? Don’t live near Cleveland? No worries! I plan to record the panel discussion and make it available here. Keep your eyes open for it!