The K!rew 8 Feb 2016

Kahoot! hero spotlight: David Gee shares how to make great math kahoots

Looking for tips on Math Kahoot!’ing? Today’s Kahoot! Hero spotlight is on how Deputy Head Teacher David Gee encourages math problem solving with Kahoot!

If there’s one thing the K!rew hasn’t lost from our days at school, it’s our love of field trips – and we’re lucky enough to continue the tradition at Kahoot! To make sure we’re creating a platform that our users love just as much as we do, we schedule regular class visits to hang out with the learners and leaders behind the magic. Our visit to Notting Hill Prep School was absolutely no exception and our host, Deputy Head David Gee, is a veritable Kahoot! Hero.

A big believer in intellectual discourse between teachers and students, he uses a range of tools and techniques to foster curious minds, a healthy learning space and academic excellence. We were of course excited to see how that translated to his Kahoot! sessions and are delighted to share some of his tips here!

$Math kahoot-problem solving$

1. Encourage problem-solving rather than guesswork!

In his Year 7 Math class, David encourages the students to use their workbooks and calculators to figure out the answers, and rewards correct answers with workings-out.

“Some of these questions you can’t do just by looking at the screen.”

To build a little anticipation, he also hands out study cards (face down) marked A, B and C, as well as cards with a variety of graphs. David explains to everyone that they’re to be turned over right when the matching question appears, and no peeking before then! (Even for us, the temptation to not sneak a quick peek was difficult!)

$Math kahoot-working out for the solution$

2. Treat every question as a learning opportunity

David uses every weapon at his disposal to make sure his students are learning and understanding the material, but also enjoying it as much as possible.

Firstly, he mixes up the timer settings to allow time for intellectual exploration, and to give him a minute to impart some hints and lessons. The extra time is especially important with a mixed-ability class such as his.

“I’m on the leaderboard! Finally!!”

Then, after every question he takes the time to recap and to walk the students through the best way to solve the problem, turning to his whiteboard or even PowerPoint to reinforce the answers.

3. Encourage peer-to-peer learning

Students who answered the previous question correctly are also standing up and explaining to the rest of the class how they worked it out, giving life to our Learners to Leaders pedagogy! Truly awesome stuff.

Embracing the Power of Play

As the day wrapped up, we were all so impressed not only with the students and how engaged they all were, but how much Notting Hill embraced the power of learning games.

Try one of David Gee’s games in your own Math class!