Knowledge Bank

The Knowledge Bank

This links to the ‘Think Tax’ post- in your class...

At the start of the new unit of study, each student is given an amount of ‘knowledge coins’.

Students gain or spend coins based on the level of their independent thinking during the unit.

Each student has a copy of the Knowledge Bank’s fees.

It might be something like this:

Debit	Credit
Asking the teacher to supply a particular fact x3 knowledge coins	Answering another student’s question during the lesson x3 knowledge coins
Asking another student to supply a particular fact x2 knowledge coins	Asking the teacher an interesting, exploratory question which is pinned on the Question Wall x2 knowledge coins
Asking to use the computer to find out something x2 knowledge coins	Completing a homework task x2 knowledge coins
Asking to use another reading resource in the classroom x1 knowledge coin	Completing a lesson without losing a coin x1 knowledge coin
If you find yourself going into your ‘overdraft’, the teacher will lend you a further 5 knowledge coins. However, you will have to pay these back at the end of the unit. Please see strategies for gaining credit from the Knowledge Bank. If anyone ends the unit in debt, this will affect how many knowledge coins they will receive in the next unit.

The teacher will need a piggy bank for the students to deposit their knowledge coins when they use them for asking the teacher a question or to use a resource.

If a student ask another student a question, that coin is handed over to them and added to their bank balance.

In addition, the students will need to monitor their bank statement, debiting and crediting it at the end of the lesson.

EXAMPLE:

Date	Action	Debit	Credit	Bank Balance
21^st April	Start of unit			15 knowledge coins
24^th April	Asked teacher a question	3 knowledge coins		12 knowledge coins
24^th April	Asked to use the laptop	2 knowledge coins		10 knowledge coins
25^th April	Answered a student’s question		3 knowledge coins	13 knowledge coins
25^th April	Completed a lesson without spending		1 knowledge coin	14 knowledge coins
29^th April	Completed homework task		2 knowledge coins	16 knowledge coins
29^th April	Asking a student a question	2 knowledge coins		14 knowledge coins

A potential issue that the teacher may have to monitor closely is students who are not using their coins when they really need a vital piece of information but are more interested in keeping their bank balance looking healthy!

This could affect progress with their learning so the teacher will need to monitor this closely.

Hopefully, the Knowledge Bank will encourage students to think for themselves and challenge them to work more independently. Watch this space!

This was a guest post by https://twitter.com/TeacherTweaks who adapted the idea from the THINK TAX post.

Labels: Independent learning