Speeding tickets…in the classroom!

Nobody wants to recieve a speeding ticket! However, if someone has recieved a speeding ticket it is likely the fine and/or points will act as a future deterrent to help the driver learn from their motoring mistake!

I have introduced speeding tickets into my classroom…

The resource is very self explanatory. However, I wanted to write about how it can be used and the impact it can have.

We will all have students who rush their work! These students can vary from those who are so keen to please the teacher or progress to the extension task to others who finish early because they may just want to get it over and done with!

There are several issues with rushing work:

Presentation can become poor or even difficult to read when written too quickly, this is an issue I noticed as a GCSE examiner where it is clear students are up against it in regards to timing! When rushing it is more likely the students will make mistakes and possibly mistakes that they shouldn’t be making, for example misspelling words they do know how to spell but have been writing so quickly there has been a lack of concentration.

Completing work too fast will often mean that the content and quality suffers as answers can lack detailed explanation. Rushing can also show a distinct lack of effort. The growth mindset ideology tells us that through having the right mindset, focus and determination students can achieve fantastic results! So taking time, care and effort links in with having a growth mindset.

I only have a few speeding tickets printed and laminated (I made my speeding ticket using the free Typorama app). You can download the Speeding ticket I created for free on my TES page here. A class set isn’t needed because this resource never applies to all the individuals in the class. After sharing this resource on Twitter some teachers have told me that they have adapted this idea as a sticker, to stick in students books when marking, if it is clear they have rushed their written work. The ticket can be given out in the lesson if it becomes noticeable that the student is speeding away, this clearly reinforces that they must slow down, take more time and care. I have also given this out at the start of the lesson to one student, this was due to him rushing his work for every single written task and ignoring my previous feedback and comments. This ticket showed I was aware of his rushing and I wanted him to address this issue. When this was no longer an issue then I wouldn’t issue him with a ticket either! This also informs students they won’t be rewarded for finishing work first and that it isn’t a class competition who can get onto the extension task! It isn’t meant to be harsh or come with any punishment, like an actual speeding ticket does! The aim is to act as a reminder and help the student focus and progress. It may seem like a ‘gimmick or trick’ but the speeding ticket helped my students to stop rushing their work and that led to their progress.

Thanks for taking the time to read my post. If you’ve been inspired by any of these ideas I’d love to hear from you to find out how you’ve taken them / adapted or remixed them and used them in your classroom. Please feel free to follow my blog and leave comments below or why not just drop me a message on Twitter.