Building Anticipation: Openers & Anticipatory Sets to Engage Learners

In his well-known meta-analysis, Visible Learning, John Hattie suggests that facilitating learning is not as effective or as powerful as activating learning. In this session, we will look at five high-impact opening strategies to activate learning which can be adapted to all content areas. With these strategies, you will be able to create a buzz of excitement around new learning or units of study to hook your learners into your content and keep them engaged throughout the unit. We will look at how developing a great opener can bring the learning into a students’ prior knowledge, lived experiences, and personal curiosity. Whether you are launching an inquiry unit, starting a service learning project, or exploring quadratic equations – the right opening event can create a next level learning experience.