By the Center for Engaged Learning
The Tarot of Teaching deck is a creative tool designed to enrich and energize the structure of a class period. It divides the flow of a lesson into three key stages, each represented by a different category of cards: Starting Our Journey (beginning of class), Along the Way (middle of class), and Reaching Our Destination (end of class). Each card within these categories offers a unique teaching tip aligned with its intended time in the class period, making each session more engaging, organized, and impactful.
To use the Tarot of Teaching deck, draw one card from each category—beginning, middle, and end of class—and apply each tip in sequence throughout the class period. By combining the three cards, you create a structured yet flexible framework that guides the flow of the class, ensuring a well-rounded experience that engages students from start to finish. This approach encourages variety in teaching strategies and fosters a dynamic classroom environment.
Category 1: Starting Our Journey — Topic: Retracing Our Steps
This card is from Category 1, Starting Our Journey. The topic of this card is active recall, bridging across classes, and re-enforcing learning through recall and retesting.
When we ask students to recall key topics from the last class, we require them to access their information. Making this explicit, such as writing down the key points or having to share key points with a classmate, forces the brain to engage with the previously taught information. To learn new information, students must actively retrieve it, not just ‘review’ or ‘see’ it. For example, when instructors start by showing a slide summarizing the key points from the last class, students are forced into a passive ‘review’ mode and robbed of the ability to retrieve that information themselves actively. This activity also addresses the gap in time between classes and bridges students from one topic to another. Effective lecturers use their expertise to connect across the topics for their learners. Students are novices and need constant practice building (and rebuilding) those connections for themselves to learn.
Frequent retesting and self-evaluation are other key aspects of effective learning. A low-stakes activity like recalling key ideas from the previous class is an opportunity for students to test themselves. It models the importance of frequent self-testing for their own learning process. It also allows students to present the key topics in different formats, like making an outline, drawing a diagram, writing sentences, or sketching a cartoon.
Resources
CAST. (n.d.). Activate or supply background knowledge. In Universal Design for Learning Guidelines. Retrieved from https://udlguidelines.cast.org/representation/building-knowledge/prior-knowledge/
Brown, P. C., Roediger, H. L., & McDaniel, M. A. (2014). Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Harrington, C., & Zakrajsek, T. (2017). Dynamic Lecturing: Research Based Strategies to Enhance Lecture Effectiveness. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.
Kraal, E., & Scott, D. Tarot of Teaching Card Deck. Kutztown University Center for Engaged Learning. Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.