Why we built Shift & Spark

We are two NZ secondary teachers, and we built the resource we kept wishing existed.

The problem we kept running into

Most teaching strategy books sit on a shelf. They are too long to read on a Tuesday, too vague to use on a Wednesday, and too generic to fit a real class on a Friday afternoon. What we wanted was simpler: a strategy small enough to fit into a few minutes, sharp enough to change a whole lesson, and ready to run from a cold start with no prep.

What Shift & Spark is

It is a deck of 150 cards. 75 Spark cards for retrieval and active recall, to get knowledge back out of students' heads. 75 Shift cards for reflection and metacognition, to find out what actually stuck. Every card runs in a few minutes, lists the subjects it suits, and carries a line of teacher look-fors so you can read the room while it is happening.

Built on evidence, not vibes

Every card maps to a specific body of research: the testing effect, peer learning, metacognition, and formative feedback. The names are on the back of the card, and the full reference list is in the teacher booklet. Each card also carries a te reo Māori term that names what the activity asks of students, and the whole deck is mapped to the NZC refresh and Te Mātaiaho.

Built in real classrooms

We prototyped, rewrote, and stress-tested the deck across Year 9 to 13 classrooms over 18 months. The test we kept applying: if a relieving teacher cannot pick up a card cold and run it with no subject knowledge, it does not ship.

Out now

The Secondary Edition deck is available for $65, with volume pricing for departments and schools. Have a look at the deck, or read the research behind it.