OER4Schools/Talking points and effective group work: Difference between revisions

* learning to formulate and use ‘talking points’ to support productive, open-ended discussion

* learning more about effective groupwork practices

* planning to recruit ‘classroom assistants’ from older grades

= Talking points =

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'''“Talking points”''' are deliberately thought-provoking statements for discussion and reasoning in small groups. Research shows that using these is an effective strategy to promote conceptual learning in a target area because

* it helps to '''structure the group task yet keeps the discussion open-ended.''' This is because pupils discuss the points but are free to contribute their own understanding /opinion about the point. In other words, the task is well-defined as well as interactive!

* it helps pupils to discuss different aspects of a concept by '''providing''' '''cues for discussion'''.

* It '''helps to maintain the focus''' of discussion.

{{activity|Small groups}} Discuss whether the following statements about group work (talking points) are ‘true’, ‘false’ or ‘not sure’. Explain your reasoning. Tick (“V”) if your group agrees that they are true, cross (“X”) if your group agrees that they are false and question mark (“?”) if your group is not sure.

{{activity|Whole group discussion}} Discuss each talking point mentioned above. Each group should explain their stance on the point, giving their reasons.

{{activity|Pair work}} Work in pairs or threes with same-grade colleagues. Decide on a topic that you will be teaching this week. In the activity template, write down the talking points for that topic. Write at least 10 statements - some of which are true, some are false and some can either be true or false, depending on certain factors. Here are some ideas:

'''Individual accountability. '''Children might be assessed separately, and the group score then depends on those individual performances – individual accountability leading to team scores. Individual assessment is the most common scenario, i.e. children are given a brief quiz, where group members cannot help. Or there could be a random process (“random reporter”): “Number 2s should now represent their teams.” Teacher doesn’t know who the number 2s are, but the children do, and the corresponding children respond, justifying their answers etc. They in turn do not know in advance which number will be chosen - so everyone has to be ready or the team will not succeed!

{{activity|whole group discussion}} How would you structure group work, to encourage individual accountability?

[[Image:mini blackboards.jpg|300px|alt=class of pupils holding up mini blackboards]]

{{activity|brainstorm}} What activities can you think of that you can use for team building?

How do you think an older child (e.g. grade 8 or 9) could help in a grade 5 class? In some innovative European schools, cross- or multi-grade teaching takes place, not because of necessity, but because it makes pedagogical sense. Older students can benefit from having to explain things to younger students, while younger students may surprise older students with how they think about things.  

Sometimes a student may even be able to explain something better to peers than the teacher can! In Unit 3, Session 1 (video: new Abel clip 4) we saw how Abel solicited the help of two older boys in his mixed age (11-16) class when he himself had had difficulty in helping a group of students to understand how to find area and perimeter of a rectangle using GeoGebra software.

In an African context, many schools operate in two (or more) shifts. This might mean that (e.g.) Grade 5 is taught in the morning, while Grade 7 is taught in the afternoon. This situation, born out of necessity, could be turned around to really benefit teaching and learning at your school. This week, we are asking you to conduct an experiment, to see whether this can work at your school. In your homework today, we suggest that you each try to recruit two or three “classroom assistants” from a higher grade, to help you with teaching in your grade.

{{activity|discussion}} Here are some points that you need to discuss:

* What is the benefit of this to your class?

* What do you need to discuss with the head teacher before you can recruit some students from a higher grade to help? How often is it reasonable for the older students to come?

* What is the benefit for the higher grade students? What incentive is needed for those students to want to come and help in your class? How can you make sure that those students stay engaged in the programme? For instance, you might want to set up a “computer club” for those Grade 8 and 9 students who help out in the lower grades.

* How will the parents of those students react to this? What do you (or the headteacher) need to say to those parents? Do you need to write a letter, that can be given to the parents?

= ICT practice: Different-task group work with ICT and activity

{{activity|dtgw| with ICT on various topics.|20}}

* Planning of another lesson with ICT (Geogebra / slideshow / concept mapping / spreadsheets), for open-ended tasks

{{Activity for connecting with overarching goals}}

'''Classroom assistants.''' In another lesson this week, we would like you to try to recruit two or more “classroom assistants” to help the younger children with a specific activity, either ICT-based or not. Reflect (using your dictaphone) on whether/how that was useful from your perspective and what the students’ own reactions were?