OER4Schools/Activity planning and reflection: Difference between revisions

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* keeping a '''reflective journal''' as part of the process of ongoing reflective practice, and using '''reflective questions''' to aid this process,

* differences between an interactive teaching classroom and a traditional classroom,

* using '''mini blackboards''' and '''digital images''' as tools in an interactive teaching activity, and

* using the '''Think-Pair-Share''' technique to encourage cooperative learning.

* record reflections on trialled activities in a learning journal soon after the activities have been carried out, and use reflective questions to help structure journal entries,

* accept that during interactive teaching the classroom may be more noisy and children may move around independently,

* plan an activity that makes use of mini blackboards and digital images, and trial it in the classroom, and

* plan an activity using the Think-Pair-Share technique that allows students to interact with each other, and trial it in the classroom.

* viewing slideshows using the web browser and Open Office and

* manipulating slides in Open Office.

In this section, we introduce the notion of a reflective journal to support the process of ongoing reflective practice and the {{activitytag|ptr}} cycle. The teachers have already heard about doing reflections in the last session, but now we formalise this slightly.

{{activity|Introduction| to keeping a reflective journal.|5}} Ideally teachers would keep a booklet and also keep a copy of the following questions handy to guide reflections. This journal can be brought along to workshop sessions and any pertinent reflections made during the activities in the session can also be written in it. You can refer back to the previous session for guidance on reflection.  

{{activity|wcd|: Whole group discussion on reflective questions.|10}} As a group, read through the following questions, making sure that everyone understands how to use them.

{{activity|otr|: Watch a video of a whole class discussion.|5}} Read the following questions for reflection, and then watch the video.

{{: Video/Eness vertebrates 12.mp4/reflection }}

{{activity|wcd|: Whole group discussion on the whole class discussion video.|10}} We asked you look at the following questions:

{{activity|otr|: Practitioner reflection on interactive teaching.|5}} The key to interactive teaching is ''teachers'' ''shifting “from telling to listening”'' and ''learners shifting from receiving information to making sense ''of it for themselves.  

[[File:mini-blackboards-and-groups.jpg |400px |alt=Children holding mini-blackboards with some sums on are stood in front of the main blackboard and teacher, who is looking to them for answers|thumb]]

Generally, we have experienced that teachers welcome interactive ways of teaching. However, it is possible that teachers may object to, or have major concerns about, the interactive teaching shown in the videos, as well as what has emerged from this discussion. For instance, they may say that this just will not work in their classroom, that it may not work with large classes, or perhaps that such styles of teaching would not be welcome by parents or head teachers for various reasons.

At this stage, you could introduce interactive teaching as an international trend. Research evidence from different countries shows that this kind of active learning is both motivating and far more effective for learning than direct instruction (“chalk-and-talk” or lecturing). In particular, independent, collaborative or oral work, as well as questioning and whole-class discussion that encourage pupils to grapple with ideas are effective. They lead to long-term and deeper learning rather than memorising facts (resulting in short-term, superficial learning).

{{activity|otr|: Watch a video on one Zambian teacher’s experience of interactive teaching.|5}}

{{activitytag|tpr}}:

{{activity|tpr| your ideas on the differences between interactive teaching and traditional teaching.|10}}  

{{Related resources|text=

 

 

[[Image: environment1.jpg|200px]]

 

http://www.zedupad.com/zambian_school_lessons.php

 

= ICT practice: Practical activity =

{{activity|otr|: Watch the following video sequence of a Zambian teacher's interactive lesson on classifying animals using digital images|15}}. Pause after each clip for a brief discussion with a partner:  What would you record on an activity template to capture this activity? (There is no need to actually write on it.)

*Clip 2: Students hands out blackboards themselves (active),

*Clip 4: Teacher repeats and clarifies instructions; she illustrates them with nonsense classifications so students do not copy hers, and

*Clip 6: Groupwork using mini-blackboards: group of 5 recording under their own category of ‘animals with no legs’ and interacting as a group.

{{activity|wcd|: Whole group discussion on a Zambian teacher's interactive lesson on classification using digital images|10}}.  When you have discussed these clips one by one in pairs, come together as a whole group and continue to discuss the clips, using the following questions to help guide the discussion:

 

{{activity|stgw|: Pair work on planning a classification activity|5}}. In a pair, plan your own classification activity using the browser based slideshow that you have been exploring.  The classification activity that you choose should be appropriate for the age of your students and be for use in a lesson that you are teaching imminently. You may want to pair up with a teacher of the same grade if this is possible.  Plan to make use of the mini blackboards during the activity.  For younger groups of students you may want to choose a few images to use at the front of the class to stimulate discussion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

= Follow-up activities =  

''Part A: Practical classroom ICT-based activities.''  Repeat the netbook familiaristion, leading into the classification activity that you have planned in this session, making use of digital images and mini-blackboards.   

 

''Part C: Reflections.'' Also, plan and do a Think-Pair-Share activity in one of your lessons.  

''Part C: Reflections.''  Reflect on both of these activities soon after you do them, making a note of your reflections in your journal.  Use the reflective questions from this session and the last session to guide you.

''Part D: Next time.'' Don’t forget to bring your activity plans again, and your recorded reflections.