OER4Schools/Unit overview

Unit 1: Introduction to interactive teaching and the use of ICT. The unit offers an introduction to interactive teaching with and without ICT. It introduces the idea of “plan-teach-reflect”, as well as lesson planning to include interactive activity. The unit covers the following aspects:

• What is interactive teaching?
• ICTs in interactive teaching.
• Effective use of ICTs, including basic use of netbooks, browser, and images / slideshows (also in OpenOffice Impress).

The aims of Unit 1 are to

• understand principles of interactive teaching - with and without ICT,
• see illustrations and discuss issues involved in implementing it,
• think about changing one’s own practice, and
• develop ways of working with colleagues to reflect on practice, share ideas and trial new strategies.

The unit also introduces the most significant change technique, and at the end of this unit, we look at the Leadership for Learning principles.

Unit 2: Whole class dialogue & effective questioning. The unit’s focus is whole class dialogue and effective questioning. It covers:

• creating a supportive environment for dialogue;
• introducing cumulative talk – creating a story together;
• promoting and managing whole class discussion;
• types and examples of effective questions to ask in class, and
• how to engage students in activity at the blackboard.

At the end of this unit, we consider how to communicate with other teachers at the school, with parents, head teachers, as well as officials who might seek to assess your new teaching practices. It also includes some material to support school leaders in providing a conducive learning environment for their staff.

In terms of ICTs, this unit introduces GeoGebra and collaborative writing. You should continue practising your other ICT skills, including typing, and making use of images.

Unit 3: Group work. This unit introduces group work, how to agree on ground rules, and what sort of resources support group work (such as “talking points” and digital resources). In detail, the unit covers

• exploratory talk,
• same task group work,
• different tasks group work,
• group composition and formation,
• ground rules for group work,
• carousel of activities for group work,
• mixed pace group work and differentiation, and
• talking points activity for promoting group interaction.

Unit 4: Assessment for learning and lesson pacing. The unit introduces how to find out what your pupils have learnt, and where they need more help, allowing you to use lesson time effectively whilst making sure that your pupils are making continued progress.

In detail the unit covers

• using an assessment inventory as a self-assessment measure,
• sharing learning objectives and success criteria,
• summative feedback,
• formative feedback, and
• peer assessment.

Unit 5: Enquiry-based learning and project work. The unit introduces how to work in an “enquiry-based” way, for instance learning through project work and in-depth, open-ended investigations. We explore a way of teaching and learning that encourages students to take the initiative to pose questions and explore their curiosity about the world around them, through a process of enquiry.

Unit 6: Into the future. This unit reviews the programme, and continues to make connections between the various interactive practices introduced throughout the programme. It also offers an introduction to action research and communities of practice, through which teachers can continually evolve their teaching practice.