Introduction to OER4Schools
The OER4Schools Professional Learning Resource
Description.
The session introduces the following interactive ideas:
- the interactive teaching technique of whole class dialogue(a),
- reflective journals,
- peer observation.Learning intentions and objectives.
In this session you will learn - how to keep a reflective journal,
- about peer observation,
- mini blackboards
Success criteria.
To meet the learning intentions you will
ICT components.
Sharing of reflections from your own trial
If you are running a professional learning programme which follows these session in sequence, then you should do these reflection, relating to the previous session. However, if you are selecting sessions in a different order, then reflect on whatever other topics is appropriate.
Sharing your reflections through:
Whole group reflection (10 min) on brainstorm in the classroom. As a group discuss the following:
- What was the objective of the new activity?
- How was the activity interactive?
- How do you think the activity went? In particular, how did learners respond?
- How did you integrate the activity with the rest of the lesson?
- What would you change if you taught this again?
Reflective journal
In this section, we introduce the notion of a reflective journal to support the process of plan teach reflect(a). The teachers have already heard about doing reflections in the last session, but now we formalise this slightly.
Emphasise concrete planning of time for doing reflections.
Introduction (5 min) to keeping a reflective journal Ideally teachers would keep a booklet, and keep a copy of the following questions handy to guide your reflections. Refer back to the previous session for guidance on reflection.
As a facilitator, how do you know whether these questions have been understood? In the classroom, we often ask students: "Have you understood? Are we clear?", to which the students always answer: "YES!". An important part of becoming an interactive workshop facilitator or an interactive teacher is to know how to ask the right questions, to actually probe whether participants have understood.
One important question for this is: "Can you give an example?" So as you go through the reflective questions above, ask participants to give examples.
Group discussion (10 min) on reflective questions As a group, read through the following questions. Make sure that everybody understands.
For each reflection, first note down the day of the week and the date today, so that you can keep track of your reflections and how your teaching practice evolves over time.
Questions to help you:
- What subject was the lesson (e.g. maths / science / other) and what was the lesson about (i.e. the topic, e.g. long division)?
- What interactive technique did you choose to use (ICT-based or not ICT-based)?
- What resources were used (both ICT and non-ICT)?
- What did you expect to achieve with the strategy adopted?
- What were the outcomes? (e.g. What do you think pupils learned about the topic? How can you tell? Any unexpected occurrences?)
- If ICT was used, do you think the use of ICT in this particular lesson contributed to pupil understanding of subject concepts? How?
- What difficulties did you encounter?
- What were the positive aspects of this experience?
- What did the children get out of the activity? How can you tell?
- How did you (as the teacher) find out what the children learnt / thought about the activities / got out of them?
- What did you (as the teacher) get out of it?
- Did you find it difficult?
- Did the activity allow students to meet the learning objective that it was designed to address?
- What would you do differently next time?
Space for your own questions:
- ____________________________________________________________________________________________
- ____________________________________________________________________________________________
- ____________________________________________________________________________________________
- ____________________________________________________________________________________________
- ____________________________________________________________________________________________
You can print this content on a separate sheet here: OER4Schools/reflective journal questions.
In some schools, teachers have recorded reflections on a dictaphone. A separate sheet with questions is available here: audio diary guidance.
For the trial, also use dictaphones. How are the teachers finding that? See more expanded list of questions in the audio diary guidelines.
Examples of interactive teaching in Zambia
Many African teachers aspire to be interactive teachers. Yet, interactive teaching is not common in the African classroom. However, it can work in this context!
The following clip shows Eness, a teacher in a community school near Lusaka interacting with a Grade 3 class. Watch the clip of her class discussion about Is a bat a bird?
Video (5 min): Watch a video of a whole class discussion.
Watch video:
VIDEO
Whole class discussion
Whole class discussion of ‘Is a bat a bird?' Teacher sets unresolved problem as homework
Video/Eness vertebrates 12.mp4, https://oer.opendeved.net/wiki/Video/Eness_vertebrates_12.mp4,This video is available on your memory stick in the video/Eness Vertebrates folder. Duration: 4:19 watch on YouTube, local play / download options / download from dropbox)(Series: Eness Vertebrates, episode 12)(Transcript available here or via YouTube captions.)
(Clip shows whole class discussion of ‘is a bat a bird?', set unresolved problem as homework)
Whole group discussion (10 min) on the whole class discussion video.
- What have you noticed?
- How are the learners taught?
- How do you think they will react to the homework task?
- Is this classroom different from yours?
- What is interactive teaching?
Issues to discuss
- Noisy but productive - A classroom can be noisy and productive at the same time
- interactive = inter-action (with view to sense making; i.e. purpose of inter-action is to make sense)
- Children making sense of ideas for themselves, developing their own classifications, relating to what they already know...
- Teacher not telling answer, asking students to investigate for themselves
Facilitator needs to know how to deal with criticisms (such as too noisy, too much chaos, not productive)
The road is long. But it can be done!
Practicion reflection on interactive teaching
Reflection (5 min): Practitioner reflection on interactive teaching. 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.
How can we “listen” to learners? What does that mean in practice?
Facilitator describes own experience of shifting to interactive teaching and how it is different in his/her classroom now…
Evidence for impact of interactive teaching (optional)
Generally we have experienced that teachers welcome interactive ways of teaching. However, it is possible that teachers may object or have major concerns to 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).
The following video clip may help to reinforce the point.
Video (5 min): Watch a video on one Zambian teacher’s experience of interactive teaching.
VIDEO
Agness Tembo speaking at eLearning Africa 2010 in Lusaka, Zambia
Agness Tembo speaking at eLearning Africa 2010 in Lusaka, Zambia
Video/Agness Tembo at eLA 2010 Zambia.mp4, https://oer.opendeved.net/wiki/Video/Agness_Tembo_at_eLA_2010_Zambia.mp4,This video is available on your memory stick in the video/Talks folder. Duration: 12:34 (Series: Talks, episode 02)
This two minute clip features Agness Tembo, a Grade 2 teacher from Chalimbana Basic School located in a rural area of Zambia. She is presenting at the e-Learning Africa Conference 2010 her own experiences of participating in Phase 1 of the OER4Schools research project. She talks animatedly about the challenges she faced in introducing both ICT and interactive pedagogy into her (mathematics) teaching for the first time, the benefits to students, and the qualities she needed as a teacher to make the shift successful.
Description of Think Pair Share(a).
Introduction (5 min) of Think Pair Share.
Think Pair Share (5 min) on what interactive teaching offers you. What does interactive teaching offer you? Share your thoughts with the whole group.
More opportunities for developing activites templates
Pair activity (5 min). Watch the following video sequence and pause after each clip to discuss with a partner: What would you record on the template to capture this activity? (There is no need to actually write on it.)
Stimulus (10 min). Eness_vertebrates_clips 2,4,6,8: (1 min. 40, 2 mins. 43, 3 mins. 43, 7 mins. 03 = 15 mins. 09 total)
VIDEO
Students hand out blackboards
Students hand out blackboards themselves (active)
Video/Eness vertebrates 2.mp4, https://oer.opendeved.net/wiki/Video/Eness_vertebrates_2.mp4,This video is available on your memory stick in the video/Eness Vertebrates folder. Duration: 1:40 watch on YouTube, local play / download options / download from dropbox)(Series: Eness Vertebrates, episode 02)(Transcript available here or via YouTube captions.)
VIDEO
Teacher repeats and clarifies
Teacher repeats and clarifies instructions; she illustrates them with nonsense classifications so students do not copy hers
Video/Eness vertebrates 4.mp4, https://oer.opendeved.net/wiki/Video/Eness_vertebrates_4.mp4,This video is available on your memory stick in the video/Eness Vertebrates folder. Duration: 2:43 watch on YouTube, local play / download options / download from dropbox)(Series: Eness Vertebrates, episode 04)(Transcript available here or via YouTube captions.)
VIDEO
Mini-blackboards group work
Groupwork using mini-blackboards: group of 5 recording under their own category of ‘animals with no legs’ and interacting as a group
Video/Eness vertebrates 6.mp4, https://oer.opendeved.net/wiki/Video/Eness_vertebrates_6.mp4,This video is available on your memory stick in the video/Eness Vertebrates folder. Duration: 3:43 watch on YouTube, local play / download options / download from dropbox)(Series: Eness Vertebrates, episode 06)(Transcript available here or via YouTube captions.)
VIDEO
Group presentation
Group presentation: teacher detects error and asks for input from children to verify (rather than ‘telling’); she corrects error with input from class.
Video/Eness vertebrates 8.mp4, https://oer.opendeved.net/wiki/Video/Eness_vertebrates_8.mp4,This video is available on your memory stick in the video/Eness Vertebrates folder. Duration: 7:03 watch on YouTube, local play / download options / download from dropbox)(Series: Eness Vertebrates, episode 08)
TOTAL: 15:09
This video sequence contains four consecutive clips from the same lesson you saw earlier, showing:
- 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
- Clip 6: Groupwork using mini-blackboards: group of 5 recording under their own category of ‘animals with no legs’ and interacting as a group
- Clip 8: Group presentation: teacher detects error and asks for input from children to verify (rather than ‘telling’); she corrects error with input from class.
Whole Group Discussion (10 min). When you have discussed these clips one by one in pairs, continue with whole group discussion on content of clips:
- What new techniques was Eness using this time?
- How did she ensure that children were active?
- What role did the mini blackboards play?
- How can teachers create a good relationship with their class so that children can learn?
- What kind of classroom atmosphere supports learning?
Pair activity (5 min). In a pair, plan your own activity for a lesson you are teaching imminently. You may want to pair up with a teacher of the same grade if this is possible.
Choose one of the two techniques below and discuss with your partner what you are going to do. Record this in an activity template.
Questions to help you complete the template for this specific kind of activity:
2. Mini blackboard activity:
- Will individuals or pairs have a blackboard?
- What is the purpose of recording on a blackboard? For example, will all learners hold them up to show me their ideas? Will they discuss with peers? Will they record the results of a learning activity? Will they write or draw on the blackboards?
Peer observations
Introduction (10 min) of peer observation
Encourage peer observation if possible, and teachers to suggest changes for themselves.
Classroom worksheet for teachers
Practical activity (20 min).
Small group activity (20 min). Working in your small group of three to four participants, complete the following activity using GeoGebra. In this activity, we will like you to experiment with drawing different polygons that you may not have seen before (i.e. be creative!). Draw 10 different shaped polygons using GeoGebra. As you draw, think about what is the same and what is different between those polygons, and how you could classify them into different groups.
You may like to refer to this YouTube clip if you are not certain about how to make use of GeoGebra:
VIDEO
Simple Polygons in GeoGebra
Simple Polygons in GeoGebra
Video/Simple Polygons in Geogebra.mp4, https://oer.opendeved.net/wiki/Video/Simple_Polygons_in_Geogebra.mp4,This video is available on your memory stick in the video/Video from other organisations folder. Duration: 03:12 watch on YouTube, local play / download options / download from dropbox)(Series: Video from other organisations, episode N/A)
Take some time to look at the different polygons you have drawn and try to find similar characteristics in some or all of the polygons. Try to group these polygons together and classify them with some sort of descriptor. For instance, some of them may look symmetrical, some may look like regular polygons, or some may have right angles. Be prepared to discuss with your group participants how you have classified them. Share your findings with the other participants and share whether such an activity can be used in the class as a quick taster of what EBL is about.
Try to encourage the participants to draw polygons of different shapes, and to really try to make them different. The polygons should not just be different sizes of the same shape. It is possible that some shapes may just look like the magnification or reduction of size of other shapes but hopefully, participants can draw shapes of different number of sides, length of sides and/or internal angles.
Note that while the instructions for the task are short, it will take some time to complete the task. Make sure you limit the time appropriately, so that there’s enough time for the remainder of the workshop. Decide whether or not to show the following video to illustrate the enquiry nature of this kind of problem-solving task:
VIDEO
'
The description of the video
Video/Introduction to Chalimbana Basic School.m4v, https://oer.opendeved.net/wiki/Video/Introduction_to_Chalimbana_Basic_School.m4v, Duration: 12:34
At the end of each session, we provide an overview of the activities in this session, together with their suggested timings. Although this appears at the end of the session (for technical reasons), you should keep an eye on this throughout the session, to make sure that you are pacing the workshop session appropriately!
Total time: 140 (min)
Activities in this session:
- Whole group reflection (10 min) on brainstorm in the classroom.
- Introduction (5 min) to keeping a reflective journal
- Group discussion (10 min) on reflective questions
- Video (5 min): Watch a video of a whole class discussion.
- Whole group discussion (10 min) on the whole class discussion video.
- Reflection (5 min): Practitioner reflection on interactive teaching.
- Video (5 min): Watch a video on one Zambian teacher’s experience of interactive teaching.
- Introduction (5 min) of Think Pair Share.
- Think Pair Share (5 min) on what interactive teaching offers you.
- Pair activity(5 min).
- Stimulus(10 min).
- Whole Group Discussion(10 min).
- Pair activity(5 min).
- Introduction (10 min) of peer observation
- Practical activity(20 min).
- Small group activity(20 min).
If you have printed this session for offline use, you may also need to download the following assets:
- Video/Eness vertebrates 12.mp4 (local play / download options / download from dropbox)
- Video/Agness Tembo at eLA 2010 Zambia.mp4 (local play / download options / download from dropbox)
- Video/Eness vertebrates 2.mp4 (local play / download options / download from dropbox)
- Video/Eness vertebrates 4.mp4 (local play / download options / download from dropbox)
- Video/Eness vertebrates 6.mp4 (local play / download options / download from dropbox)
- Video/Eness vertebrates 8.mp4 (local play / download options / download from dropbox)
- Video/Simple Polygons in Geogebra.mp4 (local play / download options / download from dropbox)
- Video/Introduction to Chalimbana Basic School.m4v (local play / download options / download from dropbox)
