Appendix 7.2 - A session template for making your own sessions
The OER4Schools Professional Learning Resource
This page is a template to create your own sessions on this wiki. If you wish to do this,
- get in touch with us to get an account on this wiki. Once you have the account,
- you then create a new wiki page, and copy the wikitext of this page to it.
- You can then use the comments in this page to help you create your session.
Each page starts with a large block, that gives learning objectives, success criteria, and some other information. This allows teachers to get an overview of the session immediately. The block looks like this:
Learning intentions and objectives.
In this session you will learn about:
- how to make your own session.
- So start by replacing this text with the learning objectives for your own session.
Success criteria.
To meet the learning intentions you will:
- make your own session.
- Again, replace this text by your own success criteria.
ICT components.
The ICT components you will focus on are
- nothing in particular, but as you use the template, you can say here what ICTs will be used, and what participants learn.
Classroom based activities (with your students, after this session): ...
- Say here what will do the following week, with your students in class.
Resources needed.
If special resources are needed, list them here! E.g. things like measurement tapes, calculators, laptops, etc.
Throughout your session, you can add special "facilitator notes". They are meant for the facilitator working with a group of teachers. On the wiki, it is easy to view both the "facilitator version" (with notes), and the participants version (without facilitator notes). To see the participants' version of this session click here, and observe how this note disappears. Then come back here to continue.
Review of follow-up activities
If you are running a professional learning programme which follows these sessions in sequence, then you should do the review of follow-up activities relating to the (Category:OER4S CPD). The 'review of follow-up activities' for that session is available, and also shown below in the session text. However, if you are following selected sessions in a different order, then you should use the reflection appropriate to the previous session you did.
The review of the follow-up activities for this session (to be done at the start of the next session) is available here.
There is no review of follow-up activities from last session available. You can go to the previous session () and.
At the beginning of each session, you should review the previous session (if you are running more than one session). If you are developing a set of sessions, you should use a particular template called 'review of follow-up activities' to do this. The wiki text for the "review of the follow up from last time" logically belongs to the previous session, so by using the "review of follow up" template, you will be able to attach this wiki text to the previous session. This process is a little more complicated, so we'll come back to this at the end!
Session activitiy 1: e.g. Brainstorm on interactive teaching (new topic)
Each session has a number of sections, and some activities within that. Here are some sample activities:
Example (10 min) for something
You can use a number of 'pre-defined' activities, which helps to keep the names of activities the same throughout your session (and the whole resource):
Whole group dialogue (10 min) about something.
Same-task group work (30 min): Topic.
Different-tasks group work (15 min), continued from above.
Observing, thinking, reflecting (2 min) about something.
Think-Pair-Share (10 min) about something.
Cumulative talk (10 min) about something.
Magic microphone (10 min) about something.
Plan-Teach-Reflect (10 min) about something.
(See list of pre-defined activities here: Template:Activityexpand.)
You basically continue adding activities like this, often covering new topics.
Session activity 2: Brainstorming in the classroom ("formatting options")
There are a number of templates that you can use for formatting the text. You have already met the "ednote" template, which creates an "educator/facilitator note':
{{ednote|text= Some text }}
as follows:
Some text
If an activity requires resources, you can add them using the file template: [ my file.pdf] (info) and upload them.
You can also add videos.
Session activity 3: ICT-based activity
Same-task group work (30 min). In each session, we always include an ICT-based activity. Have a look at our programme, to see what sort of activities we included. They should always relate to a concrete classroom activity which would be done as part of the 'follow-up activities'. Initially, all teachers might do the same activity, but as they develop their skills, they could do different activities. We always do this in small groups though, to allow discussion
Session activity 4: Classroom activity planning
Same-task group work (30 min). We always allow for time during the meeting to actually plan. If you just ask teachers to plan in their own time, this may well not happen. We do this as group work (maybe same task, maybe different task), so that teachers can discuss.
Connecting with overarching goals of the programme
We are drawing on LfL and the MSC technique in the programme, and there are also other over-arching things that may need to be discussed. So we always add a slot called "Connecting with overarching goals of the programme" where these can be discussed. You can use the "Activity for connecting with overarching goals" to use the standard text, or make your own.
Open space (10 min). It's now time for the "open space", that gives you an opportunity to discuss issues that have arisen, and to relate those to the broader context of the programme. Do not just gloss over this section, but make time to raise issues, and probe the progress that you are making. You could use this space to:
- Remind yourselves of the of the Most Significant Change Technique, and e.g. collect more of your stories.
- Discuss your assessment portfolios: Is there anything that you are unsure about? Is it going well? What could be done better?
- Check on the work with the classroom assistants: Is this going well? Are there any tensions? Any observations or tips you can share?
- Reviewing individual ICT practise (such as typing practise).
- If you are preparing a presentation for other teachers, you could work on the presentation (about what you have been learning, stories emerging from MSC).
- Remind those who are doing audio diaries, to upload them.
- You could discuss any other issues that have arisen.
You will find notes and summaries of various techniques and concepts on our reference page, and you might want to refer to those for clarification during this activity if needed.
Follow-up activities
Agreeing follow-up activities (10 min).
Part A: Use the {{fup|A, B, C}} template to set follow up activities.
Part B:
Part C:
In the next session, these follow-up activities will be reviewed. If you are using this session on its own, you can have a look at the review of follow-up activities here.
You should always use the setting of follow up template. This allows you to attach the "review" of these follow up activities to the present session (which is where it belongs logically). If you are designing a sequence of sessions, this review can be used automatically at the start of the next session (see the introduction to this session above).
Finally, you use the activity summary template, which prints out a list of all activities in this session (together with timings), as well as a list of resources that are needed for this session.
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: 187 (min)
Activities in this session:
- Example (10 min) for something
- Whole group dialogue (10 min) about something.
- Same-task group work (30 min): Topic.
- Different-tasks group work (15 min), continued from above.
- Observing, thinking, reflecting (2 min) about something.
- Think-Pair-Share (10 min) about something.
- Cumulative talk (10 min) about something.
- Magic microphone (10 min) about something.
- Plan-Teach-Reflect (10 min) about something.
- Same-task group work(30 min).
- Same-task group work(30 min).
- Open space(10 min).
- Agreeing follow-up activities(10 min).
If you have printed this session for offline use, you may also need to download the following assets:
- [ my file.pdf]
Other materials
E.g. additional forms, or reading, referred to above.
End your session with the "OER4S NextSession" template, which creates navigation links at the bottom of the page!
