Introduction to OER4Schools
The OER4Schools Professional Learning Resource
Review of homework
'Try out your 10 talking points.
- Form mixed-pace groups of 4 students.
- Start with a team building activity of your choice.
- Set up the discussion – framed by some controversial talking points and using a technique to ensure individual accountability. (For example, ask every child to participate and explain you will pick [students won’t choose!] one from each group later on to report their own opinion and how it may have changed through the discussion.
- Encourage students to explain their reasoning and understanding to peers, ensuring that everyone understands and any gaps are identified and addressed. This is cooperative learning; students are expected to help each other learn.
- Monitor the groups to ensure this is happening and that there are no ‘free riders’ or individuals dominating the discussion.
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?
Computer tasks.
- Remember to keep practising your typing skills! (The awarding of a certificate at the end of the course will also depend on your typing skills!)
- Find and download images that could be used in conjunction with talking points.
Review of group work
This is the last session focussing specifically on group work. In it we review the key elements of the previous sessions, and then give time to an extended planning task.
Unit 3 on group work covered a number of topics, including same-task and different-tasks group work (3.1), supporting reasoning and managing groupwork (3.2), mixed pace groupwork with and without ICT (3.3), group work with ICT (3.4), and talking points and effective group work (3.5).
Pair work (11 min). Review the previous sessions in pairs (e.g. using your paper handouts or the online version), and make a note of any points that stand out to you, that you found helpful, or would like to raise in the following group discussion. To give an example, you might note down types of group work, and briefly note the three types (“same task groupwork”, carousel-style groupwork, “different tasks groupwork”) and reflect on how you have been able to make progress with your group work in class.
Group discussion (11 min). Share your reflections with the group, perhaps drawing a mindmap of what suggestions are made.
It's important to note down any points that arise, because these will be used in the planning task below.
Further notes on group work
There are many aspects to group work, and over time more things will occur to you, which you should share with your colleagues.
For instance, you could think about managing group work outside the classroom, doing group work with additional available resources (e.g. books, newspapers, other technologies)
Homework
Drawing on the points that arose in the discussion above, plan a group work task, e.g. including different-task group work, talking points in conjunction with the downloaded images, magic microphone, etc. Make sure you include an ICT element, and draw on classroom assistants if possible.
Computer tasks.
- Remember to keep practising your typing skills! (The awarding of a certificate at the end of the course will also depend on your typing skills!)
