15th June 2011
Tallinn
Gustav Adolf High School
Particpants
NPC – Ingrid Maadvere
NTC – Martin Sillaots
T1 Teacher of Musics
T2 Teacher of Math
T3 Teacher of Natural Sciences
S1 9th grade student
Scenarios involved in PD:
3. Using multiple resources and technology to research a common topic
8. Students creating science learning resources
== Using multiple resources and technology to research a common topic =
1? Did the story generate any thoughts?
T1: This kind of learning process consist lot of work (time-consuming). What is the expected duration? One school year? One semester? … Or one lesson?
T1: How many groups are needed? NPC: teachers can decide that.
Is it mandatory to organize work in teams? – NPC: No I’f you prefer individual work. Team work is just one option. Focus is on using multiple resources.
T1, T2: Teachers are stacked in the example – history of our school. They don’t see how to use similar framework in their own subject. NTC: To avoid this problem in the future the structure of the scenario should be divided in to 2 parts: 1. overal framework of the scenario, 2. concrete example
T1: I could use this scenario for exploring biographies of famous composers.
? Is this a possible story?
T1: We have had already similar project about our school history. Do we have to do this again?
Is it single (one-time) project?
How we will present the outcome of the project?
T2: My students are from grade school. They are not able to set objectives. But maybe they are able to collet data and media pieces by taking photos, … TPC: At what age students will have ability to set goals? Lets ask this from a student 🙂
S1: We are able to set personal learning goals. And we are able to plan steps that are needed to reach to the goal. We have done already several interviews. Collecting data and uploading media items is also not a problem – we have done this too.
? Is there something they would like to change in it?
T1: Learning activity starts from the discussion. Isn’t there some recommendations to students how they should start and what to study?
T1: Isn’t there plan for making interview? E.g. what happens when students go to interview somebody? How we can be sure that students ask important questions?
T1: Scenario should contain some specific milestones – how to split and control the longer process. Also list of data collecting methods could be handy. Interview is only one example … right?
T2: I would like to see shorter scenarios (not the text of scenario but the duration of scenario and workload). Then it’s easier to start. NTC: Maybe its enough when iTec teachers implement only one or some iTec activities (e.g. using 1 minute long video reports or making multimedia presentations, or …) or iTec tools (e.g. TeamUp or …)
? Could they imagine themselves in the role of the teacher?
Yes
? What part would they find most difficult to manage?
T1: How to find time for all of this? The curriculum is full of mandatory topics we don’t have time for extra projects. NPC: Maybe it is possible to integrate mandatory topics with the scenario? E.g. How to plan and execute interview is a part of Language curriculum. This can be integrated to current scenario. How to analyze data can be part of course of statistics – if this subject exists in the school (some schools have it but mostly in high school level).
T3: This scenario requires that students have high technical skills. Although students do most of the activities teachers also must have similar skills – students probably will ask teachers help. Teachers don’t have those skills. They need support from educational technologist or from iTec NTC.
T2: Also I would like to have technical support: how to edit media, how to uppdad, … I wold like to start from technical activities.
S1: Students have those technical skills.
? How would the story continue
T1: How the students get results? How to evaluate their work? Will it be voting, earning some points, … NTC: Seams like putting the grade is very important issue to teachers … and to students.
== Students creating science learning resources ==
? Did the story generate any thoughts?
T1: This scenario sounds very interesting.
T2: Is this resource – this model that students have to create – is it virtual or real? NPC: It can be also real but the presentation must be virtual.
T1: I desired already long time ago that older students teach younger ones.
T1: I would like to use it as an activity where students have to create some musical instruments
T2: I would like to let students to create some math models
T3: I really like this scenario because at first student must learn something very deeply because otherwise it’s not possible to teach others. Another good thing is that I can integrate the same topic through 2 school years.
? Is this a possible story?
T1: It’s really realistic to combine musics and physics – to create modules how the sound is made.
NTC: I had one experience where 4th grade taught to 3th grade the rules of the grammar. After short teaching 3th grade had a test. Then 4th grade students had to correct the test and observe the errors. They had to give assessment to their students and to asses themselves as teachers.
? Is there something they would like to change in it?
T2: I would like to use this scenario during several school years: every next year or grade more difficult tasks. The same topic but different difficulty levels. I would like to see such kind of incremental cycles in the scenario.
T2: I think it’s OK to ask students to teach fellow students but only inside of the same class or group. I don’t like the idea that older students have to teach younger ones.
T3: How to asses the students? I guess if they already had courage to teach somebody … this is worth of maximum result. Even if they fail.
T1, T2, T3: other assessment options are:
1. self assessment or analyze of the team.
2. assessment of younger students (those who were taught)
3, feedback from younger students
? Could they imagine themselves in the role of the teacher?
Yes
? What part would they find most difficult to manage?
T2: Is it mandatory to organize work in teams? Can it be individual task? Teamwork is sometimes over estimated. NPC: Teacher can modify the scenario if they like. NTC: But to learn how to work in teams is also important skill. It is important that students can have team working experience.
? How would the story continue?
T1: I have concrete example how I can use this in the music education: Students learn how to play flute. The task can be exercise where in a small range of notes they have to compose short melody.
Then they have to teach this to younger students.
Younger students must learn and play this melody.
The melody can be recorded and presented in the internet as midi note notation.
T3: One specific activity in biology can be making poster about human body … different layers and topics.
T3: Another idea is to let students to create stuffed animals :D.
T2: In math one idea is to make diagrams based on real data. Data source can be the students of the class. E.G. short surveys about different topics. E.G. who loves to drink a milk? Data can be gathered through several years. Results can be compared, trends discovered, …
S1: This is suitable scenario for the curriculum of physics. There I would like to test things in practice, not to learn the theory.
