cooperative working

The end of our cooperative project has arrived.  The presentation of work takes place on Monday which means we are at the rounding up and finishing off stage. 


Normally I am very guilty of leaving things until the last minute but when working on group projects something strange happens and I become obsessed with completing everything promptly, being super organised and everyone having a clearly defined role.


Previous posts on this subject haved looked at our group dynamics and an article by Johnson and Johnson based on the benefits of cooperative learning.


With the end always comes the contemplation aspect; the reflection on how you have worked both personally and within your group.  This can go in a variety of ways; if the project went well then reflection will be very positive and can perhaps be minimal.  If there were a few hiccups along the way this provides opportunity for identifing improvements in both practice and strengths and weaknesses in all areas.  If there are multiple problems with group dynamics or processes it can be extremely difficult to step back and evaluate in a balanced point of view.  In the latter case it can be most beneficial to privately reflect then critically evaluate these reflections.  Without first doing this it would be easy to steamtrain and not be objective.


The above introduction was written prior to my reading the following quote:


"Studies report that peer learning promotes greater conceptual and procedural gains for students, accommodates a broad range of learning styles, results in greater enjoyment of the learning task, and encourages a stronger persistence in learning (Johnson & Johnson, 1999)." (cited in Cooper and Marie, 2002)




I freely admit that there were times that I struggled to work collaboratively during the course of this project.  There are a number of reasons for this and frustration has been a regular visitor to my emotional repertoire over recent weeks.  I have complained my way though many conversations, moaned to generally anyone who showed the slightest sign of listening (and even some who did not) and yet I failed to pin down what was bothering me the most.  I thought it was based on impressions that some of the group were not participating as fully as they could have or that I was feeling the burden of taking on more than my share of the work.  

Within groups there is often a person who takes a lead role, my intention had been to step back and avoid becoming this person.  I often find that I take on this role and appreciate that this is due to my personality but I tried to make a conscious decision not to do so in this project.  I thought it was important to let others experience this role.  Yet, perhaps by trying to stand back I caused myself more frustration than if I hadn't.  Linking to my earlier observation on the effect of group work to my personal working strategy and to the above quote from the Theory into Practice Journal I can see a link; my working strategy is transformed due to the demands of cooperative working.  It is not just the end result that is motivating me but the concept that others are reliant on me pulling my weight and fulfilling my allocated work to the best I can.  With this drive I begin to mentally put pressure on others that I work with, expecting the same process to be occurring within their minds.  This is when I become the uber complainer.  


I cannot expect people to hit early (and unmentioned) deadlines: in the same way we all learn differently we all work differently.  If I have an assignment due I mull it over, think about it and eventually write it, often quite near to the deadline.  This is my individual working style, I have accepted that this is how I work and no longer worry that I haven't completed assignments a fortnight early.  Despite this a seemingly irrational part of my brain begins to rage when a group member hasn't done exactly that; complete a task two weeks early.  


Having acknowledged my personal demons with cooperative working I have a greater understanding of why I have found myself struggle so much with this project.  This is not to say that there have not been other shortfalls in work ethic but this is a self assessment not a peer assessment and sometimes a public blog is not the place to carry out this kind of activity. 


Without going through this process I would not have realised any of this therefore my personal development has gained alongside my professional development.  I have enhanced my communication and organisational skills, I have gained experience of filming and editing for an educational purpose, I have extended my presentation skills through our wikispace (link to follow) but most importantly I have learned more about myself and this is inarguably the steepest learning curve.

Let's get animated!

This week we started looking at animation and it's potential use within the classroom.  Possibilities for incorporating animation across the curriculum are endless and the examples that I have chosen to include in this blog entry are perhaps a little predictable.  It is not very often I share real examples of lesson ideas within my blog, I think this is something that I should do more of.


I know that animation is widely used in schools and is very successful.  The equipment that we used during our input was digiblue cameras and software.  These are very easy to use and many schools have this equipment.  For us the process sounded very lengthy to begin with; 15 clicks for one second!  Yet we found that time passed very quickly and the process of recording was not tiresome at all.  


Before we could begin the process of filming the animation we had to brainstorm in our group to plan the subject for our animation.  This technique, if used in a classroom, would let the children have ownership of their subject and a creative license to go in any direction that they wish.  This would fit well if the outcome was focusing on teamwork: 


I value the opportunities I am given to make friends and be part of a group in a range of situations. (CfE, HWB all levels)





The use of cooperative learning packs would ensure team work was balanced and everyone had a set role to play in the process.   Due to the time consuming nature of animation the inclusion of a role record within the pack would enable group members to experience various roles over the course of the project.  This would ensure that pupils are developing skills and experiences.  Like Lauren I would group pupils in mixed ability groups as this should diversify skills within each group therefore enhancing opportunities for each member to feel valued.  Depending on the class this may not always be the case as strengths may be weighted in certain areas although teacher knowledge will allow for the best grouping possibilities.


The Technologies outcome link, that I have chosen as an example, applies to both first and second level of CfE:


I can create, capture and manipulate sounds, text and images to communicate experiences, ideas and information in creative and engaging ways. (CfE, technologies 1st and 2nd level)


This outcome reflects the process of creating the animation, editing it, publishing it and reflecting on the process of working.  Depending on the previous experience of the pupils the reflection process may be more important than the creating process.  This reflection could take many forms including a blog format, creating a presentation to share with others in the class, school or wider community, a video log of the working process or a photo story of the working process.

By investigating the range of foods available I can discuss how they contribute to a healthy diet.

HWB 1-30a (CfE)

This outcome reflects the broad topic that the animations must be based upon.  This is not necessary as it is possible to let pupils choose freely a topic, however in this case I would like to link to work on nutrition.  Many schools hold a 'Health Week' therefore this is an idea platform for this particular topic.  Pupils could be split into opposing teams and the animations based on positives of healthy eating versus the positives of unhealthy eating.  By creating scripts pupils would also be able to link to their language outcomes and the animations provide an alternative medium for a debate.


I can convey information, describe events or processes, share my opinions or persuade my reader in different ways.

*Responsibility of all

LIT 1-28a/LIT 1-29a

The final outcome relates to both the group working concept and the need to respect the opinions and beliefs of others.

I recognise that each individual has a unique blend of abilities and needs. I contribute to making my school community one which values individuals equally and is a welcoming place for all.

*Responsibility of all

HWB 2-10a(CfE)

I believe that cooperative working opportunities are an essential element of education.  Working with a range of different peers can develop understanding of both others ideas and views as well as developing understanding of your own personal ideas and views.  An animation project allows pupils to swap roles depending on their strengths and the stage of the project.  It is also an ideal activity to explore issues that may be inaccessible in other activities.  Pupils can use animation to express themselves more freely and in a more relaxed manner with less fear of repercussions.  They are not directly exposed and for some this will provide increased confidence to participate.

Editation

TecnoTeach: Do We Still Need Editors?

Reading this post got me thinking about my personal blogging journey, over the last few months I have developed immensely in this area.  Previously I kept a personal blog which although published on the internet did not link back to me.  I never shared the address of my personal blog with anybody and even now I have not shared the link.  The development, and indeed progression, came when we were set a blogging task as part of our university ICT coursework.  Not wanting to share my other blog I set up this blogger account.
Initially I experimented with a style similar to my other blog as this is the style of writing that I enjoy most.  As time went on and I started my ICT elective we were again asked to keep a blog but this time it was to form part of our portfolio of work for assessment.  The more I posted the more confidence I developed to the point that I will easily share links to my blog through Twitter.  The reflective element has also been beneficial in developing my placement reflections which are a required element of the course.

In relation to the question of editors for children blogging I completely agree that this is a necessity.  The notion of comparison between parents can get extremely competitive and this may dent confidence in children which in turn contradicts the purpose of keeping a blog for educational reasons.
The freedom of using your voice, with or without a great reader following, can only promote creative thinking in children.  As for needing editors I would like to think that eventually, as children become more experienced with blogging and net etiquette, they will have the skills to maintain suitable content in these areas.  Perhaps the editing and moderating responsibility could be handed over to the pupils on a peer level.

Smart Schools

Technically this is not much of a blog post but I really wanted to share this video here.  I love the closing quote that Professor Stephen Heppell uses - "Smart schools are embracing them and smart kids are too"





While I am linking videos I thought I would add this clip too.  For anyone who knows our lecturer Sharon I'm sure you will agree that the words of this little girl sound very like her philosophy and what a great philosophy that is :0)

Contextual Orientated Games Based Learning

Often as a student teacher you hear about initiatives in the classroom that sound like the next big thing.  It can be difficult to be objective as you feel inexperienced.  

At the Scottish Learning Festival (2009) I attended a presentation on the use of an internet based resource called ‘Moshimonsters’.  The teacher was very enthusiastic about its application in the classroom and her team of pupils presented very well and with a great deal of confidence.  This form of games based learning has a contextual element that makes it successful.  When it comes to using GBL in an educational setting I think it is important to build in a mixture of contextual activities and game based activities.  Further examples of contextual based activities would be Guitar Hero, Endless Ocean, African Safari and Mario Kart Wii.  (I will blog about games orientated GBL in the near future.)

As I believe that technology is one of the best tools for enthusing learners on an engaging level I watched eagerly thinking ‘wow, this sounds great.  How could I use this?’  After I came home I had a look at the site and called upon my trusted guinea pigs (daughters) to experiment.  They have been using the site for a number of months now and have managed to persuade many of their friends to sign up thus building up their network. 

The concept of the site is that you adopt a monster, look after it, complete challenges and network with other users.  There are levels for progression and everything is themed for example; you can buy your monster slopcorn and wash it down with toad soda.  To level up the most effective thing you can do is complete the daily challenge.  All challenges vary in difficulty and I am not sure about the consistency of them in relation to the target audience.  Think sight training, entry level multiplication and long multiplication in one challenge of 10 questions (although this varies as the questions are time dependant).  There is also the issue of reading ability; the ‘monsters’ have their own language therefore everything needs to be read by the user.

I am not sure whether I would use it for every child individually.  Perhaps as an internet safety introduction the class, as a whole, could adopt a monster to look after this could link well with RME outcomes and Health and Wellbeing outcomes providing these links would benefit the pupils in terms of progression.  With staff support an older class could set up a ‘Moshi’ club that may run over lunch break or after school.  They could support younger users with advice and develop many skills through the organisation and running of the club.  There are plenty of ideas and every teacher, school and pupil can find their own way of making any learning purposeful.

The benefit of being a student teacher is that you can take your ideas and run with them.  They develop spin off tangents and eventually you realise that you have become carried away or you have lost the initial concept, all this without even being near a class.  These are the lessons that cannot be taught, we need to encounter them in order to develop professional objectiveness.  The next time that I have a ‘wow’ moment I will probably still get over-enthusiastic but I will have some experience at stepping back for a moment and at least thinking about being objective.  My ‘wow’ moments are frequent and I do indulge myself the imaginative side but the perspective should always be there and clear for when it is time for reality to make them full of purpose.

Children are already living in a technologically immersive culture; they do not need bolt-ons.  Just because something can be linked into curricular guidelines does not mean it will be productive or immensely beneficial.  When planning any topic it is immensely important that the needs of the learners are met and we do not use something because it would be fun or because we have heard of the successes of others.  

I have researched many examples of games based learning and have witnessed the enthusiasm and motivation sparked in pupils both through this research and within a class setting.  I know that I will incorporate games based learning into my teaching as I have done so already and I look forward to doing so with great anticipation.

Further links: Wii

Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games

Guitar Hero

MoshiMonsters Review

Tim Rylands on TeachersTV

GBL, integrating technology, motivation... these are a few of my favourite things.

"Pupils tend to compartmentalise their learning"  (Kyriacou, 2009, p.32)


It has long been recognised that children often can solve problems in one situation but find it difficult to use the same strategy in another.  A prime example of this is the cross between a simple equation in mathematics and a word heavy problem containing the same equation.  Children find it hard to identify the key elements and extract them.  They know how to deal with the equation when presented in a certain manner.  Kyriacou, Effective Teaching in Schools (2009), identifies this in the above quote.


The challenge, as a teacher, is to find time to incorporate all the necessary elements of the learning and teaching of principles and strategies for each curricular area then finding engaging ways to link learning to real life situations to enable children to move beyond the 'situated learning' (Anderson, Reder and Simon, 1996).


If we can spark motivation in pupils that links learning and reinforcement in a meaningful way then why question that?  It has always been recognised that play is an essential element in developing understanding in children, even adults learn through play.  The enjoyment factor can only serve to aid retention of skills and knowledge gained and application of prior learning will be beneficial in transferring prior learning to knowledge and long term memory.


The recent surge in the incorporation of games based learning in education has encountered both enthusiasm and criticism.  The reaction and strength of feeling from those on both sides of the argument can only be seen as a positive.  The old adage that no publicity is bad publicity comes to mind.  I do not believe that the games based learning approach is the best way forward for every teacher.  For any new strategy or approach the enthusiasm must begin with the implementer, without this it would be very easy for learning and meaning to become disjointed.  The pedagogical approach is at the core of effective implementation.  There are many teachers that would like to increase their use of technology in their classrooms yet lack the confidence or training to be able to progress this further, there are the teachers that have the confidence and enthusiasm but resources may be an issue and there are teachers that have no desire to extend any of the above in their teaching.


To be able to incorporate games based learning into planning it is important to note the class history, by this I mean what they have experienced previously, potential for progression, relevance to curricular outcomes and stage of learning.  These are elements that are necessary for any effective planning therefore it is only natural to think about them for games based learning (GBL).  Often when something new is introduced it can be easy to get swept up in the tide of excitement and judgement on purpose can become clouded, with comprehensive planning this can be avoided.  This does not mean there is no room for spontaneity in this approach, one of my favourite quotes comes from Tom Barrett's blog:

"Plan ahead, but also decide not to plan! Discovery in gaming is an important part of the experience – sharing the unexpected with your class is amazing."

For me, personally, this quote fills me with excitement thinking of the potential of this.  The ability to have the opportunity to experience the same feelings of wonder, awe, amazement or even disappointment or shock alongside your pupils can only serve to enhance both your bond with the children and your understanding of their emotions, inexplicably, at a given moment.  Working with a class could be likened to a journey and within this journey the more that can be experienced empathetically the better.


Another vital element in using GBL successfully is the difference between how children may already use games at home and they way you want them to use them to enhance learning.  There is a strong difference yet that is not to say that they are not learning through leisure play.  The difference is in the guidance towards the next step in learning.  When children experience through leisure the experiences are random, possibly unrelated, not necessarily progressive and without a purpose in mind.  This is true of all independent play whether games based, outdoor play or social play.  This is also a very important part of child development and different from expectations within the school setting.  In the school setting there is an inevitable agenda that needs to be followed in order to work with national curricular guidelines.  Depending upon the stage of the children there are a number of documents to work with at present in Scotland as the process of transition towards Curriculum for Excellence continues.

The most obviously observable advantage to using games based learning is the possibility of developing thinking skills.  These take the form of analytical, problem solving, reflection, evaluation and classification to name but few.  When watching a child play a console game this may not be immediately evident but when you question them about the process of playing the game they will be able to explain a number of decisions and processes to you, often beyond their ability stage.  When you experience the game for yourself and become truly immersed within it you will find yourself going through the same processes.  The experience of playing a game before using it is vital, you would not introduce a novel into a class without reading it beforehand so why would you use a game in such a way?

PLN: I love Twitter

A few months ago I read a tweet on Twitter that had been Re-tweeted by someone that I follow.  I hope this is making sense so far.  If you don't do twitter then you are probably lost right now so I should try and explain it first.

Twitter is a social networking site that allows you to connect with people anywhere in the world about any subject.  The catch is that you are limited to 140 characters.  This can be difficult at times, especially as I do tend to whittle on quite a bit, but can make you really focus on what you want to say.  The statement below is how Twitter describes itself.

Twitter is a real-time information network powered by people all aorund the world and lets you share and discover what's happening now.

Twitter asks "what's happening" and makes the answer spread across the globe to millions, immediately.

Twitter has proven to have many uses and perhaps the most recently publicised benefit was in the wake of the Haiti Earthquake.  The adaptability of Twitter has enormous potential and this potential is being realised by many people.


My personal experience is on a much less worthy scale than the amazing success of it's use in Haiti.  I frequently ask questions from the people that follow me on twitter and the most amazing thing is that they give me so much in terms of advice, resources and support.  This means that not only do I get all of this through university, but I also have an extended circle that can provide an extra help.  All this at my fingertips!


At present we are looking at Early Years education and within this we have been looking at international perspectives on Early Years.  In our inputs we explored the work in Reggio Emilia, Italy and the approach that works so well there.  As a group we decided to research Te Whariki.  This is the system that is used in New Zealand.  Using textbooks and the internet we gathered information in this area.  Now this brings me back to my original story about the re-tweet all those months previously.


Neil Winton was responsible for linking me into the message posted by a teacher from Melville Intermediate School in New Zealand.  The teacher was asking for help with a class project based on milk.  Following responding to their blog entry on the class blog I added the teacher to my twitter network and in return he started following me.  
When we had decided to research Te Whariki one of the first things I did was contact this New Zealand based teacher and ask for a personal perspective.  In turn he tweeted to his network of year 1 teachers and put me in contact with one of them for further help.  Through Twitter I have been able to access and gather information that I would not otherwise have had access to.


The possibilities for using Twitter in education are vast and by using it for such purposes as the one described here I am building on ideas for how to use with a class, not to mention the ideas that I have been lucky enough to have gathered from my network.


As with any tool the way it is used is the key to it's success in being used.  It is not necessarily the tool that is brilliant but the people that use it effectively for a purpose certainly are.