Part 2:
Teaching With ICT

a. Structuring Lessons

In the case study we are dealing with, the teacher has a fairly regular pattern to her sessions. She tends to start with a teacher-led introduction to the topic, outlining the area for coverage in the session. In an hour-long lesson, she will restrict herself to just one topic. From the introduction, she will set pairs or small groups work to do, using printed worksheets, a CD-ROM or specific investigations on the World Wide Web. This work is structured, and she monitors progress around the class until she can get them to report back to the whole group on their progress, or summarise their progress in small groups to feedback in the next session.

Again, you might not work in exactly this way, but you probably do have a pattern that you favour as a teacher. Characterise this pattern to yourself now, and consider how the use of ICT as a resource might fit into it.

Over something like a four week period of preparation for oral work, spending two or three hours a week on the topics, the teacher in the case study has wanted to introduce the ICT based work at the beginning. First let's recall the main learning objectives the teacher has for her pupils in this area:

• Gather information from a variety of sources.
• Evaluate the validity of the sources of information.
• Distinguish between facts, opinions and arguments.
• Clarify, analyse and progress the ideas of others.
• Gather and store information in a way that is useful in prepared presentations and discussions.
• Respond in written and oral modes to the arguments of others.

The topics the teacher has selected for discussion are:

• Fox hunting and other blood-sports
• Genetically Modified foods
• The existence or otherwise of UFO's

Below is a summary of how weeks one-four are structured to use ICT to meet these objectives. Take a look at the summary below and then produce your own account, and your own lesson plans, showing how you would use the ICT resources we have been discussing to do the same job on the topics. You might wish to extend or contract the time, and to fit the plans, duration and work around your own experience of working with this type of activity.

Case Study Lesson Structure

Week 1 - Three Hours. Introduce the method for the four-week phase of work. Introduce the three topics, one in each hour. Each hour goes like this:

• Class introduction and allocation of topics to individuals and pairs. Every pupil works on information gathering and presentation/discussion for two of the three topics - one voluntary (for presentation) and one allocated by the teacher (for encouragement of questioning).
• Bullet-point summary of the issues prepared by the teacher in word processed handout. General discussion of the topic to establish parameters of investigation and ground-rules for discussions.

Week 2 - Two Hours. The time used as "workshop" time to gather resources from CD-ROM and web sites, starting from the handouts of week one and using the web sites given in this case study plus locally available CD-ROM's.

• Class introduction.
• Pairs set investigations to get background information to their topics for turning into hand-written and/or word processed presentation notes.
• Homework set to convert information found into notes.

Week 3 - Two Hours.

• Hour One - pairs give short summary of the information sources used so that all pupils have access to the same range of sources.
• Hour Two - final period of information gathering based on opportunities emerging in Hour One and to consolidate information for both topics.

Week 4 -Three Hours. Pupils undertake discussions and presentations in pairs and groups.

• Class introduction.
• Each pair gives a short summary of the activity of the pair in the finding of information and presents an account of their position on the topic, with supporting evidence from the investigation.
• A short discussion at each point when the pairs covering the topic have all finished.

In a group of 30 pupils, this would mean:

• 30 pupils = 15 pairs = 5 pairs for each topic:
  • Class introduction to/recap of the exercise - 5 minutes
  • Topic one - 5 pair-presentations on the investigation and the topic, timed at 6-8 minutes each - 30-40 minutes
  • 1 discussion in the whole group on the topic - timed at 15-25 minutes

Repeat for topics two and three in hours two and three.

b. Managing Learning in the Classroom