Part 2:
Teaching with ICT

a. Structuring Lessons

In the case study we are dealing with, the teacher has a fairly regular pattern to his sessions. He tends to start with a teacher-led introduction to the session, outlining the area for coverage in the session. In an hour-long lesson, he might restrict himself to just one single issue within sustainability or to one example. From the introduction, he will set pairs or small groups work to do, using either printed worksheets, a section of a CD-ROM or specific investigations on the World Wide Web. This work is structured, and he monitors progress around the class until he can get them to report back to the whole group on their progress, or summarise their progress in small groups to feed back 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.

The teacher wants to use ICT over a two-week introductory period spending two hours a week with it. First let's recall the main learning objectives the teacher has for his pupils in this area:

• Explain how conflicting demands of the environment arise
• Give examples of demands that come into conflict in at least one Geographical environment
• Describe the notion of sustainability as it applies to management of resources
• Discuss approaches to sustainability in at least two specific cases

Below is a summary of how the two separate weeks are structured to use ICT to meet some of these objectives. You will see that they are proposed as two distinct stand-alone sets of work. This is because the teacher needs to be flexible in when he can gain access to the ICT, and needs to be able to move the sessions around in consultation with other users of ICT in his school.

Take a look at the summary 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 this area of work. 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 or a similar area of work.

Case Study Lesson Structure

Week 1 - Use a CD Encyclopædia to define demands and conflicts between demands on the environment - 2 hours.

• Class introduction and targeted questions - outline definitions of demand and conflict.
• Small group work (groups of three):
  • Bring back three examples of mineral resources consumed by societies in Europe, with figures on consumption/demand/supply.
  • Bring back explanation of effects of rising demand on petro-chemical resources.
  • Bring back outline of environmental effects of demand for timber in South America.
  • Bring back outline of at least two examples of demand-conflict between countries and/or social groups in relation to food and fisheries resources.
  • Focus on water - bring back examples of conflict from any part(s) of the world of conflict over water.
  • Focus on high technology - explore results of Taiwan earthquake on supply/demand of silicon-based computer memory.
• Class discussion of points raised by group work - whole-class summary of issues in demand and conflict.

Week 2 - Use the Internet to explore examples of sustainability - 2 hours.

• Class introduction - whole class discussion on sustainability as a method of managing resources.
• Worksheet based tasks on examples of sustainable management using websites.
  • Background information on the project in worksheet.
  • Current work in the project as reflected on the site - questions in the worksheet.
  • Questions on the worksheet to cover:
    • Approaches to sustainability in the project.
    • Economic arguments for the project, including non-commercial funding.
    • Resource management methods in the project.
    • Benefits to the environment of the project.
    • Costs of the project.
• Small groups feed back with responses to the worksheets - whole class discussion of the projects and their medium-long term sustainability.

b. Managing Learning in the Classroom