Part 2:
Teaching With ICT

a. Structuring Lessons

Before deciding exactly how to approach the work, check with your IT Co-ordinator concerning what methods are recommended for the process of designing the database. It will be best to follow a familiar approach for pupils as far as possible. What follows is thus only a suggestion, based on that taken in "Better Thinking, Better Mathematics".

Case Study Lesson Structure

Lesson 1

Provoke discussion by claiming that teachers are fit and full of life(!) whilst pupils spend their time lounging around playing computer games. Lead the discussion to an interesting but ill-defined contentious statement, such as: "Kids today have an unhealthy lifestyle" or "Schoolchildren are couch potatoes".

Discuss the statement with the class with particular reference to the sort of questions which might be asked in a survey to find out if the statement is valid. Then let the pupils think individually about how they would approach the task before discussing it in small groups and planning the questions.

Brainstorm the survey questions produced by each group. Remind them about their previous work on data handling, emphasising how questions should be set out in order to collect useful data for analysis. Decide, with the help of the class, which questions will be asked in the survey and how they will be presented.

Questions for Consideration

• What are the criteria for good questions?
• Suppose pupils suggested the questions:
  • Are you healthy, yes or no?
  • Do you eat too many crisps?
  • What diseases have you had?
  • How much booze do you drink a week?
  • How many days have you had off school this term?
  • What sort of drugs do you take?
• How would you suggest producing good questions out of these?

Ask the class why a computer might be used to analyse the results. Emphasise the need for precision and accuracy. For each item of data to be collected, decide on the field name (and type or length if needed for the database). Record the decisions on a conventional board and type them up later, or, if a large screen is available, type them straight into a table using a word processor.

Set homework to collect anonymous responses from a fixed number of people each by next time. Emphasise no door to door work. Friends and relatives only should be asked. Discuss the nature of the sample required: spread of age, etc.

After the Lesson
Make copies for pupils of the data structure/dictionary. Example of entry in data structure table:

Lesson 2

This could also be done by groups in turn during other lessons if only one or two computers are available.
Pupils work in groups, creating a new database and then typing in their data items. Each group must use a different file name for their data. Wise teachers have a stock of "data they collected themselves" for absentees, etc. Emphasise spelling, order, spaces, field type, whether to use capitals, etc.

Pupils who have finished can examine their own data set and begin to draw tentative conclusions.

After the Lesson
The teacher combines together all the files created by pupils. The way this is done depends on the hardware configuration and software used. One way to do it is to use a single floppy disk and ask each group in turn to copy their database onto it - making sure that each group has used a different filename.

Unless your database software has a "merge" facility, the best way to do this is probably to use "copy and paste" from each group's file into a single file which you are building up. Take care that each group's database has the intended structure, and that each group's data is placed straight after the end of the previous block of data.

If using MS Works, create a spreadsheet template with headings in the columns which correspond exactly to the data structure, then copy all the data from the database to the spreadsheet, so that the column headings match the data and the graphs will be correctly labelled.

Lesson 3

First, discuss the idea of correlation, using the particular variables involved in this project. What connections might they expect? Show how to produce a scattergraph from the database or spreadsheet. How do we tell from a graph how closely they are related?

Also discuss their ideas for comparing different categories of person, such as: males and females; pupils and parents. Show how to produce a bar chart or histogram of different subsets of data, and discuss comparing the distributions visually. Lead them to the idea of calculating an average, and show them how to do this in the database or spreadsheet. Pupils then explore the full data set, attempting to test the original statement and seeking additional conclusions.

Pupils print out graphs etc. to justify their conclusions in a report or wall display.

Lesson 4

Selected groups of pupils present their findings to the class, using a range of graphs and statistics. Pupils must explain why they chose to use a particular sort of graph.

Class discussion follows presentations about the validity of findings and the appropriateness of the graphs chosen. General rules about the use of various forms of data presentation are discussed and noted.

b. Managing Learning in the Classroom