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 ICT-based sessions. He tends to start with a teacher-led
introduction to the topic, outlining the area for coverage in
the session. In an hour-long lesson, he will restrict himself
to a limited range of work - in this case perhaps just two of
the Religions selected for the work. From the introduction, he
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 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.
Over
something like an eight week period of work on this set of objectives,
spending one hour a week on the topic, the teacher in the case
study has wanted to introduce the ICT based work in the second
week. First let's recall the main learning objectives the teacher
has for his pupils in this area:
- Name
the major World Religions and some minor Religions
- Identify
a range of beliefs within each of the Religions, including:
-
Some attitudes to specific social and interpersonal behaviours.
- Some
approaches to basic features of human life such as diet
and survival.
- The
sources of some attitudes, whether in sacred texts, other
sources of law or other traditions of behaviour.
- The
significance of the belief to the religion's structure and
performance.
- Identify
reasons why behaviours determined by religious commitment compliment
and conflict with secular expectations.
The
teacher wishes to concentrate on the following in order to explore
the questions:
- Seventh
Day Adventism
- Mormonism
- The
Jehovah's Witness Movement
- Judaism
-
Sikhism
- Buddhism
- Islam
- Hindus
Below
is a summary of how weeks two-six are structured to use ICT to
meet some of these objectives, specifically those relating to
cause and effect, modelling and considering alternatives. Take
a look at this 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 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
Religious Belief and Social Life
Week
2 - One Hour - Research on the Internet and CD-ROM.
- Class
introduction - summarise work done in week 1 (Names of Religions).
- Pair
or small group work on rules for all religions using (but not
issuing) categories from Worksheet - eating and drinking; praying
and worship; recreation and leisure; money, charity and taxes;
social behaviour appearance and dress.
- Pairs/small
groups given list of some or all religions and some or all areas
of social life - depends of groups within the class and decisions
about levels of attainment and requirements of differentiation.
Carry over to week 3
Week
3 - One Hour - Research on the Internet and CD-ROM.
-
Continuation of week 2 research, with whole class summary for
final quarter of session - brainstorm and brief discussion of
findings.
Week
4 - One Hour - Begin work on Tasks from Worksheet: Task Set
1.
-
Class introduction - recap weeks 2 and 3, and issue of worksheet
which can be downloaded below.
- Groups
set - 10 groups to work on specific tasks as identified on worksheet.
- Groups
record findings from worksheet and investigation - by hand on
printed sheets.
- Brief
summary in final quarter of session.
Week
5 - Tasks from Worksheet: Task Set 2.
-
Class introduction - recap week 4
- Focus
on Task 2 - same ten groups use findings from Task 1 to fill
out part or whole of Task 2 sheet which can also be downloaded
below.
- Brief
summary and discussion in final quarter of session.
Weeks
6 to 8 - Use Word to fill in boxes for both tasks.
- Class
introduction - recap week 5 and summarise all findings.
- Stay
with same ten groups - pupils use word to convert hand-written
notes to word processed documents showing patterns between Religions
and social life.
Note
on class location:
- Week
1 was delivered in a traditional classroom setting using non-ICT
methods.
- Weeks
2 and 3 could be delivered in the classroom with some pupils
working in a library or learning centre for PC/internet access.
- Weeks
4 and 5 did not need ICT access at all - pupils worked on printed
material.
- Weeks
6 to 8 required whole class access to at least ten machines
- computer room needed for this phase.
How
do I download files from the Web?
b.
Managing Learning in the Classroom
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