A modern teaching methods manual for primary and secondary schools by Emanuela Dregjoni

» A MODERN TEACHING METHODS MANUAL FOR PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS «

■■ Prepared by:

People in Need, 2010 ■■ Officially Supported by:

the Ministry of Education in Ethiopia

A MODERN TEACHING METHODS MANUAL FOR PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS People in Need (PIN) is an international NGO based in Czech Republic that provides relief aid and development assistance around the world. People in Need Safarikova 635/24 120 00 Prague 2 Czech Republic Tel: +420 226 200 400 Fax.: +420 226 200 401 mail@peopleinneed.cz www.peopleinneed.cz Published thanks to the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and its Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid Program. www.mzv.cz This manual is officially supported by the Ministry of Education of Ethiopia to be used for promoting active learning in all educational facilities.

Authors: Solomon Wondimu, Petra Skalicka, Hana Kostalova Co-authors: Damtew Wolde, Tiglu Nano, Tsegab Meles, Agazit Gebru, Petros Tibbo, Zemenu Tadesse, Margareth MacDonald Edited by: Solomon Wondimu, Zuzana Pernicova, Tereza Porybna Proofreading by: Katrina Byrne Cuffey, Jennifer Thompson Design by: Mowshe Published by: People in Need Addis Ababa, 2010 © People in Need 2010

Acknowledgment People in Need (PIN) would like to express its thanks and gratitude to all those involved in the process of the manual preparation. First and foremost the recognition belongs to the team of Ethiopian and Czech education experts – Solomon Wondimu, Zemenu Tadesse, Tsegab Meles, Damtew Wolde, Tiglu Nano, Agazit Gebru, Petros Tibbo, Margareth MacDonald, Petra Skalicka and Hana Kostalova – who have been for several years steadily contributing to the quality of PIN’s educational programs and the value of this training manual. Equally important were the comments of numerous other professors, teachers, students and education officials whose invaluable remarks have helped revise the manual’s content and maximize its relevance for the Ethiopian context.

About People in Need Founded in 1992, People in Need (PIN) is a Czech non-governmental organization that provides relief aid and development assistance around the world. Apart from extensive work abroad, People in Need administers social integration, informative and educational programs in the Czech Republic. PIN is one of the largest organizations of its kind in post-communist Europe, and has administered projects in thirty-seven countries over the past fourteen years. In 2003 People in Need started working in Ethiopia. Since the beginning of its action, PIN has been focusing on projects in the areas of education, drinking water resources, agriculture, environmental protection and social programmes helping women and children. PIN implements projects in the Addis Ababa City Administration, Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region, and Somali region. Through local partners, PIN is also present in the Amhara and Oromiya region. In the education sector, PIN focuses on improving both access to and quality of education. The Czech public participates in the fundraising campaign Let’s build a school in Africa, which has so far enabled construction of 12 primary schools. Additionally, PIN supports cluster schools, develops teaching aids and conducts various teacher training programs promoting modern teaching methods. Over 3000 teachers, students, principals, education officials and lecturers have participated in these trainings. Education has been PIN’s priority since the very beginning of its mission to Ethiopia, and will continue to be so, as the organization believes that an educated population is one of the most crucial assets to any country’s development.

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CONTENTS: Introduction ......................................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 ■■ Week 1.................... ........................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 9 Day by Day Program Week 1........................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Handouts: Pebbles. ................................................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Mingle Mingle............. .......................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Objectives, principles and rules of the training........... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Requirements for certification......................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 MARKET of pedagogical ideas........................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Venn Diagrams....................................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Comparative Table...... ........................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Names – attributes – features........................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Professional features........................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Brainstorming – rules for the procedure.. ..................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Brainstorming – analyses of the method. ..................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Making rules and procedures. ........................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Clustering – mind mapping................................................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Model lesson – work with an educational text............ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Is Climate Change “natural”?............................................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 I.N.S.E.R.T. (Interactive Noting System for Effective Reading and Thinking). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Table of I.N.S.E.R.T... ........................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Framework for thinking and learning............................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Socio-pedagogical constructivism. ................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Model lesson on reading – Special Praise by Jaroslav Culek.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Assessment.............................................................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 ReQuest Procedure..... ........................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Portfolio Development........................................................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Criteria and principles of portfolio assessment............ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Active Learning. ................................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Critical Thinking.................................................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 ■■ Week 2.................... .......................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Day by Day Program Week 2........................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Handouts: Three-Step Interview. ......................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Trunks and Roots. ...... ........................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 The Hippopotamus............................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Jigsaw............................ ........................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Jigsaw puzzle – The Hippopotamus................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Providing students with Feedback. ................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Mind Map Examples – Examples of Descriptive Feedback.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Running with a Message..................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Free Writing. ............... .......................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Community circle................................................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 The Four Wives. .................................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Our Collective Tree..... .......................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Brief Lesson Plans – Examples. ......................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Peer Assessment. ........ .......................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Appreciation and Question................................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

page

■■ Week 3.. ............................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Day by Day Program Week 3............................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Handouts: Rotating Review.. ..................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Cinquain..................................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Cubing. ............. ........................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Model lesson – Christopher Columbus................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Cooperative puzzle................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 122 Self-reflection sheet – GROUP WORK.. ................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 123 “Thank You, Ma’am” by Langston Hughes. ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 124 Literature Circles.. ................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 127 An enhanced lecture.............................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 128 Observation..... ........................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Open and Closed Questions................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Questions................................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 Self-assessment (self-reflection). ......................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 Rotating Questions – Examples. .......................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 ■■ Week 4. ..... .......................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Day by Day Program Week 4. ............................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 142 Handouts: Pens in the Middle................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Know/Want to Know/Learn.................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 152 Discussion Web. ....................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 5 – 1 – 4....................................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 154 Lines of Future.. ....................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 Bingo (Game).. ........................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 156 BIO FUELS....... .......................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 157 Final Evaluation of the Training........................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

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Introduction Access to and quality of education have been a long-term priority of the Ethiopian government and great improvement has been achieved in this regard. As for quality of education, the current education and training policy gives due attention to pre-service and in-service teacher trainings offered at all levels of the education system. The focus on quality of education is further proved by the introduction of General Education Quality Improvement Program (GEQIP) by the Ethiopian government. Emphasis is given on active learning strategies in the teaching and learning process and various attempts have been made by the government, NGOs and other stakeholders to familiarize teachers with theories and practice of learner centerd methods and integrated approaches, which have in various socio-cultural contexts proven to enhance the learner’s ability to learn. In line with these efforts, People in Need prepared this publication, which is based on years of preparing and conducting in-service trainings. It offers a complex overview of active learning and other related strategies and demonstrates in an understandable way how teachers can use these methods in class. Objectives of the Manual The general objective of this manual is thus to bring a change in the quality of teaching in primary and secondary schools and improve students’ learning. Specifically, the manual aims to familiarize teachers with theoretical and practical understanding of the learner centerd methods and encourage their implementation. The different methods presented are thus carefully selected according to their practicality and applicability in the context of Ethiopian schools. Modern Teaching Methods Manual Authors of this manual define modern teaching methods (MTM) as a variety of learnercenterd approaches that promote literacy and development of life skills such as communication skills, lifelong learning skills and critical thinking skills. The content of the manual also considers the culture and indigenous knowledge of the Ethiopian society. The specific methods included in the manual are: –– Active learning methods (such as brainstorming, clustering, rotating review, etc.) –– Techniques of assessment and evaluation (such as peer assessment, self-assessment, etc.) –– Portfolio development –– Lesson planning –– Various games and refreshers The manual contains numerous hand-outs which further explain the theoretical basis of the methodology and explain each method and activity in detail. Theoretical Bases of the Manual The overall approach of this manual is based on the socio-pedagogical constructivist theory of learning, which assumes that all learners are unique and the most effective way to build their knowledge is through connecting the “old” with the “new” in a meaningful way. If this occurs, learners are more likely to understand the content and also to use acquired knowledge in their everyday life. Sociopedagogical constructivism also argues that information is remembered better if it is gained through an active learning process that encourages learners to build their own knowledge structures. One of the practical tools produced by this theory is the ERR framework of thinking and learning 1 (ERR stands for Evocation, Realization of Meaning and Reflection). This framework helps teachers convey knowledge in a very effective way and is often referred to in the manual, where it serves as the foundation for organizing the methods and delivering the content.

1 Steele, J. L., Meredith K. S., Temple, Ch. A framework for critical thinking across the curriculum. 1998. page

The ERR framework of thinking and learning devides the learning process in three phases: 1. Evocation Process during which learners are motivated to retrieve prior knowledge on the given topic 2. Realization of Meaning Process during which new information presented in an active way and students learn this new information in relation to what they already know 3. Reflection Process summarizing the new content by the learners A thorough theoretical presentation of the framework is presented at the beginning of the manual, and later its practical use during lesson planning is introduced. Authors of this manual believe – based on their experience and feedback from teachers – that the ERR framework is a truly efficient tool and that students in primary and secondary schools will benefit from its implementation. The MTM Training The MTM manual was originally developed for trainings of primary and secondary schools teachers organized by People in Need. The training is designed for 4 weeks, with pauses between the individual weeks, during which trainees return back to school and implement what they have learnt. The participants get direct firsthand experience of all the methods as they try them out in the role of actual students. The training also facilitates personal development of the trainees, for instance, in some activities the trainees become skilled at cooperativeness, partnership, communication, etc. As part of the training, the participants are asked to develop a lesson plan in line with the ERR framework and by using active learning methods. They also try to implement these lesson plans in their schools during the pauses between training weeks; and during the next training session share their experiences with the whole class and the trainer. Trainees are visited by trainers in their respective schools throughout the training and are provided with supportive feedback on their implementation of active learning methods. The trainees are also familiarized with the concept of portfolio development and assessment and in addition to that, each trainee develops a personal portfolio capturing their development during the training. The trainer is in constant dialogue with the participants and together they seek the best ways by to practically apply Modern Teaching Methods in the context of Ethiopian schools. How to use the MTM Manual As explained previously – the MTM manual was originally designed for a four-weeks of training with breaks in between the weeks, during which trainees implement in schools. However – the material is flexible and can be used according to the specific needs of the user. For example, the user can consider the weeks as “chapters” and organize a longer/shorter training by spreading/condensing the program of each “chapter”. Or the users can select only some methods they want to address (eg. portfolio development, brainstorming or Venn diagrams). Furthermore, even though the manual is prepared primarily for training sessions, it can also be used by individuals who want to learn some new methods or refresh their previous knowledge. The manual can teach both groups with trainers and individuals how to use modern teaching methods, prepare active lesson plans, promote continuous assessment and much more. On a more technical note, the program for each week includes specific contents for each day. The program for each day has three vertical columns. The first one is time allocation for each activity. However, the given time is an estimate and does not mean the trainer must always follow it. Allocated time should reflect the specific needs of the trainees. The second column briefly describes activities/methods and how they should be conducted. Detailed information for each activity or method is included in the handouts for each week. The third column is “Remark”. It includes possible materials to be used, suggestions on organizing the class and the activities. It is not necessary to complete the entire program on the given day because the lesson should be adjusted according to the groups’ interests or capabilities. In addition, it is not necessary to follow exactly what is described in the program. The trainer has the possibility of changing some aspects of the program

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such as topics for reading, organizing the class (group organization) and questions etc. The reading topics were selected based on their accessibility for most readers. But they can be replaced by other texts, for example a local story or an article about current issues from the newspaper. The user-trainer can also freely include cross-cutting issues (such as gender equality, HIV/AIDS etc) while practicing the methods, rather than just following those suggested by the manual. Regarding games and refreshers, the trainer should choose the appropriate time for a game. Again it is possible to use games from the list or prepare new games and songs. It all depends on the requirements and creativity of the person using the manual. However, these changes should not deviate from the main idea of the program. Feedback is part of everyday’s program, but it is not compulsory to get feedback from participants each day. Feedback can be collected from trainees depending on the available time. The trainer should take feedback seriously, discuss it with the group and make adjustments to the training when relevant. Final Comments People in Need (PIN) and the authors of this manual hope that teachers, trainers, students and all other users will find it helpful. Serious efforts are being made to continuously improve the manual and increase its adaptability to the local education environment. One of these efforts was the translation of the manual into Amharic. The Amharic version is currently successfully used during in-service trainings conducted by PIN. The Modern Teaching Methods Manual presented to you is a general one, applicable to a wide range of subjects, be it humanities, natural science or aesthetics. PIN is also publishing subject specific manuals, which show in a clear and practical way how active learning methods can be applied to specific subjects, for example biology or Amharic. In case you wish to provide us with feedback or are interested in some of our publications or trainings, please feel free to contact us at the address below. People in Need P. O. Box 27565/1000 Addis Ababa pin_manual@gmail.com www.peopleinneed.cz

page

1. week

1. 1. week

day

Time allocation

Activities

Remarks

9.00

Good morning, teachers!

25’

Little Pebbles Instructions and completing the activity Possible changes: –– participants can work in two groups (half and half) –– participants can put back only one of their pebbles in the center of the circle and say only one piece of information; during the second round they give back a second pebble, if they have any; during the third round they put back the third pebble and so on, until the last member puts back their last pebble.

■■ see handout

Reflection of the activity “Little Pebbles” Think back about the completed activity. Did you feel comfortable during the activity? Why yes, why no? When yes, when no? How did you like it overall? What did you like about it and what did you dislike? Do you think that your students could feel similarly if you conducted this activity? Would they feel relaxed? Would they feel uncomfortable? Why? Implementation of ideas For what purposes would you use this activity in your class? How can you use this activity in your subject areas? Give examples.

Participants sitting in a circle.

40’

Prepare the pebbles beforehand.

Select several questions from the list, or you can add your own according to the needs of the group. Let them discuss each question first in pairs and only afterward should they share their answers with the rest of the group. Participants work in groups and present their ideas to the whole group. Use some way of grouping – e.g. stones of four/five colors...

20’

Break

20’

Name rehearsal Participants (including the trainer) put on name tags and sit or stand in a circle. Then someone starts by saying his/ her own name and the person sitting next to them repeats the name of the first person and adds his/her own. The activity continues until the last person repeats all the names in the circle. Then the activity continues in the reverse direction to balance out the challenge of memorizing the names of all participants. All this can be done while the name tags are on. For the third round the participants take off the name tags and the participants are expected to say the names by memory.

In case a participant forgets the name of another participant, the first letter of the name is said so that he/she can guess the name.

15’

Reflection of the activity “Name rehearsal” What is the importance of this game? How can you use the activity in your teaching practice?

Stress for the trainees that the game can: –– Help students get to know each other better, particularly at the beginning of the school year –– Be used for teaching some concepts which require remembering simple facts

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1. 1. week

Time allocation 25’

Activities

Mingle Mingle The participants, working individually, have 5 minutes to think over and write down their expectations and fears regarding attending this training. Then participants walk around the room until the trainer gives the signal to stop. Turning to someone nearby, they ask each other about their expectations and fears. It is not necessary to write down the answers using a paper and a pen. The trainer gives another signal so they can speak with somebody else, and so on. Afterwards the participants make groups and write down their expectations and fears (or the trainer collects them) on flipchart paper.

10’

Trainer comments on participants’ personal expectations and fears.

20’

a) Objectives for the training. The participants read the objectives handout (1st paragraph) and mark the expectations which corresponds with their objectives. Group discussion about the objectives: Do you understand them? Are they acceptable for you? Are they important for you? What does “self-reflective professional” mean? b) Principles of the training – small group discussion. Ask them to read the 2nd paragraph silently and then discuss in groups whether the paragraph is clear. Each member of the group must understand the principles. They can write any questions about the principles. Whole group discussion: each group comes up with its question. First, give the participants a chance to answer. If necessary, add your answer. The principles can stay hanging on the wall until the end of the program to let participants check whether the training was in line with the principles. c) Rules of the training Rules of the training are introduced and clarified by the trainer. Check whether they are well understood by all trainees.

day

Remarks ■■ see handout It is important to display the fears and expectations on the wall and keep them there until the end of the training. We will come back to them at the end of the training and some issues might be raised throughout the training.

■■ see handout Reading and discussion in groups, possibly asking questions. Emphasize and explain that the goal is especially to become self-reflective professionals. The principles of the training are written on flipchart paper and hung on the wall during the training: –– Participants receive first hand experience as students. –– Pedagogical reflection upon each activity follows. –– Content and pace are adjusted to participants’ needs and possibilities. –– Planning for implementation is an integral part of the training. –– Questions are encouraged.

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1. 1. week

day

Time allocation 50’

Activities

Market of pedagogical ideas 1. Participants think individually about a method they like to use with their students – then they write the description into the handout. 2. Participants meet in groups of three. 3. They share their ideas – don’t let them simply read their handout, but instead encourage them to speak freely. 4. They take turns sharing: first person A speaks while persons B and C listen, then they rotate until everyone has spoken and listened to their partners’ methods.

Remarks ■■ see handout The method the participants select may not necessarily be from this training. Participants can present using the format they used for describing the method. You can write down the methods used in a table on flipchart paper or the blackboard.

5. After each method is introduced, participants should discuss it briefly. 6. Finally, each group selects a representative who shares his/her method with the whole group (the group should sit in a circle). Reflection of the activity “Market of pedagogical ideas” Why did you say the method you used was an active learning one? What is your criterion to say so? What is an active learning method? The trainer then asks trainees to go through the active learning handout and to see whether what they defined is similar with the handout and further ask them whether the ideas about active learning are clear. They can also be invited to ask any question they have. Then the trainer explains the purpose of the activity and tells participants that there are different active learning methods they are going to be exposed to throughout this training.

12.00

Lunch break

14.00

Ice breaker

■■ see handout on active learning Immediately after answering the questions, the trainer distributes the handout with the definition of “active learning”.

10’ 40’

Practice Venn diagram Explanation of the method with a selected example. Participants work in pairs. They select two or more items (or items could be assigned) and compare them. Encourage participants to ask questions about the items, which are in their mind (interesting, curious, additional…. questions)

15’

page

Break

■■ see handout First ask participants (especially mathematics teachers) if they know the method. If yes, ask them to explain the method. Assigned items to compare can be e.g. Keninisa Bekele and Teddy Afro or anything else.

1. 1. week

Time allocation 30’

Activities

Practice Comparative Table Explanation of the method with an example.

day

Remarks ■■ see handout You can use the same example as for Venn diagram.

Ask participants to do their own comparative tables on a chosen subject. It is good to let the trainees practice both types of comparative tables: with and without the extension of a Venn diagram. Also stress that the two are similar while having a slight difference. They should identify distinctive features of two items, compare the items and write down characteristics of both in the prepared table. Afterward volunteers will present their comparative table. The trainer can let the trainees practice the activity directly on the handout by simply writing the topics or titles to be compared on top of the columns on the handout. Finally remind the trainees that there are two types of comparative tables: with and without the extension of the Venn diagram. For this refer to the handout.

30’

Reflection of the activities “Venn diagram” and “Comparative Table” Think about each activity: What was difficult/easy in this activity for you? What skills can be developed in students? How can you use such an activity in your teaching practice? How can you introduce the activities to your students for the first time?

The trainer may use his/her own way of collecting the reflection work from trainees.

15’

Feedback

1. What was important for you today? 2. What can you use in your everyday practice? 3. What question(s) do you have? 4. Any comments.

17.00

page

1. 2. week

day

Time allocation 9.00

Activities

Remarks

Program for today. Suggestions of participants.

5’ 30’

Names – attributes – features a) first name – attribute (same letter) b) father’s name – attribute (same letter) c) 3 attributes of a teacher (any letter) Participants make large name cards: under the names they write the related attribute. Hang the cards on the wall as a gallery. Possible extension of the activity (before cards are hung on the wall): After the participants write down the qualities of a teacher they add a small picture that will somehow represent their own personality. After that the trainer asks them to walk around the room to meet in pairs. The first member guesses the meaning of the picture on their partner’s picture. Then the author explains the picture. Then the roles reverse and the activity is repeated.

30’

page

Reflection of the activity “Names – attributes – features” Write down the steps of the activity. How did you feel during the activity? (Which parts of the activity did you like and dislike?) How you can use this activity with your students (in your subject)?

■■ see handout ■■ see also handout: list of professional features Beforehand they fold the piece of paper in four parts and into the each part they write/ draw one of the tasks. The participants can select attributes of a teacher from the handout with list of professional features.

Participants discuss the questions in groups, write down answers on a piece of paper and then share the answers with the whole group. The trainer discusses with them different ideas regarding the possible use of the activity in different subject areas. Ways the steps can be changed also need to be considered.

1. 2. week

Time allocation 30’

Activities

Practice Brainstorming Explanation of the method First, ask the participants if they know the method and use it with their students. If somebody does, ask him/her to explain the method to the rest of the group. Rules of brainstorming Explain the rules of the brainstorming procedure.

day

Remarks ■■ see handout Always apply this procedure when you are going to explain a new method or strategy. It is good to display the procedures of brainstorming on the wall for explanation: Brainstorming = free flow of ideas about unknown topic or question – speculations & questions = core of brainstorming 1. select a topic 2. formulate good brainstorming question 3. assign a time portion 4. * every idea is valuable * don’t refuse any idea * don’t worry about mistakes It is also important to follow the procedures yourself when demonstrating the activity. Remember to write questions (in a different color). Emphasize the importance of choosing a good question for brainstorming (unknown topic, connection with students’ personal experience…)

20’

Break

page

1. 2. week

day

Time allocation 60’

Activities

Brainstorming – practice 1. Selection of a topic for brainstorming The trainer should tell the participants to suggest a topic which they think will be new to them. Then the trainer will come up with a good brainstorming question demonstrating the procedures of preparing brainstorming questions. For example if “dinosaurs” is suggested as a topic then the brainstorming can be about the importance of dinosaurs. E.g. how would dinosaurs affect our life today? Another option: The trainer prepares 3 (or more) good brainstorming questions for different topics in advance and allows the trainees to choose which topic they want to use: each participant has three votes (= three marks) and can put them next to the suggested topics (they may use all to support only one topic or divide the votes among up to three topics). 2. Brainstorming procedure Let the participants brainstorm –– individually (approximately 8 min) –– in pairs (approximately 10 min) –– in small groups (approximately 10 min) Afterward let them present and display their ideas on the wall.

12.00

Lunch break

14.00

Game

Remarks The questions prepared by the trainer should be from different subject areas to demonstrate the applicability of the method for any subject. The trainees need to pass through all the three stages of brainstorming as it has the implication in the teaching and learning process. Model pair brainstorming in the center of the room (“fishbowl”): Add some ideas or questions from your partner to your list (but only ideas with which you agree or accept) and offer your ideas or questions to your partner. The group brainstorming should preferably be done using a flipchart.

15’ 20’

Writing a good brainstorming question Write one question for brainstorming for topics in your subject area which you can use with your students. In doing so, the trainee should also indicate what would be new that they are going to teach about the new topic which they want their students to brainstorm about. After this, the trainees read their brainstorming questions to the whole class. Then there is a discussion on the presented brainstorming questions addressing the following: –– Are the questions in line with the procedures of writing brainstorming questions? –– Possible ways of improving the questions.

page

Emphasize the principles for writing good brainstorming questions: *unknown topic * connection with students’ personal experiences * revision question is not a brainstorming question * the topic itself shouldn’t be used as a brainstorming question

1. 2. week

Time allocation 60’

Activities

Reflection on the “brainstorming” activity The participants discuss and answer the assignment in small groups: 1. List the steps of the brainstorming activity. 2. How can you use this method in your subject area? Give examples. 3. What are the advantages of individual, pair and group brainstorming, respectively for facilitating the learning process for students and the teacher? In case the trainees do not offer important implications of the activity the trainer should ask additional questions: What is the advantage of knowing students’ background knowledge for the teacher and for the students themselves? Why is it important to accept all ideas both wrong and right? 4. What can be challenges for you and for your students while using brainstorming in your class? 5. Do you personally believe accepting all ideas of your students is important? If yes, why? If no, why? 6. Do you believe that what students already know is a base for what they will learn next? How or how not? Afterward trainees will share their ideas with whole group.

20’

day

Remarks Let them write down answers on a big sheet of paper (at least A4 or a flipchart sheet) Advantages of brainstorming Individual brainstorming –– initiates individual thinking of each student –– makes thinking of students free ➔ everybody can participate without fear and obstacles of thinking –– provokes deep ideas in students –– evokes students own experiences and therefore connects the topic with students’ minds –– helps the students realize what they already know about the topic and what questions they have about it helps students develop cognitive structures of their own –– motivates students ➔ they want to find out which of their ideas were correct and what the answers to their questions are. Pair brainstorming –– brings opportunity to socio-cognitive conflict = comparing ideas –– helps shy students overcome their shyness –– helps the students develop better cognitive structures –– develops communication skills, respect for ideas of others –– gives information to a teacher about students’ current knowledge ➔ the teacher can change the lesson plan immediately.

Break

page

1. 2. week

day

Time allocation 75’

Activities

Ground rules for our group Start the activity by asking the participants questions related to classroom (or school) rules such as importance of rules, how rules developed in their classes, who is responsible for preparing rules in their school, how they usually follow the classroom rules classes with large numbers of students, etc. Procedure: 1. Make groups. 2. E ach group proposes and writes ground rules for the whole class (would be followed by everybody). Alternative: to be done in a whole group circle. 3. In the whole group negotiate and prepare a final list of common rules (everybody accepts), discuss them with the trainers. 4. W rite them on a piece of flipchart paper and display on a wall in the classroom. 5. W hat shall we do (as a group) if some of the rules are broken by the trainees? What measures shall be taken? Reflection on the “Ground rules”: 1. I s it possible to apply ground rules in your class? If yes how? If no why? 2. W hat would be the importance of ground rules in your class? 3. What are the challenges in application of ground rules in your class? 4. W hat would you do to monitor whether the rules developed in this way are respected. What if some rules are broken?

Remarks ■■ see handout

After everybody, including the trainer, signs under the ground rules, it is good to display them on the wall, in a place easily visible to everyone. The ground rules should remain displayed on the wall for the duration of the training. It is good to keep each group’s ground rules for further use.

10’ 17.00

page

Feedback

1. 3. week

Time allocation 9.00

Activities

day

Remarks

Program for today. Suggestions of participants.

5’ 15’

Game

60’

Practice Mind map (Clustering) 1. Explanation of the method with an example. The trainer explains the procedure for using mind mapping and then demonstrates with an example topic. 2. Selection of a topic for the mind map Participants form groups based on their subject areas (social science, natural science, self-contained). They select a topic as a the group or individually.

■■ see handout First, ask the participants if somebody can explain the method themself It is important to see the application of the method in different subject areas The steps of the mind map procedure should be displayed.

3. Mind map procedure The participants do the mind map individually using the topic selected by the group or by themselves. Encourage them to include some questions on the points which they are unsure of or which they want to know more about. Participants discuss in the subject area groups each other’s mind map and select one for the whole class presentation. Reflection on the mind map 1. How can you introduce mind mapping to your students for the first time? Describe the steps of using mind mapping in your class. 2. What do you think would be the challenges you may face in using this method in your class? 3. What is the advantage of the method for students’ learning? 4. In the teaching – learning process, in which part of the lesson can you employ such a method? Why?

20’

Break

80’

Model lesson: Is climate change natural? Evocation (E): Brainstorming – individual brainstorming, pair brainstorming, group brainstorming Brainstorming questions When is climate changing? How do you know that the climate in your surrounding has changed? What do you think cause changes in the climate? What reasons do the local people in your area attribute such changes in the climate to? What measures can be taken to reverse climate change?

■■ see handout

Realization of Meaning (RM): I.N.S.E.R.T. – Get trainees to read the text on climate change and put a tick “✔” for known information, “+” for new information, “?” for any confusion or doubts and “–” for contradictory information.

The trainer should display a flipchart with the signs for trainees to refer to while reading/processing the text. The frequency of signs they put is entirely up to each individual participant.

After the participants finish inserting marks on the text, the trainees discuss in pairs the different marks they inserted.

12.00

The group brainstorming results can simply be displayed or can be presented to the whole group and briefly discussed. ■■ see handout

Lunch break

page

1. 3. week

day

Time allocation 14.00

Activities

Remarks

Game or song

20’ 30’

Model lesson continues Reflection (R): Table of I.N.S.E.R.T. – The trainees each make a chart with the markings they used to categorize information. They write down 3 specific pieces of information that were already known (✔), 3 specific pieces of new information (+) and at least one question (?). Before having them make their table of I.N.S.E.R.T., explain and give examples of what is/is not information.

■■ see handout

Sharing ideas with the whole class, volunteers read the information they have for each column. Special attention should be given to the questions raised by the participants in the third column. The trainer needs to apply different strategies of answering the questions to act as a model as a constructivist teacher. Reflection on the model lesson 1. W rite the steps of the model lesson. 2. What you knew prior to this exercise is a base for what you will have learned. Do you see this? How? 3. D id the method I.N.S.E.R.T. lead you to be active and learn the topic individually and with the help of others? How? 4. I s I.N.S.E.R.T. applicable in your subject areas? How? 5. Do you think all the signs used in the method I.N.S.E.R.T. can be applied at all levels regardless of the grade level of students? 6. W hat is the importance of the table of I.N.S.E.R.T. for students’ learning?

Description of steps that be written on the flipchart paper at the end of the summary: 1. Brainstorming (What do you know or think you know about Axum?) –– individually –– in pairs –– in groups 2. Whole group discussion about known information and questions – common list (agree, ???) 3. Reading individually + using INSERT marks (✔, +, ?, –) 4. In pairs: comparing marked information) 5. Whole class comparing information marked by individual students – 3 examples (✔, +, ?) 6. INSERT chart – individually (7. Comparison of INSERT charts – if you did it) How did you feel during particular steps? – in groups on color paper (they get two sheets of color paper: on one they write their positive feelings, and on the other, their negative feelings) The idea that the trainees have a chance to select what to learn and what not to learn in the model lesson which has to be emphasized by the trainer in relation to question number 3.

20’

page

Break

1. 3. week

Time allocation 95’

Activities

day

Remarks

Introduction to the framework of thinking and learning

■■ see handout

Retrieving Prior Experience The trainer starts the introduction by first retrieving the teachers’ experience in planning and designing lessons by asking the following questions: –– Can you describe briefly the processes you and your students go through in learning a given concept? –– Explain the lesson from beginning to the end. How do you incorporate all this in your lesson plan? –– What criteria do you take into account in deciding what to include in your lesson plan as well as in your actual teaching?

At this point, if they mention the four phases of planning, the trainer can let the participants justify why they employ the activities in each phase. The trainer at this point can lead them to discuss whether the criteria for using the activities is based on the content or the teaching material or on considering how learning should take place in the students’ minds.

The trainer lastly asks teachers what the current trend of planning looks like in the schools, particularly what is included in the lesson plans. This can be done individually and afterward some participants can present their ideas. The trainer records the ideas on a flipchart. ERR framework of thinking and learning The trainer starts the introduction first by clarifying for the participants the general theoretical framework on which the ERR framework is based. This is followed by the description of each of the phases. All of the following can be displayed on a flipchart and can remain displayed until the end of the training as a reference for participants. –– Based in social constructivism –– Learning is an active process –– Each student is unique –– Background knowledge of students is a base for students’ learning –– Learning is both social and individual –– The framework has three phases: Evocation – Realization of meaning – Reflection 1. Evocation –– Prior knowledge is retrieved – students become aware of what they know about the topic and teachers now know the level of their students and how to present the new lesson –– Purpose for learning is set by each student ➔ to motivate, to activate

After the explanation of the framework the trainees try to match the steps of the model lesson with the 3 phases of the framework (with your help). They are two purposes for learning: 1/ teacher-driven or text-driven 2/ self-driven, set by student Considering the current trends and practices of our education policy. For question number 3 a large table can be prepared using a flipchart where the participants’ categorizations of the methods in the ERR framework can be recorded.

2. Realization of Meaning –– New information presented in an active way –– Students come to learn new information in relation to what they already know – connection of the new concept with already existing one –– Students learn according to their prior knowledge and abilities, which causes individual differences in learning –– Students construct meaning individually and in groups (cooperative learning) – e.g. students learn the new content with the help of others – teachers, peers, etc.

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1. 3. week

day

Time allocation

Activities

3. Reflection Students involved in activities that: –– Summarize the new content on their own – using their own words –– Apply what they have learnt to some realistic and contextual problems Reflection on the ERR framework Categorize all the steps and specific methods that you have seen throughout the model lesson above into one of the phases of the ERR framework and explain why each method belongs to that particular phase? 1. Do you think it is possible to incorporate the ERR framework for planning your lesson and for actual teaching? If yes how? If no, indicate the challenges? 2. I f your answer for the above question is “no” what do you think should be done to enable implementation of the framework for teaching? 3. Categorize all the methods you have practiced so far in to the phases of the ERR framework.

15’ 17.00

page

Feedback

Remarks

1. 4. week

Time allocation 9.00

Activities

day

Remarks

Program for today. Suggestions of participants.

5’ 15’

Game

30’

Reading lesson: Special Praise 1. Pre-reading activity: Think about the days when you were young children and school students. Do you remember how your journey to school was in those days? Was your school situated far away? Was the journey complicated? Why? Did you travel with your schoolmates? Did you play games or investigate something during the journey? Do you remember a story that you experienced on your way to or from school?

■■ see handout

The participants are given a sheet of A4 paper on which they draw a picture representing their childhood school journey experiences. Another option: The participants write their memories on the paper. Reading in pairs. Two or three examples for the whole group.

It is recommended to lead participants to write as well as draw their experiences regarding school trips.

30’

Gallery of pictures The pictures are displayed (on chairs or desks). Then some of the trainees show their picture and others guess the story behind them. Then the person explains his/her own picture.

20’

Break

80’

2. Reading first four paragraphs. Discussion about the environment described in the text. Ask participants to concentrate on how they imagine the place: the weather, their possible feelings and sensual perception they could experience. –– What could you see? Describe the countryside – what does it look like? What colors do you see? –– What could you hear? What sounds, voices? –– What could you smell? –– What could you feel on your hands, cheeks?

The questions can be asked in written form, step by step.

Ask the questions step by step and collect answers from participants.

3. Try to predict how the story will continue. Participants can discuss in groups their predictions, and share these with the other groups. 4. In groups provide the participants with the last six paragraphs, but cut up. The task for the participants is to arrange them in a logical sequence. Let them glue the paragraphs on paper. Afterwards discuss with the whole group their suggestions of the sequence of the paragraphs. Let volunteers discuss why they chose the order while trainees may help justify the explanations as well.

12.00

Lunch break

14.00

Game or song

20’

page

1. 4. week

day

Time allocation 30’

Activities

Reflection on the Reading Lesson Steps of the reading lesson Participants write down the steps of a reading lesson. In groups, they try to categorize the steps of the reading lesson into ERR framework. Whole group discussion about the correct categorization. Critical Thinking Development Ask participants the following questions –– What does it mean when we say “think critically”? –– What are the characteristics of critical thinkers? –– How can you develop critical thinking skills in your students?

Remarks 1. Pre-reading – thinking about own journey – drawing a picture (E) 2. Gallery – sharing pictures (E) 3. Reading part 1 (RM) 4. Prediction (E) 5. Putting paragraphs in order (RM) 6. Comparing conclusions (RM) 7. The order of paragraphs according to the text (R)

After reflecting on these questions, the trainer presents the idea of critical thinking: the why and how. The trainees read the handout. This can be done by assigning a specific part of the paragraph to each group and then having them present. While each group presents ideas, the trainer summarizes and adds his own ideas about what is being mentioned. For this purpose the trainer can prepare short notes about ideas of critical thinking on a flipchart beforehand. The Concept Assessment

■■ See handout

The trainer starts asking the participants: What do you mean when you, as a teacher, say “I am assessing my students”? When do you say you are assessing your students? What do you assess? Who is assessing their work? How could you assess your students’ work? What are the techniques of gathering information for assessment?

The trainer presents the major ideas of the handout through a flipchart or on the blackboard. The ideas to be presented include: the what, how, when and the types of assessment, etc.

This can be tentatively presented through the use of rotating review (the method would be changed as soon as alterative methods are found) in which each group works on one of the questions, but the first question is meant for the whole group. Each group presents their work to the whole class. Subsequently, the handout about assessment can be presented. The handout at this stage can be simply to give a general overview about concepts related to assessment.

30’

page

Portfolio development and assessment The trainer asks participants about previous experience with portfolios. –– What do you know about portfolios? –– Do you have the experience of developing and assessing your own portfolio or leading your students to produce their own portfolios? In what context? –– What do you think are the benefits of a portfolio? –– What things would you include in your portfolio from this training? Why? –– Who do you think should decide what to include in a portfolio? What is the basis or criteria for selecting the work samples to be included in the portfolio? The activity can be done first individually and then participants can discuss in groups and present their results to the whole class.

■■ see handout

1. 4. week

Time allocation

Activities

day

Remarks

20’

Break

30’

Adaptation of Re Quest Procedure Handout about Portfolio is distributed. ReQuest Procedure is explained. Participants read it in pairs. They silently read only a short part of the text (one paragraph). Then one of them summarizes the part without looking at the text. The partner then asks a question about the passage read. Both must be sure they understand the text correctly and completely. Then they change their roles.

■■ see handout

20’

Whole group discussion about the text Participants are asked to raise any questions they have which are left unanswered during the request procedure activity. Some of them can be asked to come in front and ask their questions to the participants and others can provide answers. Lastly participants can be asked: Do you have any questions about portfolios?

Check whether they have understood the text or not.

15’

Criteria for portfolio assessment The trainer presents the criteria of portfolio development and assessment which must be fulfilled by participants while preparing their own portfolio from MTM training.

The trainees should include the pre-implemented lesson plan, feedback received, improved lesson plan (the implemented one), and self-reflection. Emphasize here that when the trainees lead students to prepare their own portfolio, they need to identify the criteria and let their students know what is required of them.

T he criteria include the following participants’ works: 1. At least three lesson plans with feedback from the trainer, peers and your self-assessment. It should include both the pre-implemented and the practiced lesson plan. 2. A self reflection on your involvement in group activities (process of learning) 3. At least three pieces of evidence that indicate you have clearly understood the ERR framework of thinking and learning and justify why you think so. 4. Set criteria for portfolio development and assessment for your students in your subject area. Here the trainer can ask participants to ask whether they accept the criteria and ask them to add other criteria if they have any. This helps demonstrate the involvement of students in selecting what to include in the portfolios (or in setting the criteria of portfolio assessment).

15’

Reflection of the method Request Procedure 1. As a reflection, the trainees can be asked the following questions: 2. What feelings do you have about the activity? 3. How can you adapt such an activity to your teaching practice? Give an example. 4. What skills could your students develop by learning through this method? 5. For which phase (E-RM-R) does the activity fit? What problems may you face in using the method? How could you minimize or avoid such challenges?

15’

Feedback

The trainer can demonstrate the activity to the whole class with one volunteer participant as indicated in the RWCT handbook.

Guideline for criteria development: subject area, grade level, objectives, criteria, way of assessment Criteria can be added or modified based on the trainees’ suggestions.

17.00

page

1. 5. week

day

Time allocation 8.00

Activities

Remarks

Program for today. Suggestions of participants.

5’ 20’

Game or song

30’

Requirements for certification Give information about the requirements of the training: 1. A ttendance is obligatory, maximum absences allowed are 2 days (12 hours) during the whole period of the training 2. Follow ground rules. 3. D evelop portfolio according to given criteria. 4. P resent/teach one period (on selected topic and subject area) using active learning methods from any of the previous the training sessions.

■■ see handout

Participants will read the requirements and then they can ask whatever question they have. This will be followed by explanation.

80’

Planning an active learning method The trainees will be divided into teams according to subject areas. Each person will prepare their own plan. Plan includes: –– topic(s) and grade –– method(s) that will be included –– How are you going to use the method? instructions that will be given to students, classroom organization, materials to be used, assessing the activity –– Why did you select this method?

Emphasize here that the participants do not plan a whole lesson but only one active method they are going to use during the upcoming weeks. Furthermore, it is also important to tell them to try to include one active method in their planning and to come with some experience next time. Discuss with the trainees their plans, give them advice, suggestions…

20’

Break

80’

Presentation of lesson plan proposals After the presentations of the lesson plans, feedback is provided by participants as well as by the trainer.

Encourage open flow of ideas among the participants after the presentation.

The trainer instructs the trainees to write down the feedback they consider worthwhile for the improvement of the presented active learning method. This feedback should be incorporated before the actual implementation of the lesson plan at school.

A trainer needs to have a separate file for recording the feedback on the lesson plans presented.

The trainer records the feedback given for the presented active learning methods. Trainees should understand that the lesson plan must be tried out in their school and at the next session they are expected to share their real experiences.

page

Emphasize that the planed lessons should be implemented in their schools before the next training session.

1. 5. week

Time allocation

Activities

20’

Categorization of methods The participants will categorize all methods from week 1 of the program using the ERR framework. The trainer prepares a table on a flipchart where each of the phases of the framework (E, R.M., R) can be indicated on the columns and the respective methods and strategies can be categorized underneath. This can be something to be done every Friday.

15’

Feedback

day

Remarks The flipchart can remain displayed.

13.00

page

1. week

Little Pebbles The game Little Pebbles can serve to help students become more familiar with each other. It can be used with a new group of students as well as to extend mutual recognition of each other within an “old” group. You need a lot of pebbles. Put the pebbles in a cup or bag. Each student takes as many pebbles as they want. Tell your students that each pebble has something hidden about themselves – a piece of information. According to the number of pebbles everybody has to say important information about themself. A person who has only one pebble says only one piece of information, while a person who has more pebbles says more information. For example: Student Alemayehu takes three pebbles. He says: “I have three brothers and one sister. I am the oldest one.” “I like reading in my free time, and I especially like adventure books.” “My favorite food is doro wot. It is a spicy chicken sauce cooked with butter, onion, chilli, garlic and other spices.” Application: This activity can be used in the learning process too. You can assign each student to count as many exercises (or has to describe as many animals or has to locate as many towns or .....) to as many pebbles they have and so on. In addition, the activity can be used at the end of the lesson (after the new content has been learnt) to help students actively revise the new content. Since the activity can take up more time, it is practical to use it at the end of a major topic or a unit to devote the whole period for active revision. For example a teacher teaching about the digestive system in a given unit can make students draw little pebbles and tell some piece of information they have learnt during the unit. Even though it might be time consuming, there are still options to use the activity for a revision of a single lesson. In this case, instead of giving the pebbles to individuals, the pebbles can be given to groups and each group can offer as much information as possible according to the number of pebbles they received.

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1. week

Mingle mingle This activity can be used as an ice breaking activity that gives participants the opportunity to become more familiar with each other. It can be also used any time when you need the participants or students to discuss a topic or a question briefly but intensively. In our training we use Mingle Mingle the first time to explore participants’ expectations and fears and also to let them get to know each other better. The participants work alone to think over their expectations and fears of attending this training for 5 minutes and write them down. Then they slowly walk around the room silently. They think about their expectations for this training. When a bell rings or the trainer gives another signal, they stop walking and form a pair with the nearest person. They share for 3 minutes their expectations and fears. They are not allowed to write anything down on the paper or their hands. After the time is over they continue walking. They think about what they have heard. After another signal, they stop again and they form a new pair with a different person. They share their own expectations and fears and also those which they heard from others. After the bell rings again they continue walking and the process is repeated. It is up to the teacher how much time they devote to the brief discussions. We recommend 3 minutes as a minimum, 5 minutes as a maximum. Afterward, participants sit down in a circle and they inform the rest of the group about the expectations and fears they heard during the activity from their partners. They should identify the source and then they should freely repeat the expectations of this person. The trainer writes down each new expectation or fear. He makes marks on those expectations that appear repeatedly. In place of expectations, the participants can discuss any topic, idea or question. Be sure you are watching the time properly. If you see that one person in a pair used the entire time of the group to talk about his/her expectations you should comment on this. Do so in a friendly way (you may ask if he realizes that the others will not have a chance to learn about his partner’s expectations).

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1. week

Objectives, principles and rules of the training Objectives of the training At the end of the training participants will be able to: 1. Integrate active learning methods into teaching and the learning process. 2. Identify the roles and activities suggested in the ERR framework of thinking and learning. 3. Apply performance-based continuous assessment and evaluation procedures. 4. Apply portfolio development and portfolio assessment to be practiced both in the training session and in the actual teaching and learning process. 5. Seek new impulses, ideas and inspiration for enhancing their teaching practices. 6. Become self-reflective professionals. Principles of the training 1. Using effective methods of teaching-learning is the central focus of the training. This means that the training is based on each participants’ activities. Participants have firsthand experience with each method. Through this, participants get greater opportunities to understand and master the methods. 2. Regular and frequent reflection of what was going on is part of the training. 3. Needs and capabilities of participants are respected throughout the training. The content and pace are adjusted to suit the participants. 4. The real school situation is taken into consideration. The training incorporates different methods which can be applied in large classes with limited material resources. 5. Enough time is provided for participants to think about the integration of methods into their current practice. During the training participants plan and implement the plan in their respective schools. In this way the implementation is supported. 6. The training is based on a partner approach between the trainees and the trainer. Rules and Regulations of the training 1. Any absence must be justified with a reason and the trainer must be informed in advance or as soon as possible 2. Active participation is mandatory. 3. If rules are kept and requirements fulfilled, the per diems for participants will be covered by the organizers.

References: Košťálová, H. Training of Modern Teaching Methods. People in Need. 2005.

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1. week

Requirements for certification 1. Attendance is obligatory. A maximum total absence of 2 days is acceptable, i.e. 12 hours, during the whole training. 2. Following the Ground Rules which are negotiated and accepted within the group. 3. A participant will develop his/her own Portfolio according to given criteria. 4. A participant will present/teach one period (on selected topic and subject area) using active learning methods in the last week of the training.

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1. week

MARKET of pedagogical ideas Think about a method of active learning that you like to use with your students. Describe the method here. Name (in case the method has any).................................................................................. Description of the method (For example answer these questions: How do you instruct your students when they are supposed to use the method? What exactly do you tell them? What do the students do during the method? What are the outcomes of the work? What can students learn working with this particular method? ETC. according to your needs)

After you have completed the description of the method find two other participants (whom you don’t know very well). Make a group of three. Select person A, B, C. First, member A will describe his/her method. The two other members will listen carefully and will ask questions after the member finishes his/her speech. Then member B will continue and finally member C will finish. After you have shared in your small group, choose one of the methods presented. This method will be presented to the whole group of participants.

Your name....................................................subject area...............................................

References: Košťálová, H. Training of Modern Teaching Methods. People in Need. 2005.

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1. week

Venn Diagrams A Venn diagram is constructed using two or more large, partially overlapping circles with space in the middle. It can be used for contrasting ideas and showing an overlap between them. Suppose, for example, that the students are comparing the city of Awassa and the city of Addis Ababa. A Venn diagram with two overlapping circles would enable the class to contrast features of the two cities, while also displaying what they have in common. The teacher might ask pairs of students to construct a Venn diagram by filling in only the two parts of the circle devoted exclusively to the city of Awassa or the city of Addis, respectively. Then pairs could join other pairs and the foursomes could compare their diagrams and then list in the middle section the features they saw that were common to both cities. Instructions for the teachers Find two items that should be compared. In our example above we have selected two cities, Addis and Awassa. In your subject area you might want the students to compare different items, e.g. two vegetables (tomato and potato; onion and garlic, etc.), two literary characters (Bilcho and Tom Thumb, lion and parrot), two different water sources (e.g. Bellata river and Awassa lake), two types of human settlements (e.g. village and town), two people (e.g. mother and father) ..... It depends on the goals, objectives and topic of the lesson! Divide the group of students into pairs or groups of three. Give each pair or group a large sheet of paper (at least A4 format – if it is possible to use larger sheets, use them). Ask the pairs or groups to draw two big overlapping circles. The overlapping section should be large enough that the students can write down several words into it. Let the students label one circle with the name of one of the selected items, and the second circle with the name of the second selected item. The students should then find features that the two items have in common – these should be placed in the intersection of the circles. At the same time, the students should also identify features that are unique, that the items don’t share. These features should be included in the Venn diagram in the appropriate sections.

Venn diagrams Addis Abeba

Awassa

References: Temple, Ch., Steele, L. J., Meredith, K. S. Reading and writing and discussion in every discipline. 1998. Košťálová, H., Skalická, P. Training of Modern Teaching Methods. People in Need. 2005.

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1. week

Comparative Table I. Table of distinctive features as an extension of Venn diagram After the students complete the Venn diagram you can ask them to prepare a comparative table. They will determine the distinctive features, and they will apply their experience from the Venn diagram. Present the following table. The number of lines is for you to decide or you can let the students decide themselves. distinctive features

item No 1

item No 2

Addis Ababa

Awassa

■■ Example distinctive features No. of inhabitants location importance for region altitude river lake

II. Table of distinctive features without Venn diagrams You can use comparative tables not only in connection with the Venn diagram. In case your students know one item/topic well and you want them to study another item, you can use this table. ■■ Example distinctive features

Addis Ababa

Athens

No. of inhabitants

about 3 mil.

more? less?

location

Africa, Ethiopia

importance for region

capital

altitude

2300 m

more? less?

river

none

lake

none

Sea

none

References: Košťálová, H. Training of Modern Teaching Methods. People in Need. 2005.

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Names – attributes – features The group forms a circle (sitting or standing). Everybody must be able to see the face of all other members. Members of the group find adjectives that express their attributes or features. a) In the first run everybody says their name and one adjective that describes themselves. The adjective should start with the same letter as the participant’s name. Example: name: Abnet – attribute: active; name Birrara – attribute: bright; name: Petra – attribute: positive; name: Hana – attribute: homesick b) In the second run everybody chooses an adjective from the list provided by workshop leaders. Again, the adjective should start with the same letter as their names do. (If it is complicated for the students during the first run to think of attributes, they could be provided with the list during the time instead.) c) During the last (third) run the participant chooses an adjective that she/he considers to best approximate best her/him as a teacher (or educator or instructor ...or pedagogue). The adjective doesn’t need to start with the same letter as the name does. Each participant will write down his/her name on the half sheet of colored paper. Then they add the adjectives describing their best teacher qualities. The sheets will be displayed on the wall so that everybody can read them again. Possible extension of activity No 1: After the participants write down their teacher qualities they can add a small picture that represents their personalities. Then you can ask them to walk around the room and make pairs. Usually, the first member guesses what is on his/her partner’s picture and its meaning is. Afterwards the author explains. Then the roles reverse and the second member of the pair guesses about his/her partner’s picture. Possible extension of activity No 2: We have paired names and adjectives according to the first letter of both. Ask participants: Have you any idea what else you could organize in a similar way in school instructions? Trainers’ ideas and suggestions: We can ask students to name 1. Several towns with names that start with a selected letter. For example with letter “A” (Awassa, Addis, Alaba, Aš, Athens, Asore....); 2. Several animals that start with the same letter (hen, horse, hyena...); 3. Towns in Africa with names starting with letter “C”…..(Cairo, Cape Town, Cartoom etc. ...) 4. Three elements of the transition period with names starting from “p” In order to make the students active we can ask them to do more. We can ask them to compare the items. We can easily use Venn diagrams for comparison. The method is described on another handout.

References: Košťálová, H., Skalická, P. Training of Modern Teaching Methods. People in Need. 2005.

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Professional features educated

independent

Trustworthy

diligent

friendly

clever

Happy

wise

patient

fair

Fantastic

open-minded

active

dedicated

honest

sensitive

experienced

excellent

attentive

hard-working

responsible

knowledgeable

interesting

a partner

consistent

involved

cordial

curious

enthusiastic

great

a leader

inventive

punctual

motivated

brave

objective

a dreamer

attractive

moral

relaxed

motivating

respectable

helping

romantic

Kind

engaged

a reader

devoted

beloved

smiling

thoughtful

passionate

optimistic

gifted

effective

literate

spontaneous

self-confident

persistent

bright

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Brainstorming – rules for the procedure Brainstorming enables us to come up with as many ideas about a topic as possible. To benefit from the method it is necessary to follow rules as described here. 1. Select a topic – formulate a problem to be solved – identify an idea that should be under consideration. (With students the topic relates to the content you would like to cover with them during the lesson.) 2. Assign (or negotiate) a time portion that should be devoted to the brainstorming activity. Usually 5’ for individual brainstorming, 10’or 15’ for group brainstorming. Your students have to brainstorm during the whole time. 3. Remember: each idea that comes up during the brainstorming activity is valuable. Accept them all – don’t control your children’s flow of ideas and don’t refuse any idea too soon. Possible loss of ideas is a bigger risk than the possibility that some ideas are invalid or incorrect. The time for selecting ideas will come later. 4. Don’t worry about formal mistakes (spelling, mechanics, handwriting, etc.). These also can be corrected during follow-up work. Form of brainstorming You usually want to keep a record of ideas that come out during the process. So the written form of brainstorming is quite often the most useful one. With very young children they can use pictures or can dictate their ideas to you. You should write them visibly so that the children can see that you have accepted every single idea. ! Important notes! Brainstorming is not a suitable method for revision!!! If you want to revise your students’ knowledge from previous lesson(s) choose another way of doing it. For brainstorming try to find a question that may bring a broad scale of answers. You should ask about the part of the lesson that is new for students. What doesn’t work? Deciding to use the lesson topic as a brainstorming question will not work. You must be more specific and you should be able to formulate a question about what will be new for the students within the lesson. For example, if you want to teach about dogs and you know that your fifth graders know about dogs quite well it makes no sense to ask them “What do you know or think you know about dogs?” or “What are dogs?” In case you want to extend your students’ vocabulary, you can ask them “What in your opinion is the most interesting thing about dogs?” or “What would the world look like without dogs?” If you want to teach the students new information about dogs ask them about their existing knowledge or experience (= focus your question on a goal of the lesson). E.g. if you want to teach about “how dog serves man” you can ask them again “What would the world look like without dogs?” or “Think about a dog you know. How does it help the family it lives with?”

JUST USE YOUR IMAGINATION AND CREATIVITY! DON’T USE OLD SOLUTIONS! SEEK NEW WAYS OF THINKING AND TEACHING!

References: Košťálová, H. Training of Modern Teaching Methods. People in Need. 2005.

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Brainstorming – analyses of the method Advantages of the method A. Initiates the individual thinking of each student. If the student is asked to brainstorm individually she/he must switch on her/his own brain. If the next step is pair brainstorming and the students know this, they will make an effort to work because they want to contribute their ideas. B. Gives students freedom to think. Everybody knows that it is impossible to make a mistake because each idea is valuable and nothing is assessed yet. So even students who are usually afraid to contribute will work and think because they feel they are in a safe social and learning environment. This is true only if the teacher actually provides a safe climate and follows the rules of brainstorming. C. Brainstorming has the power to evoke and provoke deep ideas in students. Such ideas can occur if the teacher provides enough time for brainstorming (at least 5 minutes individually, 10 minutes in pairs) and if the students use all prescribed time for their thinking and brainstorming. D. Evokes students’ own experience. In case you assign really “unknown” (not yet taught) topics the students should seek information and ideas in their own experiences, non-school readings and non-school experiences. In this way you can connect the out-of-school life of your students with the school work. E. Helps the students realize what they already know about the topic and what questions they have. It is important that it is the student himself/herself who is aware of his/her ideas about the topic. F. Helps the students make cognitive structures of their own. They set the order of their ideas in their minds. It is extremely important because students can understand a new knowledge or experience only if they are able to put it into its place in the cognitive structure = to connect new information with the information already existing as a part of our cognitive structure is the process of learning. The structure should always be evoked and rebuilt when the students are supposed to learn something new. (Because their cognitive structures can change every day due to any new experience they gain.) G. MOTIVATES students for teaching and thinking! How? During the process the students discover what they already know and don’t know (= which is perfectly okay because nobody knows everything!). During the parallel process of building the cognitive structure they become curious and eager to find out if their ideas and predictions were right, and answers for their questions (= that is why the questions are so important).

IN PAIRS A. Helps shy students to overcome their shyness and timidity. How? They have something to contribute because everybody is supposed to brainstorm individually at first. The method forbids criticism of ideas = each idea is valuable. (It does not mean that I cannot doubt or ask question about the idea but I cannot refuse it completely. The only thing I can do is to change my doubts into questions.) It prepares a safe social environment so nobody can laugh at the student nor can any student look ridiculous. If a student shares in the pair and his/her partner accepts the shy student’s idea, this shy student is encouraged to contribute this idea to the bigger group and later even to the whole class. B. Develops communication skills in each student. How? The students should express their ideas in an understandable and recognizable manner. They should persuade their partners about their ideas. They should form more arguments to support their ideas. They do not repeat memorized sentences but must use the language for expressing themselves. C. Develops listening skills. D. Develops respect. How? The students should accept ideas of their partners, they are not allowed to criticize their classmates’ ideas, they should think independently about the ideas of others, they can accept interesting ideas from their partners and so on.

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IN GROUPS Usually, in groups the students broaden their cognitive structures of a particular topic by adding new information that is brought up by their colleagues. They prepare their common group brainstorming. The task may be advanced by asking the students to organize the information as well as their questions according to their opinions by, for example, using the mind map or another method.

References: Košťálová, H. Training of Modern Teaching Methods. People in Need. 2005.

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Making rules and procedures Children derive a true sense of responsibility and ownership from participating in the process of rule making. To involve the children: 1. Gather children in a circle in the class meeting area. 2. Begin a discussion about the purpose of rules and procedures. It is important that children understand that rules and procedures – like laws – are designed to keep people safe, to protect individual rights and freedom, and to provide guidelines for appropriate behavior. Children need to know that the rules tell members of a community what they should do rather than what they should not do. 3. Offer some examples of positive and concise rule such as: Put things back where they belong; Listen attentively; Show respect for all. 4. Elicit ideas from children. 5. Allow the class to decide which rules and procedures they will adapt. 6. Think with the students about the extent to which the rules should be detailed. Don’t forget to explain to your students, that once a rule is followed there is no need to keep it on the list anymore. The rules are flexible. Accepting a new rule or eliminating a mastered one must be negotiated and agreed to by all students. 7. Write the rules on a big sheet of paper and post them in the class meeting area for easy reference. After the rules for the class are created and posted, the teacher will notice when children follow the rules and make comments to encourage other children to model appropriate behavior. If the teacher can see that a particular child “listens attentively”, the teacher should comment on the behavior: “I notice that you were really looking at Tensaye when he shared his story. Your eyes were on him and you were showing him respect.” Or: “Maria, I noticed that you had cleaned the paint brushes and put them away. That shows that you respect our materials.”

References: Walsh, K. B. Creating Child – Centered Classroom, Step by Step. 1997. Košťálová, H. Training of Modern Teaching Methods. People in Need. 2005.

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Clustering – mind mapping Clustering is a teaching strategy which encourages students to think independently and openly about a topic. It entails only enough structure to stimulate thinking about the connections between ideas. It is a nonlinear form of thinking more closely associated with how our minds work. Clustering can be used in both the evocation stage and the reflection stage. It can be used to stimulate thinking before a topic is more thoroughly studied, as a way of building new associations, or as a way of graphically representing new understandings (reflection). It is a writing activity that can serve as a powerful tool for introducing a writing process, especially to reluctant writers. Mostly it is a strategy for gaining access to one’s own knowledge, understanding, or beliefs about a topic. Because it is a writing activity, it also serves to inform the writer of knowledge and connections the writer may not have been aware of holding at a conscious level. To introduce clustering it is important to do several easy steps: 1. Describe the activity to students in advance and present the steps for clustering. 2. Pick a topic of interest for students and model the process as a group process. The teacher can stay by a blackboard and write the students’ suggestions about what to incorporate into a cluster. Never say to the children that their ideas are incorrect – accept each suggestion seriously. If as a teacher you know the suggestion is wrong or mistaken, use questions or prompts that can help the student come to an acceptable conclusion. Teach all the students to accept each idea of their classmates with respect! You can do this simply by modelling the respectful approach! 3. If necessary, repeat the procedure – but be sure the students are the sources of ideas, not you. 4. Pick together with the children a topic of interest to the group (class) – or more topics according to children’s choice – and allow time for individuals to do a cluster on the topic chosen. 5. Allow time for four or five students to share their clusters with the group (class). 6. Repeat the procedure frequently so that students become familiar with it. Be sure that the topics you suggest for clustering are really interesting for the students. There are just a few basic rules to follow when using clustering: 1. Write everything that comes to your mind. Make no judgments about the thoughts, just write them down. 2. Do not be concerned about spelling or other writing constraints. 3. Do not stop writing until enough time has elapsed to get all ideas out. If ideas stop flowing for same time, then doodle on the paper until new ideas come. 4. Let as many connections build as possible. Do not restrict the amount of ideas or the flow and connections. 5. When introducing cluster, select a topic that the entire group can relate to. For demonstration purposes it can be a topic such as the town, family, pasturing, or something generic.

References: Temple, Ch., Steele, J. L., Meredith, K. S. Guidebook “Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking Project”. 1997. Tirney, R. J., Readence, J. E., Dishner, E. K. Reading strategies and practices. 1985. Košťálová, H. Training of Modern Teaching Methods. People in Need. 2005.

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Model lesson – work with an educational text

– evocation of current knowledge of every single student

pair brainstorming

In pairs compare your lists, discuss them and add from your partner’s list what you find to be interesting. Make notes about unclear or uncertain ideas – ask questions.

– to listen to each other – to come out with their own ideas – to explain their ideas in their own words – to ask for explanation if necessary – to recognize differences between ideas – to accept ideas of their partners – to persuade their partners – to insist on their own ideas if they are sure about them

– pre-concepts are compared, new information confirms or opposes the original ones – curiosity is piqued (first condition for inner motivation)

In groups of 4 compare your lists, discuss them and add from your partners’ list what you feel is important. Make notes about unclear or uncertain ideas – ask questions.

– to find common features and different features

– gathering more information, exposure to new ideas and information from other people – structuring the current knowledge – answering and posing new questions that serve as an inner motivation

Are you sure about the information you have gathered? What categories did you identify?

– to contribute to the whole group discussion – to follow the whole group discussion – to follow different discussion rules

– similar to the small group discussion

individual brainstorming

– to evoke and formulate what they already have in their mind – to develop their skills with brainstorming

group brainstorming

assignment for students

learning process concerning mainly the content

whole class discussion

step

skills that are practised

Write individually what you know or think you know about climate change. When do you say the climate is changed? How do you know that the climate in your surroundings has changed? What do you think are the causes of the changes of the climate?

Notes for consideration IT IS NOT A METHOD OF REPETITION or REVISION – the teacher doesn’t ask about information that was taught during previous lessons

* students follow the rules for brainstorming

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* students follow the rules for mind-mapping

the shy students are encouraged due to the pair work

1. learning process concerning mainly the content

Notes for consideration

– to concentrate on the text – to evaluate information within the text just during the first encounter with the text

– new information from an external source (the teacher decides about the material) – the student seeks the information that can confirm their previous knowledge or answer their previous questions – new information is compared to previous information

a teacher can adapt the material taught to the current needs and capabilities of his/her students; the instructions can be individualized

Make pairs. Return to the text from the beginning. Whenever you made a note of information, compare it with your partner: Did he/she make a note as well? Did he/she make the same note or different one? What are your/your partner’s reasons?

– to explain their own understanding – to respect the fact that others understand the same information in a different way

– repetition of the information = students work with the information so that the knowledge can be lasting – new understanding of some information – addition of information that could have been missed before

Can we give to each other examples for each kind of notes? (+, ✓, –, ?)

– to speak to the whole class – to follow the teacher’s model (accepting each approach) – to insist on their own ideas

similar to the pair work

making the table

Individually, prepare the table for INSERT.

– to choose from the whole text and decide independently about information – to formulate it in students’ own words – to formulate questions for further investigation – to bear, tolerate and later enjoy the fact that learning finishes with new questions, not with answers – to formulate new goals for follow-up learning

– re-formulating the ideas in one’s own words involves developing and showing understanding – final connection of new and known information – formulation of new concept, new structure of the topic in the mind of each student

sharing the INSERT table

week

Read closely an example of the first column // second // third // fourth

– to speak to the whole class – to present one’s own ideas to the broader audience – to listen carefully to the ideas of others – to compare one’s own ideas with ideas of others – to respect the ideas of others

– repetition of some of the most important ideas – possible changes in the newly built concept – fostering of the new concept – realization of the additional ways of learning

sharing in the whole class

sharing in pairs

reading of the text and noting system

step

assignment for students Read the text individually. Make notes according to the INSERT instruction. * students follow the rules of the INSERT strategy

* students follow the rules of the INSERT table

skills that are practised

THIS is not a TEACHER’S SUMMARY, this is a summary made by every trainee in his own words

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Is Climate Change “natural”? (Text for Model Lesson) The climate of the Earth is always changing. In the past it has altered as a result of natural causes. Nowadays, however, the term climate change is generally used when referring to changes in our climate which have been identified since the early part of the 1900’s. The changes we’ve seen over recent years and those which are predicted over the next 80 years are thought to be mainly as a result of human behavior rather than due to natural changes in the atmosphere. The greenhouse effect is very important when we talk about climate change as it relates to the gases which keep the Earth warm. The extra greenhouse gases which humans have released are thought to pose the strongest threat. The term ‘Greenhouse Effect’ is commonly used to describe the increase in the Earth’s average temperature that has been recorded over the past 100 years. However, without the ‘natural greenhouse effect’, life on Earth would be very different to what is seen today. The Earth receives its life sustaining warmth from the Sun. On its way to the Earth’s surface most of the heat energy passes through the Earth’s atmosphere, while a smaller proportion is reflected back into space. The energy warms the Earth’s surface, and as the temperature increases, the Earth radiates heat energy back into the atmosphere. As this energy has a different wavelength to that coming from the sun, some is absorbed by gases in the atmosphere. There are four main naturally occurring gases that are responsible for the Greenhouse Effect: water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. As a result, the Earth’s average surface temperature is kept at about 15°C by the blanket of atmosphere that surrounds it. Without this, the temperature would be about minus 18°C – too cold for life. The gases keep the Earth warm in a similar way as a greenhouse keeps plants warm. Although most of the greenhouse gases occur naturally in the atmosphere, some are man-made. Since the industrial revolution, human activities have also resulted in an increase in natural greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide. An increase in these gases in the atmosphere enhances the atmosphere’s ability to trap heat, which leads to an increase in the average surface temperature of the Earth. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change states that climate change is “unequivocal” and may bring “abrupt and irreversible” impacts. Such impacts could include the fast melting of glaciers, rise of the sea levels and species extinctions. This fact is likely to bring major changes to coastlines and flood prone areas, with a great effect in river deltas and low-lying islands. Other potential consequences include scarcer fresh water supplies in some areas, likely further endangerment of food security in Africa, reduction of yields from rain-fed agriculture, and wide-spread impact on coral reefs. The list of things we need to think about which will be affected by climate change is endless. We will need to change the way we live in order to cope with changes to our climate. The regular use of renewable energy is becoming increasingly popular; the possibilities for alternative energy sources, including solar power, wind power, geothermal, water power and even nuclear energy.

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I.N.S.E.R.T. Interactive Noting System for Effective Reading and Thinking Instructions for individual work with INSERT: Read the given article and as you read through the FIRST TIME, make the following marks as appropriate. The marks are: “✓” Put a check in the margin of the text if something you read confirms what you knew or thought you knew “–” Put a minus in the margin of the text if some information you are reading contradicts or is different from what you already knew or thought you knew “+” Put a plus in the margin of the text if a piece of information you encounter is new information for you. “?” Put a question mark in the margin of the text if there is information that is confusing to you or there is something you would like to know more about. Thus as you read you will be placing four different marks in the margin based on your own knowledge and understanding. You will be marking in the margins using a ✓, – , + , ? as appropriate to your own knowledge base. It is not necessary to mark each line or each idea presented but to make your mark reflective of your relation to the information in general. You may end up with one or two markings per paragraph or slightly more or less. After students read and mark individually, ask them to share their choices and decisions about the marks in pairs. They should start at the beginning of the text comparing the information they marked individually. They should explain to each other their reason for the choice of mark. Please, as a teacher – don’t forget to emphasize that every choice is good and that it is natural if the students have marked the same information in different ways or if they have marked different information entirely. After sharing in pairs it is usually helpful to share some examples of each mark with the whole class. Ask students to give examples (lets say 3 examples for each mark). You can also ask if somebody has chosen a different mark for the same information that was given in the example. You can work with the ideas and especially the questions of the students according to the situation.

Specific information: “Climate change is caused by different factors which can be natural as well as human factors” Non-specific information: “Climate change is caused by many factors” Examples of students’ work can be read – e.g. three students can give examples for each column. In this way they compare different ideas and different solutions.

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Table of INSERT Finally, at the reflection stage of the learning process, let the students make an individual chart of the marking to categorize information. Example follows:

✓ write down at least 3 specific pieces of information that are already known

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–

write down at least one piece of information that differs

write down at least 3 specific pieces of new information

write down at least one question formulated as a question

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F ramework for thinking and learning according to socio-pedagogical constructivism Educators have long debated the importance of learning factual knowledge versus learning practical life-skills such as communication, co-operation, independent thinking and other skills (or, in other words, practical and conceptual knowledge). 1. Those who suggest that factual knowledge is the most important typically believe a certain set of facts exists, which, when learned adequately, prepare students to become fully functioning participants in the social order. 2. Those who suggest that conceptual skills and practical experience are most critical propose that knowledge itself is not enough. Rather, they propose that knowledge is only of value when it is useful and it is only useful when it is understood in conceptual terms and can be practically, creatively and critically applied. No one doubts that factual knowledge is important. There is a great deal people must know to successfully negotiate daily commerce. However, the idea that a set of knowledge exists that will prepare students for their future becomes less and less supportable the more rapidly societies change. The difficulty of describing such a collection of wisdom is seen when one realizes that the knowledge we have today will constitute only a small fraction (10–15%) of the knowledge available in 25 years. Further, the rapidly expanding knowledge base will be increasingly available to everyone. With electronic communication extending into almost all cultures around the world, schools and homes are becoming informational centers with access to information from around the world. What will be required of students to be successful in the changing world is the ability to sift through information and make decisions about what is and is not important. They will have to be able to understand how various pieces of information fit together or can fit together. They will need to be able to give context to new ideas and knowledge, to assign meaning to new encounters, and to reject information that is irrelevant or invalid. Students will need to make the part of the information universe they enounter meaningful in critical, creative, and productive ways. To manage information well, students will have to be adept at applying a set of practical thinking skills that enable them to sort information efficiently into meaningful ideas, which can then be transformed into practical behavior. Generally the framework has the following general principles about knowledge, teaching and learning based on the constructivist’s point of view: –– Learning is an active process –– Each student is unique –– Students’ background knowledge is a base for their learning –– Learning is both social and individual During the last hundred years psychological and pedagogical research has been investigating the nature of human learning. The purpose of the research has been to discover processes of natural learning so that they could be applied in situations of directed learning – in such situations that occur during school education. If a teacher becomes aware of these processes she can arrange the learning of her students in a more effective way. Because the processes of learning are complicated, educators have been trying to specify a model that could describe learning in several steps that can be followed by teachers when planning and realizing instruction. Several models have been invented. One of the easiest and at the same time most effective is called the “framework for thinking and learning”. This model describes learning in three interconnected stages: evocation, realization of meaning and reflection. While following this model the teacher is able to prepare learning opportunities during which students will gain knowledge as well as practice life-skills.

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1. “Evocation stage” of learning process In this first stage several important cognitive activities are accomplished. First, the learners are actively engaged in recalling what they know about the topic. This forces the learners to examine their own knowledge and begin thinking about the topic they will soon be exploring in detail. The importance of this initial engagement will become clearer as the remaining two stages are described. However, of primary importance is that through this initial activity the learners establish a baseline of personal knowledge to which new knowledge can be added. This is critical as all lasting knowledge is understood within its context, whereas information that learners are unable to connect to known knowledge is information that may soon be lost. The learning process connects the new with the known. Learners build new understanding from the foundation of previous knowledge and beliefs. Thus, by assisting students with the reconstruction of previous knowledge and beliefs, the broadest foundation can be established which enables long-term understanding of new information. It also serves to illuminate misunderstandings, confusion, and errors in knowledge that otherwise wouldn’t surface without active examination of held knowledge and beliefs. The second purpose of the evocation phase is to activate the learner. Learning is an active rather than passive activity. Too often students are seated passively in classrooms listening to their teachers do all the thinking while they sit mindlessly taking notes or daydreaming. For meaningful, lasting, critical understanding to occur, students must be actively engaged in the learning process. Active engagement means that students must become aware of their own thinking using their own language. They then must express their knowledge and understanding through either active thinking, writing, or speaking. In this way personal knowledge is at an awareness level and the students’ schema or previously established construct for thinking about a topic or idea is elicited. By eliciting this construct or schema the student is better able to connect the new information with the known because the context for understanding has been made self-evident. Because lasting understanding is the process of linking new information with the previous schemata, the third purpose of the evocation stage is critical. Through this stage interest and purpose in exploration of the topic is established. Interest and purpose are essential to sustain the learners’ active engagement. Purposeful learning is more effective than non-purposeful learning. However, there are two types of purposes: teacher or text-driven purpose versus self-directed purpose. Self-directed purposes are more powerful than those imposed from external sources and one’s interest often determines one’s purpose. Without sustained interest the motivation to reconstruct the schemata or to accommodate new information is diminished. Within the class differences among students’ knowledge and ideas can lead to personal questions which can be a powerful motivation for studying (reading, listening, observing….) with understanding.

2. “Realization of meaning” stage of learning process The first essential task for this second stage is to sustain engagement and to maintain the interest and momentum established during the evocation phase. The second essential task is to support learners’ efforts to monitor their own comprehension. Effective learners and efficient readers monitor their own understanding as new information is encountered. When reading, good readers will reread if necessary. Listeners, when listening to a presentation, will ask questions or make a note of confusion or misunderstandings for later clarification. Passive learners simply pass over these lapses in understanding, unaware of the confusion, misunderstanding or outright omissions of information. Additionally, when students are monitoring their own comprehension they are engaged in applying the information to their established schemata. They are purposively connecting the new with the known. Students are building bridges between known and new knowledge to establish new understanding. During this stage new material usually chosen and provided by the teacher is introduced to the students according to their current needs and possibilities.

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3. “Reflection” stage of learning process There are several essential accomplishments targeted for the reflection stage. Foremost, students are expected to begin expressing in their own words the ideas and information encountered. This is necessary for new schemata to be constructed. Long term learning and in-depth understanding is personal. Learners remember best what they understand in their own context, in their own words. Understanding is lasting when information is placed within a meaningful contextual framework (Pearson & Fielding, 1991). By actively formulating understanding into familiar, personal vocabulary, a personal, meaningful context is created. The second goal of this phase is generating a robust exchange of ideas between students thereby expanding their expressive vocabulary as well as exposing them to varying schemata to consider as they build their own. By engaging in discussion during the reflection phase students are exposed to a variety of constructs for consideration. This is a time of change and re-conceptualization in the learning process. Exposure to multiple ways of integrating new information at this time leads to a more flexible construct, which can be more practically and purposefully applied in the future.

References: Steele, J. L., Meredith K. S., Temple, Ch. A framework for critical thinking across the curriculum. 1998.

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Socio-pedagogical constructivism Is a theory of how human beings learn – how they build their knowledge and especially how they build their understanding of the world, both external and internal. What is learning? Learning is a process of connecting “old” with “new” in our minds in a meaningful way. Learning is not the memorization of uncomprehended facts. Rather, it is the building of cognitive structures in which each fact, each piece of knowledge, each experience has its own place and is interconnected with the rest of the structure. If this occurs, learners are more likely to understand the content and also to use the learnt knowledge in their everyday lives. Also, the information is remembered better if it is gained through an active learning process that enables the learners to build their own knowledge structures The learning process is described in three phases that should help the teachers plan both their teaching and the students’ learning and understanding in the most effective way. Remember please that it is only a model and a model never describes real life in its richness and in all possible variations. The framework (model) should just serve as a tool for better organizing the teaching/ learning process and is the sequence of the steps that are done during the period of learning. 1. Evocation of the pre-concepts (= current concepts of the topic) and anticipation of the content of the topic. Methods:

2. Realization of meaning (of information) – making connection between new ideas and the previous ideas and concepts. New ideas usually come from an external source selected by the teacher. It can be a lecture, text, experiment, etc. Methods:

3. Reflection – (individual) summary of new concept. The learner should be given the opportunity to summarize the new concept of the topic that he/she has learnt. Methods:

Socio-cognitive conflict = natural confrontation of ideas or pre-concepts that occurs during co-operation of students and leads to learning.

References: Košťálová, H. Training of Modern Teaching Methods. People in Need. 2005.

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Model lesson on reading – Special Praise by Jaroslav Culek 1. Pre-reading activity (evocation): Think about the days when you were young children and school students. Do you remember how your journey to school was in those days? Was your school situated far away? Was the journey complicated? Why? Did you travel with your classmates? Did you play games or investigate something during the journey? Do you remember a story that you experienced on your way to or from school? What is the story about? The participants write their memories on paper. Reading in pairs. Two or three examples for the whole group. Variation: participants can draw a picture about the journey. It is necessary that they have colorful pencils. After the pictures are finished they may be arranged into a gallery. Participants may discuss the pictures. 2. Reading first four paragraphs. (Realization of meaning) Discussion about the environment described in the text. Ask participants to concentrate on their images about the place, about the weather, about their feelings and sensual perception they could experience: –– What could you see? Describe the countryside – what does it look like? What colors do you see? –– What could you hear? What sounds, voices? –– What could you smell? –– What could you feel on your hands, cheeks? 3. Second pre-reading activity (Reflection + Evocation) Ask participants: Try to predict how the story will continue. Participants can discuss it in groups and tell the whole group their predictions. 4. In groups, provide the participants with the last six paragraphs cut off on separate pieces of paper. The task for the participants is to arrange the paragraphs in a logical sequence and glue them to the paper. (Realization of meaning) 5. Finally, encourage discussion about the pieces of the text that the participants put together. Ask such questions as: How did you put it together? Is there only one possibility of how to put the pieces together? (Reflection)

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Special Praise (Text for Model Lesson) Jaroslav Culek I was born in the little village of B., far off the beaten track. As a child I went to the primary school in this village but once I was twelve I had to transfer to the council school in the pretty but very distant market town of L. At that time, there was no bus service to my village, so we as little school children, had to use bikes, if we had any, or, as was more often the case, we went on foot. It was nine kilometers to school early in the morning and another nine kilometers back home in the late afternoon. But we did not complain. The journey home in particular was full of adventure. Of course, we did not take the most direct route, but roamed through the nearby forest picking mushrooms and strawberries, trout-fishing in the clear torrents flowing down from the highlands, or bathing in the pond by a large sawmill. In winter the situation was different. The countryside, including all roads, was generally covered with a deep layer of snow. What little traffic there was, stopped, and it was rare to see a living being outdoors. But we did not care. Each of us had a pair of skis and the journey to school was transformed very often into a ski race. It was a great honor to be the first one at the school gates. One Sunday in January, snow fell all day and night and cold wind molded it into huge snowdrifts. The next morning the snow was so deep that it was nearly impossible to open our front door, and it was still snowing. My schoolmates refused to set out in such foul weather. As for myself, once up and ready, I decided at six to set out. I soon realized, however, that the journey would be quite different from usual. It was necessary to ascend and descend high heaps of snow, to fight the sharp wind and take care not to lose my way. At nine o’clock, an hour after the regular start of classes, soaked through, half feverish with a burning face, sweating and steaming, I eventually opened the door of my classroom. Only the headmaster and five or six pupils who lived in the immediate neighborhood of the school were there. The headmaster looked at me, shook his head and shouted: “Have you gone mad? Do you know what you are? A stupid idiot or something even worse. I have half a mind to send you back home, you fool.” I must say, I did not expect any reward or praise for my sporting performance, but this greeting brought tears to my eyes. Seeing my desperate appearance, he added in a more conciliatory way: “Go to the stove and at least get dry.” After an hour or two, as the schoolwork was of little use anyhow, the headmaster cancelled classes and sent all pupils home. Many years later, when we had a reunion with our former teachers, this old headmaster came up to me and said: “Whenever I see you I always remember your horrible winter journey to school. But don’t tell me you were so eager to get to lessons that day.” “You’re right”, I replied. “It was a bet with my mates who didn’t think it was possible to get through. Nowadays I must admit, it was a bit hazardous.”

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Assessment Assessment is the gathering of information about progress and/or challenges of a program, teaching, learning or other activities. Assessment is about several things at once. It could be about students’ achievements or challenges they encounter; it can show how clearly the goals of our curricula are achieved and what mechanism should be taken to overcome the challenges. It is about measuring student learning; it is about diagnosing misunderstandings in order to help students to learn more effectively. Assessment is central to the learning process and is a crucial aspect of teaching. It is the most significant factor that influences student learning. Why do we assess? Most fundamentally, the purpose of assessment is to support and improve student learning. We assess to see progress and any challenges and the assessment can be done before, during, or after we present a lesson to see their prior knowledge, the involvement of learners during the lesson presentation, and their comprehension of the given lesson after the lesson presentation. We assess our students for different purposes. Some of the main reasons are for: –– Diagnosis – to establish entry behavior and to diagnose learning needs and difficulties. –– Feedback – to give feedback on students’ progress, to show their strengths and areas of development, to reinforce learning and motivate students we can also give feedback to teachers about their success and areas of improvement so they can either continue with the effective methods or design another way of presenting the lesson. –– Standards – to maintain standards, to certify achievement, to facilitate progress, to predict future performance or selections, etc. –– To make our judgment fair – it is through assessment that we can get detailed and fair information about our students by observing different students’ engagement in practical, oral, written and other social interactions. Types of assessments There are two types of assessment namely formative and summative assessment. Formative assessment (continuous formative assessment): is a kind of assessment that takes place while the program or teaching-learning process is taking place and is aimed at improving the process or the teachinglearning process. Such assessment is meant to be integrated with teaching in order to improve learning and to help shape and direct the teaching-learning process. The assessment is continuous because it occurs at various times as part of instruction; it may occur following a lesson, a topic or a theme. We undertake continuous assessment to get regular information about learning, teaching and achievement of objectives and competencies. Summative assessment is assessment made at the end of the program or school year based on the cumulating of the progress and achievements of the learner throughout the program or the school year. Summative assessment is helpful to judge about the overall progress or success of the program or learning. How do we assess? We may assess formally or informally to see the level of progress or the presence of the problem through the following ways: Informal assessment is not necessarily planned and can be done spontaneously whenever we notice changes in students’ learning capacity or if we observe learner confusion. It can be accomplished through a variety of techniques like questioning, observing a learner’s work, reviewing a learner’s homework, talking to a learner and listening to a learner during recitation. Formal assessment is planned and is closely matched to the basic competencies in the syllabus. Formal assessment may include a variety of techniques such as short tests, quizzes, oral examinations, performance assessment tasks, examinations, projects and portfolios. Formal assessment is usually graded and recorded.

References: Beso II. A Concise Manual for Developing and Implementing CA in Teacher Education Institutions and Primary Schools of Ethiopia. 2005. Towards Improving Continuous Assessment in Schools. A Policy and Information Guide. 1999.

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ReQuest Procedure When students need support in reading text for information, one way to provide that support is to use the ReQuest Procedure (Manzo, 1969). ReQuest stands for “reciprocal questioning” and it is designed to encourage students to: –– formulate their own questions about the material they are reading –– develop questioning behavior –– adopt an active attitude to reading –– improve their independent reading comprehension skills In this procedure, two students (A and B) read through a text, stop after each paragraph or part. The students decide on the passage to be read, it is up to them how long each part is. After reading the first part (silently) the students close their books. Student A explains (without looking into the text) the main ideas and student B asks a question that probes beneath the surface. They note the question on a sheet of paper, but needn’t answer it. Then they both read the next paragraph (part) and the roles are reversed. Now student B clarifies the content of the paragraph and student A asks a question. The question is written down again. When they are finished, they read the next paragraph, and so on. Finally the pairs share the questions with the whole class and discuss the questions with the teacher. It helps a great deal if the teacher serves as a partner when the technique is first introduced. For example – if students divide a text into 4 parts, they exchange their roles in this way: Parts of a text

Student A

Student B

Part 1

explains main ideas

asks a question

Part 2

asks a question

explains main ideas

Part 3

explains main ideas

asks a question

Part 4

asks a question

explains main ideas

References: Manzo, A. V. The ReQuest procedure. Journal of Reading, 12, 1969. Temple, Ch., Steele, L. J., Meredith, K. S. Reading and writing and discussion in every discipline. Prepared for Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking Project. 1998. Skalická, P. People in Need – Training of Modern Teaching Methods. 2005.

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Portfolio A portfolio is a purposeful collection of student work that exhibits the student’s efforts, progress, and achievements in one or more areas of the curriculum throughout a particular period of time. Types of Portfolios Portfolios have broad potential and can be useful for the assessments of students’ performance for a variety of purposes in core curriculum areas. The contents and the criteria used to assess the portfolios must be designed to serve selected purposes. There are different types of portfolios. Showcase portfolios exhibit the best of student performance, while working portfolios may contain drafts that students and teachers use to reflect on process. Progress portfolios contain multiple examples of the same type of work done over time and are used to assess progress. Phases of portfolio development Portfolio development needs to be systematically conducted following a series of procedures or phases. Portfolio development considers issues such as: what to collect, how to organize the collected items, how the organized whole can be presented, how to assess, who decides what to collect, etc. The following are three important phases as to how to organize a portfolio. Phase One: Organization and Planning Identifying a vision that will guide the portfolio development. This initial phase of portfolio development entails decision-making on the part of students and teachers. By exploring essential questions at the beginning of the process, students can fully understand the purpose of the portfolio and its status as a means of monitoring and evaluating their own progress. Key questions for the teacher and the student must include: How do I select items, materials, etc. to reflect what I am learning in this class? How do I organize and present the items, materials, etc. that I have collected? How will the portfolios be maintained and stored? The decision of what to include is primarily left to the students developing the portfolio while the teacher can simply guide and facilitate the development process. Phase Two: Collection and Selection This process involves the collection of meaningful artefacts and products reflecting students’ educational experiences and goals. Decisions must be made at this phase about the context and contents of the portfolio based on the intent and purposes identified for it. The selection and collection of artefacts and products should be based on a variety of factors that can include: –– A particular subject matter; –– A learning process; or –– Special projects, themes, and/or units. All selections included in the collection should clearly reflect the criteria and standards identified for evaluation. Phase Three: Reflection Wherever possible, there should be evidence of students’ metacognitive reflections upon the learning process and their monitoring of their evolving comprehension of key knowledge and skills. These reflections can take the form of learning logs, reflective journals, and other forms of reflections on their experiences, the thinking processes they have used, and the habits of mind they employed at given points in time and across time periods. In addition, teacher and/or parent reflections upon the products, processes, and thinking articulated in the portfolio should also be included wherever appropriate. Portfolio assessment and development is a continuous process usually carried out over a long period of time. Some phases identified and described above are therefore done by students simultaneously and repeatedly. Especially the collection and reflection phases are be repeated with every individual artefact added to portfolio.

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Characteristics of good portfolio Student active involvement: Students participate in selecting the contents of their portfolios. Clear criteria for portfolio assessment must be set in advance in order to enable the students to select appropriate materials for their portfolios. According to the age and experience of the students, the criteria can be created either by the teacher only, or with smaller or bigger involvement of the students. Process and result (product) oriented: Portfolios clearly reflect stated learner outcomes which are identified in the curriculum that students are expected to study. Portfolios focus not only on students’ acquisition of key knowledge, skills, and attitudes, but also on the process of learning itself. Portfolios give the student the chance to document his/her progress step by step. Portfolio assessment is both continuous (formative) and summative. Long term: Portfolios contain samples of work that stretch over an entire marking period, rather than single points in time. It enables the teacher to follow the development of an individual student and at the same time it enables the student to show and reflect on his/her learning and achievement. Progress can be seen especially when the assessment of a student’s work is included in the portfolio. Reflection: Active involvement of the student in selecting artefacts to be included in the portfolio is crucial as a portfolio is a highly individual collection. An important part of a portfolio is also the evidence of a student’s self-reflection. Hence it develops a student’s skill to reflect upon his/her own work, to prioritize the successful artefacts and to think critically about his/her own learning progress. Portfolios also contain items that represent a variety of different assessment tools – various kinds of teacher assessment, peer assessment, group assessment and in some cases even comments from parents. Many sources: Portfolios contain a variety of work samples and evaluations. Materials collected in a portfolio might be class work, homework, or any other type of material related to the topic (newspaper article, drawing, essay, work from other subject area, etc.) and showing the student’s progress. It is entirely up to the initiative and creativity of the student to decide which pieces of his/her work he/she includes.

References: Hart, D. Authentic Assessment: A Handbook for Educators. Menlo Park, CA; Addison-Wesley Pub. Co. Excerpted from Classroom Teacher’s Survival Guide. 1994. Paul S. George. What Is Portfolio Assessment Really and How Can I Use It in My Classroom? in Gainesville, FL. Teacher Education Resources. 1995. Venn, J. J. Assessing students with special needs (2nd ed.). 2000. Steele J. L., K. S. Meredith, & C. Temple. A Framework for Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum (Prepared for Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking Project) 1998.

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Criteria and principles of portfolio assessment Main principles of developing portfolio –– Every participant is selecting him/herself the materials to collect in his/her portfolio. –– Self-reflection of products/works included in the portfolio is important and necessary. –– All feedbacks received during the training shall be included in portfolio in order to improve the work of the trainee. Consequently the trainees need to demonstrate in their portfolio the evidence of improvement based on feedback (e.g. revised work, critical self-assessment, etc.). Criteria for portfolio assessment In the portfolio will be collected different works of the trainee created throughout the training which can serve as an evidence of acquisition of important knowledge and skills in the training. The following are the criteria against which the portfolios will be assessed. To fulfill the requirements portfolio must include these materials: 1. At least two active methods from the training –– Sample of work of the trainee on some active method produced in the training –– Feedback from trainer/peers on this sample of work –– Self-reflection by the trainee about this work. 2. At least two methods implemented by trainees in their respective schools –– Example of implemented method used for teaching particular topic in the subject area of trainee –– Feedback from trainers/peers based on presentation of the methods tried out in the schools –– Self-reflection by trainee (evaluation of the implementation, how to deal with strong and weak sides of the method, recommendation for future) 3. At least three lesson plans according to the E. R. R. model –– Includes both the pre-practiced and the practiced lesson plans –– Reflection gained from the teachers and the class needs to be included and reflection made on them –– Include self-reflection about the lesson plans – trainees need to show progress and weaknesses they have witnessed in planning and implementing the lesson plans 4. Example of criteria for portfolio assessment developed for use in his/her classroom Every trainee will create set of criteria for his/her students’ portfolio. These criteria will be specific for particular grade and subject area. 5. Well organized collection of handouts and personal notes from MTM training as valuable source of information for future practice of trainees. Portfolio as information resource and reminder.

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Active learning Active learning is an umbrella term that refers to several models of instruction that centre the responsibility of learning on learners. This is the broadest and most inclusive learning principle and it is crucial for all other key learning processes. Active learning can be defined as an investment of a significant amount of mental energy and a high level of psychological involvement in the learning process. Active learning is in short any learning activity students engage in other than just listening passively to an instructor’s lecture (Faust & Paulson; 1998). It is often the learner who decides their level of learning activity, through thoughtful consideration or note taking. From the definition of active learning the following major points can be noted: –– Students use their brains by studying ideas, solving problems, and applying what they learn in practice; –– Active learners energetically strive to take a greater responsibility for their own learning. They integrate new information, concepts, or skills into their own mental schema through rephrasing, rehearsing, and practice; –– Students engage in the process of building their own mental models from the information they are acquiring. They should constantly test the validity of the model being constructed; –– Through active learning students become their own teachers; –– Classroom strategies such as social interaction (students working together) and less competition should get students more involved in the subject matter; –– Teachers teach students how to function actively and how to get the task done within the context of the subject, the course, the class. The learning responsibility is distributed among the students and the teacher; –– Students are put into situations which compel them to read, speak, listen, think critically, solve problems and write; –– Students must engage in such higher-order thinking tasks as analysis, synthesis and evaluation in contrast to simple absorption of new information. –– Teachers become facilitators of learning, and students become active participants, engaging in a dialog with their colleagues and with the instructor; –– Knowledge is directly experienced, constructed, acted upon, tested, or revised by the learner.

Source: http:// schoolweb.missouri.edu/stoutland/elementary/active_learning.htm

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Critical thinking Critical thinking means thinking in the pursuit of relevant and reliable knowledge about the world. It is reasonable, reflective, responsible, and skilful thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe or do. A person who thinks critically can ask appropriate questions, gather relevant information, efficiently and creatively sort through this information, reason logically from this information, and come to reliable and trustworthy conclusions about the world that enable one to live and act successfully in it. Critical thinking is the ability to think for one’s self and reliably and responsibly make those decisions that affect one’s life. Critical thinking is also critical inquiry, so such critical thinkers investigate problems, ask questions, propose new answers that challenge the status quo, discover new information that can be used for good or ill, question authorities and traditional beliefs, challenge received dogmas and doctrines. Raymond S. Nickerson (1987), an authority on critical thinking, characterizes a good critical thinker in terms of knowledge, abilities, attitudes, and habitual ways of behaving. Here are some of the characteristics of such a thinker: –– Uses evidence skilfully and impartially –– Considers a situation or a problem from different perspectives –– Organizes thoughts and articulates them concisely and coherently –– Distinguishes between logically valid and invalid inferences –– Makes a sound judgment about problems and situations confidently and logically –– Attempts to anticipate the probable consequences of alternative actions –– Sees similarities and analogies that are not superficially apparent –– Can learn independently and has an abiding interest in doing so –– Applies problem-solving techniques in domains other than those in which learned Developing Critical Thinking among Students Children are not born with the power to think critically, nor do they develop this ability naturally beyond survival-level thinking. Critical thinking is a learned ability that must be taught. There are different ways that teachers can help their students develop critical thinking. The most common way for teachers to help their students think critically is to modify their teaching and testing or assessment methods slightly to enhance critical thinking among students. This requires teachers to think beforehand about the type and nature of questions, activities, assignments, quizzes and exams they prepare so that they can be geared towards the development of critical thinking among students. The intellectual skills of critical thinking – analysis, synthesis, reflection, etc. – must be learned by actually performing them. Critical Thinking Teaching Strategies and Classroom Techniques There are different ways by which critical thinking can be developed among the students. The teacher needs to design different activities and incorporate it into their day to day teaching. 1. Questioning. A teacher who wants their students to develop critical thinking skills can make use of carefully designed questions that can develop critical thinking. In this case questions which simply ask factual information may not be suitable to develop student’s critical thinking skills. For example, a question which simply asks students to name parts of plants may not be suitable for the purpose of developing students’ critical thinking ability. However, it does not mean that such questions are not valuable. Such questions may serve the purposes of checking whether students have grasped what has been learnt. Questions, whether written or oral, which are primarily meant to develop students’ critical thinking should require students to think deeply and see the problem from different perspectives. A teacher employing lecture as a method, for example, can design questions that should be asked at different parts of the lecture. You may of course directly teach critical thinking principles to your students during lecture, but this is neither required nor advisable. Stay with your subject matter, but present this in such a way that students will be encouraged to think critically about it. This is accomplished during a lecture by questioning the students in ways that require that they not only understand the material, but can analyze it and apply it to new situations. Enhancement of critical thinking can be accomplished during a lecture by periodically stopping and asking students searching and thoughtful questions about the material you have just presented, and then waiting an appropriate amount of time for them to respond.

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Critical thinking requires that teachers ask questions that require students to think through a cause and effect or premise and conclusion type of argument. This obliges them to reason from data or information they now possess through the lecture to reach new conclusions or understanding about the topic. Thoughtful and searching questions, which are the characteristics of critical questions, often have uncertain and ambiguous answers; this seems more practical in some areas of study such as literature than in math and science, but the concept is the same. Rather than condition students to value only what the instructor says, get them to think deeply about the topic and value what they think and feel. Teach so that students think their ideas matter. Ask them to make connections and recognize patterns. After lecturing but before the class ends, ask students to write one-minute papers on the most significant thing they learned in class today and what single thing they still feel confused about. 2. Homework. Innumerable opportunities exist to promote critical thinking with homework assignments. Both traditional reading homework and special written problem sets or questions can be used to enhance critical thinking. Homework presents many opportunities to encourage critical thinking. For example, in a reading assignment teachers can design the assignment in such a way that students get some general questions they need to answer before they begin reading, and insist that they organize their notes around these questions. Require that students transform the information and make it their own by requiring them to paraphrase, summarize, or outline all reading assignments. 3. Quantitative Exercises. Problem solving is critical thinking; thus, courses such as mathematics, chemistry, and physics that require the solution of various mathematical problems automatically teach critical thinking to some extent just by following the traditional curriculum. When students are required to solve math problems, they are practicing critical thinking, whether they know it or not. Mathematics, chemistry, and physics problems belong, of course, to only a limited subset of critical thinking, but this subset is an important one. 4. Term Papers. The best way to teach critical thinking is to require students to write. Writing forces students to organize their thoughts, contemplate their topic, evaluate their data in a logical fashion, and present their conclusions in a persuasive manner. Good writing is the epitome of good critical thinking. Term papers promote critical thinking among students by requiring that they acquire, synthesize, and logically analyze information, and that they then present this information and their conclusions in written form. Term papers are not traditionally required in math and science courses, although they could be and perhaps should be. 5. Exams. Exam questions can be devised which promote critical thinking rather than rote memorization. This is true for both essay question exams and multiple-choice exams. Examinations should require students to write or, at least, think. For written exams, short- and long-answer essay questions are the obvious solution. For example, in biology, a teacher can typically use a few short-answer essay questions on each exam that test the ability of students to analyze information and draw conclusions. This commonly-used technique, by itself, helps to teach critical thinking. Some examples of these questions are as follows: 1. Using diagrams and/or descriptions, describe the process of a digestive system starting from food taken in by the mouth until it is assimilated and excreted. In your description include the role of the different organs involved throughout the process. 2. By taking one traditional cultural practice in your area, contrast the relative advantages and disadvantages of the practice and explain your conclusions. 3. Taking into account the economic status of your parents, is it possible for you to secure a balanced diet at your home? Justify your answers with reasons.

Reference: Schafersman, S. D. An Introduction to Critical Thinking. 1991. Steele J. L., K. S. Meredith, & C. Temple. A Framework for Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum (Prepared for Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking Project). 1998.

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2. 1. week

day

Time allocation 9.00

Activities

Remarks

Program for today. Suggestions of participants.

5’ 15’

Game or song

15’

Reminder of the work already done

Ask some questions related to the work they have already done. It is also possible to give them some hints/clues so that they can remember what they have already done. One possibility is to have in a table with headlines on top of the columns such as active methods, model lesson, assessment, etc. where the trainees come to the blackboard and write what they remember.

80’

Conference (sharing implemented plans) – Three-Step-Interview Explain the method for the participants. Make groups of 3 people: person A interviews person B, while person C records key aspects of the response. Roles rotate after each question, allowing all members the opportunity to be interviewed.

■■ see handout

The questions to be given for each group will be: 1. B riefly describe your lesson and concentrate on the method(s) you tried to apply as new method(s) of active learning. What exactly did you tell your students to do while using the method? 2. At which phase of the lesson did you try to use this method? 3. W hat were your successes in implementing the active learning method? Give examples of your success. 4. W hat were the challenges you faced in implementing the method? 5. W hat are you going to change next time when using the method(s)?

In case some teachers did not implement the methods, the trainer can make groups of three, making sure to assign at least one trainee who has tried the methods in each group. If no one has tried to implement these methods for different reasons, the trainer can lead the participants to practice the three step interview method by formulating questions on any issue. This would at least help the trainees to understand and practice the method.

The trainer then orally asks whether the trainees made use of the feedback given by the participants (last Friday). The trainer shall check the inclusion of feedback and give his own final comment on the implemented plans. Finally the trainees are told to write down their self-reflection (including their reflections on the above 5 questions) on the methods they used. The trainer can check this and give final feedback. All this requires trainers to collect the implemented plans.

20’

Break

20’

Reflection on Three-Step-Interview What is your impression of the method? Do you think you can implement this method in your teaching? If yes, how could you do that? What challenges might you face if you use a Three-Step-Interview in your class? How could you tackle these challenges? Which phase of learning (E-RM-R) do you think would be appropriate for this active learning method?

12.00

Lunch break

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When grouping it is better to have different teachers (from different schools) within one group.

2. 1. week

Time allocation 14.00

Activities

day

Remarks

Game or song

20’ 75’

Practice Trunk and roots Divide participants in groups according to body height (closed eyes, without speaking). Select proverbs from the list below according to the number of groups. Then participants think about their proverbs (each group receives one proverb): 1. A child who is carried on the back will not know how far the journey is. 2. Don’t catch a leopard by the tail, but if you do, don’t let it go. 3. If you educate a woman, you have educated a population. 4. Look before you leap. 5. Every cloud has a silver lining. 6. You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs. The procedure for Trunk and Roots is explained and followed by participants.

20’

Break

50’

Reflection of “Trunk and roots” activity 1. How can you introduce the method for the first time? This is in terms of: a) your preparation to use the method b) instructions you give your students c) classroom arrangement for the use of the method 2. What about this activity was demanding? 3. Why is it necessary to ask everybody? Why is it necessary to answer the same question many times? 4. How can you adapt and implement this activity in your school reality? 5. What problems might you encounter in using the method and what possible solutions do you have for such problems? 6. Which phase (E-RM-R) does the activity fit?

15’

Feedback

■■ see handout Generally, the trainer can make use of different ways of organizing groups such as voluntary grouping, random assignment etc. The number of groups depends on the number of proverbs or questions. The trainer can use either the proverbs given here or some other proverbs or questions which are suitable for the trainees. Emphasize that everybody should ask everybody.

The trunks and roots activity can be done outside of the classroom.

17.00

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2. 2. week

day

Time allocation 9.00

Activities

Remarks

Program for today. Suggestions of participants.

5’ 20’

Game or song

60’

Model lesson – Hippopotami E: Trunk and roots (home groups) 1. W hat do you know or think you know about the reproduction of hippos? 2. What do you know or think you know about hippos’ behavior? 3. D o you know something about a hippo’s adaptation to its life? or 4. W hat is typical for a hippo’s body? 5. W here are the most suitable conditions for a hippo’s life? (Think about the environment, about countries...) The group work should be presented and discussed.

■■ see handout Consider the number of groups and the number of participants in one group in advance according to the total number of trainees in the class. Then divide the trainees into expert groups. The number of questions prepared depends on the number of the groups you want to form. You may add some questions if you want to form more groups but the questions need to be related to the text they are going to read. Draw on the blackboard the scheme of dividing participants into expert groups from the example in the handout (adjust to total number of participants).

20’

Break

75’

Model lesson continues RM: Jigsaw puzzle Expert groups: texts about hippos Home groups: teaching/learning

■■ see handout

R: Mind map: individually The trainees prepare mind map on the hippo individually.

Allocate limited time to each home group.

After working on individual mind maps, the trainer asks the trainees if they have any questions or unclear points about hippos which have not been addressed by the text, peers or by the trainer. It is important that the trainer employ different strategies for addressing the doubts and questions of the trainees. This can include forwarding the questions for the whole class, setting assignment for some of the questions (the assignment can also be for the trainer).

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You can write the instruction for Jigsaw puzzle on flipchart paper: Experts 1. study the material 2. be sure everybody understands everything 3. prepare what and how you will teach your home group partners 4. time for teaching = 5’ for each expert 5. it is forbidden to read from the text when teaching

Keep the mind maps produced by participants; they are needed for tomorrow’s work. The trainer should inform trainees to bring the mind maps for tomorrow’s work. The trainer should try to be a good model for the trainees and demonstrate how students can be primarily responsible for their own learning (autonomous learning).

2. 2. week

Time allocation 12.00

Lunch break

14.00

Game or song

Activities

day

Remarks

20’ 30’

Reflection on the model lesson 1. List steps of the model lesson. 2. Phases E-RM-R (categorize steps in the framework of teaching and learning) 3. Feelings (T-chart) – the trainees will get two pieces of colored papers (different colors) and will write their likes and dislikes regarding the model lesson separately) 4. Were your questions and doubts which you had during the activity Trunk and roots answered? If no how and why? 5. Can you adapt and apply the method Jigsaw puzzle in your classroom? If yes, how? If no, why? 6. What do you think is the importance of the Jigsaw puzzle method for students learning actively? 7. What challenges might you face in using the jigsaw puzzle method in your classroom?

50’

Picture – A landscape of my dreams Ask participants to sit down in a relaxed position and to dream about the landscape of their dreams. Drawing on their imagination they will try to draw their dreams on a hard paper using colored markers or crayons.

Description of steps that can be written on flipchart paper at the end of the summary: 1. Trunk and roots – in groups (home groups) 2. Expert groups – reading – studying – preparation of teaching 3. Home groups: learning/teaching 4. Mind maps – individually

Gallery After they draw the pictures, the pictures can be put in a circle on chairs, then the participants move around the circle visiting each other’s work. Then some of the trainees show their picture and others will guess what the picture is about. Then the person will explain their picture.

20’

Break

page

2. 2. week

day

Time allocation 45’

Activities

Appreciation and question as an example of peer assessment Preparatory activity: 1. D o you have the experience of using peer assessment among students as a technique to assess their own work? Give examples. 2. What instructions do you give your students when they are interacting with the work of others? 3. H ow can you follow up and give feedback to the peer assessment? Peer assessment – Appreciation and question: Brief the trainees about peer assessment. This can be done through letting them read the handout or, if this takes too much time, the trainer can write the major points on a flip chart and explain the concept. Then the trainer explains the method of Appreciation and question to the trainees and everybody assesses a picture of another trainee. Instruct the trainees to write on a piece of paper at least two points of appreciation and at least one question. Stress the importance of providing specific points of appreciations and a specific question. Sharing in whole group, individuals read the points of appreciation and question given to them. Reflection on the activity 1. W hat is the advantage and disadvantage of using peer assessment? 2. What is the importance of appreciation and questions as a method of peer assessment? 3. C an you use such assessment in your class? How? 4. W hat challenges may you face in applying such assessment in your class?

15’ 17.00

page

Feedback

Remarks ■■ see handout on Peer assessment

2. 3. week

Time allocation 9.00

Activities

day

Remarks

Program for today. Suggestions of participants.

5’ 30’

Game: Running with message (Hippo)

75’

Descriptive feed back Preparatory activity 1. What is the importance of providing feedback for students’ work? 2. Do you give feedback for the work of your students? 3. If yes, how do you give feedback for your students’ work? When you detect errors and mistakes, how do you lead students to correct their mistakes? 4. How do you monitor that students are making use of your feedback? Following this, the three mind maps incorporating teacher’s comments can be given to the trainees. The trainer tells participants to: 1. Study the material in groups or individually. 2. Identify what students learnt from the comments given by the teacher on their work (specifically how students were made to recognize their mistakes and how the teacher leads them to improve their work) 3. What was common in all 3 examples of feedback written by the teacher? Whole group discussion. Reflection on the activity 1. How does the teacher provide feedback? 2. How are students made to recognize their mistakes? 3. How did the teacher lead students to be aware of the mistakes they made in their work? 4. What are the common good things in the feedback given for the three items by the teacher? Why?

■■ see handout on Descriptive feedback

■■ see general handout on feedback Points to be stressed in the summary: *The teacher starts by appreciating each of the pieces of work of students regardless of the difference in the quality of the pieces *The teacher leads students to take the initiative of finding the answers for the weak points instead of giving answers himself. The teacher does it by asking specific questions which lead students to find out the answers. *The feedback is very specific which helps the students to see what exactly they should improve.

Finally, the trainer presents the general concept of the feedback (why, how, when it is given) based on the handout. The trainer displays main points on the flipchart on the wall. Practicing providing feedback At this stage the trainees start applying what they have learnt about how effective written feedback can be given. Each individual receives another person’s mind map on hippo (kept from previous day). They write their descriptive feedback. (The trainer should stress that the trainees are going to give feedback assuming themselves as teachers commenting on their students’ work). Then everybody returns the mind maps to their owners and a discussion follows. Specific questions for discussion include: 1. Are you satisfied with the comments you received? Why? 2. What information does the comment tell you about your work? 3. Did the feedback you received specify exactly what to improve? 4. What challenges may you face in using such feedback in your classroom?

20’

Break

page

2. 3. week

day

Time allocation 30’

Activities

Free writing Choose a favorite person (historical person, writer, painter, singer, monarch, sportsman …) and write their name on a slip of paper. Walking in room. In pairs show each other your name of the person. Guess why your partner chose the person and listen with a “poker face” to what your partner thinks about your choice. Free writing about chosen person (5 min.). Volunteers share their writing in whole group.

12.00

Lunch break

35’

Reflection on Free writing activity 1. I s it possible to use the activity in every subject? 2. How could you use the activity in your subject area? 3. W hat challenges could students face if you are going to use such an activity with your students? 4. T o which phase of the framework does the activity belong to?

20’

Break

60’

Portfolio assessment 1. Rotating Review: retrieving experiences of the trainees Explain the method of rotating review and start the procedure in 3 groups: –– What do you know about portfolio assessment? –– Do you have the experience of leading your students to develop their own portfolio and assess it? If yes, how? –– What do you think is the importance of using portfolio assessment for students, teacher and parents? Presentation of group work and discussion 2. Handout on assessment and portfolio assessment. Each group receives specific texts about portfolio assessment. The trainer divides the text on the basic themes and cuts it into pieces according to the number of groups. Participants will also be asked to include the experience they got with portfolio in the training. Particularly during the week 1 planning session. Then each group will teach what they have learnt in the text to the whole class. The trainer can add more information every time a group presents their works. 3. Reflection on portfolio assessment –– What things have you learnt about portfolio assessment? –– How can you adapt portfolio assessment in your teaching? –– What problems may you face in using portfolio assessment?

15’ 17.00 page

Feedback

Remarks ■■ see handout It is good to display the instruction of free writing on the wall: Free writing – Put your pen on the paper and start writing. – Use full sentences. – Write for the entire prescribed time. – If you don’t know how to continue don’t stop writing! You can use formulations such as “I don’t know what to write...”, “it’s nice weather today...”. – Try to return to the topic as soon as possible. – Mistakes are allowed!

The trainees should realize the possibility of using free writing in the evocation or reflection phase of a lesson.

■■ see handout

■■ see handout The trainer should clarify how portfolios can be assessed continuously by taking the case of how the trainees’ lesson plans were assessed continuously from the planning session to after their implementation. This includes how the trainees were also involved in the assessment as they were made to reflect on their feelings, successes, drawbacks and possible lessons drawn for further use of the methods.

2. 4. week

Time allocation 9.00

Activities

day

Remarks

Program for today. Suggestions of participants.

5’ 40’

Community circle You can use the following questions: Do you like reading? Is reading important to you? You can use any other current and debatable social, economic or cultural issue suitable for practicing the method.

15’

Reflection on community circle –– What is your feeling about the method? –– Can you adapt the method in your teaching practice? If yes, how? –– If your answer for the above question is no, what can be the challenges that hinder you from using the method with your students? –– How can the challenges be tackled? –– Which phase of the framework does this method fit into?

45’

Reading lesson – The 4 wives E: Brainstorming (individually)

The students sit in a circle facing each other. The teacher assigns one magic object – for example a small bell or a key. The object rotates among the students, and whoever is holding the object can speak. After this person is finished speaking, he or she gives the object to the next person. It is good to display the rules for community circle on the wall: 1. Community circle magical object ➔ gives a word to a person ➔ only the member with magical object in his hand is allowed to speak 2. everybody listens to the speaker 3. no evaluation or criticism is allowed 4. it is not necessary that the person with the magical object speaks

■■ see handout

1. Do you think there are different types of wives and husbands? If so how they are different? 2. Do you know other stories of couples from your reading or from your experience? If yes can you describe one? 3. What criteria or qualities do/did you take into consideration while selecting your wife or husband with whom you want to spend the rest of your life? Following this some participants will be invited to share their ideas with the whole class RM: Reading part one Provide participants with the first part reading and instruct them to read individually and silently. Then open whole class discussion on the following summary questions: R: 1. What is it about? 2. If you are supposed to made a selection among the 4 wives which one/ones would you prefer? Why? 3. Do you think the person has a reason for hating the 1st wife? Can you guess what it is?

page

2. 4. week

day

Time allocation

Activities

20’

Break

70’

Reading lesson continues E: What do you expect to happen next? What could happen to the four wives and the person? What would you do to the wives if you were in his place? RM: Reading part two The trainer distributes the second part of the reading and instructs them to read individually. R: 1. What happened in the paragraph? 2. What was the feeling of the merchant about the situation he was in? 3. H ow would you respond if you were in the place of the wife and your spouse asked you to do the same as the husband in the story? 4. From what you’ve read so far can you guess the theme of the story? E: What will happen in the next reading section? RM: Reading part three The trainer gives the third piece of reading to individual participants to proceed with the reading. R: 1. What happened in this part? 2. Do you agree with the writer’s conclusion regarding the four wives representing different aspects of our life? Why? 3. What is the moral of this story? 4. What did you learn from the story?

12.00

Lunch break

14.00

Game

Remarks

20’ 20’

Analyses of the reading lesson Participants will write the steps of a reading lesson. They should match the steps to the phases of framework (E-RM-R). Analysis of the reading lesson in relation to critical thinking development The trainer first presents major ideas as to what critical means, why developing critical thinking is so important and how teachers can develop critical thinking on a flipchart by shortening the critical thinking handout picking some major points only. This is for the sake of revision of what has already been done in week 1 Following this reflect on how the reading lesson can help develop critical thinking. This can be done in a similar manner with what was done in the first week reading lesson “special praise”. Hence, the trainer can ask trainees: –– to analyze each of the questions in the reading lesson in terms of developing critical thinking –– what the importance of carefully designed questions is –– Can you design some questions or activities in your subject areas in some topics that can promote critical thinking? Can you justify how such questions can lead your students to develop critical thinking?

page

■■ see handout The trainer can present the shorten form of the critical thinking handout on a flipchart. This can help trainees to remember what the concept means and to relate it with the quality of the questions in the reading lesson.

2. 4. week

Time allocation 30’

Activities

Our Collective Tree instruction – explanation The pairs will discuss their common hopes, hobbies, interests, fears, priorities.... They will write them down on a cut leaf and attach it to our collective tree. Possible change of questions for discussion: What do you consider to be important about teaching and learning? What are your beliefs about learning and teaching? What are your teaching priorities? What do you expect from your students?

day

Remarks ■■ see handout Draw a tree on large sheet of paper (flipchart) Repeat the procedure two or three times according to time. Write the questions down on the flipchart paper or blackboard so that everybody can see them while they are working

20’

Break

30’

Reflection of the activity Our Collective Tree Think back about the completed activity. Did you feel comfortable during the activity? Why yes, why no? When yes, when no? How did you like it generally? What did you like about it and what did you dislike? Do you think that your students could feel similarly if you conducted this activity? Would they feel relaxed? Would they feel uncomfortable? Why?

Participants are sitting in the circle.

20’

Reflection continues – ideas for implementation 1. For what goals / objectives / purposes would you use this activity? 2. Can you come up with an adaptation? Think about your subject area – can you give us some examples of integrating this activity into it?

Participants are working in small groups – use a new way of making groups. (When possible, ask participants about their methods of grouping or pairing students.)

15’

Feedback

Select only some questions.

17.00

page

2. 5. week

day

Time allocation 8.00

Activities

Remarks

Program for today. Suggestions of participants.

5’ 20’

Game or song

20’

Brief lesson plan The trainer shows the trainees how to prepare a brief lesson plan according to their own suggestions and discusses with them the possibility of implementation.

The brief lesson plan can be introduced during planning.

Planning for implementation

Let the trainees consider each step one by one.

50’

Trainers need to prepare in advance one model lesson plan to present in front of the participants or print one out to be given to the trainees. You can use examples of brief lesson plans from the manual or you can prepare your own suggestion.

Proceed step by step: 1. M ake groups according to subject area. This is in case the trainers are not self-contained. 2. Select a topic (content) you are going to teach next week. 3. T hink about what your students already know and are able to do about the selected topic. 4. W hat will be new for your students: a) in content – knowledge? b) in skills? 5. H ow will you recognize (and how will your students recognize) that the students reached the goals? (evidence of learning?)

20’

Break

20’

Game

60’

Planning continues 1. N ow we have a topic, goals and evidence of learning a) How will your lesson start? (think about pre-concepts of your students in connection with goals) – Methods – activities – students’ products …. b) How will your lesson present new material in an “active way”? c) How will your students reflect upon their learning?

20’

Break

50’

Presentation of lesson plans Voluntary or selected groups will present and discuss with the whole group their lesson plans. Final discussion and feedback on the implemented lesson plans Allow the trainees to offer their feedback on the presented plans. The trainer can also include his/her comments on the plans.

15’ 13.00 page

Feedback

Discuss with the trainees their plans, give them advice, suggestions…

The trainer should make sure that the feedback given and accepted by the presenters will be incorporated before the plans are implemented in schools.

2. week

Three-Step Interview Three-Step Interview (Kagan, 1992) is a cooperative structure in which partners interview one another on a particular topic. For example, in a team of three, Partner A interviews Partner B, while Partner C records key aspects of the response. Roles rotate after each interview, allowing all members the opportunity to be interviewed. In a group of four, the steps can progress as follows: A interviews B, while C simultaneously interviews D. Roles reverse and B interviews A, and D interviews C. The group of four reconvenes with each person sharing his or her partner’s response. Three-Step Interview can be incorporated into any type of lesson, as the content of the interview can be virtually anything. Group of 3

Interviewer

Responder

C Recorder Roles rotate after each interview. Group of 4 Step One:

Interviewer

Responder

Step Two:

Step Three:

Interviewer

Responder

A B

D C

Each person shares partner’s response.

References: Steele, J. L., Meredith, K. S., Temple, Ch. Cooperative Learning. 1998.

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2. week

Trunks and Roots Method of group work (suitable especially for the evocation stage of the learning process; in some cases it is possible to use it also for summarizing student knowledge and their experience in the third stage of the learning process – stage of reflection). Procedure The whole class is divided into “home” groups. It is necessary that each group has at least 3 members, but the optimal number is 5 or 6 (this is an activity that can employ more members within one group). Each group selects one member as a trunk. The remaining members of the group are roots. It is not necessary that the “trunk” student is the one who usually plays the role of a leader. Each group receives one question – the questions should be different for each group; thus there should be the same number of questions as there are groups. The questions should be connected together – they should map the topic that you as a teacher would like the students to work on. For example, if you want to work on the hippopotamus, you can ask these questions: a) Why do you think hippos are important? b) What you know or think you know about how hippos reproduce? c) What you know or think you know about hippos’ behavior? The groups receive a short amount of time to read the question. Each member of the group should be sure they understand the question. The question is then kept on the place where the group trunk is sitting. (In the more difficult variation the students are not allowed to use a paper to write down the question. They should use their own words to formulate the question.) After a brief discussion within the “home group”, the roots leave their places and start to walk around the room. Their task is to ask everybody in the room – one by one – the question given to their group. Again, they are not allowed to make notes on the paper and they must bring each answer to their trunk. The trunk is sitting with a sheet of paper (a big sheet) and makes notes according to the ideas brought by the group members playing the role of roots. To ask everybody means that a root asks their question as many times as there are people in the room. Participants will be asked the same question several times! Nobody is allowed to refuse to answer! They must answer the same question repeatedly! Thanks to this rule people go deeper into their thinking about the topic – answering repeatedly forces them to think more about the topic.

References: Košťálová, H. Training of Modern Teaching Methods. People in Need. 2005.

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2. week

The Hippopotamus The name hippopotamus comes from the Greek “hippos”, meaning horse; these animals were once called “river horses”. Hippopotami are found near lakes, swamps, and slow-flowing rivers surrounded by grasslands. Historically, hippos have been found throughout all of sub-Saharan Africa, but most populations have been reduced or exterminated. Currently, the only large populations of hippos are in the Nile River valley of East Africa. Hippos are still found in the rivers of Sudan, northern Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia, west to Gambia as well as in Southern Africa (Botswana, Republic of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia). A separate population is in Tanzania and Mozambique. In 1995 it was listed on CITES appendix II. One subspecies, Hippopotamus amphibius tschadensis, is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN 1996 Redlist. The Hippo rivals the Rhinoceros for the title of the second largest land mammal on Earth after the elephant. The hippopotamus is an extremely large creature with a round body, short legs, and a big, broad head. The massive animal measures about 1.5 m in height at the shoulder and has a length of 4–5 m, of which about 0.5 m is tail. They weigh up to 3000–4500 kg. Male hippos appear to continue growing throughout their lives, whereas the females reach a maximum weight at around the age of 25. Females are smaller than their male counterparts and normally weigh no more than 1500 kg. They are brownish gray on top with a light pink color underneath. There are patches of pink on the face, especially around the eyes, ears, and cheeks. Hippopotamuses spend most of the day in the water. They must submerge because their thin, naked skin is vulnerable to overheating and dehydration. The hide is virtually hairless, and is moistened by mucous glands which secrete an oily reddish liquid. For years, it was reported that the Hippopotamus would sweat blood. We know now that it is not actually blood, nor sweat. With its eyes, ears, and nostrils on the top of the head and nose, the hippo can hear, see, and breathe while most of its body is underwater. Hippos can close their nostrils and remain completely submerged for more than ten minutes. The hippopotamus has excellent hearing, sight, and smell. It is often claimed that a hippo cannot swim, but this is untrue, as they are excellent swimmers, propelling themselves by kicking their back legs. They can swim almost from the moment they are born, since they are born underwater. They move around by pushing off from the riverbed or simply walking along the bottom in a slowmotion gallop, lightly touching the bottom with their toes like aquatic ballet dancers. Despite their bulk, they can run extremely fast, but are unable to jump and won’t even step over obstacles. While it is accepted that a hippo can run faster than a human on land, there are various estimates of its actual running speed. Some sources claim 30 km/h, while others record 40 km/h or even 48 km/h. The higher values probably refer to short bursts. They feed on land mostly at night. The hippopotamus is strictly a vegetarian (herbivorous). In the evenings, after the hot sun has set, hippos commonly come out of the water for a night of grazing – in fact, this goes on for about six hours! Paths from water to pastures start as broad highways but branch into inconspicuous secondary and tertiary tracks. A single hippo can eat up to 50 kilograms of grass in a single night, returning to the water before sunrise. (The hippo’s daily consumption is 1–1.5 percent of its body weight, compared to an average of 2.5 percent for most other ungulates.) While hippos like to feed on patches of short grasses (called “hippo lawns”) close to water, sometimes they must travel several kilometers to find food, making long trips on land to new lakes or rivers. Hippos have huge mouths and teeth even though they eat grass. The giant mouth is widely split and can be opened extremely wide, exposing the canines, which are large and curved. Its canine teeth are 50 cm long. Hippos make a variety of grunts, growls, screams and other sounds underwater to communicate with each other. Resonant grunts and wheezes make hippos among the noisiest African animals (but when away from water hippos rarely call). A male hippo is known as a bull; the female, a cow; a baby, a calf; and a group of hippopotami, a pod, herd, school or a bloat. The life span of the animal is up to 50 years, usually 30–40. Most mating occurs in the dry season, always in the water, when populations are concentrated. Most calves are born in rainy months, after a 8-month gestation. Males reach sexual maturity in the wild between 6 and 14 years of age, whereas females are capable of breeding at 7–15 years of age. Cows isolate themselves before calving, stay alone with the tiny baby for 10 to 44 days before rejoining the herd. The cow gives birth to a single calf, weighing 27–50 kg. Hippo calves are born underwater. The mother hippopotamus takes care of her baby. Baby hippos often rest on their mother’s backs and swim down, under the water, in order to suckle, but they need to swim to the surface every minute or so in order to breathe.

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2. week

In the water or resting ashore, hippos tolerate close contact, regularly using neighbors as head rests. When emerging at dusk, however, all except mothers and dependent offspring disperse singly since adults are largely immune to predators. Hippopotami live in family groups with one male, several females, and their young. Common river hippos live in herds of about 10 to 30 animals, but they have been observed in groups as large as 100. The dominant male has the right to mate with all females in his herd, although he will sometimes allow subordinate males in and around his territory to mate. His territory is also well marked with dung, and this effective scent mark warns other mature males to stay out. Aggression between males is intense. The hippos use their long canine teeth as weapons, and death often results from fighting between males. Most adult male hides are covered with scars from injuries incurred during such fights. Losing males are often relegated to a solitary existence. Both sexes are very aggressive – males defending their territory may kill another hippo nearby when courting females, and females join together to protect their offspring. Unprotected calves may become meals for lions, hyenas, and crocodiles. Despite the popular image of the animal being easygoing and peaceful, the hippopotamus is actually one of the most dangerous animals in Africa, and is said to account for more human deaths than any other African mammal. This is not because they are more aggressive than other African mammals but rather because they are highly territorial and their space often conflicts with that of farmers and tourists. The family Hippopotamidae consists of two species, the common hippopotamus and the pygmy hippopotamus. The predominant difference between the two is their sizes. The less familiar pygmy hippopotamus of West Africa is less specialized. It has longer legs and the orbits of its eyes are not raised above the roof of its skull. The pigmy hippo exists in two populations. One ranges in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire. The other population, with a different shape to the skull, ranged until recently in the Niger Delta but may now be extinct. Pygmy hippos are less adapted for living in water than its huge cousin. Pygmy hippos are also much rarer, found only in the interior forests.

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2. week

Jigsaw Puzzle (e.g. Aronson, 1980; Johnson, Johnson & Holubec, 1993; Kagan 1992)

This is a cooperative learning activity that allows each student to participate actively. You will work with text. (With young students you can substitute the text with pictures.) Decide on a text your students can study and that you have enough copies of. It is necessary to divide the text into 4 or 5 separated parts. Or you may use 4 or 5 independent texts about the same topic. How many texts will you need? You must calculate in advance! If you have 60 students in your class, you can divide them into 12 groups of 5 students. These will be so called home groups. These groups of 5 are going to form expert groups. How? Each group member receives a number (1 up to 5). Then all number 1s make group number one. This will be expert group number one. You will have 12 students in this group and that is too many. You can divide the group into 2 groups of 6 members or even into 4 groups of 3 people. Still, all these groups keep the number one. Students with number two will gather into expert group of twos. Again, there will be 12 members in each group, which is too many. You can repeat the same division into two or three smaller groups. You will need 5 different expert texts. Each unique text has its own number (1 up to 5). Group number one will use text number one – and you will need one copy of the text number one for each group member. The same will be with groups two, three, four and five. Initial task for home groups In the beginning the home groups may perform different tasks that serve as an evocation activity. They can brainstorm about the topic. They can work in trunk and roots groups. They can prepare Venn diagrams on the topic, etc. Task for the expert groups 1. The experts have to study the material they receive in the text they are given to study. It means, they read and discuss. They are responsible for each member of their group – they must be sure that each member of the group understands the material properly. 2. The groups prepare ways in which they would like to teach their friends back in their home groups. They must know how much time will be allocated for their teaching (usually 5 minutes). Back to the home groups After the students are prepared for the teaching in home groups they return “home” and member by member they teach the others. Then you can assign a task for the whole group that gives the students an opportunity to use material they have studied, or you can assign an individual task – it can be a mind map of the topic, a cinquain, diamond, Venn diagram, etc. It is a time consuming procedure In the beginning, when neither you (the teacher) nor your students are familiar with the procedure, the organization will require a great amount of time. But the time will be given back to you after you and your students become experienced in this method.

References: Košťálová, H., Skalická, P. Training of Modern Teaching Methods. People in Need. 2005.

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2. week

Schema of dividing to the groups (example for 20 students and 4 expert groups)

HOME GROUPS 1

EXPERT GROUPS 1

1 1

page

2 1

3 2

4 4

2. week

Jigsaw puzzle – The Hippopotamus Expert group 1 The name hippopotamus comes from the Greek word “hippos” meaning horse; these animals were once called “river horses”. Hippopotami are found near lakes, swamps, and slow-flowing rivers surrounded by grasslands. Historically, hippos have been found throughout all of sub-Saharan Africa, but most populations have been reduced or exterminated. Currently, the only large populations of hippos occur in the Nile River valley of East Africa. Hippos are still found in the rivers of Sudan, northern Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia, west to Gambia as well as in Southern Africa (Botswana, Republic of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia). A separate population is in Tanzania and Mozambique. In 1995 it was listed on CITES appendix II. One subspecies, Hippopotamus amphibius tschadensis, is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN 1996 Red list. The Hippo rivals the Rhinoceros for the title of the second largest land mammal on Earth after the elephant. The hippopotamus is an extremely large creature with a round body, short legs, and a big, broad head. The massive animal measures about 1.5 m in height at the shoulder and has a length of 4–5 m, of which about 0.5 m is tail. They weigh up to 3000–4500 kg. Male hippos appear to continue growing throughout their lives, whereas the females reach a maximum weight at around the age of 25. Females are smaller than their male counterparts and normally weigh no more than 1500 kg. Expert group 2 They are brownish gray on top with a light pink color underneath. There are patches of pink on the face, especially around the eyes, ears, and cheeks. Hippopotamuses spend most of the day in the water. They must submerge because their thin, naked skin is vulnerable to overheating and dehydration. The hide is virtually hairless, and is moistened by mucous glands which secrete an oily reddish liquid. For years, it was reported that the Hippopotamus would sweat blood. We know now that it is not actually blood, nor sweat. With its eyes, ears, and nostrils on the top of the head and nose, the hippo can hear, see, and breathe while most of its body is underwater. Hippos can close their nostrils and remain completely submerged for more than ten minutes. The hippopotamus has excellent hearing, sight, and smell. It is often claimed that a hippo cannot swim, but this is untrue, as they are excellent swimmers, propelling themselves by kicking their back legs. They can swim almost from the moment they are born, since they are born underwater. They move around by pushing off from the riverbed or simply walking along the bottom in a slowmotion gallop, lightly touching the bottom with their toes like aquatic ballet dancers. Despite their bulk, they can run extremely fast, but are unable to jump and won’t even step over obstacles. While it is accepted that a hippo can run faster than a human on land, there are various estimates of its actual running speed. Some sources claim 30 km/h, while others record 40 km/h or even 48 km/h. The higher values probably refer to short bursts. Expert group 3 They feed on land mostly at night. The hippopotamus is strictly a vegetarian (herbivorous). In the evenings, after the hot sun has set, commonlly hippos come out of the water for a night of grazing – in fact, this goes on for about six hours! Paths from water to pastures start as broad highways but branch into inconspicuous secondary and tertiary tracks. A single hippo can eat up to 50 kilograms of grass in a single night, returning to the water before sunrise. (The hippo’s daily consumption is 1–1.5 percent of its body weight, compared to an average of 2.5 percent for most other ungulates.) While hippos like to feed on patches of short grasses (called “hippo lawns”) close to water, sometimes they must travel several kilometers to find food, making long trips on land to new lakes or rivers. Hippos have huge mouths and teeth even though they eat grass. The giant mouth is widely split and can be opened extremely wide, exposing the canines, which are large and curved. Its canine teeth are 50 cm long. Hippos make a variety of grunts, growls, screams and other sounds underwater to communicate with each other. Resonant grunts and wheezes make hippos among the noisiest African animals (but when away from water hippos rarely call).

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Expert group 4 A male hippo is known as a bull; the female, a cow; a baby, a calf; and a group of hippopotami, a pod, herd, school or a bloat. The life span of the animal is up to 50 years, usually 30–40. Most mating occurs in the dry season, always in the water, when populations are concentrated. Most calves are born in rainy months, after a 8-month gestation. Males reach sexual maturity in the wild between 6 and 14 years of age, whereas females are capable of breeding at 7–15 years of age. Cows isolate themselves before calving; stay alone with the tiny baby for 10 to 44 days before rejoining the herd. The cow gives birth to a single calf, weighing 27–50 kg. Hippo calves are born underwater. The mother hippopotamus takes care of her baby. Baby hippos often rest on their mother’s backs and swim down, under the water, in order to suckle, but they need to swim to the surface every minute or so in order to breathe. In the water or resting ashore, hippos tolerate close contact, regularly using neighbors as head rests. On emerging at dusk, however, all except mothers and dependent offspring disperse singly since adults are largely immune to predators. Expert group 5 Hippopotami live in family groups with one male, several females, and their young. Common river hippos live in herds of about 10 to 30 animals, but they have been observed in groups as large as 100. The dominant male has the right to mate with all females in his herd, although he will sometimes allow subordinate males in and around his territory to mate. His territory is also well marked with dung, and this effective scent mark warns other mature males to stay out. Aggression between males is intense. The hippos use their long canine teeth as weapons, and death often results from fighting between males. Most adult male hides are covered with scars from injuries incurred during such fights. Losing males are often relegated to a solitary existence. Both sexes are very aggressive – males defending their territory may kill another hippo nearby when courting females, and females join together to protect their offspring. Unprotected calves may become meals for lions, hyenas, and crocodiles. Despite the popular image of the animal being easygoing and peaceful, the hippopotamus is actually one of the most dangerous animals in Africa, and is said to account for more human deaths than any other African mammal. This is not because they are more aggressive than other African mammals but rather because they are highly territorial and their space often conflicts with that of farmers and tourists.

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Providing students with Feedback What is feedback and why do we provide feedback to our students? Feedback can be defined as any comment or reflection (written or oral) provided by others (i.e. teachers, peers) on any kind of student work. Feedback has many purposes for the students who receive it and for the teacher. Feedback is important to communicate to students how well their knowledge, understanding and skills are developing in relation to the objectives of the teaching learning process. Feedback enables students to recognize their strengths and areas for improvement, and to plan with the teacher the next steps in their learning. In this way they are given opportunities to improve and further develop their knowledge, understanding and skills. Although teachers are most often the ones who provide feedback to students, peers can also be excellent sources of feedback. Feedback can be given in different forms or ways. It can be in the form of oral, written, or facial expression. Forms of feedback include: –– oral discussion with class, groups or individual students –– written comments –– general comments to the class about aspects of the activity in which students excelled and aspects that still need improvement –– examples of good responses –– peer evaluation and self-evaluation. In the next section written feedback provided by teachers is emphasized. How to provide feedback to students Providing students with the right kind of written feedback can make a significant difference in their achievement. Some points for providing useful feedback: –– Feedback should be specific, clear, to the point and concise –– Students should continue working on a task until it is completed and accurate (until the standard is met). This enhances student achievement (Marzano, Pickering & Pollock, 2001). –– Effective feedback must be immediate. Delay in providing students with feedback diminishes its value for learning (Banger-Drowns, Kulik, Kulik & Morgan, 1991). –– Start the feedback with appreciation, regardless of the level of the student’s work. Avoid making only negative comments. Offer a word of praise or encouragement wherever you can. –– Keep the record of feedback you gave to students and refer to it later. –– Before you comment on a point, make sure that you understand what the student is attempting to say. If you think you might know what he means, rewrite the point in clearer terms, introducing it with a phrase such as “I think you mean...” or “Are you saying that...?” –– Pose questions which can be an effective form of feedback when the teacher wants the student to think in new and deeper ways or point students toward a new concept. Questions can also be used to help students to further see and explain certain concepts that are important. –– Feedback should explain, not label student work.

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Mind map that is beyond teacher’s expectations sexual maturity 6–14 years

isolate before calving

8 month gestation

grows all life

sexual maturity 6–15 years

up 3000–4000 kg

born in rainy season

grows up to age 25

born underwater

male

baby female running

big the 2nd largest land mammal

Hippos

body

life What is the largest one?

running

food land

skin

walking on the bottom

move

herd

What is their speed?

water

big head

one male secretes a red liquid

at night

huge mouth grass

What is its function?

50 cm long canine teeth herbivorous

several females on land travel several km

offspring marks territory fights How many km?

Teacher’s comment: Your mind map is rich in information. At the same time, it is transparent and well arranged. The information relates logically and is interconnected. Your chains are diversified and are consistently connected with the others in many cases. I think your mind map incorporates in a meaningful way all important information about hippos. I appreciate also the questions that you still have and express about the hippos despite the very detailed mind map. I am interested in your answer why did you connect “huge mouth” and “grass”? In which way do you think your mind map could be improved in the future?

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Mind map that fulfils teacher’s expectations

long canine teeth

the 2nd largest land mammal

4–5 m

big and heavy body

huge mouth

live in water live in groups

walking

eat grass fast running

a dominant male fights between males

swimming

Hippos

big head eyes, ears and nostrils on the top

mammals

females take care of baby

at night

go from water

What is the largest land mammal?

Teacher’s comment: I appreciate the part of your mind map in which you express and describe how the hippos live in groups. Your representation of both male and female roles in the group is adequate. I also appreciate the chain “big head – huge mouth – long canine” and “big head – eyes, ears and nostrils on the top”. Would it be possible that you connected the ellipse “... nostrils on the top” with ellipse “live in water”? Do you think these two relate? Can you explain your answer to this question? I also recognize the connection between “big and heavy body” and “the second largest mammal” and “mammals”. And the question about the largest land mammal is appropriate as well. (Have you already found out the answer?) I believe that you selected the information that was important for you and that you will be able to use it. How do you think your mind map could be improved in the future?

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Mind map that doesn’t fulfil teacher’s expectations

dangerous

up to 50 kg fights

eat grass mark territory brownish gray

a big animal

Hippos

live in water eyes, ears and nostris are on the top of head

sweat blood huge mouth long canine teeth

Teacher’s comment: I really appreciate the connection you gave in the line: “live in water – eyes, ears, nostrils are on the top of head”. I also like the chain: “mark territory – fights – dangerous” but reading your map I would like to know how they mark their territory, if marking is done by both males and females and if both males and females fight over the territory. You have connected “dangerous” and “big animal”. Do you think that these facts must relate? Because you wrote the map after the reading and discussion in your home groups I have a question: Was it possible for you to use and put down into your mind map much more information from the text? Did you have access to the information? Was everything clear to you during the work of your expert group and later home group? Did you ask questions about the content in case you did not understand? Do you now have some questions about hippos that have not been answered by the information in the text? In which way do you think your mind map could be improved? (Please, look back again into the text and try to seek the information about “hippos sweat blood”. Can you explain this information again? Are you sure that they really sweat blood?)

References: Košťálová, H., Skalická, P. Training of Modern Teaching Methods. People in Need. 2005.

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Running with a Message This is a running game which develops memory. The text of the message can serve to learn a topic. The teacher can observe the strategy which the players choose.

FINISH

message

Students are divided into 2 teams. Each team has the task of transferring a message from one place to another place. The message is a text (there is one text for both teams) which is posted at the starting place (for example on a tree, on a wall …). The members of the teams have their positions – the first member stands several meters from the message (text), the rest of the members are located in regular distances to the finishing place. The last member of the team stands on the finishing place and he/she has a paper and pencil. The first member reads a part of the message, remembers it, and transfers (tells) it to the second member. It is up to the member if he/she selects and remembers several words or one sentence, etc. The second member transfers the message to the third member and the transferring continues all the way to the last member. The last member writes down the part of the message on the paper. The game continues until the team transfers the whole message to their paper at the finish. The team which finishes fastest and correctly relays the whole message is the winner.

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Running hippos â&#x20AC;&#x201C; suggested text The family Hippopotamidae consists of two species, the common hippopotamus and the pygmy hippopotamus. The difference between the two is their sizes. The less familiar pygmy hippopotamus of West Africa is less specialized. It has longer legs and the orbits of its eyes are not raised above the roof of its skull. Pygmy hippos are less adapted for living in water than their huge cousin. Pygmy hippos are also much rarer, found only in the interior forests.

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Free Writing Students write freely on what they know, feel, and wonder about a topic before engaging in a lesson about it. Alternatively, students can write briefly and intensively on a topic to get out their reflections after studying it. We invite students to write down in prescribed time (5 minutes), without stopping, everything that comes to mind when they think about a topic. Students should use full sentences. If they don’t know how to continue, they shouldn’t stop writing. Instead they can use formulations like “I don’t know what to write …,” or “The weather is nice today …” but they should try to return to the topic as soon as possible. Mistakes are allowed! After the prescribed time is up (and it’s a good idea to call time after 5 minutes and give them one more minute to finish, because good ideas often come out under pressure), we might ask them to read their paper aloud to a partner. At this point, many options are available. We can invite pairs to share ideas with the whole group, or we may ask the students to underline the ideas on their papers that they are least sure about, and pay close attention to the reading to see if it sheds light on their areas of uncertainty.

References: Temple, Ch., Steele, L. J., Meredith, K. S. Reading and writing and discussion in every discipline. 1998. Temple, Ch., Steele, L. J., Meredith, K. S. Lesson planning & assessment. 1998.

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Community circle 1. Each child takes their chair and makes a class circle. Everybody should be able to face the rest of the group. 2. A topic for discussion is selected. It must be of common interest to the whole group. (An issue concerning class life; possible life experience of children; future plans of the class; reading experience; a problem raised within the class, etc.) 3. The teacher sends a “speech giving” object around the circle from one child to another in the order in which they’re sitting. 4. A stone, small toy, little bell, or any other object with a relationship to the class can serve as the “speech giving” object. 5. The child who holds the “speech giving” object is allowed to speak about the selected topic. They can say whatever they want. The only limit is the topic. 6. The speaker should think about other possible speakers so that his/her particular contribution to the discussion is not too long. 7. No one is allowed to contribute without holding the “speech giving” object. Speaking out of the order is understood as interrupting. 8. If a child wants to forfeit contribution, they are absolutely free to do so. No one should be forced to speak against their will. 9. Each speech, each contribution must be accepted with full respect by the audience – both by the teacher and the rest of the children. Children must learn not to laugh or make painful comments. 10. After the “speech giving” object goes around the whole circle, everybody is welcome to take it once more and add to the topic. It is no longer necessary that the object circulates from one child to another in the order in which they’re sitting. Possible applications of community circle in my class:

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The Four Wives Part 1 There was a rich merchant who had 4 wives. He loved the 4th wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to delicacies. He took great care of her and gave her nothing but the best. He also loved the 3rd wife very much. He was very proud of her and always wanted to show her off to his friends. However, the merchant was always in great fear that she might run away with some other man. He loved his 2nd wife too. She was a very considerate person, always patient and in fact was the merchant’s confidante. Whenever the merchant faced some problems, he always turned to his 2nd wife and she would always help him out and advise him through difficult times. Now, the merchant’s 1st wife was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and business as well as taking care of the household. However, the merchant did not love the first wife and although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her. Part 2 One day, the merchant fell ill. Before long, he knew that he was going to die soon. He thought of his luxurious life and told himself, “Now I have 4 wives with me. But when I die, I’ll be alone. How lonely I’ll be!” Thus, he asked the 4th wife, “I loved you most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I’m dying, will you follow me and keep me company?” “No way!” replied the 4th wife and she walked away without another word. The answer cut like a sharp knife right into the merchant’s heart. The sad merchant then asked the 3rd wife, “I have loved you so much for all my life. Now that I’m dying, will you follow me and keep me company?” “No!” replied the 3rd wife. “Life is so good! I’m going to remarry when you die!” The merchant’s heart sank and turned cold. He then asked the 2nd wife, “I always turned to you for help and you’ve always helped me out. Now I need your help again. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?” “I’m sorry, I can’t help you out this time!” replied the 2nd wife. “At the very most, I can only send you to your grave.” The answer came like a bolt of thunder and the merchant was devastated. Then a voice called out: “I’ll leave with you. I’ll follow you no matter where you go.” The merchant looked up and there was his first wife. She was so skinny, almost like she suffered from malnutrition. Greatly grieved, the merchant said, “I should have taken much better care of you when I could have!” Part 3 Actually, we all have 4 wives in our lives. The 4th wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making our body look good, it’ll leave us when we die. Our 3rd wife? Our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, they all go to others. The 2nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how close they have been there for us when we’re alive, the furthest they can stand by us is up to the grave. The 1st wife is in fact our soul, often neglected in our pursuit of material wealth and sensual pleasure. Guess what? It is actually the only thing that follows us wherever we go. Perhaps it’s a good idea to cultivate and strengthen it now rather than to wait until we’re on our deathbed to lament.

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Our Collective Tree The students look for common qualities, attributes, characteristics. Prepare in advance a tree silhouette on a poster (or you can use a dry tree). The students form a pair and try to look for common qualities, attributes or characteristics (interests, needs, worries, hopes, wishes…) which they have in common with their partner. They draw a leaf, a flower or a fruit and cut it out of paper. (If possible the paper should be colorful.) They write their names and their common items on the leaf, the flower or the fruit. When they are ready, they attach it to the tree. Afterward they change partners and they repeat this procedure in new pairs. They continue until their tree has a new “coat” (perhaps three different rounds-depending on the number of students). The activity comes in useful in the beginning of a school year or as a way for getting to know each other. The collective tree can decorate a classroom. You can use the collective tree in the learning process too. The students can look for animals, plants, towns, countries or materials that share similarities. Discussion about the activity after it is completed allows your students to express ideas that came to their minds during it. Was it a pleasant activity? Was it easy to discover mutual qualities, hobbies, preferences, wishes....? Do they know each other better now? Did they find out something surprising about a person they have known for several years? Etc. – according to unique conditions and the situation of the group you work with. Possible change of the activity: If you doubt your students’ ability to use the scissors effectively, you can prepare the shapes (leaves, fruits, blossoms) in advance. Or you can make the cutting a special relaxation activity, spending about 20 minutes with the participants cutting paper.

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Brief lesson plans Examples of brief lesson plans:

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Brief lesson plan – Flower – 2

grade (app.) – 40 minute period

Objectives (= what will be new for the students) –– Students will learn English expressions for four main parts of a flower. –– Students will be able to find new words on the simple vocabulary sheet of paper on the wall. –– Students will be able to organize information into a simple graphic organizer – a mind map. –– Students will be able to compare several mind maps and choose the most appropriate one.

What students already know and are able to do: Students are able to identify the four main parts of the flower when they have it on the table and can examine it. Students are able to name the parts of the flower in Amharic. Students are able to write and read the Amharic expressions. They are able to read English words and to write Latin script. Evidence of learning Mind map with flower written as the central topic and stalk / roots / leave / bloom. Description of the lesson Evocation (students will evoke their current knowledge and cognitive structures) 1. Students will bring a flower to the class – flower should have bloom, stalk, roots and leaves. 2. Group work for the students – instruction for students: –– Look at the flower and examine it carefully. –– Answer these questions: How many parts does the flower have? What do you call the parts in Amharic? –– Write the expression down in the column. (Note for teachers: You should show them what a column is.) Realization of meaning (students will connect known information with new information) Instruction for students: 3. Look at the wall vocabulary. (Note for teachers: If you have an opportunity to copy you may prepare a copy of the vocabulary for each group.) 4. Find suitable words for the parts of a flower. 5. O rganize the expressions into the mind map – flower will be the central ellipse. (Note for teachers: It should not be the first time your students are using the mind map method. If they don’t know the method now and you would like to use this lesson plan you should teach them the mind map first and separately from this lesson.) Reflection (students summarize independently what they have learnt) 6. Teachers, prepare three mind maps on the blackboard (or you can use a big sheet of paper if you want the maps to be reusable). One of the maps should be the “best” one; the others should be somehow less suitable. 7. Instruction for the students: –– Study the three mind maps. –– Compare them with the one you have produced in your group. Discuss them in your group again. –– Choose the one that you think is the best. If it differs from the one you produced, explain the differences. Should the map you produced be changed, or should the teacher’s map? 8. Whole class discussion about the maps.

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Peer Assessment Peer assessment is defined as ‘an arrangement in which individuals consider the amount, level, value, worth, quality, or success of the products or outcomes of the learning of peers of similar status’ (Topping, 1998, pp. 250). It develops the ability of students to make independent judgments by involving them in commenting on and judging other students’ work. Peer assessment is much more than children marking each other’s work. To improve learning, it must be an activity that engages children with the quality of their work and helps them reflect on how to improve it. Peer assessment enables children to give each other valuable feedback so they learn from and support each other. It adds a valuable dimension to learning: the opportunity to talk, discuss, explain and challenge each other enables children to achieve beyond what they can learn unaided. Peer assessment helps develop self-assessment, which promotes independent learning, helping children to take increasing responsibility for their own progress. Peer assessment plays a vital role in formative assessment, but it can also be used as a component in a summative assessment package. It can include student involvement not only in the final judgments made of student work but also in the prior setting of criteria and the selection of evidence of achievement (Biggs, 1999, Brown, Rust and Gibbs, 1994). This entails the involvement of students in setting the criteria of assessment and purposes of assessment together with the teacher. Students who are to be involved in peer assessment should be made clear about the objectives of the assessment, what to assess and the criteria for assessing their colleague’s work. A peer rating format can encourage a greater sense of involvement and responsibility, establish a clearer framework and promote excellence, direct attention to skills and learning and provide increased feedback (Weaver and Cotrell, 1986). At first the criteria for assessment can be provided by the teacher; once the students have more experience, they can develop them themselves. For meaningful peer assessment students have to have a clear understanding of: 1. the objectives of the assessment 2. what to assess and 3. what the criteria are for assessing their colleague’s work. Important points for teachers starting to use peer assessment techniques: –– Give students written feedback for marks as further clarification. –– Use peer assessment as an additional marking method, i.e. 1) peer assessment mark 2) teacher’s mark –– Devise clear assessment criteria with students so they gain inside knowledge of the process. To initiate peer assessment with a group of students spend some time on an introduction. For instance, the teacher provides a sample writing or speaking task. As a group, students determine what should be assessed if their levels are higher otherwise the assessment criteria are given by the teacher. Then the instructor gives students a sample completed assignment. Students assess this using the criteria they have developed, and determine how to convey feedback clearly to the fictitious student. –– Teach students how to listen, observe, provide constructive feedback, etc. –– Students need to use anonymous feedback (overcomes problems like “betraying” friendships) –– Create a safe environment in which “mistakes” are instrumental to the learning process. Make students aware that whatever the quality of their colleagues’ work might be, they should start by appreciating and indicate what needs to be improved through questions and specific recommendations. –– Emphasize the process of peer assessment, not only the results. Advantages of peer assessment –– Helps students to become more autonomous, responsible and involved. –– Encourages students to critically analyze work done by others, rather than simply seeing a mark. –– Helps clarify assessment criteria. –– Gives students a wider range of feedback. –– Reduces the marking load on the teacher. –– Several groups can be run at once as not all groups require the lecturer’s presence. Hence, this saves time. –– Students also learn how to accept and give productive criticism and praise.

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Disadvantages of peer assessment –– Students may lack the ability to evaluate each other. –– Difficulties with the validity and reliability of assessment done by students. This will be improved by the use of clear criteria (aligned with the learning objectives, of course), by double anonymity of assessors and assesses, and by having multiple assessors for each piece of work. –– Students may not take it seriously, allowing friendships, entertainment value, etc. to influence their markings. –– Students may not like peer marking because of the possibility of being discriminated against, being misunderstood, etc. –– Without lecturer intervention, students may misinform each other.

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Appreciation and Question as part of peer Assessment The method “Appreciation and Question” is the kind of peer assessment where students learn to recognize specific qualities of assigned work. Participants can think about appreciation and questions during or after a presentation or they can assess products of their work. You can organize a gallery of students’ products and participants walk around and observe the products. The participants write on slips of paper (cca 10 x 10 cm) their appreciations of what they like about the work. On the reverse side of the slips of paper they write their questions about what is not clear for them. When all participants finish their appreciations and questions, invite some of them to read their appreciations. After several appreciations they can write down several questions. Keep the sequence – first appreciation and then question. The question must not replace critique or recommendation. The appreciation should be specific. Don’t accept appreciation like “that is nice”, “it is a good work”, “I like it”... They must express specifically what they like. For example the participants can write “the established information is in a logical structure, I appreciate that the student has doubts about giving information and wants to know more about the topic”. In the same way, the question has to be formulated as a question. It is very important that the appreciations are made before the question. The students are aware of their strong points; they learn to appreciate them by themselves and through others. They learn that you can find something successful in each work.

References: Interkulturní výchova ve školním vzdělávacím programu. Edited volume of the Varianty Project. 2005.

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3. 1. week

day

Time allocation 9.00

Activities

Remarks

Program for today. Suggestions of participants.

5’ 30’

Community circle What about the last week?

The purpose here is simply to know the wellbeing of the participants. The activity can take a short time.

The trainer can simply use the activity here to lead the participants to discuss on any special thing that has happened in the past week/s. The event can be related to the teaching and learning process or to their personal life

25’

Reminder of the work already done Ask some questions related to the work they have already done. It is also possible to give them some hints/clues so that they can remember what they have already done. This can be done by drawing a large table on the board or on a flipchart and the top columns can have some major points participants have already passed through in weeks 1 & 2. This can include: active learning methods, model lessons, assessments, games, etc.

30’

Rotating Review – Implemented lesson plans groups of 4 (5) 1. A number of questions (6 to 8) are written on sheets of paper and posted around the room. 2. Groups of students (3 to 5) are assigned a question. They move to the sheet with the question on it, discuss the question for 5 to 6 minutes, and write their answers on a separate sheet of paper. 3. A t a signal from the teacher, the groups move to a new sheet, read the question, and write their answers on paper. 4. T he teacher calls for the groups to move on – repeating the process, if possible, until the groups return to their original sheets.

■■ see handout

Questions: 1. I n general how did the implementation go? 2. What was the most successful part? 3. W hat failures or difficulties were encountered? 4. H ow did your students respond (their feelings)? 5. T o what extent did the students learn through the method effectively? 6. D id you use any assessment to check if students were learning throughout the lesson? If yes what did you do to check? 7. What things would you change in the lesson if you do it again?

All groups can work on the first and last questions at the same time. For the rest of the questions each group can take only one question and rotate answering each question simultaneously. Keep trainees from reading and working on the next question before time for rotation.

20’

Break

20’

Reflection on Rotating review 1. H ow can you use rotating review in your class? 2. What will be the challenges to apply the method in your class? What will be the solutions? 3. I n which phases of the frame work can you use the method?

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The trainer can first lead the trainees to think of anything they remember about the clues and then invite them to come to the blackboard and fill in the table. One trainee can fill in only one thing they remember. The trainer can use other options of reminding trainees of what they’ve passed through.

When grouping it is better to have different teachers (from different schools) within one group. The participants may need to take a look at individual lesson plans that they tried during teaching practice.

3. 1. week

Time allocation 50’

Activities

Presentation of implemented plans Each group selects one lesson plan. The selected teacher will present the lesson plan for the group and the group members will give appreciation and question. Following this, the selected plan will be presented to the whole class. The class will be told to come up with the points which they appreciate and some points on which they need clarification by the presenter.

day

Remarks Remember that all the teachers need to present the implemented plans for the whole class throughout the week. At this part of the training only five participants will be selected for presentation and discussion on the lesson plans will continue. It is very important that the trainer and the trainees make a plan regarding who is going to present their implemented lessons when (throughout the week). The number of trainees who will present each day will be known based on the total number of participants divided by four days (Monday to Thursday). The trainers who are going to present in the upcoming days should be told to make preparations, such as writing the implemented lesson plan on a flipchart. This should be facilitated by the trainer each day.

12.00

Lunch break

14.00

Game or song

15’ 70’

Practice

■■ see handout

Cinquain

What trainers need to stress for participants is the fact that the cinquain is not meant only for language teaching but for any subject area. Cinquain is one of the active learning methods that help students make a short and brief representation of what they know about the topic by representing it through words. The cinquain’s importance is the knowledge behind the words the students write.

First present the guidelines for writing the cinquain. Ask if there is anyone who is familiar with it and uses it for the teaching and learning process. Then offer some sample cinquains using some examples (banana, tea, reading,). Write cinquain together with the whole group on the chalkboard or on the flipchart. Participants as a group will offer several topics that will be written on the chalkboard. The topic is selected through the election activity. Each person will have 5 to 10 minutes to write their cinquain. Then they will turn to their partner and the two will take from each cinquain to write a single cinquain they both agree on. These paired cinquains can then be shared with the whole group. Reflection On Cinquain 1. What can be the advantages if students are using cinquain? 2. Is it possible to let your students learn through the method cinquain in your subject areas? If yes how? And if “no” why? 3. What can you do to manage the problems that may arise in implementing cinquain in your class? 4. At which phase of the framework can you use the method?

20’

Break

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3. 1. week

day

Time allocation 1:05â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Activities

Presentation of implemented plans Each group selects one lesson plan. The selected teacher will present the lesson plan for the group and the group members will give appreciations and questions. Following this the selected plan will be presented to the whole class. The class will be told to come up with the points which they appreciate and some points which they need clarification on by the presenter.

15â&#x20AC;&#x2122; 17.00

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Feedback

Remarks

3. 2. week

Time allocation 9.00

Activities

day

Remarks

Program for today. Suggestions of participants.

5’ 20’

Game or song

40’

Presentation of implemented lesson plans The trainer can ask some questions from the self-reflection questions, such as what were the successes and problems encountered, means of assessment used, in the lesson, etc. This can be done after the full presentation of the lessons.

45’

The trainer can simply let the trainees present and the others come up with appreciations and questions regarding the implemented plans. It is good for the trainer to also provide feedback. The feedback can include appreciations and questions based on what was observed in real classes and also on whether the trainee included what was commented on during the week 2 planning session.

Practice

■■ see handout

Cubing Participants will make a cube of paper (quarter) according to the sample.

Show on the blackboard how they can make a cube.

Explain the method on a selected topic (e.g. book …). Proceed step by step through all six sides of the cube (Describe It, Compare It, Associate It, Analyze It, Apply It, Argue For or Against It).

20’ 50’

Break Cubing continues Give a topic (e.g. coffee …). Let participants’ free write step by step on the given topic. Prescribe time (1–5 minutes) for each side of the cube (it doesn’t need to be the same for each side).

Let them work individually so that everyone can have firsthand experience with the method as a student learning through the method.

Participants share their responses with a partner. They can give appreciation and question each other. Afterwards, volunteers can share their responses with the whole group.

12.00

Lunch break

14.00

Game or song

20’

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3. 2. week

day

Time allocation 40’

Activities

Reflection on the Cubing –– How did you respond to the strategy? –– Do you have to go through all six sides with your students? –– Do you have to do the sides of the cube in order, or can you just roll the cube? (It is good to do them in this order which moves from less to more complex thinking.) –– What challenges might you face if you adapt such a method? –– To which stage(s) of the framework does it apply?

30’

Model lesson – Christopher Columbus – Part 1 An enhanced lecture activity E: Preparatory activity – a list of ideas (original things in the New and in the Old World), sharing with the whole group, collecting of ideas

Remarks You can ask participants if they know Bloom’s taxonomy. After their answers for this particular question you can have a brief explanation of Bloom’s taxonomy. Often three sides are enough with small children but it depends on the topic and the group.

■■ see handout The trainer at this stage can use a handout on any well-known person or any issue (it doesn’t have to be Christopher Columbus). But this requires preparation, designing the model lesson by formulating different questions and activities at various stages of the lesson. This can be done by referring to the Columbus lesson description as a model. Also if the trainer decides to use a different text, it is good that he should prepare a model lesson description handout (like Columbus) based on the selected topic that is to be given to the trainees at the end of the training session. The activity at this stage can be individual and they can share ideas in pairs. Then they can be invited to present their ideas to the whole class. The trainer needs to record their ideas in a table drawn either on the flipchart or on the blackboard.

20’

Break

60’

Model lesson continues RM: Partial lecture – listening to the text R: Review of chart – –– Which of your ideas matched with the text? –– What new information did you learn from the text? –– What things surprised you? –– Do you have some doubts about the information in the text? –– Do you have doubts about some information?

10’ 17.00 page

102

Feedback

■■ see handout The trainer needs to inform the participants of the content of the lecture to be presented at each step. For example in this case it is all about the old and new world and they need to take notes about this. This can practically demonstrate how we can lead students to be active during enhanced lectures

3. 2. week

day

u Examples of MTM trainees reflection on cubing and sketch of cubing production

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3. 3. week

day

Time allocation 9.00

Activities

Remarks

Program for today. Suggestions of participants.

5’ 20’

Game or song

1:10’

Presentation of implemented lesson plan

20’

Break

45’

Model lesson – Christopher Columbus – Part 2 An enhanced lecture activity

The procedure for implementing this is similar to the previous days

■■ see handout

E: Preparatory activity – imagining Columbus’s personality, sharing with the whole group (volunteers) RM: Partial lecture – listening to the text R: Comparing ideas with the text –– Does the text correspond with your ideas about Columbus? –– Which particular points in the text do you agree or disagree with? –– Did the text annoy you? –– Are you surprised? Discussion in whole group.

20’

Model lesson continues

■■ see handout

Reflection

The procedure for doing the cinquain can be similar to what has already been practiced.

Participants make cinquain about Christopher Columbus

12.00

Lunch break

14.00

Game- cooperative puzzle

20’

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3. 3. week

Time allocation 40’

Activities

Reflection on the model lesson Summary of the steps Ask the participants to: Think about and write the possible steps that they have gone through during the lecturing process Match these with the steps of the model lesson according to the framework. These two questions can be done individually and the trainer can collect the answers on a flipchart. 2. Disadvantages to lectures Ask the participants to indicate any disadvantages they have witnessed in using lecturing as a method of learning and teaching in general. 3. Advantages of lectures Ask the participants to think about advantages of lectures 4. Experience Sharing Ask the participants how they conduct lecturing in their classes. Ask specifically: –– whether they prepare questions (both open- and close-ended) and for which part of the lecture. –– how they try to make their lecture more attractive to their students. What makes the type of lecture they used to use in their classes differ, if at all, from the one they have observed in this training?

day

Remarks Description of steps that can be written on the flipchart paper (blackboard) at the end of the summary: 1. Preparatory activity – a list of “things” from the New and the Old World – individually – sharing in pairs – a common list – whole group 2. Partial lecture 3. Review of chart 4. Preparatory activity – Columbus’s personality 5. Partial lecture 6. Comparing ideas with the text 7. Discussion in whole group 8. Cinquain For questions, the trainees are expected to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of lecturing in general. The trainer can guide the discussion to contrast it with the newly practiced lecture type: an enhanced lecture. For example for a disadvantage mentioned by the trainees about lecturing, the trainer can explain how this disadvantage was minimized or avoided in the lecture they practiced. To do this the trainer can refer to the enhanced lecture handout and try to come up with major themes presented in the handout that lead the discussion with the trainees.

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3. 3. week

day

Time allocation 35’

Activities

Remarks

Practice

■■ see handout

Questions

Has a group categorized the questions into open and closed questions?

Participants will make groups of 3. First start the activity by asking the trainees questions such as: Why do you ask your students questions? Do you ask questions randomly or prepare them before hand? Why? Here the trainer can let participants reflect on what their experience was with little or no interference from the trainer. Each group will receive the set of questions, which are cut into pieces. Their task will be to categorize the questions according to their criteria. The groups will share their categories with whole group. Check whether any group has categorized the questions into open questions and closed questions.

The trainer needs to prepare beforehand the piece of the questions considering the number of groups that are going to be formed. If you find any group categorizing in such a way, it would be good but if you cannot it doesn’t matter.

At this point stress for the participants that our intention is to categorize the questions into open- and close-ended categories. Then, a discussion on open- and closeended questions will commence.

20’

Break

35’

Discussion Ask the participants: What is the difference between open- and close-ended questions? The trainer, after gathering information about the conceptual definitions of open- and close-ended questions from them, can add their own remarks and let the participants divide the questions into the two categories. The trainer then accepts the questions on the table to be drawn either on the blackboard or flipchart. It is good to ask the trainees their justification as to why they categorized a given question as an open- or close-ended question. Final reflection

40’

1. W hy do you ask your students the two types of questions (whether it is oral or written)? 2. What strategies could you employ while you ask your students questions in order to ensure equal participation of all students? 3. W hat challenges may you face in asking your students open-ended questions? 4. W hat are your criteria to decide the type of questions you ask your students? 5. W hich types of questions do you want to use in your class? Why? 6. A sk the participants to come up with at least one open- and one close-ended question on any topic they teach in their subject area.

15’

Feedback

17.00

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At this point of the lesson the trainer needs to make short notes on the questions handout and to raise some issues following the reflection of the trainees on the questions presented here.

3. 3. week

day

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3. 4. week

day

Time allocation 9.00

Activities

Remarks

Program for today. Suggestions of participants.

5’ 20’

Game or song

100’

Presentation of an implemented lesson plan

20’

Practice Observation Experience retrieval

The procedures of implementing the activity are similar to the previous days.

Ask the participants questions. 1. D o you often observe students while they work? If yes, how do you observe them work? 2. How do you collect information about your students while you observe them work? 3. H ow could you give feedback for what you observe? 4. D o you make students observe each other while they work? If so, how do you have them do so? This can be an individual activity where the trainer can simply retrieve participant’s previous experience and record what they say. It is not necessary for the trainer to reflect on the details of each question at this point of the session. Hence, having retrieved participants’ experience, the trainer can tell participants that he/she would like them to practice one method of gathering information about students’ work: observation.

20’

Break

30’

THE ACTIVITY CONTINUES Participants are divided into 3 groups. Each group gets a different task. The groups fulfil their tasks gradually. The tasks for the groups: 1. T o construct something from material such as paper, sticks, pebbles, glue… (They will receive the materials.) 2. To put together a jigsaw puzzle of a poem so that it makes sense. (Each person holds a piece of the poem in their hand.) 3. T o draw a common picture. (All members of the group take turns in drawing.) First, one group works and the other two groups observe. The observers will take notes of their observation on paper. Afterwards they will change their roles and so on. Emphasize to the participants that they should only observe. They should not assess the work; they should not say what they like, etc. They will learn to describe. They need to describe the activity of each individual: simply what each individual was doing in the group, etc.

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Prepare in advance material such as scissors, pieces of wood, pebbles, glue, ropes, plasticine, sticks... You can change the tasks to something such as role playing about a given theme... The observers need to have their own papers and pens or pencils.

3. 4. week

Time allocation 25’

Activities

The activity continues The groups share their descriptions with the whole group. Tell the observers to describe how the participants were doing their tasks; they should not judge their performance. Final reflection Ask the participants: 1. What do you understand from the activity? 2. What did you do while you observed the other groups? 3. Do you think what you said about the others’ work is helpful for the group? 4. Why were you asked simply to describe and not to assess the others’ work? 5. Do you observe your students purposely, randomly, or…?

12.00

Lunch break

14.00

Game or song

day

Remarks Emphasize the role of observation for assessment. Also, give emphasis to the role of description for assessment. The trainer can take a look at the handout about observation and can prepare short notes in relation to the reflection questions here. This will help the trainer to concentrate on the questions and give additional information in response to what the participants say about each question.

20’ 35’

Self-assessment (self-reflection)

■■ see handout

The participants try to self-assess their own functioning during group work (not only during the previous activity, but throughout the whole training). They will fill out the self-reflection sheet. Numbers can be assigned to each rating scale on the self-reflection sheet where each individual participant will calculate his/her value and can be asked to judge him/herself based on the average values they got. They can fall into any of the three scales given on the reflection sheet. Values for each of the three scales can be assigned by the trainer. Finally, it is good to let some volunteer trainees reflect on what they need to improve for the future.

Emphasize here the importance of developing the habit of selfassessment among students. Raise their awareness on what a self-reflective teacher means and its importance. They can add their self-reflection sheet to their portfolio. It is good to refer to the handout to address what, why, how and when self assessment should be used.

Reflection on the activity 1. Do you tend to self-reflect on your day-to-day encounters in the teaching and learning process? If yes, how do you do it? 2. What are some things that you have discovered while self-reflecting during the activities in this training? 3. Do you have experience leading students to self-reflect on their performance on various topics in your subject area? If yes, how did you make them reflect on their own work? Give examples. 4. What criteria do you set for your students when they self-reflect? 5. What could be the challenges of using self-reflection as an assessment tool for your students? How can you cope with those challenges?

5’

Reminder of the kinds of the assessment already practiced. You can simply ask them to think of the kind of assessment the participants have encountered in the three weeks training. This can be recorded by a flipchart and displayed on the wall for the remaining period of the training.

Portfolio assessment, descriptive feedback, peer assessment (appreciation and question), observation and self-reflection.

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3. 4. week

day

Time allocation 20’

Activities

Reading lesson – Literature circles Thank You, Ma’am Pre-reading activity

Remarks ■■ see handout Give the text of “Thank You, Ma’am” a day before the reading lesson.

1. H ow do people in Ethiopia treat street children when they try to steal their property? 2. How do you treat a street child when she/he tries to steal your wallet or purse when you are on a bus? 3. W ho is responsible for shaping and changing the lives of such children? The trainer can accept some individual comments from the participants. Then the participants should be divided into groups, each of which are comprised of five or six people. Then tell them to go through the text “Thank You, Ma’am” once. Then, using either the blackboard or a flipchart, explain the different roles to be played in the literature circles. Then, let each group distribute the roles among the members, each person should have one role.

20’

Break

20’

Next, everyone will work on their own roles within the group in the prescribed time. Following this, each person will present their work to the group. Finally, some selected roles from each group present their work to the whole class. The class can be asked for any appreciation and question they have.

30’

Post office – reflection on the activity “Literature circles” Prepare in advance enough pieces of paper for all of the trainees. Also prepare in advance something to represent post office (you can use a chair or a box as a post office by just writing “post office” on it or labeling it with a piece of paper). Then, tell them to write one open-ended question about the activity and the text (“Thank You, Ma’am”) that they have already read. They should write the question on the top of their papers so that there is enough space for others to give their answers. Next, they will bring their questions to the post office and put it there. They then come back and take one paper that is someone else’s. After answering the question they return the paper to the post office and take another question. Again they should take a different question – not their own and not the one they’ve already answered. They can repeat the procedure several times. Finally, some trainees will read a question with the answers.

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■■ see handout It is beneficial if they select an interesting question.

3. 4. week

Time allocation 20’

Activities

Reflection on Post office activity Questions: 1. Is there a possibility that you can use the post office activity in your subject area or classroom? If so, how? 2. Which parts of the activity do you like and which don’t you like? 3. Which phase of the framework do you think the activity is suited for? 4. What can the challenge of using the method in your lesson be? 5. What did you learn from the activity literature circle?

15’

day

Remarks Post office is especially suited to the reflection phase, though there is also a possibility of using it at evocation. Regarding question number 5, stress the fact that the activity was important to make each student within the group busy and thereby active. Assigning such specific tasks for each group member helps to prevent students from losing concentration on group work tasks. But when assigning tasks for students such as this within a group, we need to consider such variables as their needs and interests, abilities, etc.

Feedback

17.00

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3. 5. week

day

Time allocation 8.00

Activities

Remarks

Program for today. Suggestions of participants.

5’ 30’

Game

60’

Planning for implementation Participants will work in groups of 2–3 according to their subject specialization.

Write the steps on flipchart paper and show the participants gradually.

Proceed step by step: Before the lesson

Keeping the order of the steps is an important part of planning.

Participants first identify the topic they are going to plan for implementation on the coming weeks Why is this lesson valuable? –– How does it connect to other topics, or build on other skills? –– How will it prepare the students for further studies and understandings? –– How does it connect to students’ personal experience and interests? –– What will it enable them to understand or to do in the future?

Remind them of the sides of the cube (the levels of thinking).

Objectives What specific knowledge and understanding will be explored? What will the students do with that knowledge or understanding? Prerequisites What must a student know or be able to do in order to learn successfully from this lesson? –– Prior knowledge about the content Assessment What evidence of the students’ learning will be sought? –– Evidence that the students are learning the content of the lesson? –– Evidence that the students are adequately practicing the processes of thinking and learning? Resources + time management

20’

Break

20’

Game

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Remind them of possible kinds of assessment. Suggest that they consider the assessment of the lesson in advance of teaching it.

3. 5. week

Time allocation 70’

Activities

Planning continues The lesson proper Evocation How will students be led to formulate questions and purposes for learning? –– How will students’ thinking be focused on the topic? –– How will curiosity be stimulated? –– How will students’ prior knowledge about the topic be retrieved? –– How will they be led to formulate questions?

day

Remarks After planning, it would be good to remind the trainees that every one of them needs to try to include active methods in their planning and to come up with experiences to share with their colleagues.

Realization of meaning How will the content be explored by the students? –– Demonstration or Presentation: What content will be presented or explored? How? –– Student inquiry: What will the students do to realize meaning during the lesson? Reflection How will students make use of the meaning of the lesson? –– Reflective discussion or writing assignment –– Guided practice of the skill or concept introduced

20’

Break

60’

Presentation of lesson plans The participants can present their lesson plans or you can display all lesson plans and then invite the trainees to study work by others. They can write their comments on a piece of paper for discussion.

15’

Feedback

13.00

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3. week

Rotating Review The activity “Rotating Review” is one of the cooperative learning strategies that require movement around the class. The participants discuss and answer several questions that are located at different places in the room. 1. A number of questions (6 to 8) are each written on separate sheets of paper and posted around the room. 2. Groups of students (3 to 5) are assigned a question. They move to the sheet with the question on it, discuss the question for 4 to 5 minutes, and write their answers on a sheet of paper. 3. At a signal from the teacher, the groups move to a new sheet, read the question, and write their answer on their papers. 4. The teacher calls for the groups to move on – repeating the process, if possible, until the groups return to their original sheets.

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3. week

Cinquain What is it? Brief five-line poem on a given topic What is it good for? Learners who write and later read or listen to cinquain learn: – to seek what is really important about the topic for them personally – it means: how they see the topic and how they understand it; – they learn how to express their thoughts and ideas about the topic in a very compact and apt way; – they learn that their ideas and thoughts are valuable and worth writing (and reading to others); – they learn that others have different ideas – but that the different ideas are not any better or worse than their personal ideas; they are simply and naturally different because we are all different people; – they usually learn something new about the topic itself – and they learn it from themselves – so they learn that if they concentrate they can recognize a lot about the world that is surrounding them. How to write it? What is on the five lines:

Schema:

Example: ________

BANANA

TOPIC (one word)

Two important features of it (what the topic is like – adjectives)

Three words for actions / motions (what the topic does or what is done with it) – 3rd person of present tense

________ _______

_______ _______ _______

yellow

changes

tasty

feeds

enjoys

____ ______ _____ _____

four for one birr

__________

fruit

Four-word-long sentence or expression

One-word-long summary (synonym, metaphor, image)

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3. week

Cubing Cubing (Cowan & Cowan, 1980) is a teaching strategy which facilitates looking at a topic from varying perspectives. It involves the use of a cube with different prompts for thinking and writing on each side of the cube. The cube can be made by covering a small box, preferably 15 to 20 centimetres on a side, with paper. Write one of the following six prompts on each side of the cube: Describe It, Compare It, Associate It, Analyze It, Apply It, and Argue for or Against It. Teachers lead students through the process of cubing by having students free write for a brief period (2 to 4 minutes) on a given topic. Give the topic first. Then direct students to think of the topic and Describe It. That is, they should look at the subject closely and describe what they see, including colors, shapes, or signs. With the directions in mind students free write for the specified period of time on the topic. The process continues as above through all six sides of the cube. The directions for the six sides are Describe It. Look at the subject closely (perhaps only in your mind) and describe what you see, including colors, shapes, or sizes. Compare It. What is it similar to? What is it different from? Associate It. What does it make you think of? What comes into your mind? It can be similar things or different things, places, or people. Just let your mind go and see what associations you have for this subject. Analyze It. Explain how it is made. You don’t have to know; you can make it up. Apply It. How can it be used? Argue For or Against It. Go ahead and take a stand. Use any kind of reason you want – logical, silly, or anywhere in between. The prescribed time can be different for each side of the cube (for example: Describe It – 5 min, Compare It – 3 min, Associate It – 1 min.). Following the writing period, students share their responses to each side of the cube. Often this sharing is done first with a partner. Each person selects three sides of the cube to share and read their writing to their partners. There are no set rules of how this sharing must go but we have found it worked extremely well to share as follows. After one partner reads, the other responded by giving praise (or praises) and a question (or questions). We stressed responding to specific thoughts and that students not just say for example, “that was good” but say specifically what they liked and why they liked it. Questions were modelled such as “I liked the way you described your vision, I did not think it looked like that,” or “I did not understand …,” or “I would like know more about this.” Finally, the whole group went through each of the perspectives. We asked for volunteers to read their writing to the whole group. Usually one partner volunteered the other partner, saying,“read yours, it was good.”

References: Steele, L. J., Meredith, K. S., Temple, Ch. Methods for promoting critical thinking. 1998. Skalická, P. Training of Modern Teaching Methods. People in Need. 2005.

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3. week

■■ Schema of cube construction

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Model lesson – Christopher Columbus ■■ First part of the lecture Preparatory activity Students form pairs and think about this question: In the years following Columbus’s famous voyages, there were many things in the Old World that were introduced into the New World, and many things in the New World that were introduced into the Old World. What were some of those “things”? Write down the “things” on the chart (in the middle write down things which you don’t know): New World things in the New World introduced in the Old ––––––––>

Old World <–––––––– things in the Old World introduced in the New

Do you know in which year Columbus discovered America? The pairs share their “things” with whole group – collecting “things” on the chalkboard (flipchart paper). Possible additional questions: What about potatoes, corn, tomatoes, hot peppers, cattle, horses, diseases…..? First part of the text The teacher reads the text. The students listen. They can mark in their chart and add new notes. Afterwards the students review their chart. Which of your ideas were confirmed? What other things did you learn? What things surprised you? What things do you disagree with? Do you have doubts about some information?

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■■ Second part of the lecture Preparatory activity The next part of the lecture is about Columbus the explorer. The students (in pairs) write what they know or think they know about Christopher Columbus. How do you imagine Christopher Columbus as a person who accomplished a successful journey to the New World? What personal qualities might he have had? What exceptional skills might he have had? What did he know? What obstacles (difficulties) did he have to overcome? Volunteers share their ideas with the whole group. Second part of the text The teacher reads the text. The students listen. Afterwards the students compare their ideas with the text. Does the text correspond with your ideas about Christopher Columbus? Which particular points in the text do you agree or disagree with? Did the text annoy you? Are you surprised? Discussion in whole group. Life-poem The students will write a life-poem about Christopher Columbus. They fill in the lines (they can cross out one of the lines and they can repeat one of the lines). Christopher Columbus whose role is who loves who dreams about who believes in who is afraid of who makes an effort who dislikes whose favorite color is who loves At the end of poem write a synonym about Christopher Columbus.

References: Temple, Ch., Steele, L. J., Meredith, K. S. Reading and writing and discussion in every discipline. 1998. Skalická, P. Training of Modern Teaching Methods. People in Need. 2005.

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Remembering Columbus Part 1 Twenty thousand years ago the land bridge over what is now the Bering Strait sank too low to be passable, and two halves of the world began to grow up separately. Plants and animals, peoples and cultures, gods and diseases, all went their separate ways – until one sunny morning, 500 Octobers ago, when a skiff bearing Christopher Columbus crunched into the sand on San Salvador Island and brought the two parts of the world together again. It is amazing to think that one person could have engineered that first contact, however unknowingly. Having done it, Christopher Columbus was caught in the glare of world scrutiny forever. The powers that flowed through that point of contact, once made, changed the whole world profoundly and rapidly. The plants that the Indians offered to the Europeans – plants that had been bred carefully and improved through many, many generations – potatoes, corn, long-staple cotton – soon reversed the Old World’s cycles of famine and led to population explosions – and changed everything from economies to cooking. Who can imagine Italian food without tomatoes? Or Indian food without hot peppers? Or an Irish meal without potatoes? All of this came from the New World. Without long-staple cotton, Europe wouldn’t have had a textile industry, and maybe not an Industrial Revolution. Going the other way, who can imagine “the Wild West” without cattle, or the Plains Indian without horses? The Spanish brought both to the New World in 1493, and they quickly adapted, multiplied, and spread. In the 1580s, the Spanish explorer Cabeza de Vaca was blown across the Gulf of Mexico and shipwrecked on the Texas coast. He was the first European to see Texas, but Spanish cattle already had beat him there, and they looked so wild, so much at home, that he assumed they were native to America. The Lakote Sioux have legends about how the wonderful animals that improved their lives came there. The Elk Dogs were said to have been brought up from a magical land at the bottom of a deep lake. They were horses, of course. On the down side, the diseases Columbus and his followers brought with them wiped out whole civilizations within a few decades. The population of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, for example, was reduced from half a million indigenous people to virtually none within a space of only 50 years. And even though European explorers didn’t arrive on the seaboard of North America until many years after Columbus’ voyage, the diseases introduced by the Spanish are believed to have spread rapidly northward, so that by the time Captain James Smith reached Jamestown in Virginia in 1607, the local indigenous population was already in disarray because at least a fourth of them had died from a plague of smallpox that had originated with the Spanish explorers in the south, and had been passed northward from tribe to tribe. A century earlier in the Caribbean, when the indigenous population began dying off at an alarming rate, the Spanish imported forced workers from Africa, and the troubled heritage of slavery, as well as the multiracial character of the New World, began to take shape. Part 2 Columbus was not the only person of his time who thought the world was round. Many educated people in Europe accepted that. For one thing, they had noted that ships sailing away from port disappeared hull first, then spars. They reappeared in reverse order. The ancient Greeks not only knew the world was round, but one of them had accurately calculated the circumference of the world to within a few hundred kilometers. But there were many Greeks and many estimates, and up until much closer to our own time, no one had any way of knowing which estimate to believe. As it turns out, Columbus chose the wrong estimate, one that put the circumference of the earth at around 20,000 miles, or 32,000 kilometers. That figure inspired him to make what should have been a fatal journey. Columbus took this low estimate of the circumference, and plotted on it the latitude that was known to be taken up by the land mass of Europe. He studied Marco Polo’s journal of a voyage to China, and tried to calculate from that how much more latitude should be taken up by Asia. He added 1,000 miles or 1,600 kilometers for the Sea of Japan, and when he had finished adding and subtracting, he had convinced himself that Japan lay just 2,000 miles or

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3,200 kilometers to the west of Spain. China, he reasoned, was just 1,000 miles or 1,600 kilometers further. Indeed, when he left Grand Canary Island, after making repairs, he wrote in his log that he expected a trip of 21 days – and he provisioned for 28 days, for a margin of safety. In fact, Columbus had 8,000 miles or 13,000 kilometers more ocean to cover than he thought. Had the New World not been there to intercept him, the parched bones of Columbus and his men might still be drifting around out there on the Ocean Sea. Columbus had more than book knowledge to guide him. As a wool salesman, he had shipped aboard voyages to the south, down the coast of Africa as far as Guinea. He had journeyed to the north as far as England, and perhaps even got to Iceland. In Guinea, it is said, he met African sailors who told him of a New World across the sea – and even gave him maps to show him the way. In Iceland, it is said, he heard stories about a strange land to the west, from men who often fished off the coast of Newfoundland and sometimes camped there. But there’s no solid evidence that he did learn of the New World in either of those ways. Everything he wrote in his log not only suggests that he had no foreknowledge of a land mass out there to be discovered, but even that he refused to believe there was, even after he had discovered it! We may believe that the trips were useful for a different reason. They probably taught him that if you went far enough south from Spain, you reached steady winds blowing toward the west. And if you went far enough north you found steady winds blowing back to the east. It was with this certainty that Columbus had all three ships square rigged – and committed his life and the lives of his crew to running before the wind wherever it took him. He was right, of course, and he discovered the sailing routes that were used to carry boats to the New World and back throughout the age of sail. It was mentioned that Columbus had been a wool salesman. He was also a map-maker. But he was never a ship’s captain. Indeed, before his famous voyage, he had never commanded anything larger than a rowboat. Columbus was a poor commander who had constant difficulty with his crew. He once wrote in his log that the skippers of two of his three ships were conspiring with the sailors to throw him into the sea. The crew also seems to have had difficulty with Columbus. On his first voyage, he lied regularly about the distances the three ships traveled each day. As he recorded in his diary, Columbus reasoned that if the crew thought they had sailed less distance, they would be less worried (this thinking seems odd; if you were crossing open ocean, wouldn’t it be more comforting to think you were making more progress, and not less?). Shortly before making his first landfall, he had to head off a mutiny of the crew by promising a year’s wages to the first man who sighted land. A sailor named Rodrigo de Triano was the first, on that morning of October 12, 1492 – but Columbus claimed to have seen a light from the landfall the previous night, when they would surely have been too far off shore (40 miles or 70 kilometers) to see firelight. Columbus kept the prize for himself. It is hardly surprising that members of his fleet ignored his orders at least twice after that: once when the skipper of the Pinta abandoned the fleet and sailed off on his own, and another time when Columbus commanded the crew of the Nina to heave to and pull the stranded Santa Maria off a reef (the Nina failed to comply, and the Santa Maria was lost). Columbus was, however, a consummate navigator. After making by far the longest voyage of his time, Columbus found his way back home through terrible winter storms. The following year he was able to navigate his way back to the island of his destination with remarkable accuracy. He did this with only a compass and a primitive astrolabe that could give a rough measure of latitude, but not longitude.

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Cooperative puzzle (poster or map or....) Cooperative activity that improves the group cooperative capacity. It can be used for identification of cooperative capacity of each individual in the group. Prepare a poster, a map or anything else that can be cut into pieces. It must be large enough that the whole group of students can work with it. Divide it into as many pieces as you need to give one piece to each participant (student). (First, you can let the students share their associations about what each piece reminds them of. However, this is not necessary.) Prepare a frame on the floor that is as big as the original poster or map – the frame should have the same dimensions (measurements). Then instruct your students that their task is to reconstruct the poster or the map. Everybody is allowed to operate only with their own piece of the puzzle. It means that the participants are not allowed to transfer their piece to another person. Everybody should hold their piece in their hands. They can release the piece only when they contribute it to completing the poster. But they can consult together, they can show their pieces and compare them and do whatever they want except for giving their piece to somebody else. If a participant who has already placed their piece on the frame realizes that it must be moved/removed, she/he can do so. Also, each member of the team may ask anybody else to move/remove her or his piece – but only the owner of the piece may touch it. Announce the time limit for the reconstruction of the puzzle and ask the group to manage their time. The group should be warned several minutes before their time is up. Be strict about the time. Observe your students/participants carefully. Make notes for further reflection. The activity is a rich source of information about the group’s cooperative capacity and about the individuals as well. Reflection Questions for the students/participants: How did you like the activity? What did you like and what did you dislike? What was difficult about it for you personally? What was difficult for the group? Did you notice what was crucial for the group’s success? How did you personally contribute to the success of the group work? How did others contribute to the success? Did somebody contribute more than others? What did you learn about teamwork during this activity? Note You as a teacher have a chance by carefully watching your students during the activity to recognize possible leaders, people who selflessly contribute to common success, people who don’t think about others, people who follow the rules correctly and so on. You can use this activity repeatedly and observe whether the cooperation skills of your team improve.

References: Košťálová, H., acc. to Sumec, Pl. Training of Modern Teaching Methods. 2005.

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Self-reflection sheet – GROUP WORK always

sometimes

never

I share my ideas with my colleagues in a group. I contribute actively to solving the group task. I concentrate on the group task for the whole time prescribed for the group work. I encourage group mates to contribute to the group task. I give a chance to other members of the group to contribute their ideas. I listen attentively to the ideas of my group mates. I think carefully about each idea of my group mates. I respect each idea of my group mates. I am prepared to fulfil different roles in the group. I accept my role in the group. I do not repeat ideas that already have been discussed. If I do not understand the group task, I ask my group mates first and only if it doesn’t help, we ask the teacher. I pose questions that could help to solve our task. During the group work, I use a voice that doesn’t disturb other groups. “I help our group use our time efficiently” I use my own words when explaining something to my group-mates. If necessary, I reformulate the task given to our group. I compete with other members of our group. I interrupt my group mates’ speech. I formulate the goal for our group work, if necessary. If necessary, I order members of my group to accept some roles for upcoming group work. This sheet is not suitable for the real school situation – it serves only as possible survey of ideas that we have about group work. You will use much shorter sheets and they will be prepared according to the actual needs for improvement of your real students.

References: Košťálová, H. Training of Modern Teaching Methods. People in Need. 2005.

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“Thank You, Ma’am” by Langston Hughes She was a large woman with a large purse that had everything in it but a hammer and nails. It had a long strap, and she carried it slung across her shoulder. It was about eleven o’clock at night and dark, and she was walking alone, when a boy ran up behind her and tried to snatch her purse. The strap broke with the sudden single tug the boy gave it from behind. But the boy’s weight and the weight of the purse combined caused him to lose his balance. Instead of taking off full blast as he had hoped, the boy fell on his back in the sidewalk and his legs flew up. The large woman simply turned around and kicked him right square in his blue-jeaned sitter. Then she reached down, picked the boy up by his shirt front, and shook him until his teeth rattled. After that the woman said, “Pick up my pocketbook, boy, and give it here.” She still held him tightly. But she bent down enough to permit him stoop and pick up her purse. Then she said, “Now ain’t you ashamed of yourself? Firmly gripped by his shirt front, the boy said, “Yes’m.” The woman said, “What did you want to do it for?” The boy said, “I didn’t aim to.” She said, “You a lie!” By that time two or three people passed, stopped, turned to look, or stood watching. “If I turn you loose, will you run?” asked the woman. “Yes’m,” said the boy. “Then I won’t turn you loose,” said the woman. She did not release him. “Lady, I’m sorry,” whispered the boy. “Um–hum! Your face is dirty. I got a great mind to wash your face for you. Ain’t you got nobody home to tell you to wash your face?” “No’m,” said the boy. “Then it will get washed this evening,” said the large woman, starting up the street, dragging the frightened boy behind her. He looked as if he were fourteen or fifteen, frail and willow-wild, in tennis shoes and blue jeans. The woman said, “You ought to be my son. I would teach you right from wrong. Least I can do right now is to wash your face. Are you hungry?” “No’m,” said the being-dragged boy. “I just want you to turn me loose.” “Was I bothering you when I turned that corner?” asked the woman. “No’m.” “But you put yourself in contact with me,” said the woman. “If you think that contact is not going to last awhile, you got another thought coming. When I get through with you, sir, you are going to remember Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones.”

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Sweat popped out on the boy’s face and he began to struggle. Mrs. Jones stopped, jerked him around in front of her, put a half nelson about his neck, and continued to drag him up the street. When she got to her door, she dragged the boy inside, down a hall, and into a large kitchenettefurnished room at the rear of the house. Some of their doors were open, too, so he knew he and the woman were not alone. The woman still had him by the neck in the middle of her room. She said, “What is your name?” “Roger,” answered the boy. “Then, Roger, you go to that sink and wash your face,” said the woman, whereupon she turned him loose – at last. Roger looked at the door – looked at the woman – looked at the door – and went to the sink. “Let the water run until it gets warm,” she said. “Here’s a clean towel.” “You gonna take me to jail?” asked the boy, bending over the sink. “Not with that face, I would not take you nowhere,” said the woman. “Here I am trying to get home to cook me a bite to eat, and you snatch my pocketbook! Maybe you ain’t been to your supper either, late as it be. Have you?” “There’s nobody home at my house.” said the boy. “Then we’ll eat,” said the woman. “I believe you’re hungry – or been hungry – to try to snatch my pocketbook!” “I want a pair of blue suede shoes,” said the boy. “Well, you didn’t have snatch my pocketbook to get some suede shoes,” said Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones. “You could of asked me.” “M’am?” The water dripping from his face, the boy looked at her. There was a long pause. After he had dried his face and not knowing what else to do, we dried it again. The boy turned around, wondering what next. The door was open. He could make a dash for it down the hall. He could run, run, run, run! The woman was sitting on the daybed. After a while she said, “I were young once and I wanted things I could not get.” There was another long pause. The boy’s mouth opened. Then he frowned, not knowing he frowned. The woman said, “Um–hum! You thought I was going to say but, didn’t you? You thought I was going to say, but I didn’t snatch people’s pocketbooks. Well, I wasn’t going to say that.” Pause. Silence. “I have done things, too, which I would not tell you, son – neither tell God, if He didn’t already know. Everybody’s got something in common. So you set down while I fix us something to eat. You might run that comb through your hair so you will look presentable.” In another corner of the room behind a screen was a gas plate and an icebox. Mrs. Jones got up and went behind the screen. The woman did not watch the boy to see if he was going to run now, nor did she watch her purse, which she left behind her on the daybed. But the boy took care to sit on the far side of the room, away from the purse, where he thought she could easily see him out of the corner of her eye if she wanted to. He did not trust the woman not to trust him. And he did not want to be mistrusted. “Do you need somebody to go to the store,” asked the boy, “maybe to get some milk or something?” “Don’t believe I do,” said the woman, “unless you just want sweet milk yourself. I was going to make cocoa out of this canned milk I got here.” “That will be fine,” said the boy.

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She heated some lima beans and ham she had in the icebox, made the cocoa, and set the table. The woman did not ask the boy anything about where he lived, or his folks, or anything else that would embarrass him. Instead, as they ate, she told him about her job in a hotel beauty shop that stayed open late, what the work was like, and how all kinds of women came in and out, blondes, redheads, and Spanish. Then she cut him a half of her ten-cent cake. “Eat some more, son,” she said. When they were finished eating, she got up and said, “Now here, take this ten dollars and buy yourself some blue suede shoes. And next time, do not make the mistake of latching onto my pocketbook nor nobody else’s – because shoes got by devilish ways will burn your feet. I got to get my rest now. But from here on in, son, I hope you will behave yourself.” She led him down the hall to the front door and opened it. “Good night! Behave yourself, boy!” she said, looking out into the street as he went down the steps. The boy wanted to say something other than, “Thank you, ma’am,” to Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones, but although his lips moved, he couldn’t even say that as he turned at the foot of the barren stoop and looked up at the large woman in the door. Then she shut the door.

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Literature Circles Literature Circles (Short & Kaufman, 1995) are literary discussions in which students’ curiosity about the text is allowed to play a directing role. Typically, students in such discussion have read the same text (story). The choice of texts for Literature Circles is critical, since not all works are equally successful in evoking interested responses. Those that are successful often have a core mystery or element that invites more than one interpretation and a demonstrable connection to issues that matter to the students. Literature Circles are structured discussion groups of four or five students. The structure comes from the various roles members of the group perform during the discussion. The roles of the students are numerous and can change with each discussion circle. Roles for Students Students exercise many tasks that are carried out by an effective reader and discusser of literature. After reading the story the students perform their tasks according to their roles. Discussion Director – This student’s job is to supervise the assigned roles, to lead the discussion and to think (in advance of the discussion) of some good questions for the group to talk about. Word Wizard – This student’s job is to look for special words (words that are new, different, strange, funny, interesting, important, hard) in the story and to try to clarify them. Passage Master – This student’s job is to pick parts of the story (a good part, a funny part, an interesting part, some good writing, a good description) that he/ she wants to read aloud to his/her group and can clarify what the text means. Artist-Illustrator – This student’s job is to draw a picture about the story (characters, settings, actions…). (He/she doesn’t tell what his/her drawing is, partners guess and talk about it first then he/she can tell about it.) Writer – This student’s job is to write a letter to a person from the story. Connector – This student’s job is to find connections between the text and real life. Afterwards students discuss in their groups and finally they can share their ideas with the whole group.

References: Meredith, K. S., Steele, L. J., Temple, Ch. Creating thoughtful readers. 1998. Daniels H., Bizar, M. Methods that matter: six structures for best practice classroom. 1998. Skalická, P. Training of Modern Teaching Methods. People in Need. 2005

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An enhanced lecture For many years lecturing has been almost synonymous with traditional teaching. Lately, research by different well-known authorities in education has begun advocating the use of more active teaching approaches to support more effective learning. Lectures have both their strengths and weaknesses and whether they are appropriate for a particular course depends on the objectives for the course (Cashin 1985). Systematically incorporating brief active learning strategies into lectures can minimize many of the weaknesses of the lecture approach. The “pause procedure,” is one mechanism for incorporating active engagement into a lecture with little loss of time and significant increase in student learning. Stopping the lecture allows students to deal with the physiological and psychological responses that keep them from listening effectively for longer periods, An enhanced lecture is defined as a series of short, mini-lectures punctuated by specific active learning events designed to meet class objectives. There are different strategies that teachers can use to transition their lecture from the traditional lecture to an enhanced lecture. Nickerson (2002) has come up with the following strategies that teachers can incorporate in their enhanced lecture. 1. The Pause Procedure Pause for few minutes after some time of lecturing and ask students to review their notes or to compare their notes with a neighbor. After a unit on a particular topic, for example,”net present value,” an instructor could ask students to review their notes on it and, after two minutes, the instructor could ask if students have questions on the concept. Research has shown that more information is retained when this strategy is used than in a similar lecture with no pauses. 2. Short Writes At an appropriate time in the lecture, a teacher stops and asks students to take two or three minutes to write briefly on something related to the lecture, e.g., “Write in your own words what the purpose of linear regression is.” Alternately, teachers might ask students to write the key points so far in the lecture – something that encourages students to reflect on the material. 3. Think –– Pair –– Share Tell students to take a moment to think about a specific question, concept, issue, problem that has just come up in lecture. Then students discuss and compare their responses with one other student for some minutes. (You can move around the class for that time, listening to the pairs of students.) Finally, you open the discussion to the entire class. The main benefit of this strategy is that at least 80 percent of the class will be focused on the question at hand – not just one or two students. In addition, having spoken with another class member, and perhaps gotten social support for their ideas, even students who rarely speak in the class are more likely to do so in the full class discussion. 4. Voting and Polling At the appropriate time in a lecture, get everyone to vote on a controversial issue you have raised, or something you are about to discuss. Require everyone to vote by a show of hands. Sometimes an instructor might have a re-vote later in the class. 5. Classroom Assessment Techniques Classroom Assessment Techniques are short, quickly administered, quickly analyzed devices (ungraded and usually anonymous) that teachers use to obtain feedback on what and how well their students are learning. You might, for example, set a one minute task after a unit of the class asking, “What was the key point of the lecture on the time

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value of money I just gave?” or, e.g., after teaching the concept of regression, a statistics teacher might ask, “In your own words, what does one use multiple regression to find out?” The students would quickly write their responses. The teacher would collect the anonymous writing to get a sense of how well students understood the issue. 6. Mid-lecture Brainstorming During a lecture, but before the presentation of new material, ask students to quickly tell you everything they know (or think they know) about a new topic. While the students offer ideas, write everything on a white board or an overhead. Then give the lecture, underscoring some of the points students raised before the lecture, and correcting misconceptions students have about the topic. Students are more involved in a lecture to which they have contributed. Also, you have feedback about what individuals in the group know already.

References: Cashin, W. Improving Lectures. 1985. Polhemus, E., Albercht, S., Enhancing the Lecture. 1997

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Observation Observation is a direct means for learning about students, including what they do or do not know and can or cannot do. This information makes it possible for the teacher to plan ways to encourage students’ strengths and to work on their weaknesses. Observation is most effective when it follows a systematic plan. This might involve, for instance, seeing and recording which students use physical materials, which do most of the problems mentally, which use thinking strategies, and which rely on memorized facts. It may be helpful at times to focus on observing one student within the context of a group setting. Observation tools are instruments and techniques that help teachers to record useful data about students’ learning in a systematic way. Some observation tools include: Anecdotal notes: Short notes written during a lesson, as students either work in groups or individually, or after a lesson. Anecdotal notebook: A notebook where a teacher records his or her observations. An index on the side, organized by either student name or behavior, is helpful. Anecdotal note cards: An alternative system to an anecdotal notebook, in which the teacher records observations using one card per child. One way to facilitate this process is to select five children per day for observation. The cards can be kept together on a ring. Labels/adhesive notes: Like note cards, the use of these small adhesive notes frees the teacher from having to carry a notebook around the classroom. After the observation is complete, the teacher can stick the notes into his or her filing system. Reflecting on students’ work Observers take a moment to reflect on what they noticed in the student work and may choose to answer the following questions: What did looking at this body of student work make me think? What questions did this activity raise for me? After taking into consideration participants’ observations of student work and their “noticing” from the observation, the student will answer: “What does this feedback make me think?” “What might implications for my learning be?”, and “What else do I need to know?” At this point, participants can respond to the student work and/or share their thoughts/wonderings. The following conversation prompts are encouraged in the discussion. Prompts for Conversation: “This makes me think…” “Now, I am wondering…” “Now, I realize…” “I want to know more about…” “I am confused about…” “If____, then____...” “Hmmm…I will think more about ____, and make___adjustments.” “Could you tell me more about ______finding or _____query?” “I want to know more about_____. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?”

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OPEN AND CLOSED QUESTIONS 1. Why do you, as a teacher, ask questions? 2. What questions do you consider to be good questions? Open questions The teacher uses open questions to provoke thinking and stimulate learning. Open questions encourage children to express their ideas and their feelings and to promote children’s exploration and investigation. Such questions do not have one right answer. They allow any child to respond; they provide insight into children’s thinking processes. It is very important for teachers to ask open questions throughout the day as children are reading, writing, computing and studying science, social studies, art or music. Open questions can be used to talk to children about their social relationships with one another, about the classroom community or about their lives at home. Open questions allow children to say what is on their minds and to feel secure in their answers. Open questions help the students articulate their own points of view and understand those of others. Closed questions Children are expected to know the right answer and may not even attempt an answer unless they are sure. Teachers ask this type of question in order to find out what children know or if they have mastered the material. In the child-centerd classroom teachers sometimes need to ask this kind of question. With practice, teachers and children can learn to re-phrase their questions and ask more open than closed questions.

References: Košťálová, H. Training of Modern Teaching Methods. People in Need. 2005.

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Questions To question well is to teach well. In the skilful use of questions, more than anything else, lies the fine art of teaching. Earnest Sachs The quality of our lives is determined by the quality of our thinking. The quality of our thinking, in turn, is determined by the quality of our questions, for questions are the engine and the driving force behind thinking. Without questions, we have nothing to think about. Without essential questions, we often fail to focus our thinking on the significant and substantive. To be successful in life, one needs to ask essential questions: when reading, writing, and speaking etc. Over the years, a great deal of attention has been paid to the effective use of questions as a key teaching and thinking skill. What makes questioning such a useful but complex skill is that it can be used in a number of different ways, ranging from a simple and quick check that a particular student has been paying attention to an integrated part of developing a dialogue and genuine discussion with a student about the topic in hand. With regard to the types of questions teachers use, we first need to consider the type of thinking that the question is designed to promote. For example, in terms of Bloom’s categories of cognitive processes, it might be knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis or evaluation. One important distinction in categorizing questions types is between those which require recall and reporting of facts or information (lower order questions) and those which require some manipulation of information such as reasoning about, evaluating or applying information (higher order questions). Whereas lower order questions tend to have answers that are clearly right or wrong, higher order questions tend to judged in terms of general qualities related to the thinking involved. A second and related distinction is that between ‘closed’ questions, which only have one right answer, and ‘open’ questions where a number of correct answers are possible. Studies of teachers’ use of questions indicate a much greater use of lower order and closed questions than of higher order and open questions. Given that the latter are seen to be more intellectually challenging that the former, it is important for teachers to use a good mix of them. Questioning is central to learning and growing. Good questioning is an excellent aid to teaching. However, most of us use questioning solely to assess students’ knowledge and are less aware of its expanded value as an important teaching and learning tool. Good questioning requires skills. In looking at the skills underlying effective questioning, there are four key aspects: quality, targeting, interacting and feedback. –– Quality – the quality of the question itself, in terms of clarity and appropriateness for meeting its intended function, is very important. –– Targeting – refers to the way in which teachers select students to answer. It is important to distribute questions to as many students as possible, and certainly not to focus on volunteers. It also involves matching the question to the target students. –– Interacting – refers to the techniques used by teachers to ask questions and to respond to students. They involve making use of eye contact, the manner and tone of voice used the use of pauses to give students thinking time, the use of prompting to help students in difficulties, and the use of follow up questions to enable and encourage students to elaborate or improve the quality of their initial answer. –– Feedback – the role of feedback concerns the effect on students of the teacher’s use of questions. The teachers’ use of questions can have profound influence on the whole tone of a lesson and on the rapport which develops between the teacher and students. Therefore, teachers need to ensure that questioning takes place in an encouraging and supportive atmosphere to protect a students’ self – esteem and develop students’ self – confidence. Teachers also need to be aware of the many unintended consequences which may follow from their reactions to students’ answers. In a nutshell, questions are very significant for developing our and our students’ thinking. In doing so, we, teachers should be familiar with the types and levels of questions in the domains of learning (cognitive, affective and psychomotor) that we have to formulate and ask our students for effective teaching. Moreover, we should develop the right question formulation and questioning skills to make our teaching and our students’ learning effective and efficient.

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Self-assessment (self-reflection) Self-assessment refers to the students’ or teachers’ own assessment of their progress in knowledge, skills, or attitudes. It is thinking again about teaching and learning. Self-assessment is the key to effective lifelong learning. And if it is done genuinely by the individual, it is the best true assessment that can be made by the individual. A hallmark of critical thinking is the ability to accurately assess one’s reasoning, to identify problems in it, and then to find ways of transforming any thinking in need of repair. Therefore, becoming skilled at self-reflection and self-assessment are keys to the development of the critical mind. When we use self-assessment, we need to identify the objectives or competences that are to be achieved together with explicit criteria for assessment for each of the competences, so that teachers or students have a clear idea upon which to base their self-assessment. Regarding teachers, besides improving their teaching and learning competences, self-assessment is essential if the teachers are to continue to improve the quality of the learning experience offered. Self-assessment regarding one’s teaching is crucial for the continuing development of teaching skills in general and for considering whether a given lesson has been successful and acting on any implications for future practice in particular. When teachers assess or reflect on their own teaching, they have to raise the following key questions: 1. Did this lesson go well? –– Were the learning activities envisaged successfully implemented? –– What did the students learn in the lesson? –– How can I be sure such learning occurred? –– Did the lesson and learning reflect my intended aims? 2. Did any student or group of students fail to benefit (able, or average, or less able student, etc)? If so, could this have been avoided? 3. What changes can I make in the future before giving a similar lesson to another class? 4. What have I learnt about this class, or particular students that might influence future lessons with this class? 5. What have I learnt about this topic or subject matter that might influence future lessons? 6. Are there any immediate actions I should take following this lesson? 7. Am I satisfied with my general planning of this lesson and its implementation and monitoring? Did the lesson sustain students’ attention and interest, and did it appear to be intellectually and pedagogically sound? 8. Did any problems occur in the lesson that I should take note of? 9. How can I consolidate the learning which occurred and relate it to future demands and applications? 10. How did this lesson fit in with the teaching in the department and school? Teachers’ reflections or assessments upon their lessons and their teaching is a key task of effective teaching, and it forms an important part of their thinking about their lesson organization and teaching methods. However, teachers not only need to develop their abilities to reflect critically on their own classroom teaching but also to teach and guide their students to assess their own learning or reflect upon their learning since students are not yet prepared for assessing and judging their own actions with a view to identify areas of strength and weakness that can be used to improve their own learning Self-assessment or reflection helps sort and cement in students’ minds reasons for both their successes and their shortcomings. Students learn how to improve their work when they participate in reflective activities. Reflective thinking has historically been promoted as a central part of learning. Student selfassessment or reflective activities also promote personalization of the learning, as students analyze their individual needs and integrate the learning of this assignment with their other experiences. Students enjoy a more democratic input into their learning context. Student self-assessment practices also help teachers to incorporate standards into the classroom and to offset their potentially negative aspects. Therefore, teachers should develop self-assessment or reflection culture and practice for the effectiveness of our teaching and for our own professional development. We have to also set criteria and train our students to assess their own learning to be effective and life-long learners.

References: Ethio-Italian Development Cooperation, Self Evaluation Manual. 2005

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Rotating Questions:

In general how did the implementation go?

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Rotating Questions:

What was the most successful part?

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Rotating Questions:

What failures or difficulties were encountered?

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Rotating Questions:

How did students respond?

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Rotating Questions:

How much did students learn?

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Rotating Questions:

How might you do the implementation diďŹ&#x20AC;erently next time? page

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4. week

4. 1. week

day

Time allocation 9.00

Activities

Remarks

Program for today. Suggestions of participants.

5’ 15’

Reminder of the work already done

Ask some questions related to the work they have already done. It is also possible to give them some hints/clues so that they can remember what they have already done. The other option is to have a table with a headline at the top of each column. The activity can be similar to what was in previous weeks.

60’

Pens in the middle – Implemented teaching methods Sharing teaching experience in groups of 4. Questions: –– What new teaching method(s) in relation to the phases in the ERR framework have you tried since the last training? –– How did it go for you and your students? –– What kind of assessment did you use as you tried these methods? –– What challenges have you experienced so far in relation to implementing the framework in general? And in relation to the respective active learning methods from the training? –– From your experience of implementing the framework and the respective active learning methods, what can you recommend to your colleagues?

■■ see handout

Participants take short notes and then choose one comment to be shared with the whole group.

20’

Break

30’

Reflection on pens in the middle activity –– What advantages of the method have you seen when you practice it as a method? –– How can you adapt such a method in your teaching practices? –– What are the possible challenges of using such a method in your classes? –– At which phase of the framework can the method be categorized?

50’

Presentation of implemented teaching methods Each group selects one comment and presents to the whole class. Discussion in whole group.

12.00

Lunch break

14.00

Game

20’ 30’

page

142

Presentation of implemented teaching methods continues

Tell the trainees to proceed with the questions step by step.

4. 1. week

Time allocation 50’

Activities

Problem Tree The problem tree is a visual problem-analysis tool that can be used to specify and investigate the causes and effects of a problem. The tree trunk at the center of the drawing represents the main problem, the roots of the tree represent the causes of the main problem and the tree branches represent the effects of the main problem. Prepare in advance a tree that can be drawn on the blackboard or using a flipchart. So, using the tree you can first show cause and effect relationships of a given problem and explain to them why it is called a problem tree. To start the activity, you first collect from the trainees different problems existing in their schools. Let them select one of the problems as a core problem. The participants will draw their own tree on flipchart paper and write the problem on the trunk. Afterward they will brainstorm the causes of the problem. The causes will be written on the roots of the tree. For each cause given, they can write down its underlying causes on roots lower down. Following the same procedure they will look at what the effects of the problem are and write them down on the branches of the tree. Finally, discuss with them what actions are needed to solve the problem. During the whole activity it is important to guide the trainees by asking good questions, discussing possible causes and effects and so on.

20’

Break

1:00’

Reflection of Problem Tree 5–1–4 activity Divide the group into small groups of five people. Provide everyone with a piece of paper and tell them to write one open-ended question about the topic under discussion on the top of their paper. After they have written the question, each person should pass their question to the person sitting to their right while receiving another question from the person on their left. The question will circulate, being answered by four individuals, until the original question reaches its author again.

day

Remarks ■■ see handout First, ask students what the function of each part (trunk roots, branches) of a tree is. Proceed with additional questions. When branches become dry, what can be the reason? If you want to solve this problem, what can you do? The trainer can select any contemporary and sensitive social, economical or political issue. For example: pollution, school dropout, divorce, etc.; or any other topic relevant for the class. The trainees can select more than one problem and then they will need to draw one tree per problem. They can be divided into groups and each group can work on one problem. (The groups can work either on the same problem or on different problems.) To write down the causes and effects on the problem tree, it is possible to use sticky notes and attach them on the roots or branches of the tree.

■■ see handout In this case, since the activity is used as a reflection for the “problem tree” activity, trainees should write any question related to the problem under discussion in the problem tree activity.

Finally the participants can share some of the answers which are interesting, doubtful, strange etc. with the whole class. Reflection on problem tree and 5–1–4 –– What do you think the importance of the problem tree is? (both for teaching and other purposes? What about 5–1–4? –– Did the methods keep you busy? If so, how? –– Can you adapt the methods in to your teaching practice? If yes, can you explain how? –– At which phase can you use the methods?

15’

Feedback

17.00 page

143

4. 2. week

day

Time allocation 9.00

Activities

Remarks

Program for today. Suggestions of participants.

5’ 20’

Game or song

120’

Presentation of portfolios The trainer organizes the class into groups. Then three criteria for portfolio development, which were set in week one, are displayed on a flipchart or written on the blackboard. Each participant presents their own portfolio to the group members clarifying to what extent the set criteria were met. In the mean time, the trainer visits each group listening to the presentations and giving oral feedback. Following this, the group selects one portfolio for presentation to the whole class. The presentation here includes: 1. W hat is included in the portfolio (contents) 2. How the set criteria set were 3. D o you think the portfolio was helpful for you to see your progress? If so how? Finally, the trainer leads participants to set criteria for portfolio development for their students in their specific subject areas they teach. They need to consider both the outcome (objectives) and the process of learning in setting criteria for portfolio development. They can further indicate how they involve their students in portfolio development (how they introduce the criteria) and how they are going to assess it. This can be an individual activity. Finally the trainer can invite some participants to present their work for the whole class.

20’

Break

55’

Model lesson – Bio Fuels K-W-L activity The participants list in pairs everything that they know or think they know about bio fuels. Afterwards, they share their ideas with the whole group. The trainer categorizes and writes down their ideas in the K-W-L chart in the “Known” column. Any unsure ideas or questions are written in the “Want-to-know” column.

12.00

Lunch break

14.00

Game or song

20’

page

144

It is also possible to include on the blackboard/flipchart the 5 criteria for portfolio assessment presented in week 1.

The trainer here needs to consider the experience the trainees have had in portfolio development in the training when giving further explanation on what trainees present. The trainer needs to emphasize that it is not merely the teacher’s task to set criteria for portfolio assessment and development, students can also somehow be involved.

■■ see handout Ask the participants to keep the questions and the unsure ideas in mind during this activity.

4. 2. week

Time allocation 1:25’

Activities

day

Remarks

Model lesson continues Learning from one another The participants work in groups of 4 or 5. They read silently the article “Bio fuels” in parts. In all parts of the article all members of the group take turns to be the teacher. The teacher’s role is to summarize the part read, to clarify difficulties raised by others, to pose a question, and nominate the next teacher for the next part of the article and to suggest the next passage for reading. Back to the K-W-L chart The trainer then leads participants to return to the “Want-to-know” column and asks them what they learned. The trainer finally writes down in the “Learn” column what they learned about bio fuels. Following this the trainer again leads participants to the “wantto-know” column and asks the participants whether they have got answers to the questions. Each question in the “want-toknow” column is dealt with one by one and the trainer puts a √ mark on those questions which were answered by the text. The trainer can use different strategies of answering those questions which were beyond the text. One strategy can be forwarding the questions to the class and if there is uncertainty, the trainer can also give assignments for such questions.

20’

Break

40’

Reflection on the model lesson 1. Can you list the steps you followed in the model lesson and categorize them according to the three phases in the framework? 2. Discuss how you can implement the KWL activity in your teaching. 3. What skills can your students develop if they are learning through this method? 4. What advantages and disadvantages have you witnessed as you followed the different steps of the method? (the discussion can be related to each step)

15’

Feedback

17.00

page

145

4. 3. week

day

Time allocation 9.00

Activities

Remarks

Program for today. Suggestions of participants.

5’ 20’

Game or song

1:20’

Discussion Web

■■ see handout

Pose the question: “Should the government make chewing ‘chat’ prohibited?” Working in pairs the participants discuss it and note arguments for and against in their chart. Then pairs join to form groups of 4, they share their arguments, adding new ones to their charts. The whole class is then invited to form two groups based on individuals’ opinions on the issue – one group agreeing with the statement, the other disagreeing. The groups each discuss arguments and attempt to find the strongest ones that support their side. The groups start the debate. They make statements and defend their position. Everybody may change sides during the debate. After the debate the participants write a short argumentative essay. Finally, after a discussion on what has been said by the group, a volunteer from each side gives a summary statement.

Note that the discussion web can be used as a reflection. The binary question set can be used as an option. Trainers can prepare any binary question which they think is sensitive and revolves around a contemporary social, cultural, political and economic issue.

Reflection on discussion web –– Write the steps of the method that were followed. –– Why was it necessary to group students in the debate according to their attitude towards the issue? –– What do you think is the advantage and/or disadvantage of limiting the time of each speaker during the debate? –– At which phase of the lesson can you use such a method in your teaching? –– Generally what advantages and disadvantages have you noticed as you took part in the activity? –– Can you use such a debate method in your subject areas? What preconditions and preparations are important to use the method (considering the content, class arrangement, etc)

20’

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Break

Possible reflection of discussion web – to summarize steps: 1. question ➔ yes ➔ no 2. arguments – indiv., in pairs 3. arguments – groups of 4 4. decision about attitude 5. selection of strongest arguments 6. debate with against/for group 7. Essay – indiv. 8. conclusion (reading of essay)

4. 3. week

Time allocation 55’

Activities

Model lessons presentations Preparation of model lessons Participants will start preparing one full model lesson based on the framework of thinking and learning on any topic in their subject areas. The model lesson plan should include: –– Name of the teacher, the subject area, grade level –– Specific objectives –– Major activities to be practiced by the teacher and students throughout the three phases. –– Time allotted for each phase and activity –– Means of assessment to be employed. The trainer should prepare a brief summary of the major activities to be done at each phase of the framework on a flipchart and display it. This can remind them about what their students need to accomplish to learn a given topic. Teaching model lessons Participants start teaching the model lessons they’ve prepared to the whole class, with the class being treated as students. Each participant has a chance to teach one period (40 minutes). After each presentation there will be a discussion and constructive feedback is given to the presenters by other participants and by the trainer.

day

Remarks It is good to remind the participants that they need to submit one copy of the plan for the trainer upon finishing it. It is also good to inform the participants that if they need any material support during model lesson presentations they can inform the trainers. Trainers can offer them paper, markers, copy service, etc. The possible areas or criteria to be used for assessing the model lessons can be whether: –– They have achieved the objectives listed –– The extent of active involvement of the learners –– The accomplishment of the activities in the three phases of the framework. –– The teacher’s management of the class in general and of the activities of the students in particular. etc In addition to this, the trainer can set further criteria together with the participants to assess the model lessons presented. It is also recommended to inform the trainees that they can do the lesson plan preparation for the next day’s program either during the tea break or at home. This can save time. Because of time restraints there can be no more than 10 teachers who teach their model lessons. The trainer should set some means to select those teachers who will present the lessons. This can be done in consultation with the trainees. The other teachers who cannot present due to lack of time can still be involved in preparing a model lesson and can submit it to the trainer for suggestions and comments. These teachers need to be identified on this day of the training so that they can prepare their lesson plan and submit it to the trainer before Friday. This helps the trainer give comments and return the model lessons to them before the end of the training. The trainer can use other better options to assess the model plans of these teachers who are not going to present their lessons.

12.00

Lunch break

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4. 3. week

day

Time allocation 14.00

Game

20’ 80’

Presentation of lessons

20’

Break

50’

Presentation of lessons

15’

Feedback

17.00

page

148

Activities

Remarks

4. 4. week

Time allocation 9.00

Activities

day

Remarks

Program for today. Suggestions of participants.

5’ 20’

Game or song

90’

Presentation of model lessons prepared by trainees – Peer Teaching

20’

Break

45’

Presentation of model lessons

12.00

Lunch break

14.00

Game

20’ 75’

Presentation of model lessons

20’

Break

40’

Presentation of model lessons

15’

Feedback

17.00

page

149

4. 5. week

day

Time allocation 8.00

Activities

Remarks

Program for today. Suggestions of participants.

5’ 20’

Game

1:20’

Presentation of model lessons

20’

Break

1:55’

Presentation of model lessons

20’

Break

25’

Future cooperation The expectations of the stake holders regarding the implementation of the input gained by the trainees are discussed. The discussion will be based on the following leading questions: 1. W hat general challenges are there to implementing the training input in your teaching? (this may relate to: resources, administrative issues, curriculum issues, etc) 2. What do you expect from PIN and other stake holders to further strengthen implementation? 3. P reparation of tentative action plan.

20’

Game

15’

Final feedback Evaluate the training as a whole and let the participants fill in the final evaluation sheet.

13.20

page

150

Follow the same procedure as the previous day.

4. week

Pens in the Middle The activity Pens in the Middle is a cooperative learning strategy. The teacher assigns a problem or question to students. The students share ideas in groups (3 to 8 members). Each student marks his or her contribution by placing a pen (or pencil or pebble ....) on the table in the middle of the group. That individual may not contribute again until all pens are in the middle. All members are equal in their ability to contribute, and no one may dominate. The teacher may also select a pen and ask what contribution it represents.

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4. week

Know/Want to Know/Learn (Ogle, 1986) The students list in a K-W-L chart what they already know about a topic and then frame questions to be answered by inquiry. At the conclusion of the lesson, the students return to the K-W-L chart and decide what they’ve learned in the lesson. Begin by asking the students to form pairs and take 5 minutes to list everything they know or think they know about the topic. In the meantime, construct on the blackboard a Know/Want to Know/Learn (K-W-L) chart such as that: What do we think we know?

What do we want to know?

What did we learn?

Ask pairs of the students to share their ideas with you. As they do, write the points about which there is general agreement in the left-hand column under “What do we think we know?” It helps if you group ideas into categories. Help students frame questions regarding the points they are unsure about. Questions may arise from details over which there is disagreement, or from categories of knowledge about which the students are curious. List those questions in the “Want-to-know” column. Now ask the students to keep those questions firmly in mind as they read the article about the topic. Once the students have had time to read the article, call their attention back to the questions they raised before reading, questions that are listed in the “Want-to-know” column. Find out which answers to the questions have been found in the reading, and note these answers in the “What-didwe-learn” column. Next, ask students what other information they encountered about which they had not raised prior questions. Note this information in the “What-did-we-learn” column as well. Some of their questions may have remained unanswered, and there also may be new questions. If so, these questions can be the basis for further inquiry. Discuss where the students might go for answers to those questions.

References: Jeannie, L. S., Kurtis, S. M., Temple, Ch. Further strategies for promoting critical thinking. 1998.

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4. week

Discussion Web The Discussion Web (Alvermann, 1991) is one of a class of strategies that use a plan to orchestrate a complex lesson, the result of which is to guarantee that everyone gets to participate in the discussion. It is recommended for group sizes in between 15–20 students. The Discussion Web requires that you design one binary question (one that can be answered positively or negatively) that goes to the heart of the issue raised by the text. You ask pairs of students to draw a grid with the question in the center. On the left-hand side of the grid, they should designate space to list the reasons that support a positive answer to the question, and on the righthand side they should set aside space to list the reasons that would support a negative answer. YES

NO “Should the government make chewing ‘chat’ prohibited?”

The activity begins with the pairs discussing the question, and then listing four or five arguments that support a positive answer to it, followed by four or five arguments that tend toward a negative answer. After the pairs have listed reasons on both sides, each pair of students should join another pair of students, and share the reasons they listed under Yes and those they listed under No. As the pairs discuss the reasons they listed on both sides of the argument, the pairs should add reasons to their own lists. When all of the quartets have finished, invite individuals to take a minute to decide how they really feel about this issue. Then invite all of those who agree with positive answers to the question to move to the left-hand side of the class. All of those who agree with negative answers to the question are asked to move to the righthand side of the class. Because individual participants may have joined each group for different reasons, they should begin by discussing the reasons they feel as they do, and then compile their strongest arguments in defense of their position. You should allow 7 or 8 minutes for each group to decide what its best arguments are. Then have the two sides debate each other. Ask a volunteer from each side to state that side’s position (in under 3 minutes). Once statements from both sides have been shared, members of any group may join in, to rebut what has been said and to offer further defenses of their position. Set a time limit of one minute per statement. Individuals should be challenged to listen carefully to what the opponent said before making their statements. If necessary, you may institute the rule that they must restate what the opponent said before making their own statement. Take steps to make sure everyone gets a chance to participate. Introduce and enforce these two ground rules: 1. You must allow a person to finish his/her statement before answering. 2. You must be polite. Anyone who is persuaded away from her/his position may change sides during the debate, by physically moving to the other side of the room. After 10–15 minutes of debate, ask the students to stop and write a short argumentative essay. At the conclusion, one volunteer from each side is asked to give a summary statement.

References: Jeannie L. S., Meredith, K. S., Temple, Ch. Further strategies for promoting critical thinking. 1998.

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4. week

5–1–4 This is an activity for the evocation or reflection part of the lesson through which students can share their questions about a topic. It develops questioning skills. Make groups of 5 (or 4) students. The group sits down around a table in a small circle – this is important for the method. Everybody has their own piece of paper or an exercise book. At first, everybody writes down a question concerning a topic that is taught or discussed. Devote enough time so that everybody can identify and formulate his/her own question. After each member of the group has written down their question, all students send their note book or paper to the person to their right. Students read the question they’ve received from their neighbor and answers in writing. Once the answers are written, the papers/exercise books are again passed to the right. The recipient reads the question at the top of the page and also responds. Certainly, they can also read the first answer that is already written on the paper and they can relate their answer also to the first one. After the notebooks or the papers with one question and four answers are back to their authors and owners, the group can discuss them briefly and select one question for public presentation for the rest of the class. Name of the method “5 – 1 – 4” means 5 groups members each of them asks 1 question and they each receive 4 answers after the exercise book is returned If you have only four members in a group the name of the method will be 4 – 1 – 3.

References: Košťálová, H. Training of Modern Teaching Methods. People in Need. 2005.

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4. week

Lines of Future Students focus their consideration on possible course of events in their future. Students prepare aÂ time line of their lives. They can work in pairs or individually. They record on the time line key events of their life. They can use pictures and notes for recording. First they remember past key events in their life until they come to the present. The events can be personal, local, national or global. Afterward they record expected (probable) and preferred (wished) events. Also from present to future is the line divided into two separate branches. One branch represents expected future and the second branch represents preferred future. Each student can decide how far is between both branches. Discuss with your students: How the key events affected your life? How much effort do you need to achieve the preferred future? What can you do yourselves for realization of your wishes? What you cannot affect?

expected future birth

present

preferred future

References: SkalickĂĄ, P. Training of Modern Teaching Methods. People in Need. 2005.

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4. week

Bingo (GAME) Find in this room at least one person who can answer “yes” to any of the questions posed in the windows. Don’t ask the same person more than one question in a row. You can return to the same colleague after you have asked at least one other person. It is not necessary to gain more than one person’s name for each of the questions. As soon as you fill one row (horizontally) or one column (vertically) you should call loudly: “SMALL BINGO”. When you gain one person’s name for each of the windows on the whole page, you should call loudly: “BINGO”. That will be the end of the activity (and you will be the winner…). Find a person who has motivated his/her students to create their own portfolio.

Find a person who has written his or her dual entry diary.

Name: ………………………

Find a person who did a reading lesson with his/her students.

Find a person who played some games or sang some songs with his/her students.

Find a person who used an alternative way of assessment in his/her school (descriptive feedback, appreciations and questions, etc.)

Find a person who has used the brainstorming method more than twice during the last school year. In subject: …………………

Which one: ……………… Which one: ……………… Name: ………………………

Name: ……………………… Name: ………………………

Find a person who has prepared their own lesson plan according to socio-pedagogical constructivism (evocation, realization of meaning, reflection)

Find a person who has used a mind map in his/her subject.

Find a person who has used Venn diagrams in his/her subject.

In subject: ……………….

Name: ……………………..

Find a person who likes the song Bon Cheeky Bon.

Find a person who has done some kind of discussion with his/her students (community circle, discussion web, etc.)

Find a person who has shared new knowledge from training with his/her colleagues within his/her school.

Which one: ……………… Name: ……………………..

Name: ……………………… Name: ………………………

Find a person who has created ground rules with his/her students.

Find a person who has collected students’ work during the last year.

Find a person who has displayed student work on the wall.

Name: ………………………

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4. week

BIO FUELS Bio fuel is defined as solid, liquid or gas fuel derived from recently dead biological material and is distinguished from fossil fuels, which are derived from long dead biological material. Humans have used biomass fuels in the form of solid bio fuels for heating and cooking since the discovery of fire. Following the discovery of electricity, it became possible to use bio fuels to generate electrical power as well. The discovery and use of fossil fuels: coal, gas and oil, however, dramatically reduced the amount of biomass fuel used in the developed world for transport, heat and power. Nevertheless, before and during World War II, due to the high demand of the wartime period, bio fuels were valued as a strategic alternative to imported oil. After the war, inexpensive oil from the Middle East contributed in part to the lessened economic and geopolitical interest in bio fuels. Then, in 1973 and 1979, geopolitical conflict in the Middle East caused OPEC to cut exports, and non-OPEC nations experienced a very significant decrease in their oil supply. Throughout history, the fluctuations of supply and demand, energy policy, military conflict, and environmental impacts, have all contributed to a highly complex and volatile market for energy and fuel. Since the year 2000, renewed interest in bio fuels has been seen. The drivers for bio fuel research and development include rising oil prices, concerns over the potential oil peak, greenhouse gas emissions (causing global warming and climate change), rural development interests, and instability in the Middle East. Bio fuels offer the possibility of producing energy without a net increase of carbon in the atmosphere. This is because the plants used in the production of the fuel remove CO2 from the atmosphere; unlike fossil fuels, which return carbon that was stored beneath the surface for millions of years back into the atmosphere. Bio fuels are discussed as having significant roles in a variety of international issues, including: mitigation of carbon emissions levels and oil prices, the “food vs fuel” debate, deforestation and soil erosion, impact on water resources, and energy balance and efficiency. There are two common strategies for producing bio fuels. One is to grow crops high in sugar (sugar cane, sugar beet, and sweet sorghum) or starch (corn/maize), and then use yeast fermentation to produce ethyl alcohol (ethanol). The second is to grow plants that contain high amounts of vegetable oil, such as oil palm, soybean, algae, or jatropha. Biodegradable output from industry, agriculture, forestry and households can be used for a third method of bio fuel production, either using anaerobic digestion to produce biogas, or using second generation bio fuels; examples include straw, timber, manure, rice husks, sewage, and food waste. Biomass can come from waste plant material. The use of biomass fuels can therefore contribute to waste management as well as fuel security and help to prevent global warming, though alone they are not a comprehensive solution to these problems. There are different types of bio fuels. These are: first generation bio fuels, second generation bio fuels, third generation bio fuels, and fourth generation bio fuels. ‘First-generation bio fuels’ are bio fuels made from sugar, starch, vegetable oil, or animal fats using conventional technology. The basic feed stocks for the production of first generation bio fuels are often seeds or grains such as wheat, which yields starch that is fermented into bioethanol, or sunflower seeds, which are pressed to yield vegetable oil that can be used in biodiesel. Second-generation bio fuel production processes can use a variety of non food crops. These include waste biomass, the stalks of wheat, corn, wood, and special-energy-or-biomass crops (e.g. Miscanthus). Algae fuel, also called oilgae or third generation biofuel, is a bio fuel from algae. Algae are low-input, high-yield feed stocks to produce bio fuels. It produces 30 times more energy per acre than land crops such as soybeans. With the higher prices of fossil fuels (petroleum), there is much interest in algaculture (farming algae). Second and third generation bio fuels are also called advanced bio fuels. An appealing fourth generation bio fuel is based on the conversion of vegoil and biodiesel into gasoline. Food vs Fuel There are various current issues with bio fuel production and use which are presently being discussed in the popular media and scientific journals. It has been claimed that bio fuels are “even worse than fossil fuel”, that bio fuel production is driving millions of poor people into starvation, that bio fuels are a “crime against humanity” – it is reported that tropical rainforests are being destroyed to make way for bio fuel crop plantations, while good farmland is being used to raise bio fuel crops instead of food, creating food shortages and driving up food prices, especially for the world’s poor. Dozens of countries have seen food riots as prices soared out of reach and angry people took to the streets. Are bio fuels really to blame?

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Yes, partly, but there is more to it than that – First of all, not all bio fuels are the same. There are “good” bio fuels and “bad” bio fuels. Real bio fuel that causes no anti-life devastation is being produced worldwide by thousands upon thousands of small-scale projects focusing on local production for local use. They use renewable, locally available resources wherever possible, including wastes, and they fit in with the local community and the local environment. Sustainable farming Bio fuel crops have to be grown, and there is a lot of common ground between growing sustainable fuel and growing sustainable food. A sustainable mixed farm can produce its own fuel with much or possibly all of it coming from crop by-products and waste products without any dedicated land use, and with very low input levels. That sheds a different light on how much land is needed to grow “enough” bio fuels: less land with sustainable farming, which also has much lower fossil fuel input than industrial farming. Sustainable farming is the fastestgrowing agricultural sector in many countries; millions of farmers worldwide are turning to sustainable methods. A different approach Replacing fossil fuels with bio fuels is not the answer. Replacing fossil fuels is not even an option – current energy use, especially in the industrialized countries, is not sustainable anyway, whatever the energy source. A very large portion of the energy we use is just wasted, and that is where to start, not with trying to replace the 60 billion gallons of petroleum diesel and 120 billion gallons of gasoline the US consumes each year, not to mention the heating oil and the power supply. In order for bio fuels to have a significant effect on our world, this excessive energy consumption must be curbed.

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Final Evaluation of the Training 1. What in the training was most valuable to you?

2. What would have made this training more meaningful for you?

3. What will change in your future teaching as aÂ result of this training?

4. Which of the skills, knowledge or attitudes you have gained during the training can you use also in your private life?

5. Have you learnt during the training something also from your colleagues in the team?

6. Suggest topics you would be interested in discussing in future meetings.

7. Please make any comments you would like on the training.

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4. week

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