Collaborative Learning
The educational theorist and framework synonymous with group work is Lev Vygotsky and Social Learning Theories. He stated that we learn through our interactions and communication with others. How to prepare for effective and engaging group work? Ideally, after a few group work sessions, where the expectations have been clearly laid out, and roles given, the pupils can gradually jump straight into group work. However, before this can happen, a few practice rounds and ground rules of group work will need to be identified and discussed by the pupils.
On my placement, to prepare for engaging group work, I gave the pupil’s my expectations for their groups, and let them know that I will be monitoring the groups looking for good cooperation, everyone on task and showing respect to each other. At the end of the group work I praised the groups for the qualities I was looking for above.
In younger classes, a star chart was used for group work. In my advanced school placement, with senior infants a star was awarded for group work. Group work at this level involved practicing co-operation for more basic activities, like clearing up their desks after Aistear, to prepare for the next lesson. The lesson in this group activity is that a group must work together to achieve their aim, even if that is just putting toys away. This is practicing effective group work from an early age. The incentive for this group work is winning a star, the group with the most stars earns cushions for their seats for a week. The groups also can earn stars for good cooperation in group work relating to subjects. In English class, the pupils were put into groups of 2 and 3 to put sequencing cards in order. To prepare for this task I picked two volunteers and we modelled it at the front of the class for the other pupils to watch.
Station Teaching
A great opportunity that arises from Station Teaching is being able to work with smaller groups of pupils (5 to 8 pupils for example). This allows for more one to one attention with the pupils, and more of a group tutoring experience. This allows a variety of entry points for pupils to approach the subject. The pupils can be provided with a challenging task which they can have more support and guidance with, as well as support from their peers. It creates great engagement in the children.
A complicated topic can be divided into four parts. For example, on my second placement with 5yh class, we approached the subject of poetry. I arranged a station for adjectives, rhyming and alliteration, syllables, and format and the key idea of poetry. The key idea of poetry station (to write and express something without directly saying it, and to evoke imagery and thought in the reader) was very valuable and saved time. I divided the stations with a resource teacher, an independent table (rhyming activity) and with the cooperating teacher. The pupils got to practice and discuss this idea. Their task was to transform a paragraph of information and facts into a verse of poetry.
Step by step, the pupil’s built on their expressive writing skills, by Friday the pupils had been through all the stations, collected all their notes and put everything they had learnt during the week. This building block, jigsaw approach really engaged pupils who said they didn’t like poetry and they felt confident to produce something by the end of the week. The physical activity of moving places, of hearing a bell ring and moving onto the next activity led to a really engaging week of English class, like a mini-marathon. It brought diversity of lessons into the class. A limitation could be over-using station teaching. I would like to do in in Gaeilge, Maths and English, but I guess with long term planning these could be scheduled in to create diverse weeks and terms in school.
Thematic Planning
Thematic planning helps pupils to integrate the subjects and can act in a way to help pupil’s not switch off when it’s time for their least favourite subject. It creates a sense of cohesion as the pupils can make links across each subject and give a holistic understanding to a theme. The skills of each subject can be transferred across the curriculum, all linked together by a theme. By using themes and ideas that the children can relate to throughout their lessons is one way to create engagement in every subject. As well as being helpful for pupils, it is really useful for teachers in the planning stage too. The consistent theme can make planning easier for teachers.
As for consolidating learning; I found on placement that it felt very organised and orderly to ask the pupils to recall a class from a few days ago, or the previous days class, what they had learned and to keep it in mind for the new activity they were doing. For example, in ASP, the theme of St. Patricks day was approach through most subjects and Aistear; as their skills were developing in literacy, synchronising, sequencing, remembering, critical thinking and exploration, these were all linked together with one theme, that by the end of the week, the pupil’s had a more holistic understanding of the topic.