Module 3 by Jade McShea

Q1: How do you form groups of students for group work and why do you take this approach? Based on your experience what strategies of forming groups work and which do not work? Why?

jadelucy — 2015-04-27 10:29:27 UTC

When forming groups for collaborative tasks I try not to have groups with more than four children in them to ensure that everyone has a chance to speak or get their idea across. Depending on the task I usually assign the groups myself, however in gym lessons or some reflective lessons I would allow the children to decide their groups themselves. This allows them to perhaps feel more comfortable in certain situations and also balances out being told what group they are in with having an input in their learning/freedom of choice. When I decide what children are in each group I would take the variety of children's knowledge and understanding int account, especially when using tablets. I would ensure there was a 'more knowledgeable other' with the experience of using a tablet in each group.

Q2: How do you keep your students focused and on track during collaborative projects? How do you ensure all students contribute to the task?

jadelucy — 2015-04-27 10:33:14 UTC

There are different ways to keep children on task and stay focused. I believe that it is important to use a range of techniques as one can become repetitive for both myself and the children. For instance, an example of one technique is setting a time limit on the task which is originally effective but the learning intention of the lesson can become blurred from completing the task to the best of their ability to finishing within time or the fastest.

I always try to ensure that I use a range of teaching methods when carrying out a lesson. I believe that direct teaching through a didactic method is important at perhaps the beginning of a lesson for a short time before making the lesson more active and fun for the children. They should also learn from each other as well as from experiential methods.

The topic being taught should be brought alive with artifacts and a variety of resources. These can also be accessed from tablets. the topic should be interesting and relevant for the children in real life situations. I would also assign roles within the group to ensure everyone participated and interacted with the tablet and one another.

Q3: What strategies have you used to assess group work? What are the main challenges for you when it comes to assessing group work?

jadelucy — 2015-04-27 10:33:31 UTC

When group assessing it can be challenging to ensure everyone contributes in the short time there is available to assess each group. This is why assigning roles is beneficial as their fulfillment of that role can also be assessed and changed the following group lesson. Therefore, all children are getting a chance to participate in each role and can be assessed in this role. Children can also assess themselves and peer assess others. They can do so through discussion and perhaps using the technique of 'Two Stars and a Wish' in which they can record two positive things from the group work or task and something they wish to improve on for next time. This written assessment from the children can be used as assessment evidence for the teacher who can then compare their assessment with the children's. When using the tablets the children could also do a 'reflective interview' in which they themselves prepare reflective questions and interview one another using a recording app or the camera which they can also show their work on if appropriate.

There are challenges when assessing group work. This can be due to the persona of the children in the group as there may be more confident and louder children overpowering children who do not like to speak out as much. In such situations this is where I would assign roles and choose the groups carefully. I would also use a method of pairing children and allowing them to create ideas before pairing a pair to make a group of four in which they can compare and collect the ideas

jadelucy — 2015-05-05 21:13:22 UTC

jadelucy — 2015-05-05 21:14:16 UTC

jadelucy — 2015-05-05 21:15:15 UTC

jadelucy — 2015-05-05 21:17:25 UTC

jadelucy — 2015-05-05 21:19:17 UTC

jadelucy — 2015-05-05 21:22:05 UTC