Our journey with Maggie Verster and ICT4Red concludes in June and we thought this would be an awesome platform to share our favourite strategies as well as our least favourite strategies.
So here goes...
Since we are administrators and not full time teachers, we used the various strategies to spice up our professional development sessions and also to assist teachers who did not attend the ICT4Red training to implement the strategies. To say there has been a tech enthusiasm explosion in our school is an understatement! Our teachers are bravely integrating technology and strategies in an innovative way.
Here is a list of my favourites (in no particular order):
1. JIGSAW
This stragey is of extreme benefit if you are wanting to cover a
large amount of work in a short period of time. Basically,
students are given a number 1-4 or 1-6 (whatever works for your
class). All students with the same number form a home group
where they are given a section of the work to read/practise/study.
They become the experts in that section of the work. The
experts return to their home groups and take turns sharing their
area of expertise with their group members.
This is a great strategy to ensure total engagement of all students and I'd suggest you put a time
limit to the activity to ensure that students remain on task.
As an administrator, I used the jigsaw strategy to review policies with teachers. This worked well for keeping the teachers motivated. No-one wants to review 4 complete policies on a Friday
afternoon at 12:30! For the next review session, I'd ensure that teachers worked in their phases
so that there'd be various policy experts per phase. I'd also have them make a PowerPoint
presentation so that we have a digital record of the policy review.
2. LEARNING STATIONS
The Learning Stations strategy allows you to teach several lessons at one time. The students move from one station to the next, within a specific time frame, to engage in all activities.
For the practical implemetation of this strategy, I took the Grade 4 and 5 extra maths students for their afternoon lesson. The activities varied from scanning QR Codes and watching YouTube clips to completing worksheets. The students loved it.
The next time I use this strategy, I'd ensure that the activities were self explanatory so that I could circulate between the students in more of a facilitator role. Time keeping is also very important and I'd display a countdown timer on the board.
3. ROLE PLAY
Role play is a great strategy for engaging even the shyest of student. It is also a valuable strategy for helping adults see how they treat people in a non embarassing or confrontational manner.
This strategy worked well when training our admin ladies on service delivery. They took turns role playing the parent, the bursar and the secretary and were given different topics to cover e.g. overdue payment of fees, fetching a child from school without prior request, etc.
As this was a new way of "doing things", we did not record the admin ladies performing their role play activity. However, they were able to see the impact that body language and an impatient tone of voice had which had a much better effect than if I had just spoken to them about it.
4. FIELD TRIP
This was by far the nicest strategy to implement. I mean, who doesn't like going on a field trip? Actually, it was more of a scavenger hunt than a field trip, but the students got to leave the class and wander around the school. When you're in Grade 4, that is a big deal!
Students were equipped with tablets and note pads and sent off into the playground in their groups to find QR codes. These QR codes would present them with different activities that they had to complete - from Maths sums, to working out and recording a times table rap, to singing to various members of staff. This was an awesome activity and the students really enjoyed themselves.
However, it is important to remember that we do not have to do everything in groups of 4 or more. This often leads to confusion or one member of the group being disengaged. On reflection, I think pairs would most probably have worked better. I'd also integrate other subjects and end with a fun art activity. (This scavenger hunt was Maths based). A reward for the pair that finishes first might also be a great incentive and something that I would do next time. Scavenger hunts take time to prepare, but once the basics are in place you can easily modify the content. Really worth the time and energy!
And now for the strategy that didn't blow my hair back... this is a personal opinion and this strategy may work very well for you. If it does, please leave a comment.
STORYTELLING
Once again, I used this strategy with my teachers in a professional development session. I shared a bit of my life story with them. The purpose of this was to display vulnerability and authenticity. I asked the teachers to share some of their life stories if they were comfortable to share. The stories were touching and we were able to celebrate that we felt safe enough to be vulnerable with each other. I think the reason I did not fully enjoy this strategy, is because it is hard to get people to open up and share their story. Adults have more inhibitions than students. I spent the most time milling over this strategy. I knew that it could be a powerful strategy but just did not "gel" with it very well.
Keep checking in on this blog - Sarah-Lee will be sharing her ICT4Red journey with you as well.
