Knowledge I am giving the students direct knowledge of the case study for the unit assignment.
Understanding This will help them understand what they need to do to pass the unit
Skills They will then know what skills they have to use to fulfil the criteria
Attitude By describing the assignment their attitude to the unit will change as they now know the purpose
Behaviour Their behaviour towards the work will now be fully focussed on the requirements of the task
The lesson will involve some work on the computers by the students writing their introductions towards the end of the lesson. I will conclude by checking the students have understood what is being asked of them for the assignment.
Referring to Minton’s questions, I have justified my plan and this is indicated by my lesson plan.
Teaching Strategies
For my session I am planning to use a variety of strategies described by Minton (1997: 117). I will use ‘lecture’ to begin the session to explain what is to be covered, and I need to find out how the students have found the work in the previous session so there will be some ‘questions and answers’. There will be a ‘group discussion’ as we go through the assignment and this will give the students the opportunity to ask any questions and familiarise themselves with the work. A ‘question and answer’ session will follow and then depending on the outcome, there be the opportunity for ‘demonstrations’. The strategies I will use in the lesson are outlined below.
- Question and answer to review work from last lesson
- Lecture to explain unit assessment
- Group discussion while criteria for assessment are discussed
- More question and answers as appropriate
- Demonstration of previous practical work if necessary
I am using Q and A to start the lesson as this gives an immediate feedback of progress. The disadvantage of this is that the ‘quiet’ students may be reluctant to ask questions, I will need to be aware of this, and perhaps ask those students questions that they can answer to build up their confidence. A lecture strategy is then used to explain the unit assignment as this is an effective method of broadcasting the information. Then a group discussion will involve teacher and students discussing criteria, this allows everyone to ask questions and give opinions but it may allow ‘loud’ students to dominate the group, I must be aware of this. I will allow time to demonstrate practical work to the students on the computer. This allows the student to see what the final product should be of any particular exercise and gives them confidence in their own work.
Learning Resources
A variety of resources are used in the college. The most common ones used in the IT department are computer-based resources, OHT’s and computer generated slides, and printed materials. The most common types of media resource are the PC/projector combination and printed materials, to accompany whiteboard work. In the IT department it is critical that students have individual access to PCs with relevant software installed on them, and also access to a printer to enable them to obtain hard copies of work produced.
In the observed lesson I need a room to seat all students, I do not need PCs for each student in this case, I need them all to see a whiteboard so I can explain the topic I will supply unit assignments in hard copy to every student, including the marking criteria and the moderator’s comments. It is becoming common practice to write all forms of work on the PC, and I would expect them to word process their work whenever the facility is available.
I have evaluated the group of students at the beginning of a course to determine if any had special requirements, for example disabled access or if any had hearing or visual impairments. No student has any special requirements in this group.
I have developed the college intranet to include study aids for the students. I put up previous lecture notes and practical exercise handouts on the intranet to enable students to go over past work and also allow absent students the opportunity to catch up.
Methods of assessment
There is no formal written assessment required at this stage of the unit assessment, but questions and answers throughout will gauge their understanding. Additional questions included below to show understanding and verify student outcomes.
Questions to be asked during discussion to gauge students’ understanding
- How many tables do you think you will need?
- What process will you need to use to design the database?
- What program will you use to create the database?
- What section will you do first?
- What will be the hardest part?
- What will be the easiest part?
- Are there any questions on the criteria?
- What does the moderator mean by…?
3. Evaluation of lesson
Aims and learning outcomes
I feel I had the right number of intended outcomes for a two hour session. This particular session was unique in the progression of the course as its main aim was to distribute the unit assignment. Therefore the student learning outcomes were based around their understanding of what is expected of them for the unit assignment.
Although I had the right number of outcomes, I feel that they were possibly too vague in order for me to fully assess whether the outcomes had been met. The outcomes met the needs and levels of the class, as this was planned in the progression of the course. The unit assignment brief is coming towards the end of the course. I would not change the level of the outcomes but I need to pin down the way in which I word my outcomes to enable me to assess whether they have been met by the students.
The observer identified that I did not use an observable or measurable method of assessing the students’ learning, which was also referred to in the learning outcomes for the session. I agree with this as I could not be fully sure of their understanding at the end of the session.
Teaching strategies
I would have hoped for more questions from the students and I perhaps had relied too heavily on the students querying aspects of the unit assignment that they did not understand and expected them to ask questions during the class discussion. The discussion of the marking criteria for the assignment took too long. I had intended it to take no more than an hour, and this possibly bored the students slightly. Unfortunately, I did not stop the lesson to vary the tasks, as I felt it was important to complete all of the criteria. There was not enough variety.
The observer agreed that including the moderator’s comments in the assignment brief were a good idea. The main point the observer picked up on was my lack of structured questioning, and suggested the pose, pause, pounce and praise technique. We discussed this and I feel it is a good method of keeping the students attentive as well as identifying their level of learning. The observer mentioned that I did not vary the activities enough and suggested I should have broken up the discussion. I felt that this would not be appropriate as this particular lesson was unique in that it was the unit assignment, and I wanted to get the criteria discussed in one go.
I could improve my method of getting them to work by structuring what I say, rather than, ‘you should be doing this.’ I should say ‘what do you think you should be doing?’
Resources
The resources I had provided were critical to the lesson. They allowed each student to follow the class discussion and were required when each student was asked to read a section each. The moderator’s comments were very useful in the group discussion. I would not consider changing my resources, as I felt they were fully effective in my delivery of this lesson. I had all the resources I needed, and also I had the electronic whiteboard and computer network access to any previous lecture should I need it.
Assessment techniques
The students answered questions correctly that I would expect them to, but I feel now that I did not ask enough structured questions to assess their learning. I also expected them to ask questions throughout the discussion more than they did.
I would prepare structured questions based on the criteria, and utilise the pose, pause, pounce technique in order to assess their learning Towards the end of the session, the students were asked to start writing their introduction to their report, this allowed me to walk around and look at what they perceived the task was. I was able to spot those that did not fully understand the task and were not writing the kind of introductions that were required. I feel that this demonstration of their own work allowed me to assess their understanding of the task to some extent, but did not reflect my student outcomes fully, as the work they were doing did not involve them understanding the whole unit assignment.
Timing
The group discussion took slightly longer than expected, but I had allowed for a run on. I was still able to cover everything I had planned. The timings were roughly accurate, as the questions and answers were rather short, and the introduction writing at the end of the session was an open ended task The group discussion took longer than expected as I requested that each student took a turn at reading the criteria, this took longer than I had intended, but I did not want to stop them doing it. I had planned for the final task of the session to be the writing of the introductions. They are expected to finish them for homework, as a continuing task of the unit. This allowed me to have an undetermined length of time at the end of the session, so I did not need to hurry.
Relationships
I feel I had a good relationship with the group and there was plenty of two way discussion. I feel a sense of humour can help with drawn out activities such as assignment discussion, where students commonly feel distressed at the thought of their work being examined. This would help to put them at ease. One or two students in the group were a bit excitable, I decided not to make a point of stopping the lesson and disciplining them, as I felt the flow of the lesson was ok, I found that I could eyeball them, and the problem seemed to go away. Overall I feel the group are very well behaved.
The students that misbehaved slightly reacted to my body language and did not disrupt the lesson The students were interested in the work, in particular they were interested in my comments of previous student pitfalls, and although I chose to do it in a humorous way, the students were able to reflect the issues in their own work. They were responsive to my questions and each others questions.
The observer identified my good relationship with the group, and I agree I do feel it works very well in the classroom, I do also agree I could have got more out of such an enthusiastic group. The group were well behaved and did all the work asked of them.
Sticking to the plan
I did not divert from my lesson plan. The group discussion took slightly longer than anticipated but I did not need to divert from the plan, and I was able to cover everything I had planned. I expected more questions from the students. All students did what they were asked with enthusiasm.
Modifications
I would certainly structure questions and answers better. This is for two reasons, the first reason is that I can gain a better assessment of their learning, and also as I had felt they did not ask enough questions, I could anticipate their queries and make it easier for them to ask their own questions I would improve my structuring of questions and answers and breakdown of timings in the session.
I need to develop through experience and support, an understanding of how long different types of activities take, in particular activities where students are reading to the group.
The observer made a general comment to get the students to do more, and me to give less, and this summarises the modifications discussed above.
In discussing the outcome to the observed teaching session with my colleagues it was suggested to me to take the idea of outlining the moderator’s comments a step further. This suggestion involves giving the student past portfolio work and getting them to mark the work themselves allowing them to interpret and search for the criteria that are included in the assessment. I intend to investigate this further as this can develop the students’ understanding of what is being asked of them.
Acknowledgement is made to Mr Stuart Bradley, University of Greenwich, for carrying out the teaching observation and providing invaluable feedback
4. Scheme of work
The scheme of work for unit 10 – Databases Techniques and Applications for the GNVQ Information and Communication Technology is given below.
5. Rationale for scheme of work
Sequencing of topics
This refers to Reece and Walkers (1997) approaches to sequencing of topics. My scheme of work uses the concept of easiest topics first, as this is clearly a method of introducing more difficult topics later on. It also uses the logical sequence, for example learning First Normal Form before Second Normal Form. I also create practical exercises based on my own knowledge before creating exercises that I am less confident about myself.
If I had arranged the topics in another order, for instance the logical sequence was disrupted and the students would be unable to see where the concepts had come from. If I had worked on all the practical side of things, for example writing reports in Access, then there would have been a lot of practical at the beginning and then a lot of theory in succession later in the course. This would appear boring to the students.
When I first created my scheme of work I was influenced by the text book for the course. As it covers the topics in a particular order throughout the book, I followed the same order. As the text book often went in to more depth on some topics and not enough in others, I had to vary the length given to each topic. I evaluate the content of each topic in the text book to identify the portion of time I would allow for it. I also wanted to make more practical sessions so had to incorporate them into the scheme of work.
Many of Reece and Walkers sequencing methods are evident in my scheme of work. The sequence of easiest topics first and logical sequences is clearly evident, as are the order of the text book and the mix of theory and practice. I do not believe that many of the other sequences are relevant to my subject area.
At the end of the topic I would like to assess their understanding of the topic, so either a case study if it is a fairly lengthy topic or at least a gap-fill exercise for a minor topic. In either case there should be a question and answer session to allow students to voice any uncertainties and reinforce the objectives of the topic before progressing to the next topic. At the end of a term or year, I would recap on topics covered in that term or year by way of a review and then a test. At the end of the course there will be either an assignment or exam, based on all the topics that have been covered.
Topic order
The unit is called Database Techniques and Applications. The following topics need to be covered, and I have noted them in order in which they will be taught.
- Social Effects of Databases
- Entities and Attributes
- Entity Relationship Diagrams
- Normalisation
- Reports
- Navigation and Sequence
- Documentation
- Testing
Reasoning
I have decided to start with Social effects because it sets a theme of the unit by allowing the students to identify databases in the real world and gain an understanding of how many there are used in their daily lives and how they are affected by them. The entities and attributes topic is done early on because it forms a basis of database concepts which the students need to grasp before using databases in a practical manner. The Entity Relationship Diagram topic comes next as it is a logical sequence to take after the previous topic. I have then chosen quite a difficult topic of normalisation next, because I am not sure yet just how difficult the students will find it and need to know early on if I need to spend longer than I have planned on it. Also I want to always mix theory and practical and many other issues that need to be covered involve practical work so it is a good idea to put in this theory early on whilst arranging practical exercises around it. This helps to keep the students interested and also their theory work is maintained.
Queries, forms and reports, are covered next, although they are each being used in the practical exercises to a little extent. This way the detail surrounding these topics can be explained in detail and the students can gradually learn new skills and put them in to practice during the class practical exercises. The topics of navigation and sequence and documentation are later on in the course as it will be more helpful to document and navigate databases once they had created substantial designs. The topic of testing is deliberately left towards the end as it is logical to test a database after it has been created. For the same reason the documentation topic is left until a later date.
I have allowed a session at the start of the course for meeting the students and getting them acquainted with the new unit. I have allowed 2 sessions at the end of the unit for coursework. This will be class time set aside for the students to complete the end of unit assignment. I know they have all knowledge of PCs and a basic knowledge of Access Database software and I am aware of their individual skills, as I have taught the group a previous unit called Handling Information. There is no requirement to link the work with other units, but the assignment must allow the students to meet the criteria set out by the exam board.
References
Minton D (1997) Teaching skills in further and adult education 2nd edition Macmillan
Cox A & Harper H (2000) Planning teaching and assessing learning 1st edition Greenwich University Press
Reece I & Walker S (1997) Teaching, training and learning 3rd edition Business Education
Planning and Delivering Teaching – David Jones