Identify and evaluate two or three teaching/learning strategies which could be used to teach the same topic, to the same specified cohort, but in classes of distinctly different sizes (e.g. 6 students and 20 - 30 students).

Lesson Title: "The 100 mile per hour Business Plan"

Physical Class Layout: 6 x "desk clusters" each for groups of 4 students.

One objective was to have a very fast paced lesson and get the students fully engaged in their groups. The handout/worksheet attached required the students to undertake a number of tasks in starting a new business and complete their group's answer on the sheets. (The worksheets are attached as Appendix 1).

I wrote a case study for starting a new business. The introduction was as follows:-

You have decided that there is a market for an upmarket "taxi" service in Watford and the surrounding area. Your idea is to purchase 2 x Stretch Limousines in order to offer this service to customers in the Watford area.

Your target market is:-

* Customers travelling to London for nights out.

* Business users who will want transport for overseas customers.

* West Herts College Students on a party night out (provided they promise not to be ill on the back seats!)

* As a taxi service to airports for families travelling overseas on holiday.

* Watford FC Directors who will travel to away games

However you only have £10,000 to start your business and a rich Uncle has said he will lend you another £10,000 provided you produce a Business Plan that will convince other investors to lend the rest of the money you require.

I personalised the case study in terms of that it was set in Watford (as was the College where I taught the lesson) and I chose a business (Stretch Limousine hire) which might appeal to the students and which was a service that some of them may have used.

I set time limits to cover each sub-topic and got feedback from the groups' after completion of each sub-topic so that ideas were shared between the groups. I stressed there were no right or wrong answers and that each group might decide to start and operate their business in a different way.

Another objective was to get the students to think about the issues they might face in a real situation e.g. would they purchase the Stretch Limousines or lease them - as this would impact the cash flow and need to raise capital.

This lesson worked really well (I taught it to two groups at AS level) in September 2003.

Advantages and Disadvantages of this Teaching Strategy (Group Work)

Advantages

Disadvantages

Quieter students may participate better in small groups

It can be difficult to assess individual attainment.

2

Lazy students will find it harder to "hide" in small groups

Powerful personalities can dominate a group.

Advantages

Disadvantages

3

Small groups enable students to offer each other peer support

Some students contribute little or nothing and simply become "passengers"

4

Students feel less exposed when offering an answer or response from a small group than if they were answering as individuals

While the teacher is observing one group other groups may stray from the task

5

Working in small groups can enable students to develop skills of co-operation and compromise

Group work can be more time consuming than whole-class, teacher -focused learning

6

Working in small groups helps to develop students 'social skills

Students may get bored with working with the same small number of individuals

7

Undertaking a task as part of a team helps prepare students for the world of work.

If left to self-select groups students will tend to work with their friends reducing interaction within the class

8

Can be difficult to stop or pause the group activity and regain the attention of the whole group.

Teaching Strategy 2 - Whole class teaching

Student Number: 8

Lesson Duration: 1.5 hours

Lesson Title: Starting your own Business

Physical Class Layout: Theatre style with students close to

the front of the class to enable them

to see large screen television clearly.

This was an introductory lesson for a group of students starting Business Studies "AS" level course.

My lesson structure was:-

. Introductory Session (30 minutes) - Introduced myself, course structure and then did some ice breaker activities which included getting the students to line up in birth date order and introduce themselves by telling the rest of the class:-

* Their name

* Details of their previous school/College

* Other "A" Levels being studied

* Whether they had done a Business Studies course before

* An interesting or intriguing fact about themselves

2. Video and Q&A Session (45 minutes)

A Video (produced by HKSB plc) including 5 short features of real life (UK) business start ups in which the founders/owners were interviewed and footage included of their premises and products/services. This was accompanied by a question sheet (compiled by me) for students to fill in with factual information from the video (A copy of the Video Question sheet is attached as Appendix 2).

3. Recap/Discussion (15 minutes) - discussing some key problems in starting a business including:-

* The Business Idea

* What made the founder start the business

* Where did the initial funding come from

* What problems were encountered

* etc.

This lesson worked very well for whole class teaching for a small class.

The main objectives of the lesson were to:-

* Engage the students with "real life" situations through the video

* Break the ice in the first half an hour but allow students to participate individually in the class (through question and answer sessions) without feeling.

* Give the students an overview of the issues facing real business both at start up and ongoing.

* Set up the subsequent lessons by maintaining interest and, hopefully, capturing their interest.

Advantages and Disadvantages of this Teaching Strategy (Whole class teaching)

Advantages

Disadvantages

All students given the same material

Limits opportunities for differentiation

2

Standard resources can be used across the class

May allow students to adopt a very passive attitude to learning

3

Any assessment tests can be marked in the knowledge that each student has received the same teaching

Students may feel exposed if asked a question in class which they cannot answer

4

Effective use of lesson time

Lesson strategy may not suit all learning styles causing some students to learn less than others

5

Control of classroom behaviour is easier

6

Can monitor individual students activities and learning

7

Students can be questioned individually in the class

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Martin Fowler PGCE Assignment SSN ID 000289169

Managing the Learning Environment Part 2

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