Active Learning

or

Activating the Learning in our classroom

Paul Wyton – Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School

How do you fit an elephant into a fridge?

Open the door, the elephant jumps in and you shut the door.

A few questions....

1. 2.

a. As educators – without being judgemental - talk a little about these two pictures of where we ply our trade.

b. How would you describe (i) the teaching? (ii) the learning?

c. In which picture is the learning more effective?

d. Which picture mostly depicts your teaching?

How do you get a giraffe into a fridge?

Open the door, take the elephant out and put the giraffe in!

Beware of throwing the baby out with the bathwater!Surely the best teaching and learning is an eclectic mix of the traditional and the modern?

“Tell me and I will forget.Show me and I may remember.Involve me and I will understand.”

Confucius , 450BC

We tend to remember...

10% of what we read

20% of what we hear

30% of what we see

50% of what we see and hear

70% of what we say

90% of what we say and do

“For concentration to be sustained over a day, never mind a week, the human mind requires variety and contrast.”Paul Ginnis, 2005

1. serious - light

3. individual - collective6. noisy - silent

4. active - passive

2. controlled - loose

The Lion King would like to hold a conference for all the animals in his Kingdom. Which animal cannot come?The giraffe – because he’s in the fridge!!

So how does this affect our role as teachers?Traditionally...DeliverersLecturersControllersSubject expertsTestersCheckersAuthority figuresOracles/Sources of wisdomPressurizersPerformers of the lead roleEntertainersSergeant majorsTalkers/Tellers

In more recent times all these plus..

Facilitators

Enablers

Orchestrators

Listeners

Prompters

Mediators

Askers

Interveners

Before you hand in your resignation…

Active Learning is:

“..a model of learning which puts the responsibility for learning on the learner” (Source: Wikipedia)

If we get it right, the donkey work and the ‘thinking’ is not all done by the teacher!

We must avoid looking at our role as being akin to Boxer in Animal Farm and get alert and inventive with classroom dynamics!

1. Time limited ‘Think alouds’

Ich bin mit Mama zum Stadion gegangen.

Ich bin mit Papa zum Theater gegangen.

Ich bin mit meinem Bruder zum Markt gegangen.

Ich bin mit meinem Onkel zur Disco gegangen.

Ich bin mit meiner Tante zur Schule gegangen.

Ich bin mit Claudia zur Toilette gegangen.

Ich bin mit Henri nach Amerika geflogen.

Ich bin mit Jack nach New York gefahren.

Ich bin mit Karl nach Waterfoot gegangen.

2. Questioning – exploiting ‘thinking time’

• Formalised ‘think-pair-share’ questioning

• ‘Four heads together’ questioning

• ‘Musical cue cards’ questioning

• ‘Dominoes’ question/answer

• ‘20 questions’/’taboo’ to guess the word/term

• ‘Truth or lie’ cue cards

– whole class ‘up-and-about’ activity

- team game

• ‘Snowflakes’ approach to BIG questions

• ‘Pass me a question’ – seated/teacher directed

Questioning (cont/d)

• ‘You are the examiner’ – criteria driven dialogue in groups

• ‘Find someone who knows the answer’ – exploiting a simple list of questions

You encounter a crocodile infested river and you have to cross it to get your homework to Mr Wyton. You have no boat! How do you get across?

You swim! The crocodiles have all gone to the Lion’s conference!

3. Exploitation of texts

• ‘Pass the buck’ – create short text, pass on/improve and add, get original back, use as basis for extended (homework) written task.

• ‘A problem shared’ – groups of four, divide text in half, pairs invent questions on ‘their half’, pass questions on to other pair to answer.

• ‘Travellers’ – groups of four, discuss/make notes on different texts on same theme, take turns at being visiting experts to other groups, threads drawn together by teacher at end.

• ‘Pilgrims’ – groups of four with list of questions, each pupil has a number/one scribe to write answers to questions, texts pinned to wall, kids travel as ‘pilgrims’ to text with a question in mind/find answer/report back, teacher elicits answers and ‘tops up’ knowledge/understanding at end.

In conclusion…activating our classrooms?

It’s all a question of balance and blend!

Teacher talk

Text books

Worksheets

Control

Variety

Choice

Novelty

Independence