Enhancing the Effectiveness of Learning and Teaching of English Language in a Small Class Context

Enhancing the Effectiveness of Learning and Teaching of English Language in a Small Class ContextKatie WongHong Kong Student Aid Society Primary SchoolDate: 8th March, 2013

RundownBackgroundSharing of the Six PrinciplesSharing of a unit

Background in Small Class TeachingJoined a 3-year scheme of SCT since 2005.A committee regarding to SCT has been set up.Our English teachers joined the learning circle organized by EDB for more than 3 years.In April, 2006, two English teachers joined a tour to Shanghai organized by EDB. They observed the implementation of SCT in primary schools in Shanghai.Since 2009-2010, the English Panel Chair has been invited as a Seconded Teacher under EDB School Support Partner (Seconded Teacher) Scheme. She has provided professional support (English Language in SCT context) for more than 14 primary schools in Hong Kong.

Diagrammatic Representation of English Language Education KLA Curriculum Framework

4Cs

Critical ThinkingLearners draw out meaning from data, argue and make their own judgement Communication Learners interact with people and express their ideas effectivelyCollaboration Learners engage effectively in tasks and teamwork, andbenefit from collaborative relationshipsCreativity Learners produce original ideas and solve problems appropriate to the context

The Generic SkillsGalton, 2011

Six Principles to guide improvements in practiceClear statement of learning objectivesExtended questioning during whole class discussionMore active pupil participationIncreased cooperation between pupils by working in pairs and groupsLess use of corrective and more informing feedbackMore use of the assessment for learning approach

Whenever possible exploration precedes instruction and examples are situated in contexts that are meaningful to the pupils

Learning ObjectivesTake into account pupils prior knowledge / understanding.Learning objectives are concrete, easy to measure and evaluate.Involve the development of pupils academic knowledge and social skills.At the beginning of the lesson, the teacher tells the pupils what they are going to learn.At the end of the lesson, the teacher reviews the learning key points with pupils.

Some key action words when specifying learning objectives Low level (transmission): to recall, define, identify, state, recognise, name, list, measure

Medium level (application): to use, show, perform, explain, illustrate, predict, interpret

Higher level (understanding): to classify, design, organise, compose, discover, summarise, conclude, separate

Galton, 2011

Both basic-levelthinking and higher-orderthinking are important.plan, produce judge, decide organize, differentiate, classify, conclude,use, solve, compare, summarize Blooms Taxonomy (Revised) Anderson & Krathwohl (2001)

Some key questions when specifying learning objectivesHave I not only described the activity but also its purpose?Have I described the purposes in terms of expected pupil behaviour using action words?Have I linked the stated objectives to appropriate use of teaching methods? In general the higher the level the less direct instruction and the greater use of teaching strategies based on the six principles.

Galton, 2011

How should we ask questions?Sufficient Wait Time for pupils to respond.Hold back answers to encourage more pupil responsesEncouraging pupil discussion to enhance interactions among pupils. (e.g. use of cooperative learning structures to enhance students thinking, e.g. Think-Pair-ShareClassroom setting help pupils answer questions more effectively (provide a language-rich environment)

What questions do we ask?A balanced of open-ended and closed questions. Provide sufficient open-ended questions to let pupils explore concepts and have discussions Pupils prior knowledge is taken into account Scaffolding through questioningPlan core question to provide lesson structure Use processing questions to deal with unexpected answers. Good sequence of questions (both lower and higher level questions) that allows students to proceed towards higher-order thinking.

Other possible ways to design questions that can enhance high-order thinking6-W thinking skillsTimelineCompare and ContrastAttributes Listing6 Hats Thinking SkillsConsequences and SequelForced ConnectionConsider All FactorsOther Peoples Point of ViewGuess and MatchExamine Both SidesAlternative WaysPredict All Consequences

Pupil ParticipationEnough interactions between teacher and pupils.Boost pupil participation during class discussion, e.g. encouraging them to meet and greet each other at the start of the lessonPrint rich environmentSeating arrangement

Print rich environment

In pairs!Galton, 2011 Seating Arrangement

Or in groups of four!Galton, 2011

Seating Arrangement

In a horseshoe shapeGalton, 2011 When doing whole-class teaching

Or as a double Horseshoe if less space!Galton, 2011

Pair/Group WorkRules for group work need to be established and reinforce.The tasks are challenging enough.The tasks are educational and in response to the learning objectives.The tasks provide pupils with opportunities for individual accountability and interdependence in the group.There is a debriefing session in which evaluation criteria are set for pupils to evaluate their effort so that they can make improvement for next task.Provide sufficient time to finish the group work

Rules for group workWe take turns.We share materials.We ask for help.We use quiet voices.We use names.We encourage others.We share ideas.We celebrate success.We listen carefully.We communicate clearly.We wait patiently.We accept differences.

ListeningLooks LikeSounds Like making eye contact nodding leaning toward speaker one person talking

quiet Um OK Are you saying ?Example 1Listen carefully

Example 2Praise each other- --

Suggested Group Reflection Sheet

1. Did you help each other? 2. Did you speak softly? 3. Did you take turns to speak?

The AttainmentsSelf-Reflection FormEVALUATING INTERACTION

Did I?MarAprMayJun1. speak in English 2. listen to others 3. take turns 4. speak clearly

Effect of Feedback Galton, 2010

FeedbackMore informing, less correctivePraises pupils on results as well as efforts.T gives opportunity for pupils to find their own errors and correct them.T gives opportunity for pupils to reflect on how they worked out the answer.

Corrective Feedback vs Informing FeedbackCorrective Feedback- Showing where pupils went wrong and then providing the right answer.Informing FeedbackHelping pupils to spot their own mistakes or questioning pupils about the appropriateness of the methods chosen, so that they could improve their work.

Key questions in the use of the assessment for learning approachWere the forms of classroom organisation sufficiently flexible to allow groups of pupils with similar learning needs to come together?Was much of the formative assessment based on what pupils said and did rather than what they wrote?Did I build these oral assessments into a pupil profile?

Galton, 2011

Assessment for Learning Timely feedbackNot only assessing the result but also the process.Not only pen and paper assessment, but also what pupils said and did.Evidence to reflect the effectiveness of pupils learning as well as teachers teaching.For adjusting teaching contents/strategies.

System that help pupils to do self-assessment do/dont need help: the traffic light cardsUse red to show that you have problems. Use yellow to show that you are getting help from others.Use green to show that you feel comfortable with that you can do.

Galton, 2011

Assessment for learning approachAssessment for learning makes use of formative assessment in order diagnose pupils learning difficulties and thereby provide the required teaching to remedy these deficiencies. At its lowest it employs techniques such as traffic light to sort pupils into groups for attention. At its best it is personalised and caters for individual needs.Galton, 2013

Six Principles

Level: Primary 2Module : Places and activities Reader : Cat and Dog at SchoolNo. of periods : 12 lessons (35 minutes/ lesson)Synopsis: Cat and Dog are classmates. Dog behaves well but Cat behaves badly. They finally come to a conclusion that they need to set some rules to help Cat behaves at school.

Cat and Dog at SchoolFunctions / Structures :Use proper nouns to refer to places.This is our music room.2. Use interrogative adverb Where to ask about locationWhere do we sing songs?3. Use the interrogative pronoun What to find out specific information about a person, object or event.What do we do in the music room?4. Use the simple present tense to describe habitual actions.We sing in the music room.5. Use adjectives to show position.The music room is on the third floor.6. Use the modals must and mustnt to express obligations and prohibitions.We must follow the rules.We mustnt run in the library.

ModulePlaces and ActivitiesUnit Cat and Dog at SchoolTask 1 Facilities at schoolTask 2 School rules

Cat and Dog at SchoolGeneric Skills: Critical thinking skills - evaluate others behaviour, and identify appropriate and inappropriate behaviour2. Self-management skills learn to behave well at school

Values and Attitudes: Self-disciplineResponsiblewith a desire to learnco-operative The learning objectives involve the development of pupils academic knowledge and social (interpersonal and communication) skills.

Task descriptionTask 1: Open Day is coming. The pupils are responsible for taking the guests to walk around the school campus. Pupils need to introduce different school facilities to the guest.e.g. This is the music room. It is on the first floor. We sing in the music room.

Task descriptionTask 2: Since there will be pupils from the kindergartens visiting the school on the Open Day, pupils need to make some signs and rules to tell the kindergarten pupils what could and couldnt be done in the rooms.e.g. We mustnt eat in the library. We must keep quiet in the library.Tasks are situated in contexts which are meaningful for the pupils.

Procedures of the tasks

Task 1

Task 2* Put up pupils work on the walls of different places at school

Lesson PlanLesson :10-11th lesson (12 lessons in total) Duration : 70 minutes (35 minutes per lesson)Module and Topic:Places and activitiesReader: Cat and Dog at School

Prior knowledge: 1. Present tense to describe habitual actions.2. Modal Dont to express prohibitions.3. Proper nouns to refer places.

Learning Objectives:1. Use of must and mustnt to give simple instructions and commands.2. Identify appropriate and inappropriate behaviour at school. 3. Take turns when they do group work.The learning objectives are set based on pupils prior knowledge and understanding concrete, easy to measure and evaluate.

Daily Talk1. Greet each other.2. Riddles I see with my little eyes (places)

3. Ask pupils about the places. Teacher: Where is this place? What do we do there? What can we do there? What cant we do there?

4. Tell pupils the purpose of the lesson.Provide a language rich environment for language learning.Sufficient open-ended questions to let pupils explore concepts and discussion

At the beginning of the lesson, teacher tells pupils what they are going to learn in a simple way Extended conversation between teacher and pupils

Pre-taskRead the book.Recall pupils previous knowledge about the content of the book.

Ask pupils if they would do the same thing as Dog.Use the chart wrote up in the previous lesson, introduce the use of must and mustnt to write rules.Pair work: Think-Pair-Share (write rules for Cat).6. Read aloud the rules.- Initial exploration of pupils ideas Recall pupils previous knowledge about the book content Sufficient open-ended questions to let pupils explore concepts and discussion.Use of pair/group work to enhance pupil participation

While-taskWith a picture, discuss the misbehaviour of some naughty pupils in a place at school.

2. Group work: Round RobinDemonstrationPupils take turns and point out the misbehaviour in different scenarios.Remind pupils to take turns and say Its your turn..- Some initial exploration of the pupils ideas before activity begins.Each pupil is accountable to the group to make a contribution.Pupils were reminded about the rules.The task is put in a context related to pupils daily experience.

While task (contd)3. Group work: Each group member gets a paper stripe.Use must and mustnt to make rules Write the rules on the stripes. If finish earlier, write one more rule for the place.

4. Put all the stripes on Activity Sheet 3. 5. Read together to do self-editing. (Teacher provides criteria for success to pupils.)Give opportunity for pupils to find their own errors and correct them.Each pupil is accountable to the group to make a contribution.

Post task1. Group presentationPupils show the corresponding picture and read aloud the rules they have made.Ask the class if they agree with their classmates.

Conclude the lesson.

Tell the pupils to fill in the self-evaluation form. Evidence is collected to reflect the effectiveness of pupils learning.At the end of the lesson, the teacher reviews the learning key points with pupils.Give opportunity for pupils to reflect on how well they worked in groups.

English language education provides greater opportunities for the development of collaboration skills, communication skills, creativity and critical thinking skills. I dont want to spend too much time on going into details of these four generic skills as I know youre all very familiar with them.

Id like to point out that from this and the previous slides, there are clear implications for the kinds of tasks that teachers set in language classes and also for the kinds of questions with which students need to engage.

Communication SkillsIn learning to communicate effectively, learners should learn toidentify purpose and context of communicationconvey a message in accordance with needsof audienceorganize accurate and relevant information for audienceevaluate effectiveness of their communicationidentify areas of improvement for actionCreativityTo develop learners creativity, we need toask them to go beyond given informationallow them time to thinkstrengthen and reward creative effortsencourage problem solvingcreate a climate conducive to creativityCritical Thinking SkillsIn learning to think critically, learners should learn todraw meaning from given data and statementsevaluate accuracy of given statementsevaluate and generate argumentsquestion and enquire in order to make judgements

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Enhancing the Effectiveness of Learning and Teaching of English Language in a Small Class Context