1. Lesson Planning Template
Digital Media Literacy
Name: xxx
Subject: Home Economics
Class/Year Group: 1st Years
Topic/Theme: Special Diets
Elements of the Bridge 21 model applicable to this activity
• Teamwork
• Technology
• Project based
• Reflection
A: The rationale underpinning the design of the learning experience.
When designing this activity my main endeavour was to use the Bridge 21 lesson planning template to encourage students to improve their collaboration, communication and ICT skills whilst also experiencing an enjoyable and informative learning experience.
This assignment was carried out with a mixed ability group of first year Home Economics students based in a new start up school currently in its fourth year. Students in the school use iPads and the use of technology in the school is promoted to improve the quality of teaching and learning. For me personally, the use of technology in the classroom has been a challenge as technology today has changed dramatically since my teacher training days and I would not be very confident in the use of different apps. However, I hope that on completion of this assignment and the application of the Bridge 21 model that I will feel confident to ensure that I can apply effective ICT teaching methodologies in my classes and that this will contribute to a whole school approach in which ICT is embedded in our school culture.
Boland (2009) states “Our second level system is producing students who learn to the test, who in ever greater numbers are learning not to think for themselves; who receive spoon feeding at second level and expect the same at third.” Following a review by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment in 2012 the Irish Department of Education decided to begin the process of reforming our education system. DES (2015) states that this new framework for junior cycle would place “the student at the centre of the learning process and envisages a modernised curriculum across all subjects.” This reform would also place emphasis on “21st Century skills’ such as critical thinking, creativity, learning with others and learning through technology” (DES, 2015).
The Bridge 21 model developed in Trinity College, Dublin allows teachers to develop meaningful learning experiences for students using the Bridge 21 Lesson Template as a scaffolded approach which also encourages the implementation of the new Junior Cycle Key Skills. Bauer, Devitt and Tangney (2015) state that the “Bridge 21” model allows for collaboration and enables students to construct their own learning through the creation of an artefact. Following this approach I decided that I would encourage my students to collaborate together and create a presentation together.
ICT skills in the students vary so when deciding on groups I gave students different numbers (1-4) to ensure that each group was of mixed ability. The reasoning for mixed ability of the groups was to ensure that the weaker students would have material explained to them and be given easier tasks while the stronger members would have an opportunity to improve and demonstrate their skills, ultimately allowing all students to achieve. I also asked the students to then decide who the team leader was and gave them their research topic. As a class we then used menti.com to brainstorm on what our success criteria for the project would look like. NCCA (2015) recommends that the use of success criteria with students help them to become self motivated, focused and also allows them to take responsibility for their learning. NCCA (2015) also states that the when teachers share success criteria with students it helps them to develop skills such as managing themselves, communicating and staying well. By involving the students in the creation of the success criteria and displaying it during the research stage I hoped to ensure students stayed motivated and on task.
The Junior Cycle Framework (DES, 2015) Statement 24 states that students should be able to use “technology and digital media tools to learn, communicate, work and think collaboratively and creatively in a responsible and ethical manner”. The same framework (DES, 2015) also emphasises in Statement 13 that students should understand “the importance of food and diet in making healthy lifestyle choices”. These two statements of learning also correlate with the Junior Cycle Home Economics specification (NCCA, 2017) learning outcome 1.9 “recognise the importance of nutrition and diet in contributing to health and wellbeing”. It was when unpacking this learning outcome while being aware of the statements of learning that I designed the following learning activity.
B – A description of the learning activity and desired learning intentions
In our school, all first years complete an eleven week taster module of all option subjects. This group was on their 6th week of their Home Economics taster and had just completed the topic of healthy eating. The aim of this learning activity was to develop students awareness and understanding of the effects of the over consumption of certain foods on the body whilst also improving and developing students communication, collaboration and ICT skills. Students were divided into groups of mixed ability and assigned a special diet to research using a variety of resources which they would then present to the class using keynote. Students were encouraged to all participate in the research with one member assigned as group leader. The learning intentions for this learning activity were shared with the students prior to the activity.
The learning intentions were as follows:
• Identify the effects of over/under consumption of certain foods on the body.
• Research the causes, symptoms, effects and treatments of given Special Diet
• Apply ICT skills to create a presentation
• Demonstrate your understanding of the topics by presenting to your peer
• Evaluate presentations both individually and collectively
C – The content that is covered
Students were asked to brainstorm and identify any special diets they associate with the over consumption of sugar, salt and fat. It was then explained to students that over the next few classes they were going to be researching these special diets to create a presentation to inform the rest of the class.
Students were then asked to contribute to the making of a success criteria which they could follow, the result of which was:
o Good Communication Skills
o Group Collaboration
o Include: Definition/Explanation of Special Diet, Causes, Symptoms & Treatment of Special Diet
o Keynote to be no longer than 5/6 slides
o Include appropriate & relevant images
This success criteria was then shared on Schoology for all students to access while completing their group task. Students were then assigned a number 1-6 and asked to sit together in their groups where their topic was then assigned. Students were then asked to amongst the group decide on their team leader and together decide who should take which research topic.
Although each group had been assigned a different topic, they were to research each Special Diet under the headings displayed below;
The possible Special Diets to research were the following:
D – Three central key skills for development
According to NCCA (2009) The ability “to work independently and in a team, and to be a reflective learner are prerequisites for life and for the workplace in the 21st century”. This learning activity was designed to allow these first year students the opportunity to develop some key skills applicable to all subjects.
The three main skills developed are outlined below.
Managing information and thinking
Students were asked to research their topic through a variety of resources such as textbooks, resources available on Schoology and also accessed online. Students were then encouraged to manage and organise this information into relevant points so that they could share to their peers. As there was a limit on the amount of possible slides for the presentation students had to critically reflect on the information gathered to select only the most relevant information.
Working with Others
Students were assigned into groups of four for this learning activity. Although independent work was important, each member of the group had to collaborate with others to create the one presentation and to decide on different group roles. Upon the completion of all presentations students were asked to discuss with their team and vote on their favourite presentation, giving reasons why.
Communicating
On completion of their presentation each group was asked to present to the class. Each member of the group was asked to present at least one slide. Before presenting to the class, group members practiced in front of each other to gain confidence and to also identify any improvements needed. Students then used keynote on their iPads to present to the class.
E – Schedule and resources required
This learning activity took place over 3 one hour classes. The activity began Tuesday 9th October and concluded Tuesday 16th October. Student worked in the Home Economics room where they also presented their finished presentations. Upon completion all presentations were uploaded on to Schoology (our virtual learning platform) for grading and teacher feedback. Students also received feedback from their peers on the conclusion of all presentations.
Timeline of learning activity:
Class 1: Introduction to the learning activity, sharing of learning intentions, creation of success criteria, division of groups, distribution of group roles, research
Class 2: Research of topic, creation of key note, practice of presentation to others in group
Class 3: Presentation to whole class, evaluation of presentations, feedback and assessment.
Resources Required:
iPad
Mentimeter
KeyNote
Schoology
Textbooks
Copies
F – Assessment to demonstrate student learning
Students work was assessed by a teacher using an assessment rubric based on the success criteria developed by students as well as the specific learning intentions shared at the start of the class. This rubric was created on Schoology which provided an instantaneous result and also an avenue for feedback between teacher and students. The grading scale of the rubric went from 4 (excellent) to 1 (needs improvement) for each criterion (See Appendix A).Students were also assessed by their peers. Students were asked to draw a table into their copies which they were to complete during each presentations (See Appendix B & C)
Upon the completion of the presentations students were asked to regroup and discuss each presentation under the headings provided in the table above. Upon this discussion, the group then agreed on their favourite presentation and the team leader cast a vote using mentimeter to decide on which was the class’ preferred presentation. When this vote was cast the teacher then asked for some oral feedback on why groups had decided to pick their favourite presentation. (See Appendix D)
3. Examples of Student’s work
Group 1: Below Average:
Students in this group were not very motivated and did not work to their full ability. The presentation itself contained most of the required information but it did not contain the treatment of the condition which was outlined in the success criteria. Students showed little engagement with the relevant information and were very reliant on reading their presentation from the iPad which affected their engagement with the audience. (See Appendix E)
Group 2: Average
This group worked well together as a group with clear roles however they sometimes lacked focus. Although the presentation was very visually pleasing some of the information was lacking e.g. treatment. These students were more confident in their delivery of the presentation but were still very reliant on what was written on the presentation, affecting their communication skills and engagement with the audience. (See Appendix F)
Group 3: Above Average
This group were very organised and on task throughout the research phase. Each member had a defined role and everyone collaborated very well. Their presentation skills were excellent overall and every member of the group presented very well with excellent voice projection and eye contact. Their presentation included a variety of relevant information and images and they also included facts which was above the expectation set and was an excellent addition. This group lost some marks unfortunately due to over reliance on the iPad. Overall this group in particular engaged well with all the success criteria agreed upon with students. (See Appendix G)
Reflection
For me, the student is at the centre of every action I take in my teaching. I endeavour to ensure that students enjoy their learning and reach their full potential. However, for me this usually means that it is I who takes control of and steer the learning and I find it difficult to allow students to become independent, scared that they will not learn it “right” unless I teach them. This learning activity meant that I as a teacher had to relinquish control and facilitate the independent learning taking place which is a total pedagogical shift. I was truly amazed at the quality of the learning that took place and also the quality of the information shared with the class through the presentations. For me, it showed that even 1st years have the ability to use their skills to critically analyse the information available to them online. Going forward, this task has helped me to feel more confident in my students ability to engage with information readily available to them and that I do not need to be so didactic with information given.
Given the fact that this group was a first year class in the first term I have to admit I did not have much faith in their ICT skills and opted to use Keynote as the presentation application thinking that it itself would pose a challenge. Before the second class I took time to show students the basic functionality of the programme and I was actually astounded at how quickly students were actually able to use the application adding transitions and effects within the app. It was also clearly evident how much enjoyment students experienced being given the opportunity to access information and create a Keynote. This task has shown me that my students are very adaptable, dynamic and very capable of using various applications. On reflection, I can now see that my own lack of confidence in certain apps has affected my thinking of the purpose and need to include ICT skills in today’s teaching. I now can understand the importance of encouraging these 21st century skills and feel more confident in their relevance and also in my facilitating of lessons where students have the opportunity to use ICT to enhance their own learning. Since carrying out this learning activity I have tried to provide opportunities for my students to engage in applications such as iMovie and Puppet Pals which I think I will cultivate a sense of ownership of their own learning for the students.
I think that this learning activity was very successful and the sense of enjoyment form the students was very obvious. However, on reflection I think that there are some improvements which could be made. I had tried to model an activity I experienced myself of this course by using the numbers to allocate groups. Although for the majority of the groups this worked well I think that given the scale of the task that having pre-planned groups may be more successful to ensure motivation and participation. I also think I could challenge students ICT skills more and use another format for presentations such as an iMovie or Powtoon. I also regret not using these presentations as part of their term assessments as they were of such a high standard and in future will consider using these sorts of activities as a form of formative assessment.
References:
Bauer, C., Devit, A. & Tagney, B. (2015). The alignment of CMC language learning methodologies with the Bridge21 model of 21C learning, in Critical CALL- Proceedings of the 2015 EUROCALL Conference. 44-50.
Boland, T. (2009). ‘Educate Together seeks second-level status.’ The Irish Times. Dublin, The Irish Times Ltd.
Retrieved from https://www.irishtimes.com/news/educate-together-seeks-second-level-status-1.787999
Department of Education and Skills (DES). (2015). Framework for Junior Cycle.
Retrieved from https://www.ncca.ie/media/3249/framework-for-junior-cycle-2015-en.pdf
National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA). (2009). Senior Cycle Key Skills Framework retrieved from https://www.curriculumonline.ie/getmedia/161b0ee4-706c-4a7a-9f5e-7c95669c629f/KS_Framework.pdf
National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA). (2015, September). Focus On Learning. Learning Intentions and Success Criteria
Retrieved from https://www.ncca.ie/media/1927/assessment-workshop-1_en.pdf
National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA). (2017). Junior Cycle Home Economics Specification.
Retrieved from https://www.curriculumonline.ie/getmedia/6d9ca864-75a5-4f99-80bc-7a9c416e6f05/JCSpec_HomeEc.pdf
Appendices
Appendix A – Grading Rubric
Appendix B: Evaluation Table in student’s copy
Special Diet Area of Success Area for improvement: One thing I Learned
Appendix C: Completed Evaluations
Appendix D: Mentimeter Vote
Appendix E: Below Average grading rubric
Appendix F: Average grading rubric
Appendix G: Above Average grading rubric