PUBLIC CASE REPORT The Moodle platform in secondary schooling. On-line support to the narrative text learning.

Transcription

1 PUBLIC CASE REPORT The Moodle platform in secondary schooling. On-line support to the narrative text learning. Linked to the pedagogical activity: The Moodle platform in secondary schooling. On-line support for classroom teaching activities. Written by: Massimiliano Geraci and Vittorio Capecchi, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Italy. Date: Bologna, 14/07/ General information School background information Participating teachers Pedagogical material 4 2. Documentating the activities The realised tutoring process Detailed summary Similarities and differences between the proposed tutoring model and realized process Documenting the classroom implementation Detailed summary Main similarities and differences compared to the example scenario by expert teacher 9 3. Lessons learnt for improving the materials and the tutoring model Suggestions for using and improving the materials Suggestions for applying and developing the tutoring model Other suggestions and ideas 10 1

2 1. General information This report describes the organisation of ICT-related class work by a novice teacher who was willing to be helped by an experienced teacher in the field Project information The report has been produced within the framework of the FICTUP project, which involves four countries (Finland, France, Hungary and Italy). FICTUP s objective is to develop innovative training material describing specific pedagogical activities entailing the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), combined with a closely-directed tutoring process, and to test the impact of both the material and personal support on teachers who are novices as far as ICTs are concerned. The training material devised for each case includes a report describing the activities in detail: the topic, the objectives, students outputs, the material required (software, worksheets to be completed by the students, etc.), the different pedagogical stages, and for each of these a description of the role of the teacher and the tasks of the students, etc. Each case report is accompanied by three short training videos. During the first year of the project, this training material was jointly designed and developed by a teacher experienced in using ICTs in teaching and another who had never taught using them, to ensure it could be easily used by others. During the second year, the material was tested in the classroom by a teacher who was a novice as far as ICTs were concerned. She was tutored by the expert teacher who had designed the material. This phase was observed (and filmed), analysed and evaluated by the partner researchers. The ultimate objective is to draw on the experience of the project in order to adapt and improve the training methodology tested (organisation of the tutoring, specifications for the content of the training material, etc.) and to offer it for future use in educational institutions. Each country s researchers had the following material for each case: - the report on the pedagogical sequence and the three related videos; - reports (notes and/or videos) on the meetings between the expert teacher and the novice teacher during the tutoring process (the two meetings prior to the experiment, and the meetings between the expert and the novice between each session); - the answers to a short questionnaire given to the novice teacher before and after each class, asking her what she felt about the session and what she planned to do in the next one; - the video recordings and/or observations of the researchers for at least three class sessions; - the novice teacher s activity book; 2

3 - the final review meetings with the novice and expert teachers following the experiment; - evaluation reports for materials that have been subject the interim evaluation by other teachers and trainers School background information Situated in the first city suburbs, the Istituto Comprensivo 9 is made up of a primary school (6-10 years), and a lower secondary school (11-13 years). It is one of the schools of Bologna with the best technical equipment, including: a server for the management of the scholastic Intranet and of the students and teachers accounts; a computer lab with 30 PC to allow activities requiring a PC for each student; 5 Interactive White Boards [IWB from now on], and laboratories of science, of foreign languages (is mandatory for all students the study two EU languages), of arts and music. The educational offer of this school is enriched by activities targeted to shape the students civic awareness. These activities include the collaboration with institutions on subjects ranging from ecology (naturalistic exploration of city region and bio-chemical analysis of the waters of the near stream Savena in collaboration with the local health authority), to the road education (in collaboration with the local municipal police), to education about the law (in collaboration with the Carabinieri), to journalism courses (in collaboration with the main city newspaper). The FICTUP project was held in a first class (1 A), as part of course on "narrative texts" Participating teachers The Expert teacher (ET), aged 62, has been teaching technology for 37 years. He is passionate about ICT both for personal use and for educational purposes and has been using them at school for 25 years. He spent many years in a provincial office for the coordination and technical support (through training and help desk) to school computerization. He carried out training and support of colleagues both within the computer literacy and the application of ICTs in teaching. The Novice Teacher (NT), aged 44, has been teaching Italian and history for 12 years. She is passionate about ICTs and she begun to use them during her PhD, 19 years ago (but she had never used the Moodle platform before the FICTUP project). 3

4 1.4. Pedagogical material 2. Documenting the activities 2.1. The realised tutoring process Detailed summary Case title: The MOODLE platform in secondary schooling. On-line support for classroom teaching activities. Description: The sequence consists of 6 lessons of 2 hours (the first one co-managed by NT and ET) and six one-hour lessons each, distributed over a period of 2 months, unlike the sequence of the last year which consisted of 5 one-hour lessons, 1 lesson of two hours, and 2 lessons of 30 minute. The significant difference in the duration of the two sequences is related to the different subjects taught: technology, with particular reference to alternative energy sources, the first year; Italian, with particular reference to narrative text, the second year. In addition to classroom and laboratory activities, students have used MOODLE from home (or public libraries and other equipped centres if no home connection) for the whole duration of the project. The project involved 25 students. The first year case description and the related videos are available through the FICTUP website both in English and Italian at the following link: Type of activity Date Duration Modality Participants Remarks Examinations of 10- About 4h Alone, at NT NT has examined the materials by LT 12/02/10 home materials produced in the first year. Has made a self-learning session of the MOODLE platform. She also prepared the questions to be asked to ET during the first tutoring Pre-meeting: General discussion about the project and the MOODLE platform 17/02/10 2h F2F discussion at school NT ET Researcher meeting. The first part of the meeting focused on issues related to some technical aspects of the platform (e.g. the creation of student accounts, the publication of materials/resources, school work assignment, the 4

5 Introductory comanaged lesson Planning activities 5/03/10 2h exchange between teacher 2 and 3 meeting: Discussing the NT s activities plan and reviewing NT s work with the platform 2 26/02/10 2h Computer lab NT, ET, researcher publication of the corrections/evaluations). The discussion then moved to pedagogical issues and particularly to the use of forums within Moodle. In the end, the link between school / parents in relation to the use of Moodle was discussed and in particular how and to what extent involve them 1. Organizational issues: ET and NT agreed on the terms and dates of the first lesson which will be co-managed. ET presented the platform to the students using Alice (a remote desktop sharing software). NT distributed passwords and invited students to customize their own profiles and to post their early impressions about the platform on the forum. NT prepared a first draft of her Alone at NT home activities plan. 21/03/10 Questions and answers concerning how to open a forum page. 07/04/10 2h F2F discussion at school NT ET Researcher ET, who created his personal account on the platform used by NT, has reviewed the work done by NT so far and gave her some tips (e.g. how to embed a YouTube video in a course page instead of providing its link). Then, they discussed the activity plan 1 There is a clear difference in addressing the issue by the two teachers. ET gave the passwords to the pupils (not to their parents), leaving them the opportunity to involve parents (and to what extent). For ET, the focus is on the students. NT on the contrary organized a meeting to explain to parents what is Moodle and what is going to be done in the FICTUP project. During the meeting she delivered password to parents. NT wanted to directly involve students' parents, making them aware/responsible for the use of the platform at school. 2 The second meeting did not take place on the originally agreed date, because of school closure due to an heavy snowfall and subsequent Easter holidays. It was therefore decided to combine the second and third meetings. 5

6 exchange between teacher After classroom implementation discussion 14/04/10 and 20/04/10 04/05/10 F2F discussion at school NT ET Researcher prepared by NT, which resulted to be very well structured and detailed. In the end the teachers focused on some pedagogical issues related to the use of MOODLE (e.g. how to stimulate the pupils to use the forum, if allowing them to have access to the fellow s grading). NT observed that using MOODLE extensively, increases the work that a teacher has to do at home. Questions and answers about the creation of a quiz. One of the NT s questions stimulated ET to search for a plug-in to create a cloze 3 quiz. NT and ET discussed the experience carried out and declared themselves very satisfied. NT stated that she will continue to use MOODLE next year and in all her classrooms Similarities and differences between the proposed tutoring model and realized process The tutoring process was carried out according to the proposed model. Since NT and ET teach in different schools no additional meetings, beyond those originally planned, were possible. In addition to F2F meetings there have been some s exchanges, which have always focused on technical issues. The co-managed lesson was a great help to NT avoiding her to explain to the pupils the more technical aspects of the platform. The tutoring sessions were conducted in an informal, peer and collaborative way. 3 A cloze test (also cloze deletion test) is an exercise, test, or assessment consisting of a portion of text with certain words removed (cloze text), where the participant is asked to replace the missing words. 6

7 2.2. Documenting the classroom implementation Detailed summary Pedagogical sequence/unit Subject(s) Italian Class level Lower secondary, age Duration of sequence/unit 6 lessons of 2h each and 6 lessons of 1h each, distributed over a period of 2 months ICT tool(s) Tool 1: Name, official website, tool type Tool 2: Name, official website, tool type Tool 3: Name, official website, tool type Tool 4: Name, official website, tool type Teaching objectives Description of the sequence/unit MOODLE: An open source Virtual Learning Environment. Cmaptool: freeware concept map software. Interactive White Board Alice, remote desktop sharing software To introduce pupils to new forms of communication, and to support learning the different forms of narrative texts (comprehension, summarization, differences between literary and filmic texts and between various filmic transpositions of the same book) through the use of an on-line learning environment. Activity/Phase 1 Illustration, using interactive whiteboard, of the various functions offered by the MOODLE platform - Explanation of what "authentication" means, with log-in trials in the computer lab carried out by every student. Creation of students profile - Explanation of the main features of the MOODLE interface and personalization options available. Lesson co-managed with ET Description of the phases of the sequence Activity/Phase 2 In the classroom with the use of IWB (two lessons of 2 hours each). The teacher reads aloud the incipit from Roal Dahl s novel Matilda. Students must listen and follow along on their book or on the IWB and in the end they must highlight the narrative sequences. Homework: writing a summary, without the constraints of precise length. The summary is written using Open Office and then it should be posted on MOODLE [this is the standard procedure for the pupils, during the whole activity and this will be implicit from now on]. Revision of some students' works in the classroom: Some already corrected students works are shown by NT to the class. NT highlights the main linguistic errors. Is then viewed a 7

8 portion the film Matilda, adapted from the novel. Book/film comparison: in what other way the same episode is narrated? Discussion with the class. Homework: writing a summary of maximum 1500 characters, compiling a reading file. Activity/Phase 3 In the classroom instruction with the use of IBW (two lessons of 1 hour each). Using the Forum entitled: An extraordinary list: reading tips. What is your list of favourite books?. Motivates the titles in your list so as to provide real tips for your classmates, but also for their parents. The teacher initiates the Forum with her favourite books. Revision and discussion of some posts. Activity/Phase 4 In the computer lab (1h) Understanding of written language: The teacher reads aloud the text, this is the last chapter of Matilda. The text can be only listened by the students. Pupils draw a conceptual map (using Cmaptool) showing the narrative elements in the text: 1. Description of the main character of the book (Matilda) 2. How a character is developed 3. The places of narration 4. The times of narration Homework: re-read the text read in class, now available on the platform, and answer some final questions. Homework for the Easter holidays: new novel Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens by J. M. Bars with the same strategies used to Matilda by R. Dahl. Activity/Phase 5 In classroom with the use of IWB (1h + 2h) Correction of some homework, discussion and drawing of a conceptual map. Reading the first chapter of Peter Pan. Work on vocabulary with research and use of online dictionaries and Wikipedia. Introduction of 2 movies (a classic Disney animation and a contemporary reinterpretation) that tell the story of Peter Pan. Homework: answer the following question on the forum: What differences noted between the texts you read and scenes from the two movies? Activity/Phase 6 Lesson in class with the use of the IWB (2h) Brief introduction by the teacher and then start watching the movie Neverland (Marc Forster, 2004) Homework: Answer some open questions about the movie (the questions are provided by the teacher before the movie so pupils 8

9 can take notes). In the computer lab (1h) Understanding narrative texts exercise (quiz). Students will find the chapter on the platform and will read it individually and then answer the quiz. Review of the results and correction in synchronous way from the teacher s PC to the pupils ones (using the software Alice). Reading the forum posts and discussion. Homework: write the differences between the two movies with the introduction of personal impressions (maximum 1500 text characters) Activity/Phase 7 In the computer lab (2h) Mid-term exam (writing a text and submit it through the platform) In the classroom with the IWB (1h) Correction and evaluation of the text written in class. Interviews and debate regarding the use of MOODLE. Pupils will discuss in particular about: Differences between using the exercise book and directly writing on the PC Differences between online and offline tests. Differences between writing a text and answering a quiz Main similarities and differences compared to the example scenario by expert teacher The difference between the subjects taught by NT (Italian) and ET (technology) has imposed to redesign the original scenario and particularly to re-structure its phases (due to the much longer activity proposed and implemented by NT). Technological aspects: in the activity carried out by NT there was a strong integration between different tools. In addition to Moodle, NT made an extensive use of the IWB and conceptual maps software (Cmap Tools). Pedagogical issues: Furthermore the use of the forum and the corrections in the class of assigned tasks were oriented by NT in a participatory and collaborative way for the pupils. 3. Lessons learnt for improving the materials and the tutoring model 3.1. Suggestions for using and improving the materials The case and videos were quite useful in understanding the broad outlines and the value of the activity. In particular, the case description was useful to start programming and structuring the activity. The videos resulted useful as a preliminary introduction to the activity and to have a first impression on pupils reaction during the ICT use in classroom. In more than one occasion, both NT 9

10 and ET suggested that a more specific how-to video would be useful to deal with the technical aspects of the platform/tools. Considering his previous experience in training colleagues and providing them support, ET suggested that an help desk, provided on a local territorial base, would be useful in providing tech support Suggestions for applying and developing the tutoring model In this specific case, the tutoring process was effective even if the face-to-face interaction between ET and NT were limited to only the 4 meetings and the introductory co-managed lesson. Such a model is probably more effective with those teachers who are particularly motivated and who also have personal experience with ICT. On the contrary, ET presence/assistance in classroom is preferable with less experienced teachers, both as a reassurance and to provide feedbacks just at the end of the lesson. If for some reason this is not possible, a simple solution could be filming the classroom implementation. This may be of a great help in those situations in which ET and NT work in different schools and don t have the opportunity to co-manage lessons (or simply ET hasn t got the possibility to assist to them). These videos could also be a real self-reflection occasion for NT on aspects such as the class management. Video excerpts of critical passages could be watched and commented by NT and ET during the face-to-face meetings Other suggestions and ideas The videos realised during the in class observation can be used for other purposes than research: e.g. to foster self-reflection by the NT and to facilitate the monitoring and the distance support by the ET, who could watch the NT lessons without being present. 10