Environmental focus develops Setswana and English vocabulary

Today in the Setswana/LO/IT lesson study CPD we watched some beautiful video clips on: 

Using an Environmental conservation focus to develop Setswana and English vocabulary and -  Using an emerging, real-world issue to facilitate student involvement and learning.

We watched, analysed and discussed several video clips addressing recycling and environmental conservation issues. These clips were produced by the Gr.7 Lebone students. Students worked in groups to create short environmental awareness video clips. The presentation in these clips was done in both Setswana and English.

 

We discussed a whole range of issues but ended up asking some questions about:

• How do we utilise student’s presentations to facilitate learning in the audience – how can we facilitate better engagement of the audience members – when groups are presenting for assessment purposes?
• Does the use of technology bring automatic engagement in learning?
• What are some of the legal implication of using video clips in the classroom?

All in all it was felt that the lesson outcomes and objectives where achieved and that a lot was learned about how to engage students in their own learning via the use of technology. We also touched on issues of managing, scaffolding and structuring group work via regular “check- in’s” and defining and assigning roles to students.

Feedback session: Grade 8, Introduction to Light

General lesson feedback

Technical details:

Often a successful lesson gets tripped up by technical details that go wrong. In this case, some of the light boxes didn’t work as the previous class had blown the bulb. We discussed how important planning is. We all reflected that it is important to make sure there is enough time for setting yourself up before a lesson.

Also make sure that students don’t have the opportunity to play with equipment they might break – if it is necessary then tell them clearly how to use it properly. Give clear instructions on what is going to happen while they are still in classroom setting.

Miscellaneous

Set the tone up to be a bit chaotic. A new classroom for a practical is not always ideal.

Use teach like a champion techniques to improve the classroom management and therefore the learning.

Phrasing of questions can lead to answer “does the water bend the light?” “Yes”. Student knows the answer is “yes” not because they understand the work, but because of the way the question was asked.

Positive feedback

ED has a very comfortable rapport with the kids. They felt very free and confident.

The use of notes to write down the “correct” definitions was very useful. The kids were more comfortable writing them down from the board than from verbal recall. They were more engaged writing them down than if the definitions had been given to them outright.

Specific lesson feedback

Language in science and Terminology

• Perhaps use pictures in the descriptions of the definitions.
• Unsure if they understood even though they wrote the definition down. NP was still confused!!
• Suggestion: Do each term separately. First discuss the term and definition, then do the practical investigation, then discuss using diagrams. During the discussion, link to everyday examples.

Visualisation of abstract concepts

• Practical can be confusing, especially because in some cases, all the processes happened in one of the observations. That should have been discussed. That one object can have absorption, reflection and refraction.
• As a remedy to this: once again, do each term separately and discuss clearly with diagrams when winding up.