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

1. Enhancing the Effectiveness of Learning and Teaching of English Language in a Small Class Context Katie Wong Hong Kong Student Aid Society Primary School Date: 8th March, 2013

2. Rundown • Background • Sharing of the Six Principles • Sharing of a unit

3. Background in Small Class Teaching • Joined 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.

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

5. Diagrammatic Representation of English Language Education KLA Curriculum Framework English Language Education Curriculum Strands Interpersonal Knowledge Experience 9 Generic Skills Values and Attitudes Flexible and diversified modes of curriculum planning + Effective learning, teaching and assessment Overall Aims and Learning Targets of English Language Education

6. The Generic Skills Communication Learners interact with people and express their ideas effectively Creativity Learners produce original ideas and solve problems appropriate to the context 4Cs CriticalThinking Learners draw out meaning from data, argue and make their own judgement Collaboration Learners engage effectively in tasks and teamwork, and benefit from collaborative relationships Galton, 2011

7. Six Principles to guide improvements in practice • Clear statement of learning objectives • Extended questioning during whole class discussion • More active pupil participation • Increased cooperation between pupils by working in pairs and groups • Less use of corrective and more informingfeedback • More use of the assessment for learning approach Whenever possible exploration precedes instruction and examples are situated in contexts that are meaningful to the pupils

8. Learning Objectives • Take 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.

9. 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): toclassify, design, organise, compose, discover, summarise, conclude, separate Galton, 2011

10. Creating (創造) Evaluating (評鑑) Analyzing (分析) Applying (應用) Understanding (理解) Remembering (記憶) Both basic-level thinking and higher-order thinking are important. plan, produce … judge, decide … organize, differentiate, classify, conclude, use, solve, compare, summarize … Bloom’s Taxonomy (Revised) Anderson & Krathwohl (2001)

11. Some key questions when specifying learning objectives • Have 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

12. Six Principles to guide improvements in practice • Clear statement of learning objectives • Extended questioning during whole class discussion • More active pupil participation • Increased cooperation between pupils by working in pairs and groups • Less use of corrective and more informingfeedback • More use of the assessment for learning approach Whenever possible exploration precedes instruction and examples are situated in contexts that are meaningful to the pupils

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

14. 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 questioning • Plan 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.

15. Other possible ways to design questions that can enhance high-order thinking • 六何思考法6-W thinking skills • 時間線Timeline • 比較異同Compare and Contrast • 特徵列舉Attributes Listing • 六頂帽子思考法6 Hats Thinking Skills • 延伸影響Consequences and Sequel • 奇妙關係Forced Connection • 全面因素Consider All Factors • 多方觀點Other People’s Point of View • 互捉心理Guess and Match • 兩面思考Examine Both Sides • 另類方法Alternative Ways • 推測後果Predict All Consequences

16. Six Principles to guide improvements in practice • Clear statement of learning objectives • Extended questioning during whole class discussion • More active pupil participation • Increased cooperation between pupils by working in pairs and groups • Less use of corrective and more informingfeedback • More use of the assessment for learning approach Whenever possible exploration precedes instruction and examples are situated in contexts that are meaningful to the pupils

17. Pupil Participation • Enough interactionsbetween teacher and pupils. • Boost pupil participation during class discussion, e.g. encouraging them to ‘meet and greet’ each other at the start of the lesson • Print rich environment • Seating arrangement

18. Print rich environment

19. Seating Arrangement In pairs! Galton, 2011

20. Or in groups of four! Galton, 2011

21. 4 5 2 4 4 2 4 3 2 4 2 2 3 1 1 3 3 1 11 21 3 1 4 2 6 5 4 3 2 4 1 4 2 2 3 3 1 3 1 1 3 1 講台(匯報區) Seating Arrangement

22. When doing whole-class teaching… In a horseshoe shape Galton, 2011

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

25. Six Principles to guide improvements in practice • Clear statement of learning objectives • Extended questioning during whole class discussion • More active pupil participation • Increased cooperation between pupils by working in pairs and groups • Less use of corrective and more informingfeedback • More use of the assessment for learning approach Whenever possible exploration precedes instruction and examples are situated in contexts that are meaningful to the pupils

26. Pair/Group Work • Rulesfor 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

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

28. Example 1：Listen carefully Listening Looks Like Sounds Like • making eye contact • nodding • leaning toward speaker • one person talking • quiet • “Um” “OK” • “Are you saying …?”

29. - - - - Example 2：Praise each other - - -

30. How did you work in your group? Suggested Group Reflection Sheet 1. Did you help each other?   2. Did you speak softly?  3. Did you take turns to speak? 

33. EVALUATING INTERACTION The Attainments Self-Reflection Form

34. Six Principles to guide improvements in practice • Clear statement of learning objectives • Extended questioning during whole class discussion • More active pupil participation • Increased cooperation between pupils by working in pairs and groups • Less use of corrective and more informingfeedback • More use of the assessment for learning approach Whenever possible exploration precedes instruction and examples are situated in contexts that are meaningful to the pupils

35. Effect of Feedback Galton, 2010

36. Feedback • More informing, less corrective • Praises 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.

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

38. Six Principles to guide improvements in practice • Clear statement of learning objectives • Extended questioning during whole class discussion • More active pupil participation • Increased cooperation between pupils by working in pairs and groups • Less use of corrective and more informingfeedback • More use of the assessment for learning approach Whenever possible exploration precedes instruction and examples are situated in contexts that are meaningful to the pupils

39. Key questions in the use of the assessment for learningapproach • Were 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

40. Assessment for Learning • Timely feedback • Not 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 teacher’s teaching. • For adjusting teaching contents/strategies.

41. Assessment for learning approach • Assessment 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

42. CURRICULUM PEDAGOGY ASSESSMENT QUESTIONING ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING LEARNING OBJECTIVES PUPIL PARTICIPATION PAIR/GROUP WORK FEEDBACK Six Principles

43. Level : Primary 2 Module : Places and activities Reader : Cat and Dog at School No. 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.

44. Cat and Dog at School • Functions / Structures : • Use proper nouns to refer to places. • This is our music room. • 2. Use interrogative adverb “Where” to ask about location • Where 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 “mustn’t” to express obligations and • prohibitions. • We must follow the rules. • We mustn’t run in the library.

45. ModulePlaces and Activities UnitCat and Dog at School Task 1Facilities at school Task 2School rules

46. Cat and Dog at School • Generic Skills: • Critical thinking skills - evaluate others’ behaviour, and identify appropriate and inappropriate behaviour • 2. Self-management skills – learn to behave well at school • Values and Attitudes: • Self-discipline • Responsible • with a desire to learn • co-operative The learning objectives involve the development of pupils’ academic knowledge and social (interpersonal and communication) skills.

47. Task description Task 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.

48. Task description Task 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 couldn’t be done in the rooms. Tasks are situated in contexts which are meaningful for the pupils. e.g. We mustn’t eat in the library. We must keep quiet in the library.

49. Procedures of the tasks

50. Task 1 Shared reading ‘Cat and Dog at School’ Vocabulary activities Phonics /sh/ Vocabulary activity 4: Ordinal Number Hotel Vocabulary activity 2: Brainstorming activities at different places Vocabulary activity 1: Pelmanism (Places and pictures) Campus tour: Complete the school floor plan Vocabulary activity 3: Pelmanism (Places and activities) Grammar activity 1: Use simple present tense to describe habitual actions Task 1: Writing about the locations and activities in different rooms in the school