A teachers guide to using literacy, language, numercacy and ICT

In the last few blogs we have looked at lots of different ways to improve the way we all do things in the classroom and this last post will add the cherry on the cake!



Now, something every learner will need you to do, no matter what the subject you teach, is provide them opportunities to practise their literacy, language, numeracy and ICT skills. This should be done in every session and is mainly done by using different teaching and learning techniques.

We're going to start a virtual course, this will give us a chance to look at different ways of improving literacy, language, numeracy and ICT - the course we're going to use, in homage to the illustration above, is Cupcake Decorating Course.



So, you're now a Cupcake decorating tutor, what can you do to introduce functional skills to your course, you really need to think about two things, your teaching and learning techniques and assessment.

So, here goes.....

A quiz works in a few different ways, not only does it assess the learners it also helps imparts literacy.



This could be done throughout the course as it is important to monitor learners progress. For example it could be used as initial assessment to find out how much learners know about cupcake decorating, there then could be a quiz once a week to assess how the learners are getting on. This improves the the learners literacy as they have to read the questions and write the answers.

Card matching game will also improve literacy of the learners. For this course, learners could match combination of flavours for example - mint and chocolate (a personal favourite!) Or, the learners could match different decorating techniques they think would look good.


Presentations may sound daunting, but they help in so many different ways.



 Setting your learners research presentation topics will impart both literacy and language. In this course the topic could be something along the lines of - You are producing cupcakes with a theme of the Queens Jubilee, you have to produce 12 cupcakes with 6 different flavours or designs - what would they be?



Learners would have to research different things surrounding the theme etc, this would help embed literacy and ICT skills through the research and by potentially producing a PowerPoint presentation. It also embeds language as the learners will have to present their creations to the rest of the group. This could also be used as a good assessment method for the tutor.

A tutor led group discussion is another way of imparting language as it allows the learners to discuss a topic giving there views and opinions. This could be part of the project mentioned above, the tutor could ask for initial ideas and the group would talk about these ideas and get some constructive feedback.

We've already looked at one option of including ICT skills in  your session, research. This is a valuable technique as it increases the knowledge of the learners and increases the functional skills. It is also really good for independent learning.

In this course there are a few things that you can use to improve ICT. One option would be creating a spreadsheet in Excel.



This could be used to work out quantities of ingredients and help to keep within budgets. For example a budget could be set and the Excel chart could be used to keep a record of what you've bought and how much this cost. Different scenarios could be used, for example if you were to make X amount of cakes what quantity of ingredients would be needed and how much would it cost. So in this exercise not only would you embed ICT skills by using Excel and working out Excel formula's, you would also be embedding numeracy skills.

So, what do you need to remember when you're teaching any course, functional skills! You're not just teaching them new things about your subject - you have to include ways to improve the learners functional skills.

A teachers guide to assessment

When you say the word assessment - learners straight away think exam!


But - it doesn't always have to be that, there are lots of ways for you, the tutor, to assess your learners and even ways your learner's can assess themselves.

Assessment starts as soon as you make contact - this could be an initial conversation at an open evening. This allows you to speak to the learner to see if the course is at the right level, what they want from it etc. This is known as informal initial assessment
If your course doesn't have an open evening or taster day the first way you can assess your learners is through an enrolment form. You can find a lot about your learners from this form - qualifications, experience, if they have an extra needs. This kind of assessment is formal initial assessment. This allows you to see if your learners have any extra needs - for example one of your learners may need to record a voice recording instead of writing an essay.

Setting individual goals is an excellent thing to do at this stage, as some learners may not learn at the same pace - this will motivate learners to reach there own individual goal.

It is important to assess your learners all the way through the course and not just at the end of your course -


but don't worry, it won't leave your learners pulling their hair out!

Assessment throughout the course is called formative and allows the teacher and the learner to see their progress as the course goes on, this helps meets the needs of the learners

Something as simple as question and answer is a great way if assessing your learners


The great thing about this is they don't even feel like they're being put to the test. If you're asking questions to the learners about the subjects you've been teaching then you are assessing how much they have taken in. A really good time to do this is at the end of the session to see if your learners have reached your SMART objectives.


Peer and self assessment are a great way of involving learners as it allows them to give constructive feedback.




Peer assessment really helps the rapport of the group as they are working together by giving constructive criticism and points for development - both of these things are really important!

No one likes being told they're wrong!

You've spent hours grafting away on an essay, you hand it in and you get told it's all wrong - how demotivating!

This is why it's really important that the learners give points of development, not criticism. Point of development will help the learners improve, where as criticism doesn't help anyone! Peer assessment helps both the learners reflect on what they are doing well in and their own strengths by taking positives from the work.

It is really hard to look at your own work and find ways you can improve - again, don't forget you are not looking for fault, you are looking at your work in a constructive way, looking for ways you can develop. 

So remember, it is important to include your learners in assessment through peer and self assessment, make sure you're meeting their needs and make sure you try hard to make assessment less scary!!

A teachers guide to selecting the right resources

It's really important for us tutors to make sure we have the right resources for all your learners, like I stated in my last blog - not all learners are the same.

So today we're going to look how you select the right resources for your learners.



Computers and the internet are brilliant! They open up so many different avenues of resources. Podcasts and Vodcasts are a great way to catch your learners imaginations and getting information across. A Podcast is a voice recording, this gives you the oppurtunity for you to talk about certain topics rather than just writing them. Feeling confident you could do a Podcast, well how about giving a Vodcast a go, this is when you record yourself and make it available online. These can be used in a great way, how about interviewing a specialist in your given field, filming it and posting it online, you could even encourage learners to put forward questions too.

These kind of things can be linked through social media pages such as Twitter or Facebook that have been set up for your specific course.

Blogs! You're reading one now, do you think you can write a Blog? Do it, there are so many different and creative ways you can chose from and the internet makes it so much easier.
Power point is a great resource to have readily available. For the tutor it can be a good tool as it allows you to clearly show the learner your aims and objectives of the session, it is also good to be able to give the learners your PowerPoint presentation so they can make notes. This allows the them to make notes as you are going through the slides.

But there is one thing you remember - if you see this.......




you've used too many slides, no one likes death by PowerPoint!



Handouts are a great resource to use as it is something that the learners can take away with them, this can be a recap of something you have already covered, something that emphasises a point you have made or something that is guaranteed a groan, homework!



These handouts will act as revision tools for assignments or exams later on in the course.

Something that is useful to remember is that you need to make your resources inclusive, you need to find out if your learners have specific needs - for example a  learner may be visually impaired, so it may be a good idea to print it in larger font or let the learner have the handouts prior to the lesson.

Find out about your learners! Do they need any specific resource?


Remember what I said in my last blog - people learn in different ways and this is something else you need to remember when selecting your resources. You need resources that will help support every learner in your group - Visual (PowerPoint) auditory (video clips) reading and writing (card games) kinesthetic (demonstration).


It's important that if you're using different teaching techniques that you have everything you need to execute this. For example if you are using floating groups where learners move freely around the room and join in discussions with other learners. The Tutor has set questions on pieces of flip chart paper and the learners add their comments to these, you need to make sure you have everything you need - pens, flip chart paper etc.
The best way of making sure you have the right resources for your sessions is by writing a scheme of work and lesson plan. On these you will have timings, content of the lesson and most importantly, your resource list.

So what's the best way of selecting you resources - think about your learners and remember that everyone is different!

Teachers guide to inclusive learning.

Sometimes you might be scratching your head for new and inclusive teaching techniques.

But fear no more as we have some brilliant inclusive new techniques for you to take to the classroom.

Now, not everyone learns the same way - think back to when you were at school, some teachers got the best out of through the way they taught and other teachers just put a confused look on your face. VARK looks at learners preferences V= visual, A= aural, R= read/write K= Kinesthetic. Why not look at this website and find out what type of learner you are http://www.vark-learn.com/english/index.asp  You can even use this to find out what kind of learners your students are.

So here are some tips to try and suit every style of learning:

Visual   

Video and films are a great technique that can be used to emphasise points you are making. For example, if you were talking about long term effects of alcohol then you can show a video featuring people who have had there lives effected by alcohol. In cases like this it also helps if they are real life scenarios as it shows this can happen in everyday life.

Demonstration falls within two categories visual and kinisthetic. Some learners find seeing how something is done a lot easier. For example if you were on a mechanic course, you would show them how to change a tyre rather than talking them through it.

Aural

Aural could be described as a very pedagogical as it is very much learning through listening.

Lecture style is the tutor delivering information at the front of the class, this could also be mixed with question and answers, this way it is still aural but it involves the group at the same time.

Learner led group discussion is a technique that can be used where the you allow the learners to lead the discussion or learner led presentation is similar and allows the learners to research a topic and deliver it to a group.

Read and write

Delphi Technique is a great example of inclusive learning as it takes away the fear of answering incorrectly. Learners write their answer on a sticky note with all answers staying anonymous, this allows the tutor to get the consensus of the group.

Cloze is a __________  used where a portion of the ________ is missing. The learner must then ________ in the __________ word. Cloze tests require an element of knowledge and __________  in order to select the ____________ word.

understanding                 text                     missing                fill           blank            technique



Kinesthetic

Learners can take up an acting role part in a role play, this could be used to demonstrate how they would react in a real life situation.

Demonstrations and practical activity are skills based tasks or the tutor showing the learners how to do something, a great way to break up your lessons.

Something you also need to do is to make sure your class is inclusive for any physical disabilities that learners may have, this goes from room layout and any activities that you have planned.

This kind of information can be obtained through initial assessment such as an enrolment form. Once this has been done, it might be necessary to have a chat with the learner about what there needs would be. They might not need a lot of support but may be necessary to change some of your activities to make sure everyone can take part.

So, remember, not everyone learns in the same way so it is really important to include lots of different learning techniques to make it an inclusive learning environment.