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Implementing group learning methods at Lanyon High has resulted in increased student participation, improved communication skills, and stronger relationships among students. Peer tutoring, practical lessons, placemat activities, and individual work on percentages have all contributed to creating a dynamic and interactive classroom environment. These methods cater to students of varying confidence levels and learning styles, fostering a sense of accountability and encouraging active participation. By utilizing diverse strategies, teachers at Lanyon High aim to engage students effectively and enhance their overall learning experience.
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Learning at Lanyon High B Davies
Groups • Previously students were seated around the classroom and were not participating well in the lesson. The structure of the class now makes all students accountable for the lesson and promotes positive relationships. • This method helps build relationships within the group and develops communication skills. • All students are benefiting from the working in this group situation. Even students who don’t feel comfortable discussing their work are becoming more involved and confident. • Students who are not confident are participating, and as a teacher I can help promote and develop stronger and more positive communication skills. • Most classes benefit from some group work. However, the small size of this class and having two teachers has made the task easier.
Peer tutoring • Previously shy students with low confidence have the opportunity to help others in the room. • The purpose of this learning is to develop student confidence and relationships in the classroom. Peer tutoring increases the mentors ability to articulate problems and answers to their peers. • Usually students with high levels of self confidence and extraverted personalities work well in this situation. However, we have managed to involve some of the less confident students with good results. • The strengths of this method are the development of relationships, confidence and communication skills. • This works best when you have an established class where the students are comfortable with each other and know the different personalities in the room.
Practical • Keeping learning active and diverse also helps keep it interesting. I try to make my lessons practical where possible so students can apply their knowledge to everyday situations. • With this learning I aim to keep students engaged by giving them practical applications for their work. • Most learners achieve good results in this situation. It does require students to be motivated as the work is mostly in groups and is self paced. • This method helps students see the relevance of the learning they do in the class room which also improves attitudes and behaviour in the lessons. • Change is good for the teacher and students. Working practically with units of work gives the students opportunities to discover, apply knowledge and learn for themselves.
Placemat • I find the placemat activity good for introductions to units. Individuals provide ideas around a individually. Then the group shares the ideas and writes a group definition or list in the middle. This summarises the best points from each group. • The aim for this learning to use individual ideas to create the best result for the group. Everyone has a say and the ideas are communicated to produce an agreed outcome. • This form of learning makes everyone accountable for the work. Each student can work to their potential contributing as little or as much as they like. • Strengths for this activity include providing all students with the ability to contribute. Everyone has the opportunity to give their thoughts and opinions on a topic and be heard. • I like to use placemats when introducing a subject to see what students already know about the topic.
Individual • Students are working individually on percentages. Prior to this we have discussed mental computation strategies to calculate 1% and 10%. This time provides students with the opportunity to visualise and practice calculating percentages. • This unit of work is based around the practical skills of finding percentages. We want the students to be able to calculate percentages around finance to help them in real world situations. • Most of the students in the room have low level mathematics skills. For this reason it is important that we continually ask students to share their answers with a partner and with the class otherwise they might not participate. We also like to get written explanations of how they do their work. • Individual work with this class is effective for 15 – 20 min a lesson maximum. Because of their low level numeracy skills they tent to have short attention spans and can only focus on an activity for short period of time.
