Project Experimental Teaching (beta)
Proposal
To set up a flexible and practical teaching resource able to assist any teacher in any subject to explore, develop and implement innovative and experimental teaching.
Background and anatomy Discussion wiki - have your say Slideshow (beta) Apply to be a PET
Budget
Experimenter 1 - Liz Boyden January 2008
Concepts
- To develop teaching-technician innovators - people comfortable with teaching, supporting teaching and getting technology to work.
- To demonstrate innovative teaching methods, technologies and use of technologies.
- To assist teachers to develop new approaches to teaching
- To deploy innovative teaching methods in most "classrooms" and areas of the college
- To assist and support teachers in delivering new teaching ideas in the "classroom"
- To work across boundaries, develop pan area relationships and whole college attitudes
- To Be highly practical - focus on action and delivery rather than reports.
- To apply both to student AND staff learning
- To be fully open - lessons, publications and comments to be accessible by anyone
- To operate on short cycles
Specifics
Application open to anyone and everyone at the college (academic, admin etc)
Application and selection by web 2 example page and by presentation\Interview.
Initial trial at Hammersmith and later trial at all sites - to use Hammersmith to debug the process.
The experimenters will need to be able to work with teachers, IT staff trainers, the web development team, IT technicians and subject teachers.
Project to operate on 4 to 8 week sessions
Resources
IT services to provide:
Necessary hardware - Laptops, cameras, webcams, data projector, new web access devices etc
Innovation fund to provide:
Up to two full time seconded members for a 4 to 8 week session.
Funding
The PET project will provide funding to cover those seconded to the project.
Up to £10,000 is requested to provide cover for two seconded members for up to 8 weeks. Release of funding once candidates and secondment dates arranged. Rational
It is very difficult to get together the knowledge, skills, experience and environment to try new teaching techniques. The project aims to provide anyone interested in teaching a topic with full assistance in experimenting with new ways of doing so. We will provide specialists to assist in developing and delivering the session from initial thoughts through to "classroom" assistance.
The possibility exists that there are teachers in the college with considerable personal experience of the social networking tools (messaging/blogs/wikis/social bookmarking etc) which will form the basis for technologically driven learning in the near future. Because these technologies/practices are now freely available and have been massively adopted by our students there are few technological barriers to us adopting this practice now. This project aims to support and enable this cultural shift.
We are looking for a cultural development by developing our community, its relationships across areas and offer opportunity for staff development and innovation. Those seconded into the project will have the freedom to experiment with new ideas and to develop their skills in teaching, IT and management. Those helped by the project will have the opportunity to develop their own teaching experience knowledge and skills.
By setting the project as independent 8 week full-time sessions we are hoping to keep the project fresh, relevant, effective and involve more people. Each project session can be regarded like a "franchise" so that each session will have a different "flavour". Risks and funding issues will be reduced by shorter sessions.
Comparisons with existing provision
PET - this is a full time project focused on experimenting with and developing new teaching approaches not affiliated with any specific area
Staff Trainers - these are full time with a broad training brief including Window applications and the MLE
ILT Champions and Subject coaches - these are embedded offering a limited hours per week development in specific areas
Management
The project is not embedded in any particular area and is of strategic importance. It is suggested that the project and it's team report to the deputy principle.
Impact of the project to be assessed after each 8 week session before agreement to fund further project sessions.
Project bid approval once sufficient interest established from potential members and from potential recipients
Outcomes
The entire project from development to outcomes is to be transparent, public and developed with Web2 tools - progress, successes and failures will be in the public domain.
The project is aiming to produce:
- daily blogs from project members and the students/class groups they work with
- on-line lesson examples - templates that can be used and adapted by others
- on-line materials to help and guide people and staff regarding tools
- a set of "up-skilled" teachers who have used the experiment
- a small number of "enhanced" staff members who have worked in the experiment
- creation of a project framwork that can evolve indpendently of it's members
- Cultural intangibles - awareness of new techniques, will to experiment and develop
Delivery
Delivery can take place in:
Standard classrooms (using mobile IT if necessary)
IT suites (using existin desktops)
LRC (using existing or mobile IT if necessary)
Staff training rooms
Staff common rooms and offices
Student common room and reception areas
Examples of use
Possible Applications
The methods mentioned here can be diffcult to get off the ground - the project will help anyone interested in trying these out in their subject.
Web 2 is the major focus of the project but experimentation with many methods with and without computers is included.
Application of Web 2
Learning in many areas can be invigorated by publication (show and tell) - this provides a focus and a sense of achievment independent of assessment. This can apply to staff and students learning.
Student Group Topics on the Web - A topic page could be set up, for a group of students to research information for, add links, videos, pics etc. The tutor acts as the mentor of the projects and can correct or edit information to create a final resource.
Simulation and Role Play
Dry run scenarios are helpful in preparing for real events, as a way of exploring topics and as a way of assessing performance.
Quizzes
Creating quizzes on a topic is a good way of researching - instead of taking tests lerners can set tests and in a turnaround scenario learners can set teachers tests. There are Web 2 systems avaialable that allow simple multiple choice tests to be created on the net.
Problem based learning
The real world involves dealing with issues and problems - this should be a prart of education. Problem based learning can be used as a research method (where learners have to find out more in order to solve a problem) or at a later stage to confirm learning and demonstrate competence.
Learning Examples
Open learning sessions for staff and students in the LRC - create your own website
Staff training - create a wiki for your team
crate wiki essays open to peer commnt and review
Create a news report or documentary
Multimedia "essays"
Performing arts, media and art students publish pages on the net
