Blogpost 1: How ICT is infused in a lesson in Northbrooks Secondary School

I had the opportunity to plan and carry out a lesson using ICT. Prior to this ICT lesson, students were instructed to go home and read up on the chapter. During the lesson, the students were also encouraged not to use the textbook as far as possible. Even when they did, copying was not allowed. They were often required to use their own words to explain the points that they raised.

The lesson was planned using the pedagogy of collaborative learning. The objective of the lesson was to enable students to understand and explain the factors how Stalin’s 5- year plans affected the people in the USSR. As such, the lesson was divided into four questions in four forums.

Prior to lesson, students were first divided into groups, with my mentor and I doing the arrangements. Stronger students in the subject were placed together with the weaker ones. There were four groups. Each group was to discuss one particular question in one forum for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, they were to move to the next forum and carry out a discussion on the forum regarding the new question given. These instructions were given out to the class for about 10 minutes before they began their work.

Students were required to ask questions of the opinions and points raised by their own group members. This was to stimulate further discussion and debates on the forum. Each student was also required to post at least 3 posts to prevent laziness and idle chatter. This also allowed them to clarify any queries with their peers and learn from each other based upon the points they raised up.

My mentor and I observed their discussions and intervened when we felt that the topic was going off tangent. That way, with two teachers, the discussion remained focused and did not veer out of point.

By the end of the lesson, each group could explain the reasons and answers to the questions in the 2 forums that they have discussed in the hour. The next lesson will be conducted in the same way and the groups will be rotated through the questions that they have not addressed. Following these two lessons, the students will be given a worksheet to work on to assess their understanding of the topic.

Students displayed a more enthusiastic attitude towards learning online. It brought a very different environment and approach to the conventional setting of a classroom. Though they engaged in idle chatter at times, they were given a lot more time to discuss with one another on the forum and also prepare the questions they wish to ask in proper English. They also displayed more confidence in typing out their queries and asking their peers on their own opinion as compared to a classroom setting. On the whole, the students enjoyed this self-learning process and displayed a stronger willingness to learn about the topic. Students largely understood what their peers were referring and what they were explaining on the forum. Their questioning of their own peers displayed such understanding.