| Classroom Observation: Question 45: How were the loans
introduced to the students? |
Conclusion: Introductions were seen in 81% (21) of 26 observations. 100%
of the introductions focused on learning from the object; 90% (19) used the objects as the
central focus. 95% (20) of introductions also contained a teacher's work challenge.
Other elements of lesson introductions with loans included teacher and student
questions and discussion (66%) as well as observational drawing.
Summary of findings:
These results are based on observations in 26 classrooms. Elements
of an introduction to 21 lessons on loans:
- 100% Focus on learning that comes from the object (21)
- 95% Contain a teacher's work challenge (20)
- 90% Have the objects as a physical focus (19)
- 66% Include teacher's questions/discussion (14)
- 66% Include students' questions/discussion (14)
- 33% Have no additional props (7)
- 19% Involve students doing observational drawing (4)
Analysis of processes/outcomes used in the introduction:
- 38% 8 began with observation
- 19% 4 began with discussion
- 14% 3 began with questions
- 14% 3 began with written questions (86% - no writing)
- 5% 1 began with a student presentation
- 5% 1 began with the teacher explaining how to analyse objects
- 5% 1 began with an interactive display initiated by circulated fliers
- 33% 7 linked onto making deductions from the object (2 x written)
- 24% 5 linked onto an understanding that prepared them for the activity
- 24% 5 linked onto observation (2 included handling/1 writing/1 drawing)
- 9% 2 linked onto discussion
- 5% 1 linked onto written research in groups
- 5% 1 linked onto an oral description to the teacher
|
I did not see or hear about an introduction at the following schools:
1. School A
2. School C
3. School O
4. School P
5. School S
| Classroom Observation: Question 45: Individual Schools |
Key: A "user" is a school that already uses the loan service. A
"non-user" is a school that does not currently use the loan service.
1. School B: User: Primary
The teacher showed one object and proceeded to guide the students through a series of
questions which led to deductions based on the information gleaned from seeing the
artefact.
2. School D: User: Primary
The teacher introduced the lesson by asking the students about the different ways they
could get information about India in the past. When one of the many suggestions was the
museum, the teacher encouraged the children to think about how they learned from objects.
3. School E: User: Primary
The teacher began the lesson asking the students about food chains. She explained to
them that they will be using the loans to help them think through real food chains with
the loans as a focus and a worksheet as a guide. She introduced the three worksheets to
the students and then used one as an example to help her select the correct loans to draw
in the right boxes on the worksheet. All three worksheets were simple box and arrow
diagrams with a label or question underneath.
4. School F: User: Primary
The teacher presented the challenge of looking, writing about, discussing and drawing
the loans as a class in her absence. She said she would then come back at the plenary when
she expected them to describe the loans to her so that she could draw them on the
whiteboard.
5. School G: User: Primary
The students had already done a lot of work with the other loans previous to my visit.
The two boys I accompanied to the library where given a box of WWII buttons and badges and
an investigation sheet by the teacher. The printed sheet had a number of questions on it
which the students were to answer in full sentences in their writing books.
6. School H: User: Primary
Alison said that she put the loans on the table. The students then independently
organised themselves (getting their paper, etc.) to do observational drawing and mounted
their work. There was a big discussion session where they discussed each artefact in turn
asking "What can this tell us about the past".
7. School I: User: Primary
The teacher told me that they "… had started off by discussion and
observational drawing."
8. School J: User: Primary
The teacher began the lesson by sitting the class on the carpet and sitting on a low
table in front of them with the models in their boxes beside her. She led the session by
asking what a box might contain (the students had already done work with the models) and
then revealing the object. The children were given 30 seconds to a minute to talk about
the object with each other and then they were quiet and raised their hands to tell the
teacher details about what they saw.
9. School K: User: Primary
The lesson began with an introduction to the Kenyan artefacts from the
suitcase. Each of these were briefly introduced by the teacher with links into what the
children had learned already. The artefacts were then passed around the class who were
seated on the floor in front of the teacher. The teacher asked questions about each new
object and the children answered these questions by raising their hands and waiting to be
chosen to answer them. The teacher then moved the focus onto Kenyan animals. She used one
of the maps from the suitcase for discussion. This map showed Kenya and a number of
animals from a game reserve. The teacher asked questions about game reserves and then
brought the children's attention to pictures of specific animals on the map and to the
Kenyan carved animals on the tables next to her.
10. School L: Non-user: Primary
I was not there at the very beginning of the lesson, the introduction, but I
did see the loans taken out of their boxes and heard the students' surprised comments. The
students began with writing a list of questions that they needed to answer from the board
into their workbooks:
What is it?
What year/s was it built or used?
What provided the power to make it move?
What forces are acting upon the real thing when it is moving?
Write some questions about your object.
11. School M: Non-user: Primary
The teacher put the students' books onto the tables with instructions on a
separate sheet of what to do with the loans. This included things like drawing and writing
imaginative stories. The students sat down, read the sheets and began the work. The
teacher went round each table reiterating the objectives and going into more detail.
12. School N: Non-user: Primary
The teacher used them as a starting point for further research. For each loan
she asked the students what they wanted to find out about them. Each loan was the focus
for a whole class brainstorming session that resulted in a word web on the whiteboard.
These words reminded each group of the questions they wanted to find the answers to during
the main activity.
13. School Q: User: Secondary
At the beginning of the lesson, the teacher began to show the 8 assembled
students the prints in the loan box and asked a series of questions about them to enable
the students to explore the works. She was aiming to help them to see what might be
distinctive about landscape pictures. Because of the short attention span of some of the
students, she limited this exploration to two of the four prints before moving them on to
individual work.
14. School R: User: Secondary
The evaluation of the art project records:
To introduce the aims of the project and the artefacts.
Brief demonstrations of the batik process and examples from textile designs
15. School T: User: Secondary
The teacher created labels for all the artefacts that are displayed in the
library. She made and sent fliers to all the tutor groups notifying them of the days there
will be a display and inviting them to come
16. School U: User: Secondary
The students were encouraged to look at the bead patterns on the Native
American artefacts and to interpret them or use them as an inspiration for patterns in
paint and pastels.
17. School V: Non-user: Secondary
The primary school students were ushered into the secondary school's library space
where there was an arc of chairs for them to sit on. In front of the semi-circle was a
table with an overhead projector. Behind the table was a projector screen. Secondary
students made presentations to the primary students in small groups covering different
topics related to the Tudors and Stuarts such as: home life; the poor; food; costume and
marriage; and school.
18. School W: Non-user: Secondary
I entered the lesson about 20 minutes after it started. During this time, the
teacher said she was settling them down in their places to focus on looking at Native
American images from their books. The teacher and aid opened the loans while the students
were in the process of drawing.
19. School X: Non-user: Secondary
The teacher handed the boxes to me and said to the class "She is going to
introduce some objects to you." The teacher suggested that I sit with consecutive
groups of students and observe how they explore the Roman artefacts at the end of their
study on the Roman Empire. I decided not to say much but simply observe what the students
did and said about the objects. While the bulk of the class group was focusing on other
work, the teacher organised 3 -5 students to come to the table where the loan boxes were
placed for the duration of about 5 minutes per group. Andrew then continued with helping
other students with their work.
20. School Y: Non-user: Secondary
The lesson began with the teacher showing the students how to construct a chart on a
piece of sugar paper which he said would enable them to interpret an artefact. The chart
consisted of 3 concentric circles labelled 'describe', 'interpret', 'what is it? which
period of history is it from?'
21. School Z: Non-user: Primary
At the beginning of the lesson, the teacher asked the students questions about the
skeleton loan that they had looked at two weeks previous. She then divided the 10
children into two groups. One explored the skeleton again with the oversight of an
aid who was new to the classroom that day. The other group stayed on the carpet
with the teacher and investigated a suitcase loan of shoes that they had not seen
before.
| Chart showing inclusion of various elements in each school's
introduction to loans: Key:
Teacher Q is teacher discussion and questions
Challenge is the inclusion of a teacher given work challenge
Student Q is student discussion and questions
Drawing is student observational drawing
Handling is using the objects as a physical focus
Focus is centring on learning that comes directly from the object
| School |
Teacher Q |
Challenge |
Student Q |
Drawing |
Handling |
Focus |
| 1 |
n |
n |
n |
y |
n |
n |
| 2 |
n |
n |
n |
y |
y |
n |
| 3 |
n |
n |
n |
y |
n |
n |
| 4 |
y |
n |
n |
n |
n |
n |
| 5 |
n |
n |
y |
y |
n |
n |
| 6 |
y |
n |
y |
n |
n |
n |
| 7 |
n |
n |
n |
n |
n |
n |
| 8 |
n |
n |
n |
y |
n |
n |
| 9 |
n |
n |
n |
y |
n |
n |
| 10 |
n |
n |
y |
y |
n |
n |
| 11 |
n |
n |
y |
y |
n |
n |
| 12 |
n |
n |
n |
y |
n |
n |
| 13 |
n |
n |
n |
y |
n |
n |
| 14 |
n |
n |
n |
y |
n |
n |
| 15 |
n |
n |
y |
y |
y |
n |
| 16 |
y |
n |
y |
n |
n |
n |
| 17 |
y |
y |
n |
y |
n |
n |
| 18 |
y |
n |
n |
y |
n |
n |
| 19 |
y |
n |
y |
y |
n |
n |
| 20 |
y |
n |
y |
y |
n |
n |
| 21 |
n |
n |
n |
y |
n |
n |
|
|
