Group Working
"We [teachers] were the only ones who opened the computer - and we placed - and we showed - the Ministry of Education CD. Now children have begun to work together; some of the students have taught a lesson to the whole class... I began to use co-operative learning."
(Saraa, project teacher, Cairo)
The activities and examples used in the DEEP professional development materials strongly encourage the use of group working. This approach is also modelled when teachers come together for training. There is a broad base of theory and research that strongly suggests learning is most effective where learners are able to develop their ideas and practices together. There is also a pragmatic value for DEEP, in that group work enables teachers to make maximum use of a small number of digital devices by a larger number of pupils.
Another dynamic is also reported by some of the teachers. Teachers in DEEP have a number of digital devices (one lap top, a hand held computer and digital camera each and one all-in-one printer/scanner/photocopier) and know that they must use them with their learners. None of the devices can be used didactically with classes of forty to sixty learners: it would not be possible to show things to the entire class on one laptop or a few handhelds. This dilemma leads many teachers to two practice changing conclusions: firstly, that they are going to have to put the tools in the learners hands, and secondly, that some groups of learners must work together using the digital devices, whilst others are engaged in 'non-digital' activities. The constraints imposed by using the technology in this way, means that teachers have to move away from didactic teaching and develop alternative models of practice.
Case Study: Saraa
At the outset of the DEEP project, Saraa's teaching (in a crowded inner city Cairo classroom) had consisted solely of didactic, whole-class presentation, together with question and answer routines. Her newly developed ability to obtain and make resources - as well as carefully planning for their use - facilitated new forms of classroom activity. Students make presentations of their work to the whole class using the computer and linked OHP; they also take turns to use the computer in pairs or small groups while the rest of the class are working in their books. (You can find out more about Saraa's experiences in Case Study 2, in Chapter 4 of the project report 'DEEP Impact')
Case Study: Peter & Connie
The research team observed Peter (a project teacher in the Eastern Cape) teaching a science lesson in which groups of students took turns to access a specified web site and carry out research and cloze activities using the laptop. Each group took turns of 30 minutes or so each across the morning (August 2002). This was a highly effective lesson in terms of student learning and engagement. Peter and his project partner Connie also developed a highly innovative mixture of group work and active whole class participation, which led to their learners producing the animated multi-media story 'How the Giraffe got its long neck'. You can view this story on the Participants' page of this web site (Eastern Cape - Good Shepherd School).
