Readers response 4: Content-based Learning Technologies Portfolio (HOTS)
In this blog post I will focus on the higher order thinking skills (HOTS). In Bloom´s Taxonomy these are the last six categories: analyzing, evaluating and creating. The higher order thinking skills are the more complex ways of thinking and learning. I would do the upcoming activity in a 7th grade classroom.
I have chosen an activity that is based on the following higher order thinking skill: creating. Creating is about putting elements together to create a whole (Anderson, et.al, 2001, p. 84). The students will be asked to produce, videotape and edit a short commercial for a product chosen within the group. This activity requires that the students work together to create a good story that is obtainable when it comes to production. They need to bring out their creativity and ideas so that their end product can become as imaginative and fun as possible. When they have finished their planning and producing of the commercial, they will get the opportunity to borrow a camera owned by the school to videotape it. When each group are finished videotaping the commercial, they will have some time to edit their work. When it is all done, we will show each commercial in class, and the students will get the opportunity to provide feedback. The activity will be too extensive to finish in one class, so this will probably be a project the students will be able to work with within several English lessons throughout a month (given that they have four (or more) English lessons in a month).
The second language and content objectives of this task are the following:
- “To
initiate, continue and finish up conversations about own interests and current
topics”
- “To express oneself in a understandable manner with a varied vocabulary and courtesy expressions adapted to the recipient and the situation”
- “Explore and use pronunciation patterns and words and expressions in play, singing and role play” (Udir, 2020)
The students will be accessing cameras and computers (with a simple editing program) as the technological resources for this activity.
A
step-by-step outline of the learning activity using the into-through-beyond
framework:
1. The
into phase (one English lesson)
The teacher introduces the students to the
upcoming activity. The students are explained what is expected of them and what
frameworks they need to stick to. They are told where they can find the
different equipment for the project and how to use everything. For what is left
of the lesson, the students can go together in their groups and start planning
for the commercial
2. The
through phase (two English lessons)
Now the students will start videotaping the
commercial. When they have the material they need, they need to edit it into
the commercial they wish to show the rest of the class.
3. The
beyond phase (one English lesson)
When everyone´s finished with their commercial,
it´s time to show each video in plenary. After each video, the groups can
express how they felt about making the videos and some thoughts around the
project. The others can then provide feedback on the groups commercial ideas
and say something about their thoughts on the end results (bear in mind that the
teacher should mention that the pupils feedback should be kind and positive in
advance).
The teacher
will see the videos together with the groups when they have all finished.
She/he will be able to assess the student based on the content of the videotapes.
Were the language -and content objectives achieved?
The focus
of this task is mainly the students´ English skill development. However, it is
worth mentioning that a lot of other points could also be assessed by the end
of this task (for instance social skills). How do the children cooperate within
their groups, how do they distribute different tasks and how well do they
communicate with each other?
To be able
to do this task, it is important that the teacher gives the students a proper
introduction to the use of the equipment. In addition, the children need to
feel confident enough about their writing skills and vocabulary so they can
write a full manuscript for the commercial. Orally, they should be able to
speak freely and clearly.
References:
- Utdanningsdirektoratet (2020) Engelsk (ENG01-04) Kompetansemål og vurdering. Found 29.01.20 on: https://www.udir.no/lk20/eng01-04/kompetansemaal-og-vurdering/kv3
- Anderson,
L. W., Krathwohl, D. R., & Bloom, B. S. (2001). A taxonomy for learning,
teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom's taxonomy of educational
objectives. London: Pearson.
