Developing SOLO in my classroom

During an Easter revision session I wanted to develop the use of SOLO not only for stand alone lessons bur for use from now until their exam at the end of May.  Using the Pam Hook book 'SOLO Taxonomy: A guide for schools' I searched out for a way to use SOLO for section B of the AQA GCSE PE exam.  Section B consists of a scenario and then questions ranging from 2 - 8 marks available.  These questions could be from any topic within the GCSE spec.  The first thing I wanted to do was create a wordle of the scenario so the students would be able to pick out possible topics.

Once they had worked through this we then discussed possible questions which may appear in section B.  Using Kiplings questions (Thanks to @Davidfawcett27)  the students wrote their own questions about several topics 

I then introduced the Hot Solo Maps - to do this I again used the wordle of the scenario and looked at the mind map they had produced this showed understanding in a prestructural form.  I then got each student to pick out one topic to concentrate on.  For example they may have picked out training methods.  They would then show their understanding of the topic in general forming closer to a unistructural understanding.  In the third box I then asked the students to relate it back to David and how training methods affect him.  This showed more of a relational understanding of the topic and would ensure higher marked when answering the questions requiring extended pieces of writing. 

Finally I asked the students to link a further topic to the idea meaning the students are able to develop their answers and are in the extended abstract phase of their understanding.

Next Steps

During the next six weeks I intend to continue to use the hot maps so the students eventually build up a bank of answers showing deeper learning which will mean the students will achieve a better grade in the longer questions.

The SOLO taxonomy learning is something which is relatively new to me but I can only see positives from it.  It lends itself to allowing the students to work independently and also with regards to scripting longer answers in the exam.

I am planning on using this as an example at the Barnsley TeachMeet as I a feel this type of  SOLO has got potential to transfer into all subjects.

Jigsaw Collaboration

This was idea was given to me through twitter (As is the majority of my recent lesson developments!)  I wanted to cover quite a large chunk of the spec (AQA GCSE PE) in a short time but i didn't want it to turn out to be a 'chalk and talk lesson'.  Watching the following YouTube video I began to plan a jigsaw collaboration lesson.

 The video is really simple and explains clearly what you need to do.  As the students are working in 'expert groups' it allows for you to move around the room and question the students and deepen their understanding.  It also allows for students to become experts in certain aspects  of the learning and they are able to pick out key areas of the learning.  This enables students to become independent learners and they also become the teachers as they develop ideas with their peers.

As this lesson took place I did very little in terms of 'teaching' I was there to support and develop students but not as a traditional teacher.  As you are aware from the title of my blog this is something I am trying to develop in my classroom.  This did take a lot of planning because I wanted to provide for every possible situation.  However the reward for this planning was clear when you saw the students working and the fact they were still engaged in the learning and topic walking out of the lesson (90 minutes later) was a testament to the learning strategies used.

Happy Easter to you all

First Attempt at SOLO Learning

As a teacher of PE I feel it is important to promote independent learning wherever possible.  I always structure my practical lesson in a fashion which allows me to set tasks which will show the students making progress and also build up their confidence in the sport which we are doing.  However this is something, which on reflection, I could improve on my theory side of things.  My GCSE group are fast approaching their exam. Previous exam analysis has shown that students in the main have not got the highest grades because they do not answer the longer questions because they do not look at the bigger picture of what the question is asking.  To help combat this I spoke to an AST in school (@JaneH271) who pointed me in the direction of SOLO taxonomy. 

The lesson I choose to trial SOLO was a lesson about Health and Safety, with particular focus on clothing, equipment and footwear.  Rather than introducing the topic I simply gave the students a picture to act as a stimulus for the topic.  The students then went to work annotating the picture with any details they could think of, this is what is termed as the preconstructral phase as the details have no link and therefore only show shallow thinking.  I then introduced the hexagons as a way of linking the learning, this was the only time i modelled the process as I gave an example of how it can link to other topics within the GCSE PE spec.

As the students went about setting up their hexagons I walked around the room and questioned students to ensure their understanding was there.  I was amazed at how the students began to form links and the hexagons began to branch off into different directions and moving more towards the extended abstract phase which would ensure students have a better understanding of the topic and what the examiner is looking for.