3.4 Select and use resources
Demonstrate knowledge of a range of resources, including ICT, that engage students in their learning.
As stated in Standard 1.2, the rapid advancement of technology has brought about significant change to education, especially with regards to teaching resources. According to Sen and Agir (2014), academic success is directly proportional to the quality of the teaching materials used by educators. In the context of literacy, educators need to ensure that children are exposed to and develop an understanding of new materials such multimodal texts, so that they are fully prepared for literacy in the 21st century (Fellowes & Oakley, 2014; Wray & Medwell, 2008). In the classroom, the implementation of technological devices is making the learning process more memorable for students, while allowing teachers to access more resources. Interactive whiteboards (IWB), for instance, are often readily available and help teachers to operate in a more interactive manner while enriching lessons visually. Interactive whiteboards have also been found to be very effective in promoting whole-class learning where interactions between students are favoured over that of teacher-to-student-interactions (Maher, 2011). This research contributed significantly to the creation process of the eBook, “Charlie, the Colourful Contraction Caterpillar”. Rather than rely on teacher-directed instruction, the eBook was purposefully designed to include narration that interacted with students to direct learning activities. This allowed me to engage with students purely in a facilitator capacity, while they collaborated and participated in activities.
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Upon completion of the eBook, students were required to construct their own contraction caterpillar using the graphic organiser template provided. The graphic organisers (caterpillar body part) were designed to highlight the process that takes place when forming a contraction: “to make a contraction, we take two longer words (caterpillar legs) and contract them into one shorter word (caterpillar body). We put an apostrophe in the place of the letter or letters that have been removed to make the contraction” (eBook video).
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When used for intentional and explicit instruction, graphic organisers can be an effective teaching strategy for young learners. Due to their visual nature, graphic organisers are very effective in capturing and maintain the interest of young students (McDermott, 2012). The way in which information is arranged shows clear links between concepts and has been found to bridge the gap between the prior knowledge of learners’ and new information (Coburn, 2003). Students demonstrated proficient understanding of the intended learning intention while completing the accompanying contraction caterpillar activity. The use of textual, kinaesthetic, graphic organisers maintained students’ engagement and boost motivation. All students made positive and insightful contributions throughout the activity and produced work samples of a high standard.
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References
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Coburn, D. G. (2003). Using graphic organizers. Science Scope, 27(1), 46-48. Retrieved from ProQuest.
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Fellowes, J., & Oakley, G. (2014). Language, Literacy and Early Childhood Education. Victoria: Oxford University Press.
Maher, D. (2011). Teaching literacy in primary schools using an interactive whole-class technology: facilitating student-to-student whole-class dialogic interactions. Technology, Pedagogy, and Education, 21(1), 137-152. Retrieved from Taylor & Francis Onlline.
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McDermott, M. J. (2012). Using graphic organizers in preschool. Teaching Young Children, 5(5), 29-31. Retrieved from ProQuest.
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Sen, M., & Agir, A. (2014). The effects of using an interactive white board in teaching english on the achievement of primary school students. Hasan Ali Yücel Egitim Fakültesi Dergisi​, 11(2), 39-54. Retrieved from ProQuest.
Wray, D., & Medwell, J. (2008). Primary English. London: SAGE Publications.
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