Rationale
Mr. Togs the Tailor has had a distinct influence on the
learning environment that I try to create in the classroom. No, he
was not a fine artisan noted for his tweed jackets with leather
elbow patches but a character created by a primary 2 class in a
thematic study. This context-based learning was featured in the
Scottish Consultative Council on the Curriculum document Mr. Togs
the Tailor-A Context for Learning. Documents such as this and Some
Aspects of Thematic Work (SCCC) championed the thematic approach
to learning when I was a student in the early nineties. It is, Mr.
Togs then, who is responsible for the contextualising of the
curriculum that I offer the children and for a colleague of mine
appearing as Scrooge at the Christmas Party (thanks Gordon), The
Rainbow People, Mr & Mrs Litterbug and for the context about
which I will now expand.
Creating context HTML based learning
environment
One of my favourite authors is Charles Dickens so when I was
faced with an environmental studies project on the Victorians I
was very keen to convey the enthusiasm I have for his writing in a
relevant and exciting context. I decided to create a context using
Adobe PageMill that would introduce The Ghost of Charles Dickens
to the children. The idea I had was that The Ghost of Charles
Dickens, via the PC, would direct the childrenís learning. The
class came in one afternoon and was left to see if they would
notice the following message on the screen...
| Hello,
Hello!!!
Is there anyone out there?
If anyone is out there and can read this
please click HERE
|
Someone did notice the message and before long this strange
scenario was the focus of class intrigue.
|
Thank goodness somebody got my message!
Allow me to introduce myself...
|
 |
My name is Charles Dickens. Yes, I know
that may seem hard to believe but I am Charles
Dickens, the famous Victorian novelist. I think some of
you may know of some of my stories, particularly one about
a man named Ebenezer Scrooge.
What was that book called?
Click HERE
to get the answer. |
|
_Yes, I may be dead, but like many of my stories I am
alive in spirit. I understand you are about to study the
Victorians. Is that correct Mr Robertson?
Click HERE if that
is correct. I think it might be!
|
I had set the context so that it would build on something that
the children already knew about Charles Dickens, i.e. he wrote A
Christmas Carol.
|
Good! Well I am willing to help you explore this
project if you wish. You may well ask why I want to do
this. Well I will tell you.
The Victorian times were good times for many people but
tough times for many, many more. I wrote about the
difference in peoplesí lives in my novels.
During our journey together you will find out what it
was like to be at school, what kind of work you would have
been expected to do and what kind of toys you would have
played with in these times. You will also find out about
some famous Victorian people and how many of the Christmas
customs the Victorians had are still alive today.
Click HERE for your
first assignment.
|
They followed the on screen instructions and came to the first
introductory assignment.
|
Assignment 1
Find out why the Victorian times got this name and when
they were.
Click here for
an answer
|
I had them in that instant. This was not just another exercise
with Mr. Robertson but something mysterious that was worthy of
further investigation and it just so happened that Mr. Robertson
had the materials ready that would allow them to complete this
exercise!
One of the girls used PageMill to create a response to the
first assignment.
Some of the more mature children had deduced that I was
responsible for this set-up but were willing to go along with the
fun. The others were rather unsure of how I had managed to get in
touch with The Ghost of Charles Dickens but were particularly
motivated by the whole scenario. All the children were keen to see
what Charles Dickens had in store for them next.
Other Context based Activities
The activities were designed so that the children could learn
about and learn through ICT. My key learning focus was
environmental studies based but would allow me to develop certain
areas of English Language and also webpage construction.
|
Assignment 2
Mr. Robertson is going to introduce you to a novel of
mine called, Nicholas Nickleby. In it I created a nasty
character called Wackford Squeers. He was the schoolmaster
at a school for boys called Dotheboys Hall.
I want you to listen to the tape recording of his
description and draw your impression of what he would have
looked like.
|
|
Assignment 3
In the book there is a terrible scene where the boys
are given brimstone and treacle - a disgusting medicine of
the time that made you feel worse than you already were!
Listen to the tape recording of this scene then try the
following activity.
Draw or paint how you think that scene may have looked
How might that scene have looked?
|
|
Assignment 4
Imagine that you are one of the boys at Dotheboys Hall.
Write a letter to your parents telling them of the
happenings here. Do you like it here or do you want to
come home?
|
|
Dotheboy's
Hall
Dotheboys
Yorkshire
5th
November 1838
Dear mother
and father,
Dotheboys
Hall is a terrifying place to be. Some things here are
drastic and horrible. Human-beings should not be treated so
badly as they are treated here.
Ross is the
only person in the class that hasn't been hit with the cane.
One day the class was as cold as the Antarctic. Ross came
with just a t-shirt. His t-shirt was very thin and his teeth
started to chatter. He got sent into the corner. His teeth
began to chatter a thousand times a minute. It got louder,
Wackford Squeers screamed, "Come here!" Ross' lips
were blue, he was full of fear. Wackford Squeers hit him
with the cane for the first time. Wackford Squeers hit Ross
so badly that he went blind.
Please come
and get me and take me away from this place. I'm begging you
with my life.
Love
from
Paul
|
How successful was this approach?
Although I did not deliver this entire topic via this medium I
found that the motivation levels engendered by Charlesí Ghost
were distinctly obvious. The context related work produced by the
children was of a particularly high standard and there is also
strong evidence that the children have shown greater retention of
the learning achieved under the tutelage of The Ghost of Charles
Dickens.
Because the context and the activities were tailored to create
a relevant and meaningful learning experience the children were
able to empathise with the conditions in a Victorian school. I
felt that the context created significantly helped to achieve the
attainment outcomes I had planned for. It also made the learning
fun and exciting for the children.
Developing and extending this approach
The learning environment in this topic was targeted at
developing an empathy with the conditions in Victorian schools. I
plan to further develop this so that it is particularly relevant
to the cultural heritage of Dundee and its surrounding area. There
are two excellent museums that celebrate particular aspects of
Dundeeís cultural heritage. My intention is that I create
learning environments, within the context of ëCharlesí
ghostí, that are directly related to these establishments which
are:
Discovery Point
A museum built around Captain Scottís Antarctic exploration
ship, The Discovery, which was built in Dundee
Verdant Works
A working museum that documents Dundeeís rich association
with the textile industry.
Dundee City Council has appointed four ICT Staff Tutors (Primary)
who are responsible for supporting ICT in our primary schools, all
of which have been furnished with a local network and a suite of
software. Textease is one of the featured programs on this system
and is being used to great effect by many of our staff and pupils
at the moment. The intention is that we will use Textease to
create learning environments such as The Ghost of Charles Dickens
and that they will be readily available to teachers on their
individual school network.
I believe that as teachers we must be just as concerned with
how children retain their learning as we are with how they learn.
The arguments offered and successes achieved with characters such
as Mr. Togs and The Ghost of Charles Dickens have convinced me
that contextual learning is a tool that teachers, with a bit of
imagination, can utilise to great effect in order to facilitate
learning.
Links
Whitfield Primary School:
http://www.sol.co.uk/d/dpr/public_html
Dundee City Council:
http://www.dundeecity.gov.uk
Discovery Point
http://www.rrs-discovery.co.uk
http://www.verdant-works.co.uk
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