Using 'Odd
One Out' to Developing Thinking with ICT
Carrie Hoskinson and Michelle Frank
Langley First School
North Tyneside
We
undertook the work described in this case study during a Spring
Term. We work in a First School teaching a Year 2 and Year 4 classes.
The key focus for the work was to evaluate the use of ICT to further
develop children's thinking. We looked at the comparisons between
Key Stages for how the children developed their thinking skills
and whether ICT was an effective tool to support this.
Aims
Our
aim was to create a range of 'Odd-One-Out' activities on the computer
to develop children's thinking in Science, Literacy and Numeracy.
The thinking skills strategy is based on ideas in 'Thinking Through
Primary Teaching', though we were keen to see how the ideas could
be adapted for use with computers. We decided to use Microsoft's
Publisher as the children were reasonably familiar with the program.
We created a series of templates together so that we could incorporate
some differentiation and progression from Key Stage One to Key Stage
Two.
Science Activities
The
templates consisted of some pictures of a range of animals for the
children to choose and discuss the similarities and differences
between them. There was space provided on the template for the children
to write their reasoning behind their particular choices. The children
needed to choose the 'Odd One Out' in a series of pictures then
type in their reasons for this choice. As a secondary focus the
children were asked to develop this idea further and type their
reasons why the other pictures were similar. To develop the children's
thinking from Key Stage One and Key Stage two, the Year 4 template
included more animals and opportunities for the children to really
extend their understanding of the variety of animals and the differences
and similarities between characteristics, behaviour, habitat, prey
and young.
Literacy
Activities
Again
the templates were created by us collaboratively to ensure there
was some progression and continuity in the thinking skills required.
The activities were based around the National Literacy Strategy's
Framework for Teaching, particularly some aspects of word level
work and included a range of different spellings for the children
to discuss which could be the odd one out. For the children in Year
2 the spellings required the children to look at blends, letter
patterns, rhyme, initial and final sounds and vowel diagraphs. In
Year 4, the templates used had the potential for the children to
discriminate between word types including verbs and adjectives and
included a focus on alliterative vocabulary. The children used similar
techniques to find initially the 'Odd One Out' and justify their
choice and then discuss how the others in the set might be similar.
Numeracy Activities
The
templates were created to fit with the units to be covered in the
National Numeracy Strategy's Framework for Teaching Mathematics
and the focus year groups. The 'Odd One Out' template asked the
children to choose and justify their reasons for selecting the odd
one out and the similarities between the other numbers in the set.
Impact
We found that children in both Key Stage One and Two easily responded
to this approach undertaking Odd One Out activities at the computer
and using the templates to record their ideas. They could extend
their particular knowledge in each of the subjects that we used
and were able to justify their thinking. All of the children regardless
of their current level of attainment were able to participate successfully
in these activities. After a couple of sessions the children became
extremely motivated and enthusiastic and enjoyed the fact that there
was no specific set answer with a right or wrong solution. They
were able to discuss in groups their answers. This certainly helped
develop their speaking and listening skills, as they needed to clearly
justify to the rest of the group their choices and their reasoning.
All children were able to offer some ideas varying from basic visual
differences to more extensive and challenging comparisons and differences.
Debating, challenging of ideas, reaching a compromise, listening
to others, justifying choices were all observed in the working groups.
All children were aware that any one choice was as good as another
as long as their justifications clearly explained their choices.
Year
2 pupils working collaboratively over a Odd One Out activity
The
children worked in small groups, on the computer, and individually.
The children needed to be supported in the early stages as we discussed
with them the requirements of the task and techniques they could
use to decide upon their choices and justifications. For some children
their discussion and justifications proved fairly challenging but
with support and praise the children soon became more familiar with
this way of working. They enjoyed working in collaborative groups.
This pupil-led debate proved an excellent extension of their understanding
in the area of the scientific vocabulary and knowledge of the variety
of life: a subject covered in Year 2 and in greater depth in Year
4. The children were also able to use appropriate vocabulary and
could discuss properties of numbers, spelling patterns and other
aspects of science.
In
the number 'Odd One Out' activities the children's level of understanding
could be assessed from the responses that they gave. The children's
choices were very varied. Some chose basic differences such as number
of digits to more complex properties or reasons involving calculation
differences (one example for a reason was that one of the numbers
was the only one whose digits didn't add up to 8). The older children
were then asked to devise their own 'Odd one out' activities. This
task proved very successful in giving the children the opportunity
to extend their own thinking about the properties of numbers. They
needed careful planning and justification that the numbers could
be similar in some way but so that there could be several choices
for an 'Odd one out' too.
Their
justifications were not only an excellent method of achieving collaborative
work and extending their thinking, but it promoted assessment strategies
to let us evaluate each individual's knowledge and understanding
of the specific curriculum areas. The activities developed the children's
interpersonal skills; promoting an enquiring mind and capacity to
think rationally and to analyse their own solutions. The pupils
were developing criteria and were valuing each other's ideas while
developing confidence in their own judgements. From our standpoint
as teachers these collaborative (and in some cases individual) thinking
skills activities were a fantastic way of providing a stimulus for
discussion which generated debate through extending and assessing
the pupil's knowledge of the subject. Incorporating thinking skills
into the curriculum as a means of infusion rather than stand-alone
thinking activities can offer all children access to the curriculum
and the opportunity to achieve success. We think that these activities
have allowed the children in both key stages to have access to and
to develop their own strategies for thinking, promoting awareness
and control of their own thinking (metacognition).
Was
ICT the best medium to support these thinking skills activities?
The main aspect of ICT which we used initially in creating the templates
was the ability to make changes quickly and easily to develop a
series of tasks. These templates were attractive to the pupils,
bright, colourful, and easily amended and changed when we needed
to differentiate for specific groups. A further benefit was that
the same activities could be used with the children in our classes
with special educational needs by selecting examples which suited
their abilities in terms of the choices we provided. This aspect
highlighted for us the benefits of 'Provisionality' in using ICT
as a medium (one of the functions of using ICT from the NOF outcomes).
Also the templates could easily be created using clip art and sound
(where required for children with reading difficulties) and images
could be imported from photographs from the Internet (exemplifying
'Capacity and Range'). The templates were created in advance which
meant that the children could not alter the originals but could
only make changes and add their ideas by typing in the areas specified.
The use of ICT supported creating a document that can be arranged,
changed, saved and printed to create a paper based resource easily
and efficiently. The activities would have worked extremely well
with a digital projector and software like Microsoft's PowerPoint
to use as a starter or plenary to a lesson in any subjects.
Further
information
Higgins, S. (2001) Thinking Through Primary Teaching Cambridge:
Chris Kington Publishing ISBN 1 899857 39 7
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