Preparing Session Inputs - II

Having planned out how to begin a session in an innovative way, let us now focus on how to deliver the main content.

A well-defined session plan, although lays the foundation, is not sufficient to ensure successful delivery. 

Hence, it is necessary to detail out every minute of a session, keeping in mind, the ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘when’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ for each topic of the session. For example, for a topic– “Newton’s Third Law of Motion: The Law of Reciprocal Actions”, we could structure the content along these lines:

Who – Who stated the law?
When – When was the law formulated?
How – How does the law work? How can the law be concluded?
What – What is the law?
Why – Why does the law hold good?
Where – Where can we apply/observe the law?

Note: The sequence of the 5 Ws and 1 H can be altered depending on the topic.

Let us now look at one possible way of detailing out the topic, based on the questions identified above.

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Since the first two laws of motion stated by Newton have already been discussed, the learners are familiar with the answers to ‘Who stated the Law?’ and ‘When was the Law formulated?’

The following ‘Notes’ could therefore be added.

The description of how the quiz is to be conducted can be given inside the activity box.

Now, we could look at ‘How the Law works’. A demonstration could be chosen as the methodology. A “Notes” section, like the one below, could precede the description of the activity.

  

A “Notes” section could now follow, describing how the faculty will move from the activity-related discussion to answering ‘What is the Law’? 

The underlying principle and the statement of the law are contents which will actually be spoken out by the faculty in the class. Hence, we should mark these as “Announcement”.

It is now time to discuss ‘Where do we observe the law?’ This could be done by providing more examples from real-life and letting the learners identify and relate the law. Through this activity, we can gauge how well the learners have understood the concept. It will also take them from the Understanding level to the higher-order levels of Application and Analysis.

The examples discussed so far would have impressed upon the learner, how this law is a significant part of our life. It is now quite natural that they wonder “Why the law holds good?” or “How can the law be concluded?” Let us now answer these questions. We could possibly take the learners through a deductive proof of the law. We could proceed as follows.

  

Single point of contact

Newton’s third law implies that if a body A exerts a force on body B, then the body B will also exert a force of equal magnitude but opposite in direction on body A. This can be mathematically written as: FAB = - FBA.

Let us first consider the case of two bodies which touch each other at a single point. Each body exerts a force on the other at the point of contact. The net force (Fnet) at this point would be the algebraic sum of the following two components:

• The net force at the point of contact due to body A
• The net force at the point of contact due to body B

 

If the point of contact is treated as a “body” of mass zero, then by applying Newton’s second law of motion, we get Fnet= 0.

  

This implies that the two component forces acting at the point of contact must add up to zero. Therefore, it can be concluded that these two forces must be of equal magnitude but opposite in direction. 

The law can be validated for the other two scenarios by simply reducing each of the cases to either a special case or an extrapolation of the first case. This gives scope for learner engagement. We could encourage the learners to deduce the proof for the last two cases through a group activity.

Surface Contact

Suppose two bodies A and B are in contact with each other along a surface. The surface of contact can be considered as a large collection of points. By applying the argument given in the first scenario, we can conclude that the force exerted by body A on body B at each of these points is equal in magnitude but opposite in direction to that exerted by body B on body A at the same point. By integrating over the whole surface, it can be deduced that the net force exerted by body A on body B and that exerted by body B on body A are equal and opposite. That is, FAB = - FBA.

Not in contact

There are forces such as gravitational force, magnetic force, etc, which act even at a distance. By considering the space in between the bodies as the third body in the middle having zero mass, we can conclude that the forces exerted by the two bodies on each other are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.

Having discussed at length about the nitty-gritty of the law, this would be the appropriate time to answer the question “Where can we apply the law”? 

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The above example illustrates how to detail out the main content, using an appropriate mix of Notes, Announcements and Activities.

We hope this blog entry gave you a fairly good idea about how to structure and organize the Session Inputs so as to ensure successful and effective delivery.

Please give us your valuable comments and suggestions about this write-up.

Preparing Session Inputs - I

Having worked on the session plan, let us now work towards implementing our plan by way of preparing “Session Inputs”. With relevant session inputs in place, we can gear ourselves for an effective and stimulating interaction with our learners. The session input section will also act as a platform where we will be able to test the veracity of our session plan.

While preparing for the Session Inputs, we will need to:

• Include the essential technical information on the topics to be taught in the session.
• Provide a systematic approach and concrete guidelines on the flow and the methodology that can be adopted to explain a concept more efficiently and effectively.
• Exactly map session inputs to the session plan.
• Justify the time allotted in the session plan to the content and the methodology used.

For the purpose of preparing one such session input, let us divide the Session Inputs into three main sub-sections:

• Introduction 
• Main Content 
• Conclusion

In this posting, we will concentrate exclusively on the Introduction.

As the common saying goes, the first 15 seconds often determines the success of an interaction or conversation. Similarly, the first 10 minutes or so, which forms the introduction of the Session Inputs, are instrumental in ensuring the progress and success of the rest of our session.

At the very onset of the session, it is possible to actively engage and stimulate the learners. Typically, we can begin a session by: 

• Recapitulating the previous session
• Introducing a new topic

Some of the effective methods for recapitulating a session are:

• Quiz (Word, picture, musical, etc), which is a direct form of testing the learners’ understanding of the concepts learnt in the previous sessions.
• Recalling key words learnt in the previous sessions in a short one minute time as a group/individual task.
• Caselets (short case-study), where the learners, based on the given scenario identify the concept related to or exemplifying the scenario.
• Impersonation where a learner pretends to be / imitates as the concept/device learnt in the previous session.
• Dumb Charades where learners are asked to use signs and body gestures without the use of words to communicate the concepts learnt. The audience is to then interpret and state the concept being mimed.

On the other hand, in order to introduce a new topic, we can use methods like:

• Analogy where the learners can be made to understand a concept by means of comparing two unrelated objects, situations or concepts and helping them derive a point of similarity.
• Demonstration where a concept can be explained with the help of illustrations such as models, charts and graphs.
• Mnemonics where a learner can be made to remember a new concept with the help of an easy to remember and meaningful sentence construct.
• Games where the learners can be made to discover knowledge by giving meaning to their individual experiences while playing a game.
• Role-play where learners are encouraged to enact and analyze a situation depicting the topic under consideration.
• Story-telling where the learners can be asked to interpret a concept from a story.
• Brain-storming where the learners can be asked to critically think and generate ideas in a limited time period either individually or in a group.
• Case-study where the learners can contemplate and analyze a real-life situation and arrive at possible solution/s.

Devising a Session Plan

Devising a Session Plan

Having set the objectives for a session let us now move on to “Preparing a session plan”.

As is often said, failing to plan is planning to fail!

Sound planning and preparation are the keys to successful delivery of a session. Keeping this in mind we encourage the preparation of a session plan before conducting it. At the outset, it is advisable to come up with a detailed session plan which can eventually be modified based on individual experience.

A session plan helps structure a vast pool of information on a particular topic into smaller logical chunks. Such a structured session plan enables the facilitator to effectively accommodate the subject matter within a stipulated time. Moreover, such a plan also aids the facilitator to design adequate active learning methodologies and be equipped with required teaching materials well in advance.

The recommended structure for a session plan includes:

While outlining the session plan the key points to be remembered are:

• From the available total time for any given session, appropriately allocate time to complete the intended content(s).
• The content coverage as per the session plan should map completely to the stated objectives. For example, if one of the objective for a session is: Identify the types of security attacks, then the content title could be Types of Security Attacks.                                                                 or

      if the objective is “List tools used to overcome security attacks” then the content title could be “Tools to overcome security attacks”.

 

• Once the content and it’s flow is decided, decide upon the methodology for conducting the same depending upon the significance and relevance of the topic and the available time. As the attention span of a learner is typically between 3 to 4 minutes, it is very essential that during this time the facilitator provides a stimulating learning environment which will actively involve the learners. For example, to explain the types of security attacks, we could use a Role-play methodology, where some learners can be encouraged to participate and others to observe and comment on the each type.
  

Another important point to consider would be that, the selected activities in the class is directed by the stated objectives. For example, if the objective is to ensure that the learners are able to identify the different forms of security attacks, then an activity to test the same by way of either a quiz (picture, word, music etc), a board activity or any other such method may be adopted.

Similarly, if the objective is to make the learners list the tools used to overcome the security attacks, a brainstorming activity wherein the facilitator elicits maximum tools within a stipulated short time from the learners. The facilitator may also choose to give a group task wherein the members of the group discuss amongst themselves and arrive at a comprehensive list of tools within a limited time frame.

• The faculty approach and the learner’s activity is totally dependent on the learning methodology adopted. For example, if the methodology adopted is a role-play to be facilitated by the faculty, the faculty approach would be “facilitates” and the learner’s activity would be “participates, observes and comments”.

• The learning outcome from a session is directly dependent on the methodology adopted by the facilitator and the responses received from the learners. Therefore the details under the “Learning Outcome” column should include the various learner intelligences tapped/honed and the learning levels that the learners were taken to. For example, if the methodology adopted is a role-play, then the learners are typically taken to the application level of learning as per Bloom’s taxonomy and their intrapersonal, interpersonal, linguistic, kinesthetic and spatial intelligences as per Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligence are tapped/honed.

You are now ready to prepare your first session plan on the topic for which you have already set the objectives. Send in your innovative session plans at mission.10X@wipro.com.

We encourage you to post your valuable views and comments regarding this blog entry.

Introduction to Resource Guide and Objectives

Authoring a Resource Guide

The challenge for most of us as facilitators in our classrooms is to cater to the diverse needs of our learners, to deal with their different learning abilities and at the same time ensuring that the required timelines are met and the syllabus is completed.

A Resource Guide helps us plan for a session keeping in mind the challenges so as to ensure an effective and engaging session. It helps us plan every aspect of delivering a session, starting from stating the objectives of the session to the suggested flow and the methodology that can be adopted for conducting a session. It also helps us identify the learner intelligences that we are able to tap and the levels of learning that we are able to make our learners acquire.

This series titled “Authoring a Resource Guide” would acquaint us with various sections of a resource guide and will also provide guidelines on authoring a resource guide.

The first topic in the series titled “Setting Objectives” would provide guidelines on setting objectives in an effective manner.

  

Setting Objectives

A learning objective sets the context of a course or a session. It specifies what the learner will accomplish and acquire by the end of the course/session.

An objective should always be SMART:

An objective needs to be stated by always qualifying it with an action verb, for example:

• Define ....
• Identify the need of .....
• List the advantages of ......
• Propose the solution of .......

An incorrect usage of the same would be:

• Definition
• Identification
• Listing
• Proposing

Ensure that the objective is always measurable and the learner can be tested on the basis of the same. For example, even though Understand and Appreciate are action verbs, they are not measurable and hence cannot be used.

Encourage learning at various levels. Make a conscious effort to take the learners from the Remembering, Understanding and Applying levels to Analyzing, Evaluating and Creating Levels wherever possible. For example:

• Define .......                                // this verb is at remembering level
• Identify the need for .......           // this verb is at analysing level
• List the advantages of .......       // this verb is at remembering level
• Propose .......                          // this verb is at creating level

To know more about the various learning levels, you may refer to the Bloom’s Taxonomy presentation. To know more on the subject, also refer to the associated podcast. Link Here

Having understood how to set SMART objectives, please set objectives for a topic and send it at mission.10x@wipro.com. We encourage you to provide your thoughts and views on this entry.

Welcome Note

Dear Mission10Xians,

Welcome to Blogging!

Engagement within the Mission10X community being one of the primary focus areas, we introduce the Mission10X Official Blog, a forum to collectively engage and encourage the exchange of innovative ideas and thoughts amongst all Mission10X faculty members on classroom pedagogy.

This blog will enable you to plan, prepare and implement innovative teaching-learning methodologies in your classrooms. A regular visit to the blog will provide tips meant to actively engage your learners in the class. It will also make your transition from the workshop to the advanced workshop smoother and will offer valuable guidelines for preparing resource guides.

To begin with, the blog will feature two series; “Authoring a Resource Guide” and “Innovative Teaching-Learning Practices”. Related to these two series, you can also access Podcasts which can be used for further reference.

Happy blogging !!!