Using interactive technologies to improve the quality of students’ knowledge.

Using interactive technologies to improve the quality of students’ knowledge.

English teacher of school-lyceum#53, Astana

Baltabayeva Aliya Serikovna

Being a teacher does not mean only giving the grammatical rules, practicing and evaluating the students. Because these mean nothing if the students attention is not raised on them. If there is no motivation, there cannot be proper teaching and learning. Especially young teachers’ biggest problem is the motivation of the students, which is classroom management’s main concern. The teacher should not be threatening authority in the classroom, he/she should teach the students to be their own managers so that the teacher wouldn’t be seen as despot and strict. The teachers should know to manage the class and to teach the students to manage themselves, this means to expose the students behave properly. The most important thing to have personal interest in the students as human beings, to know students, yes, inside we are per­sons, with our problems and feelings, I think a good personal relation is the first thing we, stu­dents and teachers, should try to achieve, because it is an indispensable basis for a good professional relation, founded on understanding and esteem. This is very important above all in the case that students haven't chosen to study English, but are forced to because it is one of the ministerial sub­jects; the teacher, in this case, has to interest the. students in what he or she teaches.

During a lesson the teacher needs to manage the activities and the learners in the classroom in different ways. This means he or she needs to behave in different ways at different stages of the lesson. Activities at the start of the lesson deserve more attention than they usually receive. In fact, the initial activities that start the class are very important for the following reasons:

1: Warm Ups set the tone of the lesson. For example, an activity that students find too difficult or confusing can prove discouraging. Compare a fun activity which raises energy levels.

2: Warm Ups get students to begin thinking and focusing on English. It may have been a few days, a week, or even longer since they last used English. A little time here will improve receptivity later.

3: Warm Ups provide a transition into the topic. An activity at the start of the lesson activates pre-existing knowledge on a subject, and may even get students to use (or consider) some of the ideas, vocabulary, or even grammar important to the lesson.

4: Warm Ups allow the teacher important opportunities to assess character and ability. After all, some students work well together, and others don't. Some students have good days, and others bad. During the initial activity, the teacher can determine who will form the best groups for subsequent activities.

In this article we decided to share some ice-breakers with our readers.

Toilet Paper Game

•Pass around a roll of toilet paper to the group and ask them to take what they need. No further explanation.

•When done. Tell the group that as they go around the room, each person must tell a fact or something about themselves for each square of TP they took.

Paper Airplane Game

•Everyone makes a paper airplane and writes their name, something they like and dislike on it (You may also want to add additional questions). On cue, everyone throws their airplane around the room. If you find an airplane, pick it and keep throwing it for 1-2 minutes. At the end of that time, everyone must have one paper airplane. This is the person they must find and introduce to the group.

The Artist Game

•Give everyone a piece of paper and a pencil. In 5 minutes they must draw a picture that conveys who they are with out writing any words or numbers. At the end of 5 minutes the host collects the pictures. Show the pictures to the group one at a time and have them try to guess who drew it. After this allow each of the artists to introduce themselves and explain how their work clearly conveys who they are.

Famous People/Cities Game

•As each participant arrives, tape a 3 x 5 index card on their back with the name of a famous person or city. They must circulate in the room and ask questions that can ONLY be answered with a YES or NO to identify clues that will help them find out the name of the person or city on their index card. EXAMPLES: Paris, Madonna, Santa Claus, John Wayne, Casablanca

Favorite Animal Game

•As the guests arrive, and before you write their names on a name card, ask them to tell you their favorite animal and three adjectives to describe the animal. As they tell you, write the three adjectives on a name tag BEFORE their name (omit the name of the animal). Ask them to mingle with the crowd, sharing why these adjectives best describe their own personality. EXAMPLES: Loyal, cuddly, playful Dan.

Activities to divide class into groups:

• Ask students to close either their left eye or right eye and keep it closed. Find two or three (it depends on quantity of your students) other people who have the same eye closed.

• Have students get into groups of four or five with others who are wearing at least one item of the same color as something they have on.

• Use a bag of clean (washed) socks – each picks one then finds their pair. For larger groups pairs join other pairs by size or color to form larger sub-groups.

• Have everyone cross their arms across their chest. Amazingly, it almost always works out to about 50% cross right over left, and the other 50% cross left over right.

• Decide how many groups you want and what size. For example, if you would like to have 4 groups of 5 and you wanted to randomly put them into groups then get 5 Kings, 5 Aces, 5 Jacks, and 5 Queens (of course you will need more than one deck of cards) and shuffle them up. And let them choose cards one by one. Match up the five who get the kings, Queens, etc. If you need two groups, you can choose red or black cards.

The critical thinking process can be complex and may be confusing. One of the proven successful methods to organize both group and individual thinking is the six thinking hats, also known as De Bono’s six thinking hats. The method has been first introduced in 1985 by Edward De Bono in a book with the same name.

Solving problems using the six thinking hats model requires looking to at problems with different types of thinking, each type is represented with a hat color, and at the end of the discussion session stakeholders should have better understanding to the problem from different approaches in order to reach creative and innovative solutions. During each critical thinking discussion meeting the facilitator determines which hat should be worn in specific part of the discussion as following:

White hat

This hat represents the facts and the information available about the problem or the argument. During this part, the stockholders only share the information about the problem and take notes with it. No further development in the thinking process should be done. Questions in this part can be “what is the available information?” and “what are the facts we have?”

Yellow hat

In contrast to the black hat, the yellow hat supposes to reflect the sun or an optimistic attitude. The stakeholders think from an optimistic point of view about the problem or suggestion. It helps to spotlight the advantages and benefits of the suggestions. During this the questions which are asked are “what are the advantages of applying the solution?” and “why do you think it is workable?”

Black hat

Wearing the black hat drives attendees to think about the problem or suggestion cautiously and defensively. The aim of this part is to identify the cons of the suggestion and the disadvantages and why the suggestion may not work based on logical reasons. Focusing on the warnings, risks or cautions, this helps the stakeholders to isolate the reasoning and think in the solutions in the yellow one. The question that can be asked during this discussion “what are the risks?” and “why is the suggestion not working?”

Red hat

The emotions hat presents the stakeholders feelings about the problem and their gut reactions toward it. The target of using this hat is to understand the different emotional reactions such as love, hate, like and dislike. The red hat does not aim to understand the reason behind these feelings. The questions that can be asked during this part is“what do you feel about the suggestion?” and “what is your gut reaction toward the suggestion?”

Green hat

This represents the creative thinking part of the discussion. During the critical thinking discussion, this hat fuels the stakeholders’ thinking to innovate a thinking creative solution for the problems or look to the suggestions from a creative perspective. Creative tools can be applied to drive creativity during the conversations such as the Lego Serious Play and brainstorming techniques.

Blue hat

This is the process control plan where the meeting leaders manage difficulties during the discussions. It makes sure that the guidelines of the six thinking hat process is applied. This hat can be used to drive the thinking process to better routes. For example, if there are no ideas, the facilitators can direct the discussion to the green hat route. The blue hat is a control hat during the critical thinking discussions, it can also act as a moderation hat before and after each circle of thinking. While the resources did not indicate a specific sequence between the hats, the sequence indicated above is similar to De Bono’s six thinking hats website.

Classroom assessment, then, is no mere technical device. Teachers assess by making marks on the page or by using words. Assessment is a term that covers any activity in which evidence of learning is collected in a planned and systematic way, and is used to make a judgement about learning.

If the purpose is to help in decisions about how to advance learning and the judgement is about the next steps in learning and how to take them, then the assessment is formative in function, sometimes referred to as Assessment for Learning.

If the purpose of assessment is to summarize the learning that has taken place in order to grade, certificate or record progress, then the assessment is summative in fiction, sometimes referred to as Assessment of Learning.

There are some techniques of formative assessment:

Method of corner

Students choose the corners in accordance with a certain position. If students agree with statements, they must stay in one corner of the classroom. If students don’t agree with statements, they must stay in the other corner of the classroom. If students change their opinion during the discussion they can change the corner.

Three Moments

Students are invited to name three things they have done well at the lesson, and offer one action that will improve their work in the next lesson.

Reflective Target.

On the board is drawn target, which is divided into sectors. At the end of the lesson every pupil sticks the paper in the lesson which he/she likes.

Suitcase – mincer - bin

On board posted pictures suitcases, chopperbin.

Suitcase - everything that will come in handy in the future.

Mincer - it is necessary to think.

Bin – what I don’t need. I know this information.

Students are asked to select what they will do with the information obtained in class.

My answers.

During the lesson students put signs according their answers:

«V» - he/she answered because teacher asked to answer, but the answer wasn’t not correct;

«W» - he/she answered because teacher asked to answer, the answer was not correct;

«|» - He/she answered on his own initiative, but the answer was not correct;

"+" - He/she answered on his own initiative, the answer was correct;

"0" - no answer.

At the end of the lesson, students can see the result.