Implementation and evaluation of the co-teaching session
The co-teaching activity that we planned revolved around the resolution of a mystery case. The children had to find information hidden behind some clues by applying the knowledge they had on the numbers from 0 until 9999. The objective was to solve the mystery and obtain as much information from it as possible while learning the numbers.
The session was divided in three main parts. In the first, the mystery case was presented, together with the objective of the lesson. The students realised that knowledge on the numbers was essential in order to achieve their objective, so the numbers were reviewed. The second part consisted in the resolution of the mystery case. The children were divided into different groups, each of which had to search for a specific piece of information. The final part consisted in putting in common all the information obtained.
In general terms, all the planned competences and objectives were worked, although it would be unrealistic of us to say that the competences were accomplished by all the pupils. Yet, we consider we did everything that was in our hands to work in this direction. With regards to the objectives of the session, we can affirm that they were accomplished.
After the implementation of the activities, we can say that the level was suitable in one of both schools. As for the other one, we could have gone one step further, and challenge students a bit more, because many of the pupils had a slightly higher level. Still, the activity provided a good opportunity for pupils to review the numbers and acquire further vocabulary and skills.
Individual work and team-work time was well-balanced. On one hand, as we reviewed the numbers, they had to reflect individually. Yet, as they were grouped into teams, they whispered at some times the answers to their neighbours to ensure they got the correct answer. In contrast, when doing the activities, the work was carried out in teams. Such teams were arranged heterogeneously according to the pupils’ English level. The activities were distributed according to the level of difficulty and the skill level of each group.
With regards to the classroom management, it functioned differently depending on the school. In one school there were more children (25 pupils) than in the other (13 pupils). In the former school, we used a reward system so as to encourage them to have a good behaviour, to talk in English and to work. We can say that it functioned really wall, so students were more motivated that usually. This was also the first school in which we implemented the activity. We also provided them with linguistic support so that they could use English to interact. This was the first time they used something similar so they were confused. In addition, we did not have time to explain how to use it, so they couldn’t. To conclude the session, we did give them a fixed short phrase that all groups completed in the same way to express what they had to do and what they found out.
As we realised that giving them scaffolding to communicate in English during the activity was too big a challenge, we decided not to use it the second time. Explaining how to use it was infeasible time-wise; otherwise, we would not have had to review the numbers, explain all the different scaffolding and do the activities. Moreover, in the second school we did not use the same reward system, because there were fewer students and they were motivated and participating. Instead, we used the system they usually use at the end of the session to congratulate them on their good behaviour.
We would also like to mention the countdown timer as a very useful tool. It encouraged the pupils to manage their time wisely and to know when to stop and share their findings.
Every student had a responsibility inside their team and within the class; each group was in charge of a different set of information on the robbery, without which they would not have been able to get a clear idea about the case. This allowed them to see they were was very important
Working in groups helped a lot those students who struggled with the language or who did not know how what to do or how to contribute. It is worth mentioning that some of the activities were a bit “strange” and students had difficulties trying to figure out what to do with the information. The instructions they were provided were not enough. Thus, these activities could be improved.
The time was almost perfect in the sense that we had time to do everything planned except for the last part of the final discussion, in which children could express their views on the reason behind the robbery and whether they would do it if they found themselves in a situation such as that of the robbers.
Assessment was carried out with the activities and through observation.
We would like to highlight that having the opportunity to implement two times the same class gave us the opportunity to change what went wrong the first time around (mainly scaffolding) and to confirm what went especially well, such as the involvement of the children, how children checked what they knew and the activities themselves.
The impact of the activities in both schools
Both school coincide in the fact that the topic of the class was an interesting topic for children. The fact of having a “real” purpose and some rewards motivated students. They were doing those activities for a specific purpose, and this was visible from the interest and motivation with which the pupils did the activities.
Although the general language level was adequate, differences in both schools could be seen. While in the first, the vast majority already knew the numbers, in the second one this group represented a minority. In some way some activities could have been more difficult.
All the children worked on numbers. It was also good that we had activities of different complexity so that we could adapt them to each group. The most successful activities with more were those ones that involved children with almost all the language skills; reading, writing and listening and also those ones which involved visuals such as the encrypted code or the map activity. Children are used to working on grammar and vocabulary with a classroom book, so our guess is that because the activities we put forward involved them more, they liked them more.
In addition, the way numbers were introduced was very natural, and not at all contrived, which they appreciated. Yet, it required them to work on the numbers enough times to review them.
The activity not only required them to learn vocabulary but also to use English with a communicative purpose, and to discuss issues that go beyond learning a language, such as the use of maps, quantities, or ethical values, among others. Thus, we can affirm that this was an interdisciplinary activity.