Uno de los métodos más nuevos de aprendizaje que estamos investigando es el llamado "Flipped Classroom". A continuación os explicamos en qué consiste.
En los últimos años, muchos educadores han estado
experimentando con el modelo pedagógico llamado Flipped Classroom. Básicamente,
cambiar el aula significa revertir el "orden" habitual en el que se
gana el conocimiento. En lugar de aprender nuevos contenidos en el aula, los
estudiantes aprenden en casa viendo videos, previamente realizados por sus (y
otros) profesores. El tiempo de clase está dedicado a discusiones, actividades
prácticas y proyectos. Los estudiantes tienen más tiempo para preguntar,
aplicar sus conocimientos y para interactuar con otros estudiantes y con el
maestro. En un Flipped Classroom, cada alumno puede aprender a su propio
ritmo. El aprendizaje se personaliza para cada alumno. Los estudiantes tienen
la oportunidad de ver una conferencia tantas veces como lo necesiten, para
rebobinarla si es necesario o para omitir partes si lo desean, o simplemente,
pueden "detener" a su maestro. En su libro sobre Flipped Classroom,
Jon Bergman y Aaron Sams, explican que "cuando les damos a los estudiantes
la posibilidad de pausar a sus maestros, tienen la oportunidad de procesar a la
velocidad que sea apropiada para ellos". Cuando los estudiantes
vienen a clase, no hay necesidad de pasar tiempo en la conferencia, para que
puedan participar más activamente en discusiones, experimentos y proyectos. El
tiempo de clase se dedica a la práctica, el aprendizaje colaborativo y los
debates de clase. Si todavía hay algo que necesita aclaración, el maestro está
allí para ayudar a cada alumno individualmente. De acuerdo con la taxonomía de
Bloom, los estudiantes pasan por los niveles inferiores del dominio cognitivo
en el hogar, mientras que en la clase el enfoque se coloca en niveles más altos
de aprendizaje.
El 19 de Diciembre se celebró en el Teatro Real de Madrid el acto de clausura del 30 aniversario del programa ERASMUS. Y el CEIP La Gaviota estuvo allí!
El Programa original comenzó en 1987 como un programa de intercambio que ofrecía a estudiantes universitarios la posibilidad de aprender y enriquecerse estudiando en el extranjero. A lo largo de los últimos 30 años ha ampliado su alcance y envergadura. Hoy Erasmus+ ofrece un mayor número de oportunidades tanto a personas como a organizaciones, como por ejemplo ir de voluntario o aprendiz a países extranjeros y cooperar en proyectos conjuntos.
Nuestro colegio ha participado en la convocatoria del 2016-2017 con el Proyecto KA1 "Healthy teachers" de formación del profesorado donde varios profesores se fueron a Finlandia a hacer cursos de formación. Durante todo el año escolar se realizaron actividades en el colegio para promover la vida saludable entre nuestros alumnos, padres y profesores.
Este año, también estamos participando en el proyecto KA1 "New English Methodologies" que durará hasta el 2019 donde estamos formándonos para aprender nuevas metodologías en inglés y las estamos aplicando en el aula. Pretendemos mejorar la competencia de nuestros alumnos y la del profesorado.
Nuestro proyecto E-twinning de Peace Poems, está llegando a su final.
Escribiendo los poemas
Os presentamos el libro digital que hemos hecho con todos los poemas de la clase de 5ºB, junto con los alumnos del colegio Agrupamento de Escolas D. Afonso Henriques (Portugal) y 3er Primary School of Pylaia, Thessaloniki, (Grecia).
Dentro del libro digital, si pincháis en el icono de la nota musical, oiréis a los alumnos recitando la poesía en inglés y en su propio idioma.
Estamos participando en un proyecto E-twinning de concurso de Christmas navideños:
"The most beautiful Christmas picture with short English wishes
Internationa Art contest 2017"
Participan colegios de muchos países europeos, Finlandia, Croacia, Rumanía, Polonia, Turquía, Portugal, Inglaterra, Lituania, Italia...y por supuesto, España!!! Los alumnos han realizado un Christma y necesitamos vuestra ayuda para elegir los 4 mejores y presentarlos al concurso,
¿Nos ayudáis?
Necesitamos que deis vuestro voto al Christma que os parezca más bonito, original, divertido... podéis votar hasta 3 Christmas, pero sólo lo podréis hacer una vez (no hagáis trampaaaaas!!). El día 10 se terminarán las votaciones y elegiremos a los 4 christmas que tengan más votos. Aquí tenéis el enlace: Vota tu Christma favorito Muchas gracias por vuestra colaboración!!
Seguimos formándonos para aprender nuevas herramientas que se pueden utilizar en nuestras clases de inglés, o en cualquier clase para motivar a nuestros alumnos y animarles a mejorar su inglés.
Some useful web2.0 tools that encourage communication are:
Smore (https://www.smore.com/app): an easy way to create a web page for an event, idea, whatever you like to communicate to others; includes useful templates for events, classes, news alerts, more.
Piktochart (http://piktochart.com/) : a free infographic-creation tool to communicate events, ideas, graphic results.
Parade (http://www.myparade.com/): a tool to create beautiful, scrolling digital stories using images and text.
Thinglink Edu (https://www.thinglink.com/edu/): a tool to create interactive images/maps/graphics with embedded content; Edu version offers free student accounts with no email required
Visme (http://www.visme.co/): a free tool for creating/sharing web pages or slide show presentations online
Author: Angeliki Kougiourouki Last editor: Angeliki Kougiourouki
Online games can be great fun! They are not part of the project's activities but you can use them indirectly to practise the language as well as 'force' them to go through the materials published in order to play the games and do well!
To enhance competition (but also to show that pupils actually played the games) you need to create a Forum for the games and then create threads, one for each game. There the students are encouraged to write down the scores of their games! They all love playing and they get into the competitive spirit!!!
Jigsawplanet is a webtool for creating jigsaw puzzles! Here is a jigsaw puzzle that all students can do! Younger students play an easier version (few pieces) and discover the image (which could be their partner's classroom or images of their school!!!). The time you need to complete the puzzle is given and you know your final 'score'!
So do the puzzle and write your time in the Forum thread here!
Learningapps is a great web tool that allows us to create a variety of games!
Here is a game like hangman and the pupils read the text and try to find the missing words! It can be very simple and very complicated! Play the game! Have you found the words? Easily? Write your impressions in the Forum thread here!
Quizlet is a very good tool that allows us to create sets of words with their definitions or images and then we can add them in Twinspace as games! Below you can find a game with countries and their capitals and it's a great game to play once a project begins so that the pupils can learn their new partners' countries and their capital cities! So match the countries with the capitals and do it fast!!!! Then write your score in the Forum thread here!
When describing Emotional Intelligence and Motivation in his book, Goleman was describing adults with high potential of becoming leaders in their field. But does that apply to students as well?
When we deal with students, we see these two types every day: those students who always 'need' to perform well and will eventually do and those who lack interest and, therefore, need some sort of incentive, some kind of encouragement! If we needed to hire the right person for a job, we would definitely choose one from the former group! But at school we need to deal with everyone and address everyone's needs and personal abilities, fears of failure, lack of interest, lack of motivation, worries, low self-esteem and ... the list is endless!
So we always strive to find ways to motivate everyone!
An inspiring beginning of a project creates a positive feeling towards it as pupils feel they are going to have a good time at the project! So, we can find a song that matches our topic and show it to our students, teach the song so that they can learn to sing it. That way they will sing it during the project and it will always remind them of the project! Or we can create our own song as a project task so that pupils make and play the music, write and sing the lyrics! That way, it will be their own song that they'll sing for ever!
So, for example, for the project LYPS (Let Your Passion Shine), the project was introduced with the song 'Shine' (of the group Take That) whose lyrics were exactly the aim of the project! 'You can have it all! So come on! I don't know what you're waiting for! Your time is coming! Don't be late! See the light on your face! Let it Shine!
The best motivation for all people to perform well is having a good time! The chances of succeeding are far more than when they have other incentives! So, why don't we start the project with a game? As the students go through the game, the information on the new project is revealed! (information on the topic, the title, the partners). What a great start!!!
But games can play an important role during the game to keep the students motivated! We can include a page with language games (so that they practise the language as well) as well as games based on the material produced! That way, the students will be 'forced' to read the published material so that they do well at the games!
Look at the 'Useful tools' page for tools to create games.
As we have students with different talents, we need to plan tasks that need all talents for their completion! So, let's have writing tasks for those who love writing and creating texts, let's have drawing tasks to accompany the texts, let's have many ICT tasks for those who love computers, music tasks for the talented in music, puzzles and quizes for the inquiry-type students, videos by students for our 'directors', athletic tasks or dancing tasks for the more energetic students and so on! Let's cater for all types so that everyone can feel that his/her skills are needed and appreciated in the end!
When students have limited knowledge of a foreign language or of ICT skills or their self-esteem is low and they are afraid to be active participants in a project that requires many skills and a different type of action, then the use of groups lightens their burden! They are a part of a group that can perform well even if they are not very active! So, they agree to do a small at least part in their group until they start feeling more comfortable with it and slowly decide to become more active! So, group work can be a great motivator for such 'shy' students!
Goleman mentioned the two types of people and referred to those who need a reward in order to perform well! So, why not having awards for our students as well? Let's have the 'students of the month' announced or awards for the best students in a task or a competition, or the best group for each task! A group competition can be competitive enough but also without stress on the individual members! Why not give awards to the first students who did a task and showed enthusiasm regardless of perfection! We should reward motivation as that will encourage everyone including the weaker students!
Let's not forget the promotion of our project at school and in our (local, national and eTwinning) community! When we do that, we gain acceptance and a very positive atmosphere is created around us and our project! That makes our students proud of their work, which in return encourages them to perform even better! So, let's not forget to:
regularly make posts in the public project Journal announcing the beginning of the project and introductory information about it, the beginning or completion of the tasks, the results of competitions, final products and important news! Do not forget that this Journal is not meant for communication among teachers but for informing all those who do not have access to your Twinspace! Also rememebr that sudents can add comments below the posts so that they express their view on the news mentioned!
have an eTwinning board at school with pictures and materials from the project in a central part of the school so that everyone can see them and get informed on the project! Such boards attract the attention of the students who don't implement a project and who usually ask for one in the future!!! As a result, those who implement this project feel proud of it!
publish information om the project in your school website! That way your school gains more publicity and recognition and then you and your pupils benefit from this acceptance!
present your project to the school community at the end of the school year! Have the board in a convenient place and make a presentation or a video with the project tasks and lots of photos! The students can also prepare the presentation (depending on their age of course!) and have an active role in it! Let's not forget that the dissemination of our project is the 6th criterion for a successful project that will get its National Quality Label!
