PGCE students develop bespoke ICT teaching materials
Tue, 14 Jun 2011 16:12:00 BST
A happy coincidence with dual benefits. Moor End Technology College were looking for Information Communication Technology (ICT) support that would benefit their school students, and particularly those with English as an additional language (EAL pupils). They contacted the PGCE ICT course leader, Dr Roger Crawford with a proposal that provided our final-year students with the opportunity to engage in a school-based project. The group met with the school to discuss requirements and to understand school student needs before designing bespoke teaching materials. Working as a team they developed a two day programme with production of teaching plans to include examples of animation using Macromedia Flash software and additional learning resources.
Debra Awty, Senior Assistant Headteacher confirmed that the College “is keen to develop links with partner organisations to enrich the learning experience of our school students. Roger Crawford and his PGCE ICT students have worked really effectively with us to come up with an exciting and stimulating activity that challenges our Year 7 and 8 ICT school students. They come from a range of different ethnic backgrounds and have English as an additional language. It has been particularly rewarding to create something so unique just for them. A tremendous amount of work has been put in. Hopefully, it will become an annual activity”.
Priya Ladak, an ex- pupil of Moor End and now on the PGCE course commented, “The pupils have pleasantly surprised us all with their politeness, good behaviour and most of all their ability and eagerness to grasp new ICT concepts so quickly and easily. I am sure that their animations will be brilliant by the end of the session.”
This collaboration resulted in the University PGCE students gaining an understanding of EAL school student needs, and Moor End College now have the ICT teaching materials available to them for further in-house delivery. Roger Crawford confirmed, “It really has been a very enjoyable, interesting and useful two days for our students and the school students."
