Methodologies for SPHE

TEACHING AND LEARNING STRATEGIES

Teaching methods in SPHE are concerned with the acquisition of knowledge, attitudes and skills that have implications for behaviour. An open and facilitative teaching style and participate and experiential methodologies are essential. Such methodologies are not associated solely with SPHE. Teachers of all subjects avail of active learning methods from time to time. Research into teaching and learning highlights the need to support different learning styles in the classroom.

Initiatives such as the Junior Certificate School Programme, the introduction of Civic, Social and Political Education and, at senior cycle, the Transition Year, Leaving Certificate Vocational and Leaving Certificate Applied programmes have offered training and support for teachers in participatory, experiential and active learning.

The teaching and learning methods proposed here are not new ­ they are widely used. Effective SPHE requires particular familiarity with these approaches to teaching and learning however. In SPHE there is a need for a balance between knowledge, concept formation, understanding, skills and attitudes. Indeed, in many ways, students bring information to the SPHE classroom for critical scrutiny, analysis and evaluation. The methods are focused not solely on the passing on of new information but on the processing of that information.

ROLE OF THE TEACHER

The teacher of SPHE takes on a facilitative role in the classroom. This involves organising student learning, challenging students to take responsibility for their own learning and modelling the work that is to be undertaken. An essential task for the teacher is to create an atmosphere supportive of this approach. The teacher needs to recognise that in using experiential learning methodologies, significant learning takes place between the students themselves as well as between student and teacher. The teacher needs to be skilled in facilitating learning that requires setting ground rules and supporting the development of processing skills.

THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

In organising the learning environment, the teacher will be careful to create an atmosphere, which respects the privacy of each individual student and treats all students with due sensitivity and care. Some important considerations might be:

• the degree of trust, respect and positive regard for students
• the relationships between the teacher and the students and among the students themselves
• the needs of the students
• the protection of the teacher
• the need for clear expectations, goals and learning objectives
• the referral procedures within the school and the students' awareness of these.

It is important that ground rules and codes of behaviour should be discussed and agreed with the class and regularly revisited. Parents should also share in the development of the ground rules, especially in SPHE.

GROUND RULES

In order for effective learning to take place in SPHE classes, a climate of trust and respect needs to be created. The first step in developing such a climate requires the drawing up of ground rules or class contract. Many teachers of SPHE find these ground rules a valuable reference point over the three years; increasing numbers of teachers of other subject have developed similar contracts for their own subjects. Some schools have now developed a whole-school approach to the drawing up of these contracts which apply in every class.

Ground rules make explicit the roles, rights and responsibilities of all concerned in the learning relationship. In SPHE they also respect peoples privacy and establish appropriate boundaries for what should and should not be raised in classroom discussion.

Rules need to be stated in the positive and that should be few in numbers. A rule needs to be enforceable. Rules help to channel the energies of the group towards definite goals and tasks.

EXAMPLE OF GROUND RULES / CLASS CONTRACT

WE AGREE THAT THESE ARE THE WAYS IN WHICH WE CAN WORK FOR THE SUCCESS OF THIS GROUP

SIGNED___________________________

The teacher and students have their own individual signed copy of the Ground Rules/Class Contract that they have drawn up and agreed on together. These will be referred to at various stages as the group progresses.

*Teachers should not give unconditional guarantees of confidentiality. It should be explained tostudents that in some circumstances the teacher may need to seek advice on an issue raised inclass or to tell someone what has been revealed in class. In addition, teachers will need to be sensitive to the privacy of family circumstances and will need to draw clear boundries for all discussions. Students need to be made aware of the importance of their own privacy, and the privacy of their families.

DESIGNING TEACHING AND LEARNING IN SPHE - GROUP WORK AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

GROUP WORK

Working in small groups is a most effective way of organising the learning in SPHE classes. This involves dividing the class into small groups of 4-6 students or in some cases into pairs or trios. The teacher's role is to organise the class so that effective work takes place in the groups. In group work, the most significant learning takes place between the students themselves, rather than between the students and teacher. However, in order for that learning between students to occur, significant teacher input is required before, during and after the group work.

Among the advantages of group work are:

• Responsibility for learning is shared between the teacher and students
• Communication is enhanced
• Ideas are exchanged on the basis of thoughts and feelings of all involved
• Problems can be solved in different ways by encouraging students to take ownership of problems and solutions
• Individuals learn how to listen, how to cope with conflict, and how to keep quiet
• Self-esteem is developed by being a valued member of the group and developing interpersonal skills
• Differentiation by task and outcome can be facilitated

Supporting effective group work for junior cycle students involves the consideration of a number of factors.

A RATIONALE FOR THE CREATION OF GROUPS

Students should know why group work is being used to complete the task. This helps them to appreciate the value of group work and encourages personal contribution. Vague instructions such as `get into groupsand get the job done' can lead to perceptions that group work is a way of passing time rather than a tool for learning.

A CLEAR TASK FOR THE STUDENTS TO COMPLETE

The task should be clearly stated and the process for completing the task should be clearly outlined. Students are confused by instruction such as `discuss thisin groups' or `work on those handouts in groups'.

Examples of clear tasks:

`Your group has to come up with three reasons for x and three reasons against'.

`The group has to come up with a slogan for a poster to be displayed in a primary school to discourage smoking'.

A TIME ALLOCATED FOR THE COMPLETION OF THE TASK

The amount of time allocated to group work should be clearly indicated. If the group has to complete a task and then prepare to present the outcomes of its work, then the breakdown of the time should be given.

THE ALLOCATION OF ROLES WITHIN THE GROUP

Defined roles may be given to members of the group at the beginning of the group work either verbally or in written form. Alternatively, within their group, students may choose a role. The teacher may assign some roles as she or he visits the group. Students should have an opportunity over time to experience a variety of roles. The role given and the responsibility involved should be clearly outlined.

CHAIRPERSON

`You are the chairperson for this group today. It isyour responsibility to ensure that everybody has anopportunity to speak and that they are listened to.You also need to make sure that the group focuses on thetasks given.'

TIME - KEEPER

`You have been asked to be timekeeper for the group.It is your responsibility to remind the chairperson of howmuch time is left for each task.'

REPORTER

At the beginning of the group work students should bemade aware of how the report on the group work is to bemade ­ by one student or two students, by a written ororal report, by questions from teacher or other students.If a member of the group is to undertake the reportingtask they can be identified at the beginning of the groupwork or during the teacher visit. While there is somevalue in groups choosing their own reporter, selection bythe teacher ensures that the task rotates and that allstudents have an opportunity to develop this skill.

OBSERVER

Depending on the group and the task in hand, a studentmay be appointed as an observer. His or her task as anobserver is to notice what is happening in the group andto be able to report back to the group as much as possibleof what he or she saw or heard happening. This roleinvolves noticing what helps the group to co-operate andaccomplish the task and what prevents that happening.Examples of what the observer may focus on include:

When was the group working at its best?

Did the group stop working well at any stage?

What happened?

This particular role requires great sensitivity to thefeeling of the individuals within the group. Therefore theobserver should focus on the positive and avoid namingindividual group members.

A MONITORING `VISIT' BY THE TEACHER AT LEAST ONCE DURING THE GROUP WORK TO KEEP THE STUDENTS ON THEIR TASK

The placement of the teacher in relation to the groups is important. If the teacher remains removed from the groups it may give the impression that the work being done in the groups is not part of the `real' teaching and learning. Instead, during group work the teacher should move around the room, visiting each group and perhaps asking one student to summarise the work of the group so far and another the next step they plan to take.

THE USE OF THE RESULTS OF GROUP WORK IN THE REST OF THE LESSON OR IN SUBSEQUENT LESSONS.

Part of the effectiveness of group work arises from the way in which the group's contributions are used by the teacher and the other students in the whole class setting. Students are likely to see little value in time spent on work which is not subsequently referred to or used in class.

Teacher Tip

It is important to remember that teachers and students develop group work skills over time through active participation.

Group work, even when well planned, can fail to achieve its aims for a variety of reasons. Events outside the control of the teacher ­ a change of classroom, the time of day, a previous lesson, a break-time incident or class dispute ­ can undermine the potential of group work.

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

The structured experiential method, or active learning, is widely recognised as the most appropriate method for use in all forms of SPHE. The use of this method in the classroom setting ensures that students actively participate in their own learning. They are not simply the passive recipients of information. Active participation gives a greater significance to the learning because it arises out of the students' own experience, ideas and behaviour.

This method is made up of four stages: experiencing, processing, generalising and applying.

EXPERIENCING

This is usually the `activity stage'. The experience is generated in the classroom through the use of a structured exercise such as role-play, simulation, drama, engaging with a text, etc. The students have to be participants rather than observers in this initial experience.

PROCESSING

Initially, processing consists of reflection on, and sharing of, the variety of reactions to the experience. Then, analysis occurs, through a variety of methods, in order to explore and evaluate the initial experience and the reactions to it.

GENERALISING

In this phase of the cycle, generalisations are extracted from the sharing and discussion and principles developed. Consideration is then given to how these might influence attitudes and behaviours in the context of moral, religious and cultural values.

APPLYING

The fourth phase of the cycle calls for the application of the learning in new situations. The teacher can use a variety of methodologies to encourage the application of the learning to new contexts. Students should be encouraged to set themselves an action plan ­ short term or long-term as a result of their learning. This might be written in an SPHE journal which is kept throughout the programme.

Teacher Tip Engaging with a text can be part of experiential learning if;

• the students are aware of the purpose of the text
• it is the main resource for the processing phase.

THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER

The teacher is responsible for designing, planning and structuring the experiential learning elements of a SPHE programme. The exercises and their subsequent analysis should reflect the aims of SPHE and the position of the lesson/s in the overall programme. Participating in an activity is not necessarily a learning experience. It is important that in addition to being involved in an activity, students are facilitated through analysis and processing to application.

The timing of the experiential learning cycle is very important. While the experiencing phase and, to a lesser extent, the processing phase may receive great emphasis in a lesson or series of lessons, the other two phases are often neglected. When this happens students experience SPHE as a series of unrelated events. This can result from filling out of worksheets and questionnaires which are then put in a folder but never used again, watching videos which are not discussed or analysed or hearing an interesting visiting speaker with no follow up or debriefing. The application and generalising phases of the experiential learning cycle are crucial to its effectiveness and careful management of time is needed to ensure a balance across the full cycle.

Some methods and activities which can support the experiential learning cycle are outlined below.

GROUP DISCUSSION

This can be triggered by a wide variety of experiences inside and outside the classroom. Discussions should be planned, have clear aims and be structured in accordance with the aims and objectives of the lesson.

CASE STUDIES

These can be drawn from students' own experience, from television programmes, from newspapers and a wide variety of other sources. They are particularly useful for problem solving exercises.

BRAINSTORMING

The students are asked to call out words they associate with a particular topic. All contributions are recorded without comment on a flip chart or board. The group may then put them in order or in categories and use the list as a basis for processing and analysis.

ROLE PLAY

This is a teaching procedure which allows students to explore simulated situations in a controlled and safe environment. In role-play, students take on roles based on real life situations in which personal skills can be tested and developed. Scripts and role cards are useful in supporting this methodology.

ARTWORK

Artistic expression can be a useful variation on written expression and responses. Forms of artwork include drawing, collage, montage, sculpting, clay modelling, graffiti work and posters. Photographs ­ the use of photo packs and the taking of photosare also useful.

NARRATIVE EXPRESSION

The creation of stories and poems can be helpful. Stories can be worked on in groups and a variety of possible endings suggested for different scenarios. Poetry is a useful tool for the expression of feelings and attitudes.

GAMES - ICEBREAKERS

Icebreakers can be used to energise a group or to help develop a relaxed atmosphere in the class. They can also enhance listening and communication skills.

GAMES - SIMULATION

These games function in the same way as role-play, but in a more structured environment. They can provide experience of, and exposure to, a wide range of situations and experiences.

DEBATES

Adebate is a series of formal spoken arguments for and against a definite proposal. While the normal form of exploration in the SPHE class is the more informal discussion, debates can be useful for developing skills of analysis, critical awareness and appreciation of differing points of view.

PROJECT WORK

A well-designed project assignment can facilitate students in directing their own learning. Four key stages are involved:

• plan - decide on the project title and theme
• implement - carry out the work
• present - display the completed work and answer questions from other students
• evaluate - what was learned in the entire process.

VISITORS ­ A LEARNING EVENT

While visitors to the classroom can be a useful addition to SPHE, the delivery of the programme remains the responsibility of the teacher. Therefore, all visitors need to be briefed on the work done by the class and on school policy if applicable. Students should be involved in setting up the visit and in evaluating it afterwards. Visits by outside speakers or organisations need to beplanned well in advance to allow forparents/guardians to be informed about the visit.

MULTI-MEDIA MATERIALS

As with all texts and resources, pre-selection by the teacher is essential if the material is to be effectively processed through an experiential learning cycle.