Checklist for working in groups on a project on the web-site for teachers and learners of English as a secondary language from a German point of view
Checklist for groups working on projects
1. The relation between the class and the
teacher are good. The teacher's authority
is unquestioned.
2. The students are eager to test new forms of learning.
3. The basic skills are practised in former classes or introduced
in a practising step on working in
teams before you start with the topic:
-
The teacher works as sample for the group work: he writes the topics
of each lesson on one side of the board.
-
The students keep minutes about everything important that happens in
the lesson and document these facts in files, diaries, posters, transparencies,
wallpaper pictures, cassettes or videos
-
The dates and the topics are put down as table of contents for the files
-
Keeping minutes: The formal structure of keeping minutes as well as
some frequently used expressions are introduced by the teacher (i.e. he
takes the first minutes himself)
-
The difficulties of working in group are discussed: Work sheet.
-
The results are presented again and again at the end and/or at the beginning
of a lesson. A poster on the wall which shows the progress of each group
is filled in at the end of each lesson by the speaker of the group.
4. What we consider:
-
In order to keep time in relation to effect each group needs a keeper
of time.
-
Working material are at hand: ( coloured highlighting pens, dictionaries,
rules, a watch or a clock, files, posters, papers, clue, scissors, transparencies,
a diary)
-
The groups agree on the functions of each group member who is responsible
for his section.
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The group finds a group name in order to provoke a corporate identity
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Rules and signals are worked out by the whole class. They are unanimously
accepted.(A signal for changing from working in groups to working in class,
for silence, for indicating the last minute before the ending of the lesson
)
-
Speaking English even in the groups: if a word is unknown it is written
on one side of the board and look up for the next lesson. So far the German
word is used
-
Independence, authority of your own main targets of group work. Therefore
the modal auxiliaries "shall, must, can, may I /we do...?" replaced by
" I want to do..." and most frequently will become " I do this or that.
" or just the action they precede.
-
Positive statements are used instead of "no, not, nobody, nothing, against,
don'ts" etc.
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Revision is made a general concept.
-
Organisational forms are found to repeat vocabulary, grammar, main topical
points or summaries i.e. 10 rules out of 27 i.e. quiz shows
5. We make or have a project plan made including:
-
Topics
-
Vocabulary
-
Grammar
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Learning - working - presenting - decision making techniques
-
Evaluation questions
6. The class prepares a classroom test (Klassenarbeit) i.e. the class
suggests let's say 30 items
and 15 will be found in the test. Perhaps
there will be a test which contains two parts:
a single test for everyone and a group
test.
7. Every group presents their results to the class in a way that
everyone knows all the main
facts. Try to find an opportunity to present
the results of the group work to a larger audience:
parents' meeting, school magazine, exhibition
in your school hall, internet
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