F
ONTYS
H
OGESCHOLEN
21 mei 2012
The effects of a social media
based teaching approach on the
grades and work ethic of a
second year class of
Charlemagne College in
Landgraaf.
Andrea Klein
Document: Bachelor thesis
University: Fontys Hogescholen
Study: Lerarenopleiding Engels
Supervisor: Frans Hermans
Preface
With this thesis I would like to examine the effect that a social media based teaching approach has on the grades and work ethic of a second year havo class of Charlemagne College location Eijkhagen in Landgraaf.
During the academic year of 2010-2011 I have researched the most suitable types of social media for an English teacher to use in a work related context and I have incorporated those into my teaching approach for my pilot group during the second trimester of the academic year. At the end of the second trimester I compared the grades and work ethic of my pilot group with those of my regular group.
In order to answer my main question I had help from one person in particular: Tjeu Severens. His passion for social media is contagious and his knowledge about the subject is limitless. I would like to thank him for his time, patience and effort.
I would also like to thank my fellow English teachers of the Charlemange College in
Landgraaf for their time and willingness to answer my questions and for giving me honest and valuable feedback.
Of course I also have to thank the pupils of my pilot group and regular group for the enthusiasm in trying new things and their valuable feedback.
My special thanks and appreciation goes to Frans Hermans, the supervisor of this thesis, for his interest, patience, outstanding support and feedback and for his guidance throughout the process of writing this thesis.
Summary
Fact is that every person and therefore every teacher is unique. We all have our personal feelings, values, beliefs and habits that define our personality. Along with our knowledge and experiences our personality defines our teaching style.
In theory here in the Netherlands it takes four years to become a competent teacher with the right tools and skills to successfully teach pupils. During the educational phase pupils learn several didactical and psychological approaches and methodologies regarding teaching and communicating. Trainee teachers are given the opportunity to try out those approaches during the mandatory four teacher practices. Once trainee teachers find a teaching style that suits their personality, feelings and beliefs and works for them, they tend to stick to that style and keep on using it.
Finding you own style is a key element to becoming a teacher. The next step for teachers is to find a teaching approach that is suitable for their own style and the needs of the pupils. The difference between a teaching style and approach is that the style defines how a teacher projects himself in front of a class and the approach defines how the subject material is being taught to the pupils. Teachers usually stick to their teaching styles while their approaches can vary from lesson to lesson.
Social media is incorporated into more and more teaching approaches. Computer scientists and teaching experts regard social media as a key tool for current and especially future teaching. In this thesis I have researched which types of social media are suitable to
incorporate into a teaching approach for teachers of English, who my learners are and what my new lesson plan will look like in order find out how a social media based teaching approach will influence the grades & work ethic of my pupils.
My hypothesis was that social media would improve both the grades and work ethic of my pilot group and the results of the research confirm that. I was amazed at the progress that pupils made and how their view towards learning changed.
Table of contents:
Preface ... 2 Summary ... 3 Table of contents: ... 4 Introduction ... 6 Procedure: ... 7 Data collection ... 8 Instrumentation ... 8 Sample: ... 8 Hypothesis ... 9Chapter 1: Theoretical Framework ... 10
1.1 World Wide Web ... 10
1.2 Web 1.0 ... 10
1.3 Web 2.0 ... 11
1.4 Social Media ... 11
Chapter 2: Which types of social media are suitable for an English teacher to use in a work related context? ... 18
Requirements: ... 19
Results: ... 19
Conclusion: ... 27
Chapter 3: Who are my learners? ... 33
Requirements: ... 34
Results: ... 34
Conclusion: ... 47
Portfolio H2C ... 47
Portfolio H2B: ... 51
Chapter 4: What will the lesson plans for the second trimester look like? ... 56
Requirements: ... 57
Results: ... 57
Chapter 5: What are results of H2C & H2B concerning grades and work ethic at the end
of the second trimester? ... 79
Requirements: ... 80 Results: ... 80 Regular group H2C: ... 81 Pilot group H2B: ... 83 Chapter 6: Conclusion ... 85 Bibliography ... 91 Literature: ... 91 Internet: ... 91 Appendix 1: ... 93 Appendix 2: ... 96 Appendix 3: ... 99 Appendix 4: ... 102 Appendix 5: ... 106 Appendix 6: ... 108
Introduction
According to Ian Newby-Clark1, a social psychologist at the University of Guelph, people are creatures of habit. He refers to people as creatures because even though we can be
sophisticated and good-looking, our bodies and especially our brains are complex evolved machines that are made out of flesh and blood. Our brains govern basic processes such as breathing and food intake, and also enable us to appreciate a nice smell or a good film. As creatures, we have needs; we need to drink, and so we drink. As rather intelligent and social creatures, we like to chat with one another, and so we do. We take turns and finish our conversations gracefully. Ian Newby-Clark believes that habits help us to accomplish all the things our bodies and minds need. Habits help us through the day. When we are doing something that is habitual, we are not engaged in the task in the same way as when we are doing something that is not habitual. For example, when we are making breakfast in our kitchen we know exactly what to do in which order. We do it effortlessly and almost
subconsciously. We slightly panic once we notice that we have to change our habits because we are in an unknown kitchen. We don’t like that feeling, so we stick to our habits.
This is exactly what happens to most teachers: during our teacher practise we look for our personal style of teaching, and once we find it we easily turn it into a habit. We then find a teaching approach that suits our teaching style and keep using that. Once we have established our habits we don’t like to change them for several reasons.
Firstly, because we are afraid of the unknown. Change implies uncertainty, and uncertainty is often regarded as uncomfortable. Not knowing what potentially may happen often leads to heightened anxiety.
Secondly, because we afraid of failure. The new order may require skill and abilities that may be beyond our capabilities. There is resistance to trying a new approach as people know how to operate in the existing order, but fear they will not be able to acquire the new skills and behaviour that will be required of them.
1
Charles Darwin2 once said that: “In the end it is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” The conclusion is that in the end teachers will have to change in order to develop as teachers. It is inevitable if we want to continue doing our jobs and reaching our goals in educating our pupils. Social media is seen as the future for the educational sector by many computer scientists and teaching experts. In this thesis I want to define what social media really is, which types are suitable for an English teacher to incorporate into a teaching approach in order to research what the effect is on the grades and work ethic of the pupils.
This research is focused on my main question:
What are the effects of a social media based teaching approach on the grades and work ethic of a second year havo group of the Charlemagne College in Landgraaf?
In order to fully answer this question four sub questions need to be answered:
1. Which types of social media are suitable for an English teacher of Charlemagne College in Landgraaf to use in a work related context?
2. Who are my learners?
3. What will the lesson plans for the second trimester look like?
4. What are the results concerning the grades & work ethic at the end of the second
trimester?
Procedure:
Data has been gathered at the location Eijkhagen of Charlemagne College in Landgraaf. Charlemagne College is a comprehensive school with four locations in the area of Kerkrade & Landgraaf, which is often referred to as Parkstad. It offers regular education on VMBO, Havo, Atheneum and Gymnasium and bilingual education on Atheneum & Gymnasium levels. I will specify my research on my own location, which is Eijkhagen and two second year havo classes.
2
Data collection
Data have been collected using manual questionnaires & individual conversations. All Ten English teachers have received questionnaires and have been interviewed individually. All fifty-two pupils have been given a questionnaire. Data was manually placed in SOM, MY@VO and Microsoft Office Excel.
Instrumentation
Two questionnaires have been used for this research.
The first questionnaire was given to ten English teachers of Charlemagne College in Landgraaf in order to research the current situation concerning communication & teaching and to establish criteria that social media tools need to meet in order to be useful for an English teacher in a work related context.
The second questionnaire was given to all fifty-two pupils of my regular and pilot group to research what their needs and wishes are for the subject English during the second trimester of the academic year 2010-2011.
Both questionnaires contained:
Closed ended questions3 - Respondents’ answers are limited to a fixed set of responses. Most scales are closed ended. Other types of closed ended questions include:
- Multiple choice questions - The respondent has several options from which to choose. - Scaled questions - Responses are graded on a continuum.
Open ended questions4 - No options or predefined categories are suggested. The respondent supplies his/her own answer without being constrained by a fixed set of possible responses.
Sample:
Ten English teachers and fifty-two second year pupils of Charlemagne College in Landgraaf participated in this research.
Among the English teachers were two men and eight women. The youngest teacher was twenty-five years old and the oldest was fifty-five years old. All of the teachers have had an
3
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Questionnaire_construction 4
education of at least HBO level. Four teachers are currently studying, three on HBO level and one on academic level.
The fifty-two second year havo pupils are aged between twelve and fourteen year old and are divided into two classes of six pupils each. Twenty-three pupils are male and twenty-nine pupils are female. In chapter three of this thesis more information is provided about the pupils.
Hypothesis
This thesis will research what the effect of a social media based teaching approach on the grades and work ethic of a second year havo class of the Charlemagne College location Eijkhagen in Landgraaf.
Hypothesis:
Social media will improve the results on both the grades and the work ethic of my pilot group. better results
Figure 0.1 Hypothesis model.
What is expected to happen is that the research will provide results to prove that a social media based teaching approach will improve the grades and work ethic of my pilot group during the second trimester.
Grades of pilot group
Social media
Chapter 1: Theoretical Framework
In this theoretical framework I aim to highlight the terms that are related to my thesis. The terms that will be discussed are the World Wide Web, web 1.0, web 2.0 and social media.
1.1 World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext5 documents that can be accessed via the Internet. With a web browser, the user can view web pages that may contain text, images, videos, and other multimedia, and navigate between them via hyperlinks.
In 1990 at CERN, the European organisation for nuclear research, British engineer and computer scientist Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Belgian computer scientist Robert Cailliau wrote a proposal for what would eventually become the World Wide Web. By using hypertext, it would be possible to link and access information of various kinds as a web of notes in which the user can browse. One could say that web 1.0 was born.
1.2 Web 1.0
When computer scientists refer to web 1.0, they refer to the internet during period of 1990-2000. During that period of time the World Wide Web was created and published. The keywords for web 1.0 are reading and privacy.
Web 1.0 was seen as an information platform. There was a one-way flow of information, through websites which contained "read-only" materials. During the period of web 1.0 the user was able to gain information via the World Wide Web but not to react to it.
Anonymity is another keyword for web 1.0 because both the webmaster, the creator of a website, and the user can remain almost completely anonymous. The webmaster can create a website and add whatever information on that website he/she wants. The user can read that information but can only use other media such as newspapers or TV to openly react to that information. Initially, privacy is what persuaded people to use the internet as an information platform.
5
Hypertext is text displayed on a computer or other electronic devices with references (hyperlinks) to other text, tables or images that the reader can immediately access, usually by a mouse click or key press sequence.
Fact is that within the period of 1990-2000 the World Wide Web grew immensely popular and millions of websites were created and used.
1.3 Web 2.0
When computer scientists refer to web 2.0, they refer to the internet during period of 2000-2010. In that period of time that World Wide Web gained a mainstream status. Websites became too complex for one webmaster to manage; therefore systems like Content Management were developed.
Some computer scientists claim the biggest difference between web1.0 and web 2.0 is that there software is more developed and complex. Originally the World Wide Web was
developed by two computer scientist who wanted to spread information using hyperlinks. This evolved when the World Wide Web became open to the public; the general public started reading and spreading information as well.
According to most sociologists it is the public that created the biggest difference between web 1.0 and web 2.0. Instead of reading and remaining anonymous people wanted to openly state their opinions and react on opinions of others. The World Wide Web was no longer seen as information platform with a one-way flow of information but more as a communication platform where both webmaster and user could exchange information and no longer remained anonymous.
1.4 Social Media
An important part of Web 2.0 is social media, which reflects a fundamental shift in the way people communicate.
Definition:
The term ‘social media’ refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue.
Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein, who are both professors of marketing at the ESCP business school in France, define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of a user-generated content". Social media are media for social interaction, as a
superset beyond social communication. Enabled by easy accessible and innovative communication techniques, social media substantially change the way of communication between organizations, communities and individuals".
The best way to define social media is to break it down. Media is an instrument of
communication, like a newspaper or a radio, so social media would be a social instrument of communication.
In web 2.0 terms, this would be a website that doesn't just give you information, but interacts with you while giving you that information. This interaction can be as simple as asking for your comments or letting you vote on an article, or it can be as complex as Flixster6
recommending movies to you based on the ratings of other people with similar interests. Think of regular media as a one-way street where you can read a newspaper or listen to a report on television, but you have very limited ability to openly share your thoughts on the matter.
Social media, on the other hand, is a two-way street that provides you with the ability to communicate.
Many computer scientists and sociologists have tried to categorize social media. This however turned out to be quite a challenge because social media are dynamic: new types are created every day, current ones keep evolving and technology keeps changing and improving as well. Only five years ago a computer was needed to gain access to the internet, nowadays there are many more devices that can be used. An example would be a smartphone7.
Critical characteristics8 of social media are: Connectedness:
This characteristic showcases the media’s ability to connect and re‐connect like‐minded people or people interested in the same topics and domains. Through this media, literally 24/7 connectedness is possible through a variety of media and access devices including computers,
6 A social movie site allowing users to share movie ratings, discover new movies and meet others with similar taste in movies
7 A device that is used for making telephone calls, but also adds features that you might find on a personal digital assistant or a computer such as digital voice service, Web browsing, MP3 player, video viewing etc.
8
Source:http://mit.gov.in/sites/upload_files/dit/files/SocialMediaFrameworkDraftforPublicConsultation_192011. pdf
laptops, mobile phones etc. Individuals tweeting on Twitter or updating their Facebook account at all hours are clear examples of this attribute.
Collaboration:
The connections achieved on this media, enable people to collaborate and create knowledge. Such collaborations can be either open or closed. Wikipedia is an example of open collaboration which enabled creation of an open web based encyclopedia through contribution from hundreds of thousands of people. GovLoop is an example of closed collaboration wherein expert groups contribute specific policy matters.
Community:
Connectedness and collaboration helps to create and sustain communities. These communities can create awareness on various issues and can be used for seeking inputs into policy making, building goodwill or even seeking feedback into delivery of public services.
Computer scientist and sociologist Fred Cavazza has created social media landscapes that indicate the different types of social media and their importance on the web. In the figure on the next page it is seen how social media has evolved throughout the years.
Figure 1.1 Social media landscapes from 2008 – 2011.
Source: http://www.fredcavazza.net/2012/02/22/social-media-landscape-2012/
For this thesis it is relevant to focus on the social media landscape made by Fred Cavazza for 2012. According to Red Cavazza social media have never been as important during the last decade as they are now in 2012. Most people refer to social media as the web, meaning the entire web. The web has become social and it is hard to find websites that are non-social. In the latest version of the landscape there is a set of online services that allow conversations and social interactions to take place, on computers, but also on mobile and alternate devices such smart phones, smart frames etc.
Figure 1.2 Social media landscape 2012.
Source: http://www.fredcavazza.net/2012/02/22/social-media-landscape-2012/
The graph is divided into pies and layers to make it easier to understand for the reader; however social media is a very dense ecosystem in which all different types have similarities and therefore easily overlap each other.
The three major players can be found in the central circle, because they are providing users with a very large set of functionalities. It is possible for a user to publish, share, play,
network, buy and localize these platforms. Basically they are widely used as starting point for users on the internet. According Fred Cavazza all three of them are competitive but it is not likely that one can dominate the other two because they all have a very distinct orientation: Twitter for content discovery, Google+ to manage your online identity and Facebook to interact with your friends.
In terms of usages: Fred Cavazza has spread the various services over families:
Family How Examples
Publishing - with blog engines WordPress, Blogger, Typepad & LiveJournal - wikiplatforms Wikipedia &. Wikia
- lifeblog services Tumblr & Posterous - social Q & A Quora
Sharing - online video services YouTube, Dailymotion &Vimeo - pictures Flickr & Instagram
- links Delicious & Digg
- products Pinterest
- music Spotify
- documents Slideshare & Scribd
Playing - with major editors Zynga, Playdom, playfish, SGN & Popcap - dedicated platforms Hi5
- smaller editors Digital Chocolate & Kobojo Networking - professional LinkedIn & Viadeo
- personal Netlog, Tagged, MySpace & Badoo
- for former acquaintances MyYearBook, Classmates & schoolbank.nl Buying - customer intelligence
platforms
Bazaarvoice & PowerReviews
- purchase sharing Polyvore & Blippy
- recommendation Hunch
- social commerce offerings Boosket
Localization - with mobile applications Foursquare, Path & Scvngr - socialized city guides Yelp & DisMoisOu
- upcoming events or venues Plancast
The main goal of this chart is to make it easier for the user to comprehend social media in all its complexity; it is not to set an exhaustive list of available services because the list would be incredibly long and would have to be updated every month. That is the reason that some
major generic platforms or players such as bulletin boards, instant messaging services or youth virtual worlds are not listed here. Furthermore, this graph only reflects Western countries social platforms; it does not take in account eastern markets like Russia or Asian markets like China or Japan.
Unlike other traditional media, social media is more interactive, enables one‐to‐one
conversation and demands immediate responses. On such platforms the perception of official and personal roles and boundaries is often blurred. Therefore, while using social media especially for official purposes, the following may be kept in mind to smoothen interaction:
- Identity: Always identify clearly who you are, what is your role in the department and publish in the first person. Disclaimer may be used when appropriate.
- Authority: Do not comment and respond unless authorized to do so especially in the matters that are draft legislations or relating to other individuals.
- Relevance: Comment on issues relevant to your area and make relevant and pertinent comments. This will make conversation productive and help take it to its logical conclusion.
- Professionalism: Be Polite, Be Discrete and Be Respectful to all and do not make personal comments for or against any individuals or agencies. Also, professional discussions should not be politicized.
- Openness: Be open to comments, whether positive or negative. It is NOT necessary to respond to each and every comment.
- Compliance: Be compliant to relevant rules and regulations. Do not infringe upon IPR, copyright of others.
- Privacy: Do not reveal personal information about other individuals as well as do not publish your own private and personal details unless you wish for them to be made public to be used by others.
Chapter 2: Which types of social media are suitable for an English
teacher to use in a work related context?
A general job description9 for a secondary school teacher states that a teacher: - teaches one or more national curriculum subjects to pupils aged 11-18. - supports, observes and records the progress of their classes.
- plans lessons in line with national objectives with the aim of ensuring a healthy culture of learning.
- must keep up to date with developments in their subject area, new resources, methods and national objectives.
- liaises and networks with other professionals, parents and carers both informally and formally.
Communication and teaching style are of vital importance in order to meet those standards, however it is up to every individual teacher to decide what his/her communication and teaching approach is.
A problem arises when we acknowledge the fact that in the current society both education and communication are dynamic while most teachers are not. The result is that most traditional teaching and communication approaches start to clash with modern technology and beliefs. For a long time teachers were able to stick to their habits, however the society is changing and change itself is inevitable.
An example to explain that significant change:
When you bought a radio in 1990 you could still use it in 2000, even though it was considered dated, because the parts were still available. Most people stick to that radio out of habit, even though there are many alternatives. But nowadays you cannot use that radio anymore because the parts are not available and the device is not socially accepted anymore.
This is exactly what is happening to some teachers. They stick to their familiar approaches out of habit and fear of the unknown even though the internet offers them a quick and innovative alternative.
9
So it is time to start embracing change instead of fighting it. As teachers it is our main goal to help pupils acquire knowledge and develop skills. Social media can be a very helpful tool in achieving that. In order to start using social media in our teaching approaches we first need to know which types are most suitable for an English teacher.
This chapter will indicate which types of social media are suitable for an English teacher of Charlemagne College in Landgraaf to use while developing his/her lesson, while teaching the actual lesson and as a communication means with pupils, parents and colleagues.
Requirements:
In order to indicate that, research must be done on:
- The current tools & media that English teachers of the Charlemagne College in Landgraaf use while designing lessons, teaching lessons and communicating with pupils, parents & colleagues and whether or not they are functioning.
- The requirements that the social media tools need to meet in order to make them functional for an English teacher in work related context.
First, a PowerPoint (see appendix 1) was made by me in order to fully explain the concept of social media and its different types to the English teachers of Charlemagne College in
Landgraaf. Teachers need that knowledge in order to correctly answer the questions of the questionnaire (see appendix 2) that was made by me to research what the English teachers of Charlemagne College in Landgraaf found important when it comes to using social media in a work-related environment. Afterwards I had individual conversations with all participating teachers in order to ask specific questions regarding the questionnaire.
In the end I collected all the results and used them to search for and eventually select the best types of social media to use for communicating with pupils, designing lessons and teaching & practising the subject materials.
Results:
The PowerPoint was presented by me to my colleagues during the staff meeting for English teachers on 15 September 2011. After a question round the questionnaire was handed out for all ten English teachers that were present to fill out. Before the teachers filled out the
questions when necessary. In the following two weeks individual conversations took place between me and several teachers based on the questionnaires. The questionnaire can be divided into three parts:
Part 1 Communication:
The first part of the questionnaire covers the topic communication. It can be concluded from the general job description of an English teacher in secondary education that communication between the teacher and various other sources such as parents, pupils and colleagues is required and of vital importance to create a safe learning environment. As seen in the PowerPoint I made about social media - a fundamental shift in communication has taken place. We have evolved from having monologues on the internet to having dialogues. According to the online website of Cambridge dictionaries a monologue is a speech by one person and a dialogue is a conversation in which two or more people talk and respond to each other. In today’s society more and more people use social media to interact with each other both privately as well as professionally. Social media could be used as a means of
communication between teachers, colleagues, parents and pupils.
Question 1: Which of the following means of communication do you use to communicate with parents, pupils or colleagues on work-related topics? Results:
All ten teachers use the same communication means: phone and webmail. Both communication means are provided by the school.
- There are two phones present in the building of Charlemagne College in Landgraaf that are free to use for teachers to make calls concerning their work.
- When a teacher is hired he/she is assigned an e-mail address on the webmail of school. Nearly every e-mail address starts with the first letter of the surname
followed by a dot and the complete last name followed by @charlemagnecollege.nl. Parents, pupils and teachers can look up all e-mail addresses on the official website of the school and in the webmail browser itself.
Question 2: Are you satisfied with the communication means that you selected in
question 1? Please grade each selected communication mean with a grade between 1-10 with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest.
Results:
Phone the average grade that was given by ten teacher is 6.3
In personal conversation with all ten teachers I asked them to give a motivation for their grade. The conclusions are that:
- Seven out of ten teachers find it extremely annoying that only two phones are provided for over a hundred teachers. The result is that both phones are nearly always occupied.
- Eight out of ten teachers have generally experienced that using a phone to contact parents proves to be useless since most parents are working during the day and are therefore unable to answer the phone, even when calling a mobile phone.
- Four out of ten teachers told me that they tried to contact parents after working hours by using their own mobile phones. The other six out of ten teachers refuse to contact parents after working hours unless there is an urgent matter.
- Three out of ten teachers complain about the fact the most phone numbers that are officially listed in school documents are incorrect or incomplete. Teachers constantly have to check whether the number is correct to prevent awkward and unprofessional situations.
- Two out of ten teachers have told me that they use the public phones in the school to contact colleagues from other locations. Both teachers are very negative about this because it is a very complicated process to reach the right person.
- Four out of ten teachers told me that they use their own mobile phones to contact fellow colleagues to discuss private matters.
Webmail the average grade that was given by ten teachers is 6.9
In personal conversation with all ten teachers I asked them to give a motivation for their grade. The conclusions are that:
- Ten out of ten teachers use their webmail to communicate with parents, pupils and colleagues.
- Eight out of ten teachers state that the communication with colleagues via webmail is quick and efficient. The other two find the webmail complicated and see it as an extra burden. Those two teachers admit that they lack the actual knowledge to use the webmail to its full potential.
- Seven out of ten teachers state that communication with parents via webmail is efficient. According to their experiences most parents have an email account that they regularly check. The other three teachers have the opposite opinion; according to them communication via email is slow and that it takes parents up to two days to respond.
- Six out of ten teachers do not check their mail after eight o’clock. The other four teachers state that they check their email up until midnight. Eight out of teachers state that checking their email is the first thing they when login in to their account on the computer. The other two state that they check their mail once every day when the time is convenient.
- Nine out of ten teachers find that the communication with pupils via webmail is not efficient. Teachers claim that many pupils to do not know the password to gain access to their webmail account from school. All ten pupils state that they send information to the pupils via webmail but only four out of ten teachers get responses.
Question 3: Which examples of social media have you used outside class to communicate with parents, pupils and colleagues?
Results:
- Six out of ten teachers stated that they use Facebook to communicate with each other both on a personal and a professional level. Three of those six teachers use Facebook to communicate with pupils on a professional level. None of the teachers use Facebook to communicate with parents.
- Two out of ten people use Twitter to communicate with colleagues and pupils on a personal level. Only one person uses Twitter to communicate with colleagues and pupils on professional level.
Question 4: Which examples of social media would you like learn how to use in order to communicate with parents, pupils and colleagues?
Results:
- Seven out of ten teachers are willing to learn how to use Facebook to communicate with pupils.
- Three out of ten teachers indicate that they lack knowledge of Facebook in order to use it.
- Only one teacher indicates that he wants to learn how to use Twitter in order to
communicate with parents, pupils and colleagues. The other nine indicate that they find Twitter too personal and complicated to use for communication in professional setting.
Question 5: How satisfied are you with the general communication between yourself and colleagues, parents and pupils. Grade them between 1 – 10 with one being the lowest and ten being the highest.
Results:
Colleagues The average grade that all teachers gave was a 7.2. Communication via webmail, private phone or Facebook is quick and efficient. In individual conversations there were some complaints about certain teachers’ slow response to emails but this had little to do with the actual communication mean and more with that particular person’s character and attitude.
Parents The average grade that all teachers gave was a 6.5. Teachers are positive about the way of communicating with parents but do admit that it can be difficult to reach parents sometimes no matter which communication mean is used. Fact will always be that most parents (both father and mother) work and are therefore difficult to reach during the working hours. If teachers really want to speak to parents by phone or face-to-face they have to do it after working hours.
Pupils The average grade that all teachers gave was a 4.2. According to all ten teachers the biggest challenge is to successfully communicate with pupils outside the classroom. During the individuals conversations I noticed that the problem lies in the means of communication. Pupils are constantly communicating (even during class!) on their mobile phones, Facebook, Hyves etc. But they receive the important information that has been send
to them via the Charlemagne College webmail either too late or not at all and there is no response.
Part 2 Lessons:
The second part of the questionnaire concerns the topic lessons. It can be concluded from the general job description of an English teacher in secondary education that teachers must be able to ensure a healthy culture of learning by planning lessons that meet the national objectives. Teachers must also keep up to date with the new developments and resources concerning their subject area.
Social media could be the tool that helps teachers achieve those goals. Generally people assume that social media is predominantly used as a means of communication. However it is much more than that; it can also be used for sharing other media such as video and
PowerPoint, for buying and selling services and products, for exchanging lesson plans etc. A teacher can use social media while developing lessons and while for teaching them.
Question 6: Which examples of social media sites do you use while developing your lesson plans or during your lessons?
Results:
- Three out of ten English teachers use Wikipedia as a source of information for lessons.
- All ten teachers indicate that they use YouTube during their lessons. - One person indicates that he uses Flickr during his lessons.
- Al ten teachers indicate that they mostly use the materials from the course books, their own imagination or a few website when it comes to designing lessons. - Teachers indicated that they use the following websites mainly for coping notes &
exercises:
2. http://www.bastrimbos.com/
3. http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises_list/alle_grammar.htm
4. http://www.better-english.com/exerciselist.html
lesson materials. Making tests is not included.
- All ten teachers also indicate that they want to discover and use more types of social media in order to improve the exercises that they make. All teachers feel
overwhelmed by the huge amount of options and don’t know where to start.
Question 7: Which features do you look for in a social media site regarding education? Results:
According to all ten English teachers this is the general top six of features that they look for on a social media website:
1. Downloads 2. Articles/blogs 3. Forum
4. Tools & tips 5. News on education
6. Other there was one person who wrote down that she likes seeing a job bank on the websites since she is planning to move abroad in a few years and she hopes this can help her find work.
Part 3 Criteria:
In order for me to start researching and selecting different types of social media that I want to incorporate into a new lesson plan and my new teaching approach I need to know what English teachers find important when it comes to using social media.
Question 8: Create a top 5 of criteria that you find most important when it comes to using social media.
Results:
The general top five of all ten teachers is:
1. Preparation time for the teachers. During the individuals conversations with the teachers I discovered the especially the older teachers do not want to lose too much on preparing their lessons. They are open to using social media but want to be easily
accessible.
2. Level of difficulty for user. When using social media in class it is important that both the teachers and the pupils understand what the particular type of social media that they are using can do and how to manage it.
3. Visually attractive & up to date. Teachers believe that their lessons need to be visually attractive and up to date in order to ultimately motivate and attract the learner.
4. Ability to use again. Whenever teachers create their own material they want to be able to store it and use it again next year or next period.
5. Ability to use for different levels. Teachers want to use the social media to create lessons and explain the subject materials. In order to do that the level needs to needs to adaptable to the particular level and year. Teachers find it important that they can do that.
Note: there are two teachers who added a different criteria:
- Reliability: The teacher stated that he wants the material to be reliable since there is so much junk on the internet. I immediately added this to my list because I
completely agree with him. We try to teach our pupils that they should not
automatically trust everything on the internet and therefore we, as teachers, must be critical about the information we gather as well.
- Free: This teacher stated that she does not want to spend money in order to gain access to a side. In her experience some websites can charge you a lot of money and it is not always worth it.
Conclusion:
After accessing all the information I received through the questionnaire and during the individual conversations I have chosen the following types of social media to use for communicating with my pupils, preparing lessons and actually teaching them. Communication:
As a teacher I have to constantly communicate with teachers, parents & colleagues. After assessing the results of the questionnaire I can conclude that the main problem lies within the communication between teachers & pupils.
Teachers and pupils come from many different generations which use different means to communicate with each other. I need to find a social media related communicating mean that is both suitable for the English teachers and the pupils.
I chose Facebook10 as my main means of communication. It is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook Inc. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as friends, and exchange messages, videos, links and pictures.
Additionally, users may join common-interest user groups, organized by workplace, school or college, or other characteristics, and categorize their friends into lists such as "People from work" or "close friends".
I have chosen to work with Facebook because:
- It is popular among my target group of pupils. In January of 2012 over 900 million people all over the world have a Facebook account and the numbers are still growing. It is most popular amongst children, teenagers and adults aged between twelve until thirty.
- Seven of the participating teachers to this research indicated that they are open to learning more about Facebook and its uses.
- It is reliable because only people with the correct password gain access to an account. However, it is up to every individual to create solid password and keep it a secret.
10
- It can be both public and private because when people post a message they can decide whether they want to it be seen by everyone or just friends. People are also able to send private messages to each other.
- It is easy accessible over smart phone, laptop, I-pad or a regular computer at home or at school.
- It is visually attractive. People can change the design of their own pages and they can post pictures & videos.
- It is free of cost and easy to learn how to use through dozens of free online courses, videos and manuals.
- It provides both pupils and teachers with one key element of social media
immediate response. Pupils receive information and can immediately respond to that information.
Preparing the lesson:
In order for teachers to successfully help their pupils acquire knowledge time must be spend on creating and/or finding the materials and tools to actually teach them. During the
individual conversation with teachers I found out of all teachers spend an average time of one hour per week on finding or making materials for their lessons. Most teachers heavily rely on the course books because it is the easy thing to do and they spend little time finding new materials because feel overwhelmed by all the options. They have been using the same websites over and over again.
There are thousands of social media related websites on the internet that teachers can use for finding materials and exchanging ideas. I have chosen to work with two interactive websites for this thesis because they have all the features of a typical social media website regarding education that teachers of the Charlemagne College location Eijkhagen look for and because they fit the criteria that we established.
Typical social media features that they offer are:
- A forum where people can interact with each other.
- Lesson plans to download with the possibility to grade the lesson plan and post comments.
- Articles on various topics concerning teaching on which people can comment. - Daily and weekly blogs of people who are working in the educational sector. - A whole list of tips and tools for teachers to improve their teaching methods. - A daily updated news site on education
- A job bank or links to different international job banks. Both websites fit the criteria because they are:
- Free no fees have to be paid in order to gain access. However users must register and account in order enter certain features such as the forums.
- Reliable all materials are screened until they are published online in order to clear out the rubbish. All materials are also rated and reviewed by the user of the website. - Suitable for teachers and all levels no matter what subject, age or level you teach. - Easy to use they both have an instruction manual published to familiarise the user
with the website.
- Eeasy accessible over smart phone, laptop, I-pad or a regular computer at home or at school.
1. http://www.tes.co.uk/home.aspx
This is an international interactive website which has all the features of a typical social media site. It offers its nearly two million user free access to:
o A job bank with over 6500 different vacancies for teachers all over the world o The forums in order to exchange ideas and talk about all topics regarding
teaching.
o Full lesson plans and printable materials made teacher all over the world o Over 300 000 recourses and tools to improve your teaching
o A whole instruction page to help you understand and use this website to its fullest potential.
2. http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/
This is an international interactive websites that offers its nearly two million user free access to:
o Teaching recourses such as worksheet, full lesson plans, activities etc. o A community with blogs, forums, polls and networks.
o Teaching training and development possibilities During lessons:
The main objective of being a teacher is to teach the pupils. This is what teachers do up to twenty-eight lesson hours a week in the Netherlands. As stated before: preparation is
importance but the actual teaching of the lesson is of equal importance. During the individual conversation with the English teachers I discovered that they do use types of social media such as YouTube but they do not use it to its full potential. Furthermore, there are many websites out there that most teachers don’t know about.
I have found hundreds of social media websites that are suitable for English teacher to use. Out of all these options I have chosen the following websites to work with during this thesis for introducing & explaining the study materials and exercises because they fit the criteria we established. They are all free, reliable, easy to use, suitable for all levels, easily accessible and most important web 2.0 based.
1. http://www.youtube.com/
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in
February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos. Users must register on the site to be able to upload videos and comment on videos. Users can find videos by typing keywords into the search engine. Several companies and sectors have their own channel on YouTube on which their videos are posted.
This website is extremely handy for an English teacher to find videos that can introduce & explain a certain topic.
2. http://www.pintrest.com/
Pinterest is a pin board-style social photo sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections such as events, interests, hobbies and more. Users can browse other pin boards for inspiration, re-pin' images to their own collections and/or 'like' photos. Pinterest's mission is to "connect everyone in the world through the 'things' they find interesting" via a global platform of inspiration and idea sharing. Pinterest
allows its users to share 'pins' on both Twitter and Facebook, which allows users to share and interact with a broad community.
This website is extremely handy for teachers to introduce new topics in a visually attractive way and to allow pupils to practice their skills & be creative.
3. http://www.slideshare.net/
Slideshare is web 2.0 based interactive website that offers its users the possibility to privately and publically upload and download the following file formats: PowerPoint, PDF, Keynote and Open Office presentations. It is considered to be similar to YouTube, but for slideshows.
The slideshows can be can then be viewed on the site itself, on hand held devices or linked to other sites. Users must register on the site, but have free access afterwards. All slideshows are listed under different topics, themes and languages. The site has a search engine that will help users find the slideshow they are looking for. It is possible to post comments and rate a slideshow
Slide Share was voted amongst by the World's Top 10 tools for education & e-learning in 2010
This website provides teachers with thousands of presentations regarding several grammatical topics, vocabulary, phrases, lesson plan ideas, games etc.
4. http://theberry.com/
This is a social media picture sharing website to which users can submit pictures & photographs made by themselves or others. The moderators of website use these pictures to make albums with different themes that are posted daily on the website. Users are able to view the albums, copy pictures, comment on them and send in requests.
This website allows teachers to put their lessons, explanations & assignments in a context. The materials on the website are authentically and fit into the world of experience of pupils. Teacher can use the pictures of the website to create assignments in which pupils can practise all four skills and introduce new topics.
5. http://bubbl.us/
Bubbl is an interactive website where users can make their own mind maps, print them, download them, publish them, download other mind maps and comment on them. A search engine can be used to find mind maps.
This website is a handy, easily accessible and free tool for pupils to practise and repeat what they have learned in a communicative and fun way. It offers teachers a clear overview of what pupils have learned. It is also a tool for teachers to explain new topics schematically.
6. http://www.photovisi.com/
Photovisi is a free and easy to use online photo collage maker. Users must register on the site and are then able to select one of the many designs or create a new one, add their photos and then customize by dragging items around. After the collage is finished, it's available for download and print! Users can also download collages made other user of the website.
This website allows pupils & teachers to make collages about various topics. It is a handy tool practise skills, grammar & phrases and to introduce and explain new topics.
7.
http://www.discoveryeducation.com/free-puzzlemaker/?CFID=1265757&CFTOKEN=25986973
Puzzle generation is a free tool for teachers, pupils and parents to create and print customized word search, criss-cross, math puzzles, and more-using their own word lists. Puzzles can be made from scratch, published, reviewed, printed and downloaded. User can download a more elaborate version with extra option for puzzle making for 70 US dollars.
Teachers can make all sorts of puzzles to allow pupils to practice their grammar and vocabulary. It also a great website for pupils to create puzzles as extra practice.
Chapter 3: Who are my learners?
American writer and linguist Stephen D. Brookfield states that: ‘Teachers may exhibit an admirable command of content, and possess a dazzling variety of pedagogical skills, but without knowing what's going on in their pupils heads, that knowledge may be presented and that skill exercised in a vacuum of misunderstanding."11
In order to effectively choose teaching methods and help pupils acquire knowledge, a teacher must first know something about whom he/she is teaching.
Pupils are not only intellectual but also social and emotional beings, and all these dimensions together interact to influence learning and performance. All pupils will come from very
different backgrounds and have various learning needs, personalities, previous knowledge etc. For a teacher; knowing your learners means being able to recognize, acknowledge, and teach according to the educational and psychological needs of each pupil. According to Stephen D. Brookfield this is exactly where many teachers fail; teachers are often highly educated
creatures who focus too much on helping a large group of pupils acquire knowledge that they forget to look at the pupils as individual learners and as actual people, not just learners. Generally, at the beginning of the academic year teachers put some effort into getting to know their pupils. Teachers plan introduction activities, catchy ways to remember pupil names and other ways to introduce new knowledge that pupils have to acquire. However, really getting to know the pupils must go much farther beyond icebreaker games and introduction activities. So often teachers, especially beginning teachers, get so caught up in making sure that their classroom structure is and remains in place and that they reach their educational goals that they forget the importance of getting to know the pupils and establishing relationships with them. This whole phase takes a back seat to wanting classroom control and achieving their educational goals.
Once this general introduction phase is over, teachers easily stop getting to know their pupils and start focusing on teaching and their didactical approach. Stephen D. Brookfield believes that whenever teachers design a new lesson plan or cycle, they must do research on their pupils as individuals in order to make their teaching approach successful. Getting to know
11
who your individuals learners really are is a process that must take place throughout the entire academic year.
Obviously there are more things important when it comes to being a good teacher. As a teacher you must: get to know the pupils, reach your educations goals and develop an effective discipline system. All three goals are of equal importance in order to create a successful and safe teaching and learning environment for both pupil and teacher. A fine balance is needed. Once pupils know that teachers have a genuine interest in them as
individuals and have taken that knowledge into consideration for their lessons, the structure, discipline, educational goals and safe learning environment will fall into place.
For my theses I have to develop two completely new lesson plans; one lesson plan for a social media based approach and one regular lesson plan. In need more information about my
learners as a group and as individuals in order to create two lesson plans. I also need that information to be able to compare the results of both my target group and pilot group. This chapter will indicate how I got to know my learners.
Requirements:
In his ‘The Skilful Teacher’ American author and linguist Stephen D. Brookfield discusses the importance for teachers to get to know their pupils and how to actually achieve that. Stephen D. Brookfield states in chapter 5, ‘Understanding and Responding to the Emotions of Learning’ that when creating a lesson plan a teacher must first research who their pupils are by establishing the basic facts, disorders & disabilities, level, previous knowledge, social behaviour, personal interests and the needs of the pupils.
Results:
Before I can start to whole process of getting to know my target groups, I first need to select two classes who are in the same age group and on a similar level to work with as my pilot group and regular group.
Because I am going to compare the results of both groups at the end of the second trimester I need to select group that can be regarded as almost equal. If the difference between both groups is too big it will negatively influence that part of the outcome of the research. For that reason I have established several criteria that both the pilot group and the regular group need to meet:
- General level of English the pupils need to be on the same or a similar level. If the difference between the levels of both groups is too big it is impossible to make an accurate comparison.
- Teacher Since I am the one who is going to carry out the research it would be preferable for me to teach English to both classes, that way I am in the ideal position to manage and process the research and its results.
- Curriculum I need the appropriate time & place in the pupils’ curriculum to do an actual research.
After assessing the criteria I chose to work with two second year havo12 classes because I teach English to both classes and making it easy for me to lead the research and accurately assess the developments and changes of the pupils.
I immediately decided that I wanted to work with groups that are still part of the
“basisvorming” because during that period of time pupils are not yet intensively preparing for their final exams.
The first three years of the havo together are called the basisvorming, literally: "basis formation". All pupils follow the same subjects: languages, mathematics, history, arts and sciences. The final two years are called the ‘Tweede Fase’, literally: "second phase". During those two year pupils follow a dense curriculum with many official rules and guidelines in which they mainly focus on acquiring the knowledge that they need in order to pass their final exam and graduate.
I explicitly decided not work with first year groups because during that first year they are still establishing their actual level. The variety of levels within a first year group can differ
immensely and that can negatively influence my research. Another reason I decided not work with first year groups is because they have a very dense curriculum in which a lot of time is spend on allowing pupils to get familiar with their new teachers & classmates, their new school building and their new classes.
12 The havo or hoger algemeen voortgezet onderwijs, literally: "higher general continued education", is a stream in the secondary educational system of the Netherlands. It has five grades and is generally attended from age twelve to seventeen. A havo diploma provides access to the hbo-level of tertiary education.
I also explicitly decided not to work with third year groups because the third year is regarded by many teachers as the most difficult year of the basisvorming. During the third year pupils have more subject than any other year in Dutch secondary education. At the end of the year pupils need to decide which profile13 they want to choose for their final years.
That only leaves me with the second year groups, and luckily they meet all three criteria: Level second year groups have established their level during their first year making which makes them ideal groups to compare.
Teacher I teach two second year havo groups (H2C & H2B) so I am in the perfect position to lead the research and assess its outcome.
Curriculum second year group have no major events in their curriculum and are used to the school, the new subjects and the new people by now, so I have all the opportunity and time I need to do the research.
13 A profile specializes the pupil in an area, and some hbo and wo studies require a specific profile. Pupils must choose three additional subjects. Dutch and English, as well as some minor subjects, are compulsory. In all profiles mathematics is compulsory, but the level of difficulty differs for each profile.
Basic facts:
At first glance combined with a bit research a teacher can easily establish some general facts about the pupils. I used two programmes called SOM & My@VO to gather some basic facts about both classes. These are state-of-the-art functional and technical programmes that provide teachers with a clear overview of a pupil’s grades, address, background and other basic information. Every teacher has an account and a password in order to gain access to the
website of SOM or My@VO. In academic year of 2011-2012 Charlemagne College has permanently transferred from My@VO to SOM & MY@VO. Since March 2011 it is also possible for parents and pupils to log on to the website in order to check the grades.
Table 3.1 Basic facts about H2C & H2B. Source: SOM & MY@VO
Disorders & disabilities:
In the last fifteen years both society and science has become much better at diagnosing and accepting people with learning disabilities, personality disorders or general illnesses. Teachers are more educated and have more knowledge and support on how to deal with these pupils.
For a teacher it is important to be aware of who has what disorder, disease or disability in order to create that safe learning
environment every pupil, with or without disorder, deserves. I once again used SOM & MY@VO to gather information
Category: H2C: H2B:
Total amount of pupils: 26 26
Males: 12 11
Females: 14 15
Mentor: Dorien Roemermann Marjon Hoeppertz
Average age: 13.6 years 13.8 years
Category: H2C: H2B:
Total amount of pupils: 26 26
Pupils diagnosed with dyslexia 2 3 Pupils diagnosed with dyscalculia 1 0 Pupils diagnosed with autism 1 2 Pupils diagnosed with asthma 2 0 Pupils diagnosed with other illnesses. 0 1
about who has what disorder, disability or illness.
Table 3.2 pupils of H2C and H2B that are diagnosed with disorders, disabilities or illnesses. Basic Source: SOM & MY@VO
Dyslexia14 is a very broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or comprehension accuracy in being able to read, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, or rapid naming.
Dyscalculia15 is a specific learning disability involving innate difficulty in learning or comprehending arithmetic. It includes difficulty in understanding numbers, learning how to manipulate numbers and learning mathematical facts.
Autism16 is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behaviour. Examples of forms of autisms are
- ADHD17 is an abbreviation forAttention deficit hyperactivity disorder which is a developmental disorder. It is characterized primarily by "the co-existence of attentional problems and hyperactivity, with each behaviour occurring infrequently alone" and symptoms starting before seven years of age. It is the most commonly studied and diagnosed psychiatric disorder in children, affecting about three to five per cent of children globally and diagnosed in about two to sixteen per cent of school-aged children. It is a chronic disorder with thirty to fifty per cent of those individuals
diagnosed in childhood continuing to have symptoms into adulthood.
- Asperger Syndrome 18is an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction, alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviour and interests. It differs from other autism spectrum disorders by its relative preservation of linguistic and cognitive development. Although not required for diagnosis, physical clumsiness and atypical use of language are frequently reported. 14 Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyslexia 15 Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyscalculia 16 Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism 17 Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention_deficit_hyperactivity_disorder. 18 Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome
Asthma19 is a common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. Cystic Fibrosis20 is a genetic and incurable disorder that particularly affects the lungs and digestive system and makes children who have it more vulnerable to repeated lung infections. It disrupts the normal function of epithelial cells; cells that make up the sweat glands in the skin and that also line passageways inside the lungs, liver, pancreas, and digestive and reproductive systems.
Level:
The next logical step after deciding to work with H2C & H2B was to zoom in on the level of both groups in terms of English during trimester one of the Dutch academic school year. Trimester one starts at 5 September 2011 and last until 23-12-2012. In this period both classes had five tests that together form the average grade for every pupil individually that is shown on their report card and also an average grade for entire class that can be seen on SOM & MY@VO. In Dutch secondary education tests are graded between 1.0 as lowest grade and 10.0 as the highest grade. Any grade below 5,5 is considered insufficient.
Table 3.3 overview of average grades pupils of H2C and H2B for English during the first trimester. Source: SOM & MY@VO 19 Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asthma 20 Source: http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/lungs/cf.html Category: H2C: H2B:
Total amount of pupils: 26 26
Average grade for English 6,8 6,4
Amount of children with a grade between 3,0 – 4,0 1 0 Amount of children with a grade between 4,1 – 5,0 3 4 Amount of children with a grade between 5,1 – 5,4 3 4 Amount of children with a grade between 5,5 – 6,0 1 1 Amount of children with a grade between 6,1 – 7,0 6 7 Amount of children with a grade between 7,1 – 8,0 7 7 Amount of children with a grade between 8,1 – 9,0 5 3 Amount of children with a grade between 9,1 – 10,0 0 0
Previous knowledge:
After attending elementary education, Dutch children, by that time usually twelve years old, go directly to secondary school. Informed by the advice of the elementary school and the results of the Cito test21, a choice is made for either vmbo, havo or vwo by the pupil and its parents.
However the process of choosing the right level is not always as simple as sounds. Sometimes it is not clear which type of secondary education best suits a pupil and it also occurs that parents insist their child can handle a higher level of education than what was recommended to them. Usually the primary school teachers have the final say in determining which level is suitable for a pupil. However parents also have a small say and they can express their doubts. Ultimately both parties need to do what is best for the pupils. In order to determine the correct level and to give pupils a chance to prove themselves an orientation year also known as the ‘brugklas’ for both vmbo/havo and havo/vwo was developed. The goal of the orientation year is to determine which level is most suitable for a pupil to choose.
The first year of all levels in Dutch high schools is referred to as the brugklas, literally: bridge class, because it connects the elementary school system to the secondary education system. During this year, pupils will gradually learn to cope with the differences between school systems and the correct level will be established. The tempo of teaching and learning will shift from one level to another level and the tests will be evaluated according two different standards.
At the end of the year all of the pupil’s report cards are evaluated during a meeting and if necessary all subject teachers will vote for which level they find most suitable for a particular pupil.
At the Charlemagne College in Landgraaf we offer four different types or orientation years. Determining which level is most suitable for every particular pupil is a very challenging and difficult process. In the havo/vwo and especiall vmbo/havo classes there is huge difference in level between pupils. In order to determine their correct levels Charlemagne College decided to:
21
A Primary school leaving examination developed by the National Institute for Educational Measurement (CITO)
