Z D Matthews Unit 102096 RTL1

Review of Callow, J., & Orlando, J. (2015) article

Enabling exemplary teaching: a framework of student

engagement for students from low socio-economic

backgrounds with implications for technology and literacy

practices

And lesson plan modification

Researching Teaching and Learning 1

Unit 102096

Z D Matthews
Z D Matthews Unit 102096 RTL1

Introduction/educational issue and relevance to teaching practice

High quality teaching as a tool to alleviate the inequality and discrimination faced by low

socio-economic status (SES) students is explored through research conducted by Callow &

Orlando (2015) in their article Enabling exemplary teaching: a framework of student

engagement for students from low socio-economic backgrounds with implications for

technology and literacy practices. [...] In recent years, information communication and

technology (ICT) has become one of the most readily available and frequently used

technologies in the classroom, however, the ability to incorporate it appropriately is not

always successful, particularly in low SES classrooms (Callow & Orlando, 2015).

Disadvantage faced by students in low SES families are often seen to be reflective of the

disadvantages in the classroom, often leading to a continual cycle as low SES students fall

behind, making it harder for them to move into a higher SES status as adults (Marks &

McMillian, 2003). To provide students with a more inclusive classroom, is to provide lessons

that cater to individual students needs with an understanding of resources they have access

to. By allowing students to foster a feeling of connection with each other during the lesson,

they are also more likely to have better engagement with the lesson (Blatchford, Kutnick,

Baines & Galton, 2013). Within a science classroom, it is often felt by students that the

content being covered has no real value to them outside of the classroom. When these

feelings arise, students are inclined to disengage with the lesson and not retain the

information being presented to them. Keeping students engaged is therefore crucial for

effective use of the lesson, as well as assisting in breaking the cycle for students in low SES

families (Ferfolja, Jones Diaz & Ullman, 2015).

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[...]

Learning activity

Aligned with the Australian Curriculum, the Lesson Plans for the Clickview Curriculum

Library, provides teachers with a range of resources, including a year 7 lesson plan

‘Classification Keys – Biological Sciences’ to educate students on the processes of

identifying and classifying living organisms (Tay, 2014) (Appendix 1). The lesson outlines

three tasks for a full 60-minute lesson, with worksheet-based tasks varying in the level of

technology required in each. ‘Activity 1: Meet the Minimes!’ is a completely worksheet-

based activity requiring students to use the table to find the names of each of the five

creatures displayed on the sheet. The use of technology is brought in in ‘Activity 2: Learning

about Classification keys’ in the form of a video for the class to watch and answer questions

on a worksheet. The lesson finishes up with ‘Activity 3: What’s My Name?’, which relies

heavily of technology through the use of devices with access to a QR reader.

Each of the activities covered in the Classification Keys lesson plan require low-order

thinking, with only activity 2 requiring slightly higher thinking when students write their

description of a dichotomous key. This lack of high-order thinking means the lesson does not

incorporate either the high cognitive or high affective elements of the pedagogical framework

(Callow & Orland, 2015). While activity 1 does not require the use of technology, to make

the lesson effective, each of the activities should be completed to gain a complete

understanding of the topic. Selinger (2009) explains that ICT should not be incorporated just

for ICT sake, instead it should be incorporated in a meaningful and appropriate way to

produce student engagement with the lesson and content, in turn allowing for better

development. Neither use of ICT in activity 2 or 3 specifically provides additional

understanding to the content and does not factor in the equipment available in each classroom

or that each student may have access to. This failure to appropriately consider the resources
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within low SES classrooms, along with the low-order thinking, does not reflect high

cognitive, high effective or high operative elements outlined in the Fair Go Project (Callow &

Orlando, 2015). Without ICT being appropriately implemented, the activities will lead to

potential student disengagement and prevent deeper understanding of the content, and will

see educators not performing as quality teachers as outlined by the Quality Teaching Model

(QTM)(Selinger, 2014; Professional Learning and Leadership Development Directorate,

2006).

Modifications and justifications

Trying to design lessons that both take into consideration the access to individual or school

ICT resources, while still preparing students for life after school in an ICT filled world is a

difficult balance to maintain, however crucial in modern day learning environments

(Selinger, 2009). Research has recorded the frequency of effective pedagogies using ICT

being used to teach content, without the focus on the technological skills themselves (Callow

& Orlando, 2015).

[...]

To support student participation, particularly in low SES classrooms, students need the

‘school is for me’ mentality, nurtured through effective pedagogies, it has been shown to

increase engagement, encourage students to actively get involved and foster an enjoyable

learning environment (Lingard & Mills, 2007; Munns & Sawyer, 2013).

The ‘Classification Keys – Biological Sciences’ lesson plan incorporates a variety of methods

to cover the content organism classification, however, the incorporation of ICT into these

activities is superficial with no major benefit of its inclusion. While these technologies may

instill student interest in the lesson by making it more fun, this is only true for those with
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access to these technologies. In a mixed SES classroom, only those with the appropriate

devices will be able to participate and gain the full benefits of the activity, while those

without it, mainly low SES students, will be unable to participate as a device is required to

get through the first step of the activity. Fredricks, Blumenfeld & Paris (2004) believe that

the ideal learning experience is one that is both intellectually challenging, as well as being

enjoyable for students to partake in, to meet this requirement, the task needs to be adapted.

Depending on the classroom Activity 3 is being used in, there are two main ways to adapt the

lesson. To make the activity more accessible in classrooms with less technology and heighten

student interactions, the individual nature of the task should be adapted into a group task.

This will allow the class to complete the activity with around one quarter of the number of

devices required in an individual task. This removes feelings of alienation in students who

may not have their own device and allows student interaction which can boost student

enjoyment in the lesson. The second major issue with activity 3 is the very low-order thinking

required by students. The animals they are categorising are well known animals and the use

of the QR code component of the task is not necessary for students to be able to use

dichotomous key, nor does it require high-order thinking to identify the animals. To

appropriately incorporate higher-order thinking into this activity, the worksheet provided to

students should be separated into two separate components. Firstly, each student should be

provided a copy of the dichotomous key which they can refer to during the lesson and then

add to their workbook for future revision on the topic. The QR component of the sheet should

be changed from one code for each animal, to one sheet per animal with a range of codes that

provide students with facts about the unknown animal. In groups, students would be able to

go around the room and scan the codes for an animal to find the information necessary to get

through the key and then write down what animal they believe they have discovered. At the
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end of the lesson, the teacher would then be able to turn over each of the animal sheets to

display the correct animal students should have identified based on the descriptions found

from scanning the QR codes. By requiring students to take descriptions and identify an

animal based solely on those descriptions will require students to use higher-order thinking

than simply looking at an image. These adaptions allow for high cognitive, affective and

operative elements of the FGP framework to be incorporated (Callow & Orlando, 2015).

Conclusion

Callow & Orlando (2015) express the need for ICT use in the classroom when done so with

an aim of high cognitive, affective and operative elements. The modifications outlined in

activity 3 of the ‘Classification Keys – Biological Sciences’ lesson plan assists in the

inclusion of each of these components through the revision of the process students partake in

during the lesson. The adaption to make the activity group work rather than individual allows

the task to be accessible in all classrooms, not just those who are of a higher SES community,

removing some of the barriers experienced by low SES students. Overall, the modifications

move the lesson from using ICT for the sake of ICT, to incorporating it into a fun method that

encourages student interaction and development, demonstrating the criteria of exemplary

teachers (Callow & Orlando, 2015; Selinger, 2009).

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References

Blatchford, P., Kutnick, P., Baines, E., & Galton, M. (2003). Toward a social pedagogy of

classroom group work. International Journal of Educational Research, 39(1-2), 153-

172

Callow, J., & Orlando, J. (2015). Enabling exemplary teaching: a framework of student

engagement for students from low socio-economic backgrounds with implications

for technology and literacy practices. Pedagogies: An International Journal, 10(4),

349-371. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1554480X.2015.1066678

Fechner, S. (2009). Effects of context-oriented learning on student interest and achievement

in chemistry education (Vol. 95). Logos Verlag Berlin GmbH.

Ferfolja, T., Jones Diaz, C., & Ullman, J. (2015). Understanding sociological theory for

educational practices. Australia: Cambridge University Press

Fredricks, J. A., Blumenfeld, P. C., & Paris, A. H. (2004). School engagement; Potential of

the concept, state of the evidence. Review of Educational Research, 74(1), 59-109.

Doi:10.3102/00346543074001059

Lingard, B., & Mills, M. (2007). Pedagogies making a difference: Issues of social justice and

inclusion. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 27(3), 101-115.

Doi:10.1007/bf03219733

Marks, G., & McMillian, J. (2003). Declining inequality? The changing impact of socio-

economic background and ability on education in Australia. British Journal of

Sociology, 54940, 453-471. Doi:10.1111/j.1468-4446.2003.00453.x

Munns, G., & Sawyer, W. (2013). Student engagement: The research methodology and the

theory. In G. Munns, W. Sawyer & B. Cole (Eds.), Exemplary teacher of students in

poverty (pp.14-32). Abingdon: Routledge

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Professional Learning and Leadership Development Directorate. (2006). Quality Teaching in

NSW Public Schools; A Classroom Practice Guide (2nd ed.). Ryde, NSW:

Department of Education and Training

Selinger, E. (2009). Towards a reflexive framework for development: Technology transfer

after the empirical turn. Synthese, 168(3), 377-403. doi: 10.1007/s11229-008-9450-3

Shank, G., Brown, L., & Pringle, J. (2014). Understanding education research: A guide to

critical reading. Boulder, USA: Paradigm Publishers

Tay, A. (2016). Science year 7: Lesson plans for the ClickView curriculum library. Pyrmont,

Australia; ClickView Pty Ltd.

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Appendix

Appendix 1.

Accessed at https://downloads.clickview.com.au/www/Lesson%20Plans/AU-science-lesson-

plan-book-year-7.pdf