Co-author of Time for Business, Joe Stafford has previously written about teaching learning outcome 1.1. In this latest blog post he discusses assessment and reflection.
Assessment and Reflection. As already indicated in a previous blog post I made use of the traffic light self-assessment activity at the end of the Student Activity Book chapter and it was a useful and worthwhile exercise for both myself and the students. Many students were familiar with this type of formative assessment and they had no difficulty carrying out the task. There were no red lights amongst the group, which was pleasing! The most common orange lights related to Statement 7: I am able to make choices to make the best use of resources, and also Statement 9: I am able to understand the effect of my use of resources on other people’s lives. Based on the feedback I briefly revisited these issues and was able to clarify most of the misunderstanding through the use of further examples. I am also conscious that future chapters should improve understanding and abilities in these areas. Yet more layering! Students also reviewed the questions in the anticipation guide and there were some changes of opinion which reflected increased knowledge and understanding. Since this was my first interaction with the new teaching resources I felt it was necessary to try everything out. This was especially true of the mind map for which an exemplar is provided on page 7 of the activity book. For subsequent chapters, students are encouraged to create their own mind maps, so I think it’s a good idea to look at the exemplar in this chapter. My co-author, Siobhan O'Sullivan has previously written a blog post which shows the evolution of the mind-map for Chapter 1. This would be really useful to demonstrate to students how a mind map can be constructed. Mind maps can be drawn by hand or by making use of the websites listed on pg. xix of the Teacher Resource Book (TRB). Creating effective mind maps is a skill and takes time to develop and perfect; it won’t necessarily suit all students or teachers but some will find it very beneficial. At least half of my students had created mind maps in primary school and were familiar with the process. I also utilised the 'end of chapter reflection' on P9 of the Activity Book. If you intend to use this regularly there is a photocopiable template in Appendix 2 of the TRB. The only formative assessment tool which I didn’t make use of on this occasion was the exit ticket. That I will happily save for a rainy day! All in all I spent 7 class periods on the chapter and maybe that was a little too long. Perhaps it could have been quicker if we had textbooks available from the outset and I hadn't been so willing to listen to students…. but I assumed that this was necessary if honouring my commitment to student-centred lessons. Perhaps only time will tell if this was the right thing to do. Co-author of Time for Business Joe Stafford teaches Junior Cycle Business Studies in a mixed ability setting in a co-educational school with four 40 minute classes per week. In his previous blog post, co-author of Time for Business Joe Stafford reflects on his experience of teaching Learning Outcome 1.1 for the first time. In this post, Joe shares how students are engaging with the new material, how they are already linking to material from Strand 3 and how many students didn't realise that they get a free e-book with the hard copy of the textbook.
Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees! The last section of Chapter 1 deals with financial resources and the fact that “money doesn’t grow on trees”. Students offered great explanations of what that expression means and the discussions which followed gave rise to interesting questions, such as “Why doesn't the government just print lots of extra money?” I encouraged students to offer suggestions for this and some excellent answers were offered which related to money losing its value, etc. One student said that prices would probably rise, but she didn’t have the vocabulary to use the term ‘inflation’. I introduced the term and provided a very brief and simple explanation. Hopefully this will serve us well in Strand 3. The concepts of supply and demand also originated from students, although again they didn’t all have the understanding or vocabulary to deal with it in anything more than a very simple way. We used an example of concert tickets or the upcoming All Ireland Final to illustrate what happened when something we want is in strong demand but supply is strictly limited. This is also Strand 3 material and highlights how it’s almost impossible to avoid a blended approach to this new specification. I certainly had no intention when planning the lesson of introducing the concepts of supply and demand, but this accidental blending was unavoidable as the issue was raised by students. This will provide more opportunities for layering as we progress through the learning outcomes. When addressing the question of where future income may come from, students managed to list all of the familiar sources including wages, income from benefits, pension and student grants. One student expressed strong views on the receipt of benefits as an ongoing source of income. We steered clear of a full blown debate on this issue, but it will surely be revisited in subsequent chapters dealing with household income and the purpose of taxation. Again, it was interesting to see how students engaged with the material and how it impacted on their thought processes. Textbooks, Homework…and Abba! I should mention that students didn’t have textbooks for the first couple of lessons. I therefore posed a series of questions to kick start the discussion and to scaffold student learning. I used the whiteboard and the Edco Digital site to display some segments of the textbook to the whole class, particularly the definitions, images and textbook activities, but we didn’t read through the chapter in its entirety. The benefit of this was that there was a lot of discussion and debate amongst the class group and I really think this helped with student engagement. I also used the whiteboard to record the key points made by students during discussions. I tended to set a research task for homework to set the scene for the following lesson. Over the course of a week, the vast majority of students managed to get copies of text and activity books. At this stage I then assigned reading homework to ensure students had to engage with the text and revise material covered in class in previous lessons, for example, I asked the students to find some songs or quotations related to money. They really enjoyed this and found some very interesting quotations dealing with money, wealth and value, etc. Students were more than happy to read them out in class and we discussed what some of them really meant. For example, “nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing” and “we buy things we don’t need, with money we don’t have, to impress people we don’t like”. Students are now in the process of making small posters using some of the quotations and these will be displayed in the classroom. On the music side we had contributions from Jessie J (Price Tag) and Abba (Money, Money, Money). We had a bit of fun with this! As the students did not have activity books from the outset, we had to tackle the activities in a large chunk at the end of the chapter. This was useful from the point of view of revision, but in future I will definitely have students use the activity book on an ongoing basis. Having said that, I was very happy that the textbook activities kept the students engaged and provided many opportunities for individual and group work. These activities were completed in their copies or comments were added to the white board. E-books and PowerPoints. I demonstrated to students how to access the free e-version of their textbook. This meant they could leave the textbook in their locker in school and could rely on the digital version for revision and homework. Some of the students hadn’t realised that this was possible and I was glad I’d brought it to their attention - as were they! Although I had a PowerPoint presentation prepared to support the textbook material (and our PowerPoint’s will be available as a digital resource soon) I didn’t actually make use of it. The student discussions and group work seemed to me to be more in line with the spirit of the new specification. Due to the high level of student engagement I felt the PowerPoints were not required for my lessons on this topic. If using them in future I would be inclined to use them in the background or as a way of revising and summing up a topic. Co-author of Time for Business Joe Stafford teaches Junior Cycle Business Studies in a mixed ability setting in a co-educational school with four 40 minute classes per week. Starting Out:
If you read my previous blog entry 'All changed, changed utterly', you‘ll be aware of my mixed feelings about teaching the new Junior Cycle Business Studies specification. Well thankfully my worst fears were not realized and I am now reminding myself not to worry so much in future! At the outset I asked the students to complete the anticipation exercise at the beginning of the Chapter 1 Student Activity Book, find a definition for ‘resources’ and then make a list of some resources which are available to them. I am happy to report that they did this brilliantly and with great enthusiasm. We had a chat about the definition and we looked at the different versions offered by students. The interactive white board was used to record everything. In the end we focused on the key elements and common features from a variety of student definitions (“things we have”, “things we use”, “they can help us...", ”they are scarce...”, "they are useful/valuable” etc.). I had to ask a few questions to get the students thinking about what we use resources for and following a number of specific examples, one student eventually suggested “whatever your goals are”. When it came to their resources, students managed to come up with a very long list which included items under most of the main resource-type headings. They offered things like money, computers, the internet, mobile phones, trees, community centres and even ‘people’ as possible resources. Nobody specifically mentioned 'time' but when I suggested it, most agreed that it fitted our definition and should be added to the list. The students seemed happy with the idea that access to resources was more important than ownership and they also understood that knowing how to use resources was essential. Some made reference to the illustration on page 2 (fig.1.1) of Time for Business. We discussed further examples offered by students, from their experiences and their imagination. As I was keen to encourage student involvement at this early stage I was happy to stand back and listen. I was reminded (in a good way) about just how imaginative some first year minds can be! A Missed Opportunity? One area where I could have focused more attention was the impact of their use of resources on others. When teaching this topic next time, I will make a specific point of referring to it at this stage. While it was discussed in much greater detail in the subsequent ‘needs and wants’ debate, I think I missed an opportunity to broaden the discussion here. On reflection I was perhaps too focused on keeping the discussion ‘personal’ to them and neglected the obvious links to LO’s 1.9 and 3.1 which arose here. Also, when students completed the traffic light review at end of chapter, this was the most common ‘orange light’ indicated by students. Note however that chapters 15 and 40 deal with this aspect of the learning outcome in great detail, so I am not concerned that this key message will be lost, but just that I missed an opportunity to signpost it with students at this early stage. Freedom, Flexibility and Layering! If you wanted to tackle Learning Outcome (LO) 1.1 in a less linear fashion you could indeed take a detour into those other chapters, but I think it’s very important to embed the concept of personal resources with students first. Only then would I consider looking at the impact on others which arises from the students' own use of resources. Remember also that the Business Studies Specification allows for great freedom and flexibility when it comes to WHAT and HOW you teach…. it is even the case that the LO’s provided may not be exhaustive. What we as authors have tried to do with the textbook is provide teachers with a resource which covers as much relevant material as possible. Please remember though, that the material provided is neither prescriptive not exhaustive. You are encouraged to cut, expand or modify it in order to ensure it fits the context of your classroom and students and the time available. I am very aware of this ‘time’ issue already and know I will need to manage it carefully as the year unfolds. Generally speaking students had a clear understanding of the needs versus wants debate and were very engaged by it. It was a little harder for them to think about their future needs and wants, but most were able to offer realistic examples. Overall it is important for them to realise that their needs and wants will change over time and this understanding will be reinforced later when dealing with personal financial life cycles (Chapter 4). This also illustrates the importance of ‘layering’ when tackling this new Business Studies Specification. This means there are lots of situations where concepts are revisited in later chapters or Strands. This is a deliberate teaching strategy and it is designed to promote deeper understanding and recall of key concepts. Do not be afraid to teach students similar or closely related material. It is useful revision for them and will help you as the teacher to gauge their level of understanding and recall. In some cases it may also test their ability to apply existing knowledge to a new situation. This should be one of the ultimate goals for our students and suggests that deep and genuine learning has taken place. When discussing the impact of our choices and resource use on others, most students accepted that everyone should be treated fairly and resources should be divided equally. Two students expressed a different view and felt that everyone should look out for themselves and just get what they can. This generated a short (and heated) debate amongst the students and the majority view seemed to win out in the end. Financial and opportunity costs were well understood and all students were quickly able to offer other examples. We watched the Paul Pogba opportunity cost video on the Time for Business blog which students enjoyed and I think it greatly helped their understanding of the concept. Read more of my reflections of teaching the first chapter on 'Getting the most of out a valuable resource - part two'. Co-author of Time for Business Joe Stafford teaches Junior Cycle Business Studies in a mixed ability setting in a co-educational school with four 40 minute classes per week. There will be regular updates to this blog sharing our experiences of teaching the new Business Studies specification and sharing teaching strategies and resources. Click on one of the 'Categories' on the right hand side of this page to access relevant blog posts.
Don't forget to follow us on Twitter @JCTimeforBus! Learning Outcome 1.1 states:
Review the personal resources available to them to realise their needs and wants and analyse the extent to which realising their needs and wants may impact on individuals and society. NOTE: As the material required to deal with this Learning Outcome is quite diverse and relates to more than one strand of the specification, we have not attempted to provide it all in a single chapter in the Time for Business textbook. As authors, we feel that using a single chapter would only allow for a narrow and superficial overview of the topic. Page xviii of the Teacher Resource Book (page 315 of the online version) provides a diagram to inform teachers which chapters contain material related to each Learning Outcome. For example, chapters 1, 15 and 16 (Strand 1) deal with individual resources and choices, chapters 3, 4 and 5 look at the issues from a household perspective, while chapter 34 (Stand 3) broadens the perspective even further to consider the economic implications of the use of resources. Once they have studied a number of related chapters, students should have a broad understanding of the term 'resources' in an economic sense and be very well prepared to deal with a wide range of questions and activities related to this learning outcome. This material can be covered at any time during the Junior Cycle and teachers have total freedom and discretion when deciding on the sequencing of Learning Outcomes and associated chapters. The guiding rule is to deal with each learning outcome at a time and in a manner which is appropriate to the context of your class. In our view, the following are the key ideas and messages for this topic:
Mind maps are an excellent tool to learn and revise new material. Students should be encouraged to create their own mind maps and make them as colourful as possible. Mind maps can be created using paper and coloured pens or using a range of free online tools and apps such as Simple Mind, Coggle or GoConqr.
The mind map below for Chapter 1, 'Making the Most of Your Resources' was created using GoConqr. Click the play icon below to use the mind map as a presentation. If you create a free account you can edit and amend this mind map and add images to make it more memorable. Better yet, ask students to create their own mind maps to show what they have learned and understood about a new topic. Why not display completed mind maps around the classroom? Co-author of Time for Business, Siobhan O'Sullivan is currently seconded from Malahide Community School as a teacher educator. She supports teachers and schools in embedding technology to enhance learning and teaching. New things can be challenging, and first year is no exception. There are just so many new faces, experiences and uncertainties that it’s bound to fill anyone with a mixture of excitement, curiosity and fear. This ‘first year feeling’ isn’t normal for me at this time of year; but this year is an exception. For the first time in 27 years the Junior Certificate/Junior Cycle Business Studies specification (previously know as the syllabus) has changed, and while I didn’t always love the old one syllabus, at least I knew it and was well practised in teaching it. On my most confident (or delusional!) of days I might even have considered myself an ‘expert’! But now, despite having spent the last couple of years dissecting the new specification and developing teaching resources I’m back to being a ‘novice’. So, as the school year begins, I prepare to embark on a new course of study, boldly going where this man has never gone before. I try to remember all that I’ve learned…but most especially the bit about keeping one page ahead of the students… and trust that it will be both an education and a worthwhile experience for us all. Before I met the students I had concerns about the new material and how it might be received by such a mixed ability grouping. I wondered how and indeed IF, they would engage with the topic. I also wondered if they would engage with me, and more importantly with each other… I was, after all, planning on having a more student focused approach with lots of thinking, pairing and sharing going on!! Above all I doubted myself. Would I have sufficient insights to be able to ‘keep the ball rolling’ or would I be too slow to react to opportunities for learning which might present themselves during the lessons? Despite these fears and reservations I developed a strange, almost perverse envy of my teaching colleague who has more than one first year group on his timetable. I was jealous because he had the opportunity to make mistakes and quickly put them to right when the next group of students filed through his door. His timetable is the teacher equivalent of Groundhog Day, and this will allow him lots of instant replays, whereas I’ll have to wait a whole year to repeat the experience. It was a strange mix of emotions, bookended by fear and excitement and certainly not normal for a teacher with 22 years’ experience. In the weeks and months ahead I intend to recount my classroom experiences as I tackle the new Junior Cycle Business specification. I imagine many other teachers will share my mixed emotions and I hope you value and enjoy my observations and experiences. Fingers crossed I can disprove that old cliché about an “old dog” and “new tricks”. Co-author of Time for Business Joe Stafford teaches Junior Cycle Business Studies in a mixed ability setting in a co-educational school with four 40 minute classes per week. Co-author of Time for Business, Joe Stafford teaches Business Studies in a mixed ability setting in a co-educational school, where Business Studies in an optional subject for Junior Cycle. He is timetabled for four forty minute classes per week with his first year students. Over the next three years, Joe will blog about his experience of teaching the new Junior Cycle Business Studies course. http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/english-soccer/from-tayto-crisps-to-nights-in-a-travelodge-what-would-pogba-s-fee-get-you-1.2750551 The video on this page on the Irish Times website looks at spending alternatives for the €110million which Manchester United paid to Juventus for the footballer. It's light-hearted and uses 'currency' which the students are familiar with, e.g. Tayto Crisps, cars, etc. It would be a great ice-breaker and introduction to the topic of opportunity cost and should certainly help students to think of alternative uses for money. If you wish to take it to a deeper level and explore some economic theory, there is scope to look at the impact of supply and demand on price (transfer fees) and perhaps also the purchasing power of a player who reportedly earns €220,000 per week. That would buy an awful lot of Taytos, but might be subject to diminishing marginal utility! Categories All |
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