Anna-Marie B

KS3 Experience

 

After spending 4 days in a local secondary school it was clear to see how useful Computing is for both staff and pupils at KS3 and 4.

 

Although I tried to implement computing into every day within my Year 1 Class at GPP I know some days the laptops weren't even touched and instead pupils failed to engage with their computing skills. However, after observing pupils in KS3 it became apparent just how important the Computing skills are and how often they are used daily.

 

A key observation noted during my time at the school was the fact that every teacher observed used Powerpoint to lead their lessons. The pupils' objectives, lesson context and instructions for acitivities within the lesson were all displayed on Powerpoint presentations, created by the teacher. The teacher simply stood at the front, referred to the Powerpoint and the pupils got on with their work. This use of Computing is in stark contrast to Key Stage 1 where objectives are handwritten on the board and instructions are shared verbally with the children before beginning tasks. However, with more classes to teach at different ages and abilities it is key to see why teachers would favour Powerpoints rather than writing everything down. Pupils at Key Satge 1 need to see things modelled for them, in relation to their tasks, and so seeing the teacher write a sentence is really beneficial to their own sentence writing, a skill mastered by Key Stage 3. In addition, with lessons only being an hour it is crucial that teachers get the information to pupils as conceise and as qucikly as possible so pupils can progress.

 

Another key observation seen during my time in the secondary school was the vast Computing facilities available to the pupils, with Computer suites and Ipads assigned to departments for the use of pupils. I was able to witness two lessons which involved pupils having to carry out independent research about a person they consider to be their hero and a country in the world. The facilities available to the pupils made this taks and lesson easy to carry out. In addition, with pupils prior computing skills, gained during their time at primary school, pupils were able to navigate on the Internet and find the information they required without support.  In a report by McAlister, Dunn and Quinn (2005) they argue that 'competence in information and communications technology is rapidly becoming a life skill that ranks alongside basic literacy and numeracy' (p77)  which further supports the need and importance of computing during those crucial primary ages. Without such skills pupils could potentially face great difficulty in future careers and employment if ICT skills are limited and thus it is key that the crucial skills are embedded from a young age to give the future generation the best start in this technology driven world.

 

McAlister, M., Dunn, J, & Quinn, L, 2005. Student Teachers' Attitudes to and Use of Computers to Teach Mathematics in the Primary Classroom. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 14, 77-106