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Best Practice Observation in Tenerife (30 enero – 3 febrero), 2017

The topics we chose in this occasion where gamification and Thinking-Based Learning (TBL). We could see the teaching practice and classroom dynamics in four schools in the southern part of the island: IES Los Cardones, IES Manuel Martín González, IES Cabo Blanco and IES El Médano.

 

Gamification

In IES Los Cardones we saw and analysed a lesson through Gamification. Teachers and students used both English and Spanish as the language of communication. We could see that students were highly engaged and motivated, and we learnt some teaching techniques and aspects of planning and design. The flexibility of this approach to teaching became apparent as the teachers showed us how they combined it with other methodologies such as TBL and cooperative learning.

  IES Los Cardones

Three teachers of IES Manuel Martín González showed us how they are starting to use cooperation in the classroom. We observed two lessons: Maths and English. As this high school is in a process of continuous improvement, we decided to pay them a visit to see the process and mechanics of introducing different teaching practices and new classroom arrangements.

 The three delegations in IES Manuel Martín González

TBL

The next day the three delegations stopped at IES Cabo Blanco for about an hour. They have been using TBL in the first level for two courses. In a Science lesson which was taught through English (CLIL programme), we could see how students used thinking skills such as comparing and contrasting the different animal kingdoms. We all agreed this way of teaching enabled learners to think more clearly, as well as help them develop high order thinking skills more effectively. Using graphic organizers also help learners who are struggling with assimilating the information keep up with the rest of the class. There was time to exchange opinions and experience with our partners from Sweden, as Visible Thinking was originated in their country.

 

The last school in our tour was IES El Médano, Though the lesson was carried out completely in Spanish, all members of the project agreed it was an interesting lesson. Students learned about the different dialects in Spain through cooperative techniques and TBL.

 

We could also see co-teaching and we did a short tour around the facilities and stopped to see how well they are dealing with inclusiveness. They have organized certain school activities so that students with disabilities work together with the rest of the students. What is most interesting is they are doing this inclusivity from a curricular perspective.

Aula Enclave in IES El Médano                                                                  Spanish lesson  in IES El Médano

 

 

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