Adapting the scheme
Teachers who use this scheme may find that there are parts they wish to modify and adapt for the children in their school.
In deciding whether or how to use this scheme of work, individual schools may wish to consider:
- whether opportunities offered by the circumstances of the school suggest that particular units or aspects should be emphasised or expanded;
- whether the material should be adapted to meet the needs of the children in their school, particularly if the children are not attaining at levels broadly appropriate for their age;
- whether the material should be adapted to meet the needs of any gifted and talented children in the school;
- whether the attainments of the children in their school are such that adaptation alone will not provide a relevant structure for teaching ICT. This may be the case for some children with significant learning difficulties. In this case, schools may wish to use the exemplar scheme as a resource for developing a scheme that offers children opportunities to experience a range of work across the programme of study. This should be within a structure that identifies timescales and learning outcomes that are appropriately rigorous and challenging.
In all schools, teachers are best placed to judge whether the learning objectives meet the learning needs of individual children, and whether they need to adapt these to provide appropriate opportunities for all children to succeed. Some of the teaching activities will need to be adapted to ensure that children with special educational needs of all kinds may participate fully and demonstrate their achievements.
Assessing children working from the scheme
Any assessment of a formal nature is likely to take place towards the end of each unit; it provides an opportunity to review each child's progress. What each child is expected to learn is identified clearly within each unit as learning outcomes. Suggestions are also made about the use of presentations and displays. This will serve as a record of group progress, and the work presented could contribute
Where a child's progress differs markedly from that of the rest of the class, teachers may wish to make a note of this and of the reasons for the difference. This provides a straightforward method for passing on information about children to the next teacher, without overly detailed records or bureaucratic systems of record keeping. The expectations set out at the end of each unit should assist in this process.
Links with other areas of the curriculum
In this exemplar scheme of work, IT is the main focus of each unit. Where there are opportunities for links with other areas of the curriculum these are made explicit. For example, many of the graphics units make explicit links with work in art, and the unit on branching databases provides opportunities for work on keys in science. There are many opportunities for making further links between the teaching of IT and work in other subjects. In
Unit 5D, for example, switches are used to effect control. In science, switches are discussed in terms of their physical effect on current flow. Schools may wish to consider how their planning allows for these links to be exploited.
Each unit within the exemplar scheme offers children opportunities to develop their use of language. Both language development and learning in IT are reinforced and clarified by:
- speculating, discussing, explaining and comparing;
- listening and reading;
- predicting, sequencing ideas and suggesting alternatives.
Many units provide opportunities for children to develop mathematical skills through working with numerical data relating to real situations.
Work at home and outside lessons
Many units provide opportunities for teachers to set worthwhile tasks that can be completed outside formal teaching time. Suitable tasks include:
- identifying and reviewing the use of IT in the wider world;
- collecting data for processing;
- producing first drafts and collecting source material.
Children could also be given opportunities to practise some of the techniques taught within the short focused activities. Where children have access to computers at home this could provide additional homework.
Modifying existing plans
Many schools have already prepared their own scheme of work for IT. They may, however, wish to review and develop it in the light of the exemplar scheme. In reviewing their own scheme of work, which is suited to the children and circumstances in their school, teachers may find it helpful to consider the following set of questions.
How far does their existing scheme:
- provide a long- and medium-term plan that is clearly linked to the National Curriculum programme of study and level descriptions?
- provide a basis from which to plan lessons on a daily or weekly basis to meet the needs of all children in the class?
- show how children's IT capability and their understanding of the associated IT techniques are developed in an organised, systematic and rigorous way, which is both based on learning that has already taken place and ensures progression?
- warn of misconceptions that children may have in relation to IT and that need to be avoided or specifically addressed?
- show links between the areas of the IT curriculum and the application of ICT in other subjects?
- link teaching activities to the learning they are intended to promote?
- identify what children are expected to learn within a unit and indicate how this might be assessed?
- provide opportunities for the development of literacy and numeracy, and link to other subjects?
- give indications of the time needed to teach it?
Principles for constructing a scheme of work suggests further questions that teachers might find helpful if they wish to review and develop their own schemes of work.
Find out more about getting around the schemes of work
|
