NEWS
St Thomas More teacher reflects on Digital Mysteries
This summer term, Elizabeth Doyle at St. Thomas More, Gateshead, introduced Digital Mysteries to her students. 30 Year Eight pupils have taken part in regular sessions using eight tabletops across one classroom.
The activity was carried out alongside other methods of learning about particular subjects. This segment allowed students to collaborate together and encouraged them to discuss their thoughts and ideas with each other.
The activity was carried out alongside other methods of learning about particular subjects. This segment allowed students to collaborate together and encouraged them to discuss their thoughts and ideas with each other.
Students at St. Thomas More Catholic School, Gateshead using Digital Mysteries
Early on in the process (Reading Stage), students began to make interesting observations which led to several further discussions. Elizabeth said “One girl was struck by the number of times children were abandoned and separated from their parents in the tales we were reading – this led to a discussion about orphans in literature and folklore, and why different societies would embrace stories about inheritance and dispossession.”
Elizabeth had been apprehensive of how to balance the learning between Digital Mysteries and other approaches, but she found that the content complemented basic knowledge: “Details were included that we’d only just ‘touched on’; however they embraced the information and came up with some excellent points and comparisons. One group immediately began to draw parallels with other texts, and I was really pleased by this.”
“I think it’s indicative of the way this strategy can encourage students to make links across texts, and identify themes and concepts themselves, rather than just have them pointed out.”
Digital Mysteries is also helping to bring in other elements of learning including marking and persuasive writing; “In the latest session I gave them homework that ‘reversed the roles’. I wrote a 555 word answer to the key question and asked them to mark it for next lesson; looking at AF3 and AF4 for writing, and AF6 for reading. It’s hoped that this ‘exemplar’ material will help them to envisage and realise a higher-quality written answer for themselves.”
English teacher Elizabeth, reflecting on the latest session, said “This was the best lesson so far, much calmer than the last one; the class dealt with the tasks in a very productive and confident manner, even those who had struggled to focus before.”
To summarise, Elizabeth continued: “Although some groups came up with ‘groupings’ and ideas that seemed to be less sophisticated than others, they created some very interesting and encouraging work; first impressions seem to suggest that there will be some good quality learning outcomes from this lesson.”