Teaching challenging material
Watch students' skills and understanding develop in abstract data modelling, ending the lesson with a stop-motion video.
Resource information
The teacher develops students' skills and understanding in abstract data modelling. The lesson focuses on the use of the bubble sort algorithm. The teacher first demonstrates this using a video of a Hungarian dance, then has the students work together on hypothesising how they would code and improve the algorithm. The lesson culminates with the students creating a stop-motion video to demonstrate and apply their understanding of an allocated algorithm.
John Monash Science School is the first school of its kind in Victoria and one of only three such specialist science providers in Australia. Opening for the first time in 2010 the facilities and infrastructure are multi-storey and based on a ‘learning commons’ design to facilitate the variety of flexible teaching and learning approaches characteristic of the school. JMSS has formed strong partnerships with researchers and academics in a broad mix of scientific fields at Monash University. JMSS delivers its curriculum via a team teaching paradigm that supports teachers to collaborate and plan lessons around the needs of the students, allows for flexibility in teaching strategies and differentiating learning. Through this approach JMSS seeks to develop student skills in collaboration, team-work, compromise, creativity and problem-solving, and to accentuate more activity-based learning, project-based learning and genuine team-based inquiry which are all important in developing STEM knowledge and skills. All JMSS curriculum is accessible anywhere and anytime online to allow for seamless transitions between home and school.
Discussion questions:
- How could you support the participation of all students given varying degrees of prior knowledge?
- How have you used ICT resources to demonstrate difficult concepts in your class?
- What strategies could you use to seek feedback from your students?
