A designer speaks

Look at any 10 classroom lessons. Two might be quite forgettable, about six might be passable, but one or two might, by general acclamation from teachers, be considered outstanding. By analysing what we consider to be high quality lessons, we contend that it is possible to distil out a set of practical design features and qualities that are generalisable and transferable to many lessons. We would claim that in this process, working alongside teachers, there is the opportunity to empower them to create their own “rich” and “balanced” classroom lessons. We will analyse three selected lessons chosen from classrooms. Each in our opinion passes the test of being both rich and balanced. What do we mean by rich and balanced? Many authors have attempted to define the term rich in relation to mathematics tasks or lessons (see, e.g., Downton, Clarke, Knight, & Lewis, 2006; Flewelling, & Higginson, 2001). Although it is very rare for a single task or lesson to have all of these features, the following are often mentioned: It draws on a range of important mathematical content; It is engaging for students; All students are able to make a start, as it caters for a range of levels of understanding; It can be successfully undertaken using a range of methods or approaches; It provides a measure of choice or openness, leading to a sense of student ownership; It involves students actively in their own learning; It shows the way in which mathematics can help to make sense of the world; It makes appropriate and effective use of technology; © ISDDE 2011 all rights reserved E D U C A T I O N A L D E S I G N E R JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT IN EDUCATION Lovitt, C., Clarke, D. (2011) A Designer Speaks. Educational Designer, 1(4) http://www.educationaldesigner.org/ed/volume1/issue4/article15 Page 1 It allows students to show connections they are able to make between the concepts they have learned; It draws the attention of students to important aspects of mathematical activity; and It helps teachers to decide what specific help students may require in the relevant content areas, or ways in which students might be extended. There are many such lists in mathematics education articles, and in working with teachers, we have encouraged them to put the lessons we share with them and the ones they develop themselves under the microscope, and to ask the questions, “Is this lesson rich? What are the features which make it so?” These features therefore provide a kind of checklist, and thus form our design elements in developing lessons. In the following discussion of three particular lessons, we will summarise the features which teachers identify in relation to the lessons. When we refer to balanced, we mean that the features above work “in harmony”, are mutually self-supportive and not over or under weight in any aspect. Many traditional text-book type lessons are arguably overweight in the rush to skill development, while ignoring a range of other equally important teaching and learning principles. The balancing act is needed within any lesson, and by implication, across any set of lessons. We will explore the way in which the three lessons we discuss can be regarded as balanced. The three lessons which we encourage the reader to place under the microscope in this article are titled: Temperature graphs Maths in motion Mathematics of Lotto In each, we will present a description of the lesson followed by a critique designed to identify the elements of the design profile, and also compare and contrast the lesson with an equivalent stereotypical textbook version.