Train the Trainer Resources

Activity title: Spidergram

Short description:

This activity is designed to get learners thinking about how a particular topic relates to their course.

Key competences in life skills:

Numeracy / ü
Literacy and communication / ü
ICT
Interpersonal / ü
Use of foreign languages
Entrepreneurship / ü
Job seeking
Learning to learn

Situation:

This activity can be used by teachers to help learners to identify basic ideas relating to numeracy and how they relate to the vocational area. It also develops their skills in working with other people in a team, and their communication skills.

The teacher can choose different numerical topics or concepts for the learners to work with.

It can also be used by teachers to help them see how such numeracy skills could relate to their course so that they can embed such skills more effectively.

Aims and objectives:

The learners will be able to identify how a particular numeracy concept/topic is relevant to their vocational learning and/or to their future employment in that vocational area.

Detailed description:

The preparation:

Prepare a set of flipchart sheets, one for each group, with a spidergram drawn out and the key numerical concept in the centre. An example is attached.

The session

Put the learners into small groups.

Ask them to think about the chosen numerical concept and how this relate first to their

learning on the vocational course, and secondly to their future employment in that vocational sector.

For example, if you are considering measurement with motor vehicle students, it could include tyre size, depth of tread, fuel economy, tyre pressures, engine size, actual size of car etc

Outline timing plan:

10 minutes / Introduction of activity
Divide group into vocational areas (eg hairdressers, construction workers, etc)
Pre-prepared flipchart with blank spidergram for each group
20 minutes / Each group to decide how money (or whatever the selected topic is) is relevant to their vocational area, and write their ideas on the flipchart
30 minutes / (When activity used with vocational teachers)
Each group to discuss:
How they can use the results from this activity to embed knowledge of money (or the selected topic) into their vocational teaching
How this activity could be used with their learners and how the results might differ
Put key points from their discussion on flipchart
20 minutes / Feedback from each group in turn on the key points from their discussion and what they thought of the activity

Requirements and resources:

Flipcharts pre-prepared with a spidergram

Example of pre-prepared flipchart:

A video of this activity is available on the LIFE 1 website www.life-keyskills.info resources

Assessment:

Learning about the relevance of the numerical concept to their vocational area can be assessed formatively through looking at the feedback on the flipcharts. It is also possible to assess how they work in small groups, and how they communicate with each other.

Hints and tips:

Students could work individually, in pairs or small groups

It is possible to differentiate the activity either by ability or by task. For example some students can be given more challenging concepts/topics

By using a general term such as “money” in a session designed to build life skills, it is possible for the learners to indicate things they like doing, and this can open the

opportunity to a specific theme-based project

This activity can also be used when training vocational teachers to help them identify how particular numeracy concepts/topics relate to their vocational course

It could also be adapted for use with other life skills for key competences by using other headings, such as literacy concepts or topics related to cultural awareness etc.

Use in different vocational areas:

This activity was tested in the following vocational areas and was found to be very effective in engaging learners. It was simple and did not need many resources but encouraged lots of discussion about money in the vocational context.

Construction – costs involved in building a hotel such as land, labour, materials, safety, taxes, etc. Hair and Beauty – setting up a hair salon and considering the costs such as rent, equipment, heating, lighting, rates, staff, products (shampoos, colours, etc.) and how much you will charge customers.

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