Learning Structures

	Children, on-line learning and authentic teaching skills in primary education
	Learning Structures

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The common learning structures identified in the table below are described and analysed in terms of the

The number of effective computers available to the students in the class
The student working knowledge of ICT
The capacity of students to work independently with minimal direction and support.

These factors are shaped further by other factors such as

the learning tasks involved
the physical characteristics of the classroom
cultural factors in the school and class.

The cultural factors include the concepts of teaching and learning held by the teachers and students. Clearly the teacher's concepts of teaching and learning impact on his/her assessment of the students' capacity to be withdrawn from the class, to work in groups or teams, and the capacity of students to work independently and hence the working knowledge they might require for a successful learning experience.

Similarly the students' concepts of teaching and learning are likely to shape their willingness to participate in the arrangements made by the teacher. Students who expect that learning will not make demands on them may not respond well to the complexities and frustrations of using ICT.

PCs	Learning Structure	Working Knowledge	Student Independence
1-3	Withdrawal from class	Low-Medium	Medium
4 or more	Rotation of Scheduled tasks in groups, eg, webquests	Medium	Medium
4 or more	Rotation of Team tasks, eg, group projects	Medium to high	Medium +
3 or more	Collaborative class projects With dynamic groupings	Medium to high	High

Note: in making sense of in-class observations it has been necessary and important to distinguish between groups and teams:

Groups are often made up of a number individuals (and sometimes pairs) working on identical or similar tasks in parallel
Teams, on the other hand, are made up of a number of students who shared responsibility for the achievement of a shared goal: the members of the team collaborate and contribute to the achievement of the teams goal and benefit from the support of other members of their team

For more information on this topic see the in-progress report ( pdf or Word)