Engaging Attention

Andy Heywood

Summary

This case study is concerned with using digital media images, sourced from the internet, to engage and enhance learning with particular emphasis on the beginning of a lesson.

Introduction

This approach uses digital images at its core to capture interest and engage students. These images are used predominately used at the beginning of a lesson (Entrance, starters and lesson objectives) to stimulate students thinking about the current science topic. In this case study the initial approach was adopted to capture the interest of low ability students that caused significant behavioural management issues on entry to the room. By selecting images that appeared unrelated to science, students would ask why it was there and engage in dialogue with regard to it. Images such as David Beckham’s Number 23 shirt encouraged female students to discus his ‘popularity’ while male students discussed football. When the lesson began we would relate the image to science by revealing that the number 23 was significant to the genetics topic being studied. During subsequent lessons students would recognise the image and associate the importance of the number 23 for the topic. Quite often the number of chromosomes in a sex cell would be referred to as “23 David Beckhams” or “two Beckham shirts gives you 46” for non-sex cells.

This approach was developed to include varying types of images which helped to illustrate the starter and lesson objectives. At each stage the image would have a direct or similarly unrelated link, these encouraged students to think about the connections which in turn helped their understanding of the topic or promote how science works. The style was then used with all groups which resulted in similar success in capturing the interest of students and developing their thinking skills (analysis, comprehension, application, evaluation).

The images used are usually found on the internet and are displayed on an Interactive White Board (IWB) as students enter the room. The opening discussion requires the students to link the image to the topic. This can provide a useful insight into their prior knowledge of the topic or subject retention if used at the end of a topic.

How to use it:

Images are selected and used in a number of ways for example images may be used with a starter (odd-on-out, write a caption, mind maps, sequencing games, logical leaps). In planning the lesson the objectives are presented on a slide that will also contain a selection of images that replate to the topic, for example a lesson dealing with atoms would have ‘classic’ atoms images with a few pictures of objects made from atoms that students would associate with, Beyonce, bricks, Playstation and may include a scientist famous for their work on atoms.

Finding digital images

1. Identify key words for image searches.

In order to locate a range of suitable images the keyword used is very important. Include all words that are relevant to the topic even those that may be interpreted as a “play-on-words”. It may also be helpful to include any simple words, plurals and numbers as these can find different images.

H2T Keywords table giving examples:

Chemistry Topics Uncommon keyword image search examples Hydrocarbons Chains, Hydro(carbon), Petrol pumps, crude, extraction, drills, Atoms and Small, balance, equations, mixture, orbits, elements (periodic) table, Products from Reaction, (metal) oars (ores), mines, rocks Biology Humans as Puberty, sweaty, food (nutrients), transport, organisms pump (heart), O2, CO2, response, pills, The cure (medicine cures) Plants Cells, Transport, green, stem, water, wilt Variation, Difference, Natural, mutants, 23, 46, XX, XY, inheritance and Jeans (genes), GM, Frankenfoods, evolution Organisms in their Competition, Pray (Prey), habitat, Surface area, environment 60 million (UK population), Farming, construction, (carbon) footprint, compost (decomposition), (nutrient) cycles Physics Electricity (energy) Flow, heat, series, parallel, free (electrons), shock, (circuit) Breakers, live, AC:DC, Force and motion Fast, Hinge (pivots), equal (balanced forces), stopping, friction, Force, Turning (forces) Sun burn (Infra-red exposure) Waves Volume (amplitude), wave, Mexican (wave), echo, sound barrier, speed of light, TIR (total internal reflection) loud, pitch, prism, Note- It is not essential to have identified all relevant words before a search for images, often each word is investigated and from this process more suitable topics words become obvious.

2. Images found.

Keywords are entered into an internet search engine set on the images tab, (the illustration below show the Google search engine). When searching for images it is important to keep an open and no image is ignored simply because it does not meet a preconceived idea. The core principle behind the use images to capture interest relies on the old adage “a picture say a thousand words”. By keeping an open mind during the search phase a keyword may generate many different meanings. Your idea of a wave will be very different to someone else’s and this can open up different images that will help students associate to the keywords.

Figure 1 Image tab

Search box

3. Selecting images.

After keywords have been entered into a search engine a variety of images are displayed, at this stage it is crucial to be open minded and look for images that stand out for being different e.g. why is an underwater image of a sea turtle included in the 1. 2. results for the search Total Internal Reflection. By clicking on the images that appear you will be taken to the website where the image is located at and you should find the link to the keyword. A previous search for Total Internal Reflection revealed the following images in the top 30 images. 3. 4. Figure 2 By selecting ones which appear ‘different’ a wide ranging discussion will take place that may include:

 classic experiment,  a similar underwater experience.  application.  application for communication

Although it can be helpful to look for the unusual connections with images, simple pictures that can relate numbers or basic ideas can also be very effective.

At this point if an image has no value return to the search page and explore other images. Trying a variation of the word e.g. instead of total internal reflection use TIR. In this example an image of a European road haulage sign is found, although this is unrelated it could be used to question students in the future with regard to the initials.

Figure 3 This process can be time consuming but as with many things ICT related you will become more proficient at locating and selecting appropriate images. Images that will have use in topics to be studied in the future are likely to be found and so it is important to have a suitable filing system to be able to save and re-locate images for future use or for use by colleagues. Don’t rely on the search engine to locate the same images weeks later as the popularity of sites varies over time and so the same keyword may produce a different listing several weeks later. When saving images always try to save a full size version. Once the full size image is located place the cursor over the image and right click the mouse. This reveals a menu, select “save picture as”. Then save the picture to your chosen filing system. For future reference it is helpful to give the image a suitable name, something that will be understood by you and your colleagues in the future.

4. Integrating images in to teaching.

When an image has been found it can be used in many ways, the list below illustrates some of the methods used:

 Capture interest images: An image or a series of images will greet students on entry to a room. These images encourage students to think about the connection to the science topic being studied and generally results in them asking questions. For groups who may struggle to engage, a question can be posted with the image. Some approaches used include - important scientists, selection of applications, rare animals or plants, recent scientific discoveries, or just great pictures.

 Lesson objectives: several images that are related to the topic and keywords are displayed with the objectives, It can be beneficial to include a random image that has no link to science or is a very bad play on words, for example a pair of jeans for genetics (genes), rowing boat oars for metals from rocks (ores), or a pineapple for no reason. This approach encourages students to look through the information and assess its value, to challenge rather than take things for granted.

 Odd one out: As students enter the room or as a starter, having found a good picture use a contrasting image from the same keyword search. See figure 2 above. Ask students to find the odd one out, the key here is to ask them to justify their answer. With practice student become confident in their answers, especially if all answers are congratulated for their thinking. Encouraging students to offer alternative ideas which are justified by their thinking is helpful in developing the skills of analysis and interpretation in a fun way. It is important to follow this up by explaining each image this will then lead to the main focus of the lesson.

 Play the editor: As a starter, using image students must play the role of an editor for a magazine and write the headline to go with the image. This is often more fun if students are asked to write two headlines for “comedy science weekly” and a headline for “Serious science today!”

 Cartoons, where’s the joke?: As a starter, often cartoons are retrieved by a search engines, many aimed directly at the efforts of scientist. Here students are asked to discuss the topic and explain the joke. This method tends to reveal many of the ethical issues concerned with a topic.

 Cloze Images for words: A traditional cloze activity where the gaps are portrayed by images and students relate to the image to a keyword. Images can be displayed upside down or back-to-back to add extra challenge.

 Logical leaps: As a starter, Students are asked to make mind-map style leaps from an image to another image over several leaps. This encourages thinking skills and allows students to be creative and mentally plot out their thinking. This works well with images used in previous lessons.

Impact on learning

Observation: With lower ability groups students quickly forget any issue/problems that had taken place before the lesson and focused their attention on the images considering the possible link to the science topic to be studied. This leads to appropriate and relevant discussion which has improved the behaviour management of low ability groups while engaging more able groups in scientific thinking.

Students demonstrate a greater power of retention and recall facts that, from experience, they would find difficult, this has been evident in follow up lessons and revision later in the year. Over heard feedback: students have made comments towards images in the lesson:

“What picture is up today” “I always like random picture of the day” “What’s that? Why is ……… on the board” “ Oh I bet that …………. Is about …………………..” “No its about ……….”

Feedback from questionnaire:

Many students commented that they noticed images in the lesson and wanted to know more, several explained that they felt intrigued while some found they made scientific connections to the topic being taught.

Many students explained that the images helped their understanding of a topic and they were encouraged to ask questions. Several students said images helped then engage in a topic and think about the lesson objectives, while some thought the images helped get them started.

Most students thought that images used on entrance were effective resources, captured interest, enhanced the lesson and were thought provoking.

Most students thought that images used during starters were effective resources, captured interest, enhanced the lesson and were thought provoking.

Most students thought that images used in lesson activities were effective resources and were thought provoking.

Student comments:

“Adds to a slide, rather than boring text. Every image is relevant in some way”

“Helps to start a lesson and think about a topic”

“They help me to understand areas of a topic”

“The pictures help me think about things outside a lesson”

“The images often help me remember things I don’t understand through explanations”

“Makes the lesson more fun and interesting, they make you think further”

“I sometimes get confused but they make me eager to understand why they are there”

“It’s an interesting way to start a lesson”

“Entering the room to an image makes the lesson different to others and its fun” Other points of interest:

Of the 30 students asked, two made comments about not noticing images, one made comment to not understanding the images, one explained that too many images were used.

Students were asked which images had ‘stuck in their memory’:

Popular ones included:  Turtle  Famous scientist  The Simpson’s  Oasis drink  Skittles  Beckham 23 shirt  Falling girl in sky  Egg shells  Rugby scrum  Deep heat  Radioactivity,