Gr 12 PAT Phase 1

I have started marking my Phase 1. It is obvious that many learners have not done their homework and read about the subject. Some of their questions are wrong, and the places where some find the answers are equally wrong. They seem to use 'survey' as an information source in the wrong places. Grrr!

I note that the rubric does not go into quality of the questions, or if the learners labeled their questions correctly. That is fine. We must stay with the rubric! But we can tweak the rubric and use an improved one with the grade 10s and 11s. At least we have got the kids working! I did like the table format for doing the work.

Gr 12 PAT Phase 1

For the PAT you have to find a solution to a local resource problem and present the solution to the local municipality. You need to investigate various solutions, and present them all showing the best solution for the local municipality.
When you do phase 1, you should have done a great deal of background reading and thought of 4-5 possible solutions to your problem. In phase 1 you plan how to get full detailed information about all of the solutions. This information must be proveable, i.e. the name of a person who made a statement, the results of a survey to prove a point, the URL where you found a fact. In order to get enough details to solve a problem you need to ask questions on at least 4 levels.
The application packages are not important yet – they will become obvious as you collect the information. We create clear questions so we do not waste time, so we know that we are investigating things that will help us solve the problem.
Second year students doing the CAT ACE course at CPUT were given the PPTs Information management and the PAT and Phase 1, and the Gr 12 PAT instructions. They had to do their PAT on printer problems in the CAT class using the rubrics from the Gr 12 PAT. Here are 3 examples of their Phase 1 – Shah, Van der Berg and Van Staden. Look at the Description of the task, Main question and then the Questions. All of the examples have good points!

Gr 12 PAT Phase 1

I have to help my learners move with their PAT! They need a plan if they are going to do something. They must know what they want to achieve else they will just go round in circles. The planning in phase 1 is so important.
So today I have calm music playing and the learners are calmly searching for statistical data to show that there is a problem in the focus area of their PAT.
They are struggling to create good questions. It is funny to think any person can just go and …

• search – search for what?
  
• collect data – on what?
• analyse data – on what?
• analyse data – for what?
• make graphs – for what?

Hopefully after this calm web/music time they will have statistics to prove there is a problem and improve their questions, and have their phase 1 ready to hand in to me next week.

Gr 12 PAT Phase 1

I introduced the PAT last week to my class. This week I am going to help them create their Phase 1 document based the following points.

1. I will ‘talk’ about what is a PAT.
   
2. I will talk about points 1 and 2 of page 2 of Learner Section of the PAT.
   
3. They will write down statistics to prove that there is a resource problem in their area.
   
4. We will look at Phase 1 on page 5 of the Learner Section of the PAT.
   
5. I will show them my Phase 1 PPT.
6. I will show them my main headings/topics on how to deal with the printer in my room.
   
7. I will give them the word template linked here, similar to the table in the Phase 1 PPT.
   
8. They will enter their headings/topics on the template.
   
9. They will create questions beginning with What? When? Where? Who? How many? Etc. to complete the table, to solve their problem, for ALL their headings/topics on the template.
   
10. They will create questions beginning with Why? How? Etc. to complete the table, to solve their problem, for ALL their headings/topics on the template.
    
11. They will create questions beginning with If, What if? Etc. to complete the table, to solve their problem, for ALL their headings/topics on the template.
    
12. They will create questions beginning with Would it be better if? What recommendation? How can I determine? What would be the best way? etc. to complete the table, to solve their problem, for ALL their headings/topics on the template.
    
13. They will then indicate where to find the answers for all their problems – they will look in many sources! - electronic encyclopedia such as Encarta, printed media such as magazines, brochures, newspapers, books, etc., opinion polls/surveys, interviews, e-mails, SMSs, telephone calls, etc.
14. They will then indicate how that question will help solve the problem!
    
15. Someone will then check their work.
16. The learners will check the rubric making sure that they get full marks.
    
17. They will submit their individual work.

Gr 12 PAT

The PAT is based on the Research Cycle http://fno.org/oct97/researchcycle.html or the Big 6 Information Management Model http://www.big6.com/
The students doing the Advanced Certificate in Education (ACE) in CAT at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology have created some PPTs to shortly explain the Research Cycle or the Big 6. Please have a look and possibly use them with a class to introduce the PAT. If you use them perhaps you can thank the creator – their email is in the Slide 1 notes page. Please email me PRIVATELY telling me which is the best PPT and why – Thanks.
Barbara Anyster, Johan Barkhuizen, Sandra Botha, Patricia Carelse, Andile Desha, Pumza Dinga, Oscar Lang, Thabisa Matwa, Beauty Mxuma-Nongogo, Nomasomi Nongoko, Tertia Shah, Lindsay Van der Berg, Alexander Van Stade, Dawood Wakefield, Russel Williams

Designated subjects

Why is CAT not recognised as one of the ‘designated’ subjects for university? Have a look at the official list of designated subjects. http://www.hesa-enrol.ac.za/nishe/faqs.htm
We have spoken about this before, and not had the answers we believe are correct.
We must get our PARENTS and PRINCIPALS to write to the Higher Education South Africa (HESA) board to relook at and revise the subjects required to get access to universities. Their web site is http://www.hesa.org.za/hesa/
WHEN is HESA going to relook at and revise the ‘designated’ subjects required to get access to universities? After the election?
Information management is what we teach! University students need information management.

Gr 12 Survey or any other Survey - Evidence

As part of Information Management we must teach learners to make statements based on EVIDENCE collected and processed, not on gut feelings. Their opinion must be able to stand up in a court of law - the evidence for each statement must be there. In their Conclusion or Summary slide for their Survey many learners have made statements that have no relation to what was asked in the survey.

Gr 12 PAT

Have a look at the free monthly glossy magazine called Full Circle. Each month from about June 2008 there has been an article on Sustainable Living. A number of these would provide useful starting resources for getting the learners to start thinking about their projects. The URL is http://www.fullcirclemagazine.co.za/magazine.html. The following URL has an interesting contribution about electricity shortages: http://www.fullcirclemagazine.co.za/sustainable0806.php

Thank you Peter Davidson for this contribution.

Experience helps

I am getting better at teaching this subject! Experience does help.

• The Grade 10s have been doing the Integrated Task on pages S8 of the textbook. They are doing it in groups, which has resulted in so much learning, i.e. organising the fonts, layout, line spacing, tabs, borders, and then the information! They were given a rubric which the group used while they were doing the work, and then on which the group had to evaluate themselves. I decide to do it this way as the learners must learn to READ the evaluation rubric and instructions. I will now go through the work and find faults with their work before I jump on them and find faults with their evaluations. This task was due on Friday and the learners are doing their term test on the same work on Monday.
  
• The Grade 11s have just finished the Integrated task on page S8 of their books. I made the learners use their own home address for the work. So many cannot write their own address! And creating an agenda is also a problem!I walked the class watching and helping during the task. So much help and guidance seemed to be needed.