Access information and determine relevance
Evidence of sources is available - The learners had little ‘evidence’.
- Surveys – Most had completed printed surveys.
- Copies or screen dumps of websites – They copied the relevant information into a word document under headings/questions with a URL, BUT did not have the ‘copies of web sites’ as required.
- Photocopies/clippings from printed media or scanned information from printed media – Two out of 60 learners had pages from the telephone directory, none had anything from a book or magazine.
- Evidence of interviews conducted – One had a recording on his cell phone, and one had a paper transcript of the conversation.
- Printouts or screen dumps of e-mails – One learner had a copy of a letter sent to someone but no reply – silly.
Evidence that trustworthiness of different types of sources was checked – Two learners wrote about four lines on this. The rest did nothing. They did not seem to understand it.
Use information – Planning
After having marked the two classes and telling the learners to start working on Phase 3 and the report, and create graphs from the survey, one of my bright learners asked me ‘What is a report?’ and another of my bright learners asked what she must do with the graph. I had not explained what a report was and had not explained that the results of the survey should be displayed in a graph and ‘copied’ into the report!
I then realised why the Planning section had been done so badly, most learners getting 0. I had not taught those basics! I then explained that a report shows all the results of an investigation under headings in something like an essay, with graphs, tables or pictures to show the information.
In the staff room I was told that in English the learners do something about reports, cross referencing/linking to questions and checking the trustworthiness of information, in Gr 9.
It looks as if I will have to rethink the PAT with Grades 10 and 11, and my current Gr 12 s – well, I do not know! I had spoken about what was required and shown them a PowerPoint. I had assumed too much. I have begun to think that the PAT is beyond the mental capacity of my current Grade 12 cohort of learners. Maybe with the Gr 10 and 11 PATs being similar to that of Grade 12 the experience will be useful training for Grade 12.
I wonder how those teaching at less privileged schools are doing.
