Classroom management of the Stadium Project

As mentioned on the front page and the other stadium pages there are a variety of modes of delivery of the project with a group.....

A group could be 5 or 6 pupils or a whole class of 30 with one stadium kit.

Several different classes could gradually add to the stadium over a period of time. eg. one class completes the basic structure then another adds the seating etc.

The project could be delivered to a whole year group of students divided into teams eg. 20 teams of 6 students, each team building their own stadium or stand of a stadium. This might take place in a school hall.

You will have to decide

1. How many students are going to be involved.
2. How much time you are able to devote to practical construction.
3. How much time if any is to be spent on research, design, other subject areas, preparing for a group presentation etc. if required.
4. Where  to store the final stadium model after construction bearing in mind you may wish to use it as a stimulus for further work or simply to exhibit it as evidence and for others to see.

The most exciting and fun way to deliver the project to a whole class using one stadium kit is as follows....

1. Introduce the project using a limited number of the main powerpoint slides to outline the main aim and give a feel for where the project is leading.
2. Set a series of learning objectives and challenges relating to the knowledge aspects of the Olympics you may wish to cover as ‘research exercises’ later. You can return to these whenever there is a pause or period when some students might not be fully occupied.
3. Divide the class into 6 groups of 5 students. Discuss groupwork/teamwork skills. Elect leaders.
4. Teach the basic skill of making good quality paper roll tubes of various lengths.
5. Each group practices making roll tubes as a team activity and produces a plan (schedule of work) of how to do it properly and efficiently incorporating quality control and division of labour with named operatives and job descriptions.
6. Each group makes a single cantilever structure according to plans provided on paper or on screen. Some thought must be given to a colour scheme for the different sizes of tube unless white is chosen for all! Note: a total of 8 cantilevers is required so a further 2 cantilevers will have to be made later but this adds an interesting facet to the project.
7. Teach the basic skill of folding a sheet of card (practice on paper first) to make a bank of seats. Allow each group to make only one section of seats (ie. a single sheet of card) then stop.
8. By now the students will have a good idea of the overall aim of project but the individual groups must now start acting in a more organized way if the final product, a stadium, is to be completed to a high standard and with the correct number and design/colour/ style of construction throughout. The only way to do this is to have a management structure which can identify and delegate jobs and a workforce which can accept those jobs and be ready to receive a new task on completion. Discuss how this can be achieved with the class.
9. Your discussion in 8. above may result in a different structure to the one proposed here but if one management structure is not working it can be rearranged! Structure the group as follows:  1 Project Manager, 1 Personal Assistant, 2 Engineering Managers, 2 Quality Controllers, 8 work-teams of 3 students each with one of the three as a team leader. The main posts could all be applied for and interviewed for if time allowed.
10. The whole class brainstorms for 2 minutes all jobs to be completed in order to finish the stadium. PA records all jobs. The PM, PA and EM’s meet to plan a logical sequence for the jobs. PA lists the jobs on the ‘Jobs Plan’ (on whiteboard or e-whiteboard) and keeps it up-to-date. EM’s delegate jobs to work teams (WT1 to WT8) and record progress on Jobs Plan. QC’s rigorously check all work and report back to EM’s. PM must ‘look ahead’ while EM’s oversee the current work and line up the next job for WT. Management team meet regularly if only for a minute to check overall progress and identify problems/solutions. The ‘Jobs Plan’ on the whiteboard is the key!
11. The teacher steps back and watches! - only intervening if normal classroom management situations have to be resolved.

Below is a photograph of a Jobs Plan on a whiteboard in the form of an aerial view of the stadium produced by the above system of management. The class was a year 6 group of 30 students. The PM, PA and QC’s were girls. The EM’s were both boys. The team worked incredibly well and the only problems encountered were with some of the WT members who found some of the practical skills difficult and therefore were repeatedly at odds with the QC’s - a lesson for life perhaps?

The board looks rather messy at first glance but it’s really a fantastic piece of live planning with letters, initials, text and colour indicating who is doing what and whether it has been completed.

Well done year 6 Mrs. Bradford (Summer 2010) Toner Avenue Primary School, Hebburn, Tyne and Wear.

This close up shows how the students were also generating ideas for the event to be hosted inside the stadium.

This is the stadium at lunch break with approx. 2hrs remaining to complete the roof, stands, crowd and events! On the table in the background you can see some roof sections and seats ready to be fitted.

This is a tremendously satisfying way to deliver the construction part of the project.

Once the important constructional skills relating to paper tubes and accurate folding of card have been taught and the group structure has been arranged and explained, it is then the responsibility of the management team to control the project.

If it works well then the teacher has time to step back and observe how various class members contribute to the project and hopefully play a constructive part in a successful outcome. A very valuable opportunity to assess the progress of individuals in personal and group skills perhaps?

Of course it won’t always work as well as in the example given. The teacher may have to intervene if the managers are being ignored or if the workforce goes on strike!

In this example the bulk of the construction would take place in one full day but another full day or shorter more frequent sessions would still have to be spent adding all of the extras eg. adverts on advert boards all around the central track and crowd in national dress from different countries etc. etc. etc.

There could also be spin-off activities eg. visiting the computer room to research and print suitable pictures for advert boards and for ‘pictures’ for the big screens.

More ideas for class management methods will be posted soon.

Please send in any comments.

tom@technologytom.co.uk

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