Section 2

Rational

For some time now evidence of  Handling Information from classes throughout the school have been patchy.  In some cases a quick project based on Data Handling on the computer (usually in maths lessons) purely satisfied the requirements of the Program of Study for maths with little evidence of skill development or purpose in I.C.T.  Software was not being used to it’s full potential and children seem to go through the motions of collecting data, inputting data and printing out  multicolored bar charts for display.

The speed and flexibility of computers makes certain tedious tasks easier to perform.  Data can be selected, ordered transformed into histograms, bar charts and pie charts quickly and easily.  This frees children to concentrate their attention on the higher level skills of analysis, interpretation, synthesis and prediction.    (Southall 1992)

Clearly, these higher level skills are not being developed from the evidence that I have observed and collected from classes.

Almost all information handling tasks in I.C.T. observed related to work in the mathematics curriculum.  This showed  a  lack  of understanding or confidence by staff on the use of Information Handling in other contexts apart from maths.  Very little evidence of the use of Information Handling using I.C.T. was observed in other curriculum subjects, particularly in Science, History or Geography.

The school’s computer is a tool which can make the management and presentation of information a realistic possibility.  For even the youngest children in the infant school there are different kinds of software which will store and retrieve information.  Programs which present information graphically or which allow children to create their own diagrams or pictures.   
(Straker, 1989)

Software is already installed on machines in the school, which when used well and planned well by staff  will open up new opportunities for handling information in many curriculum subjects.  When speaking to staff about this, the general feeling was that there was a lack of literature containing interesting projects or tasks for the children which can be used to enhance curriculum areas such as Science, History or Geography. This I feel is quite true, although literature by Roger Frost giving many examples of use of information handling in Science has been a useful resource in this project, which I will refer to later.

Progression in Handling Information through the school is another concern which needs to be addressed.  From observations and evidence collected, there is a need for tasks to increase in complexity as children move through school in order to increase their capability in Information Handling.  Although the Program of Study builds in progression giving examples of the types of tasks expected of children in certain classes, there seems to be instances where tasks given to children in different classes tackle, basically, the same problem with the same type of  result.  e.g.  What is the favourite flavour of crisps in our class?

The use of Information Handling in the school appears fragmented, occasionally good projects come to light, but generally there is a need for coherent use of Information Handling in I.C.T.

Summary of  Concerns on which to base the project

·     Identified weaknesses in the use of Information Handling.

·     Understanding and confidence in using Information Handling in other contexts other than mathematics.

·     Lack of interesting projects in Information Handling to enhance other curriculum subjects particularly Science, History and Geography.

·     A need for progression through the school in using Information Handling.

·     A need for increasing complexity of tasks and capability in Information Handling.

·     A need for coherent use of Information Handling.   

Action Plan

When investigating the use of Information Handling in school I soon became aware that development would require a great deal of time and co-operation from staff.  This development is very much an ongoing process, staff will need support, resources and encouragement in order to achieve the aims and objectives of this project.

Project Aims

The overall aim of this project is to give children in Key Stage 1 and 2 the opportunities to use Information Handling in I.C.T. to support work in other curriculum subjects and achieve I.C.T. capability in Information Handling.

Project Objectives

1.   In order for this project to be successful, it will be necessary to gain support from staff  throughout the school.  Meetings with staff, both collectively and individually will be arranged to discuss with them how they wish to see Information Handling being used and  how to best meet the needs for children.

2.   Perform a survey to gather information from staff about the present use of  Handling Information, levels of confidence and attitudes.  This will act as a starting point from which development will take place.

3.   Work with children in different classes and talk with children in order to assess the present capability of using and understanding Handling Information.

4.   Put together some interesting tasks in Handling Information using I.C.T. to use as case studies with the children.

5.   Evaluate the results of the case studies. These case studies can then be used as models to give feedback and encouragement to staff and ideas for staff to use for themselves in class.

6.   Identify weaknesses, gaps in software and also any other problems which may come to the surface during case studies that may need to be addressed

7. Arrange individual training sessions with class teachers/subject co-ordinators to focus on developing tasks in Handling Information.  Make a collection of ideas which would make good, interesting projects with increasing complexity and I.C.T. capability through Key Stage 1 and 2.