DIMITRA PROVELENGIOU

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Thessaloniki, 2016

This Booklet was created to offer a simple method as to enable teachers to fulfill their roles in coordinating group activities in the classroom. Additionally it aims to guide peer-groups as to create their own comics and, if possible, share them with other peers across Europe, through an eTwinning project. The idea for some of the Booklet’s features stems from an official program run in 5 Greek Public Primary Schools in 2015-16, by “ΑΝΤΙΓΟΝΗ» (ANTIGONE), Center of Information and Documentation about Racism, Ecology, Peace and Non-Violence, in cooperation with the Non Profit Organization “AddArt”, funded by the “Stavros Niarchos” Institution.

Introduction

The aim of “PEER-POWER!!! How to Create the Comics and Run the Project” Booklet is to help both teachers and pupils to develop their communication skills and reinforce relations through establishing a collaborative environment in the classroom. It is an effort to express thoughts and feelings through symbols, which may include oral/written mother/foreign language, through a variety of means. The aim of the project as an overall will be to empower the pupils’ positive attitudes towards others and towards schooling and develop a common culture of values as friendship, acceptance, tolerance, positive interdependence and interaction.

Which age?

Given the fact that the scope and topic of the project applies to all school ages and a range of means can be used, this project can be run by all, producing different intellectual outcomes per pupils’ age. Pre-schoolers may come up with drawings, songs and theatrical plays, while teenagers may use ICT to produce the comics, coming up with ideas of short films and/or presentations. The elder pupils’ experience may trigger creativity and willing to learn to the younger, while feelings of affection and/or adaption of the parental role may contribute to excellence among the elder.

Which method of instruction?

To run such a project it is essential that the pupils work together while their teachers monitor and coordinate their work. Positive interdependence and interaction will help to create the context for a successful project. Antagonistic interrelations between peers and peer-groups are neither required nor likely to lead to a better result. The positive effects of peers’

collaboration may lead to the development of reflection and knowledge through the usage of language/s, and add to the quality and quantity of the linguistic and non-linguistic communication between pupils.

Peers hold an important role in creating a “Zone of Proximal Development”, a crucial concept in Vygotsky’s theory (Mercer & Littleton, 2007. Myhill, Jones & Hopper, 2006). According to Wiles (1985), during acquiring a language, the peers are able to empower the will to learn, since children tend to use a wide range of linguistic elements in their conversations,, helping each other to find the “right” word, adjusting their type of help according to the needs of the others.

Equity among the group-members should not be taken for granted. The social capacities required may not have been developed yet. The development of such social capacities should be the aim of the instruction (Howes & Ritchie, 2002. Naylor & Cowie, 2000).

Link to the school curricula

All projects run during class should be linked to either curricula subjects or subject-matters. To begin with, all such projects as the one in presentation fulfill the purposes of linguistic instruction, either when referring to the native, second or foreign language. There might be units or chapters in your school text-books that can be combined and linked to such a project. As a result, literature and language instruction are the first two candidate subjects to link such a project to. Further more, relevant topics may be concluded in units / chapters of school textbooks in foreign language, history, religion, social and environmental studies, art, informatics / ICT.

Choose a topic

According to both Allport (in Schmuck & Schmuck 1983) and Kagan (Brody & Davidson, 1998. Kagan & Kagan, 1998), there is no better way as to apply a democratic method of instruction, than spontaneously introduce subjects concerned with the values of democracy, and there is no better way as to teach such subjects, than to do so through a democratic method of instruction. Based on that principal, the topics which would be preferable might refer to the subjects of

a. The Rights of the Child b. Xenophobia / Racism c. Disability and Rights d. School violence / Bulling

Four hours per month in a two months period may be more than enough to run each topic. It is up to the teachers to decide whether they need more or less time on a specific topic, according to their pupils’ interests and will to work.

Recourses, materials and means

Having access to means and recourses should not be a determinant or a factor as to whether a project as such succeeds or not. Using simple material, like pens and pencils should do. Especially when coming to children of a younger age, using simple materials should be the rule, while difficult peripheral work including the usage of ICT, like scanning, imprinting, emailing should be in the duties of the teacher to either apply, demonstrate or monitor. Where ICT means are to be found, children of older age should be engaged in ICT activities and this project will provide a very good opportunity. A variety of goals concerning the cognitive and social development of the pupils may be fulfilled, as ICT offer a vast range of options which can “respond sensitively to learners’ initial competencies and characteristics, and… provide extra or different kinds of stimulation to re latively high or low functioning learners, may therefore optimize instruction and learning processes and effects” (Mooij 2004). Furthermore, ICT are increasingly linked to the type of literacy/ies to be needed and the type of instruction and learning to be conducted in schools in the near future (Leu & Kinzer 2000).

The project in presentation offers the opportunity for multiple usage of ICT, in respect with the children’s age, interests and capacities. By ICT we do not only mean computers. Photo cameras, video cameras, smartphones, tablets, sound recorders fall in the same category. Especially, when it comes to smartphones and tables, we meet with a series of possibilities to help us in all aspects of instruction and learning, thanks to the vast numbers of fee-free applications, the same type that we witness to be mastered by children of school age every day. Take for example the Prisma application: a. it can easily be downloaded on a smartphone or tablet, b. it can turn real-time photos into graphics, covering the real features of the individuals, c. can contribute to the creation of a comic by locating the images in order in a Word Document (.doc) and adding dialogue balloons. Scratch is a well known program among educators, which needs to be installed on your lab computers and instructed to pupils before its usage. Depending on how well your pupils master it, it can provide short animations which include dialogues and sound. Many other such programs and applications may be familiar to teachers and pupils and may offer solutions in creating stories and comics.

Evaluation (optional)

All educational activity is oriented towards fulfilling a goal or a variety of goals, whether it is to the teacher’s knowledge or not. Such goal/s may refer to the cognitive, social and/or kinesthetic development of the pupils. Before introducing a new, innovative educational activity in a class, it would be wise for the teacher to design an evaluation method or instrument, as to know whether his/her approach and practice have been successful and to what extent. Since this project aims to improve the social skills of the pupils and their capacity of acceptance and communication, it would be handy to define a “measurement” of sociability and social wellbeing of the pupils to illuminate any differentiation in the pupils’ attitudes attributed to the project. For this purpose, the 12 more crucial questions of the Bullying Prevalence Questionnaire (BPQ)1 are provided here. The pupils should answer the mini-questionnaire twice: once before the implementation of the project and once when all activities have come to an end. The questionnaire should be translated to the mother language /school language before its use.

Expected results

The main objective outcome of the project will be a comic book consisting of four units in line with the four subjects of the project, that is to say that the book will start with a unit named “The Rights of the Child” where all relevant comic stories will be included and so on. This and other outcomes will be presented on a webpage by the name of the project and on official school websites. By the end of the school year, the objective outcomes of the project can be used as material to creating presentations and theatrical plays to present to audiences as the pupils’ parents or the school community members. Needless to say that the primary outcome expected will be to reduce the number of bulling incidents and enhance the will to learn and participate.

1 Retrieved from www.kenrigby.net/01a-Questionnaires

Method in a nutshell

(Optional) At the beginning of the project, translate and answer the mini-questionnaire, scan and email the answers.

Take four hours per month to run the project, two months for each topic.

Introduce the topic to your class.

Watch the videos (on YouTube):

Video Topic

UNICEF Marciano Accepting diversity

BULLY (A Sort Animation film) Dealing with bulling

Unfairy Tales: Malak and the boat / UNICEF Accepting ethnic diversity – reflecting on war and refugees

Unfairy Tales: The story of Ivine and Pillow / UNICEF

Diability and Child Protection /UNICEF Accepting disability

Note: Please watch a video before you introduce it to your class to verify its quality and relativity with the topic, as long as with educational needs and aims. Reject and/or replace any of the videos you find unsuitable or inappropriate.

Listen to the children’s relevant stories – Discuss – Write the stories.

Use the Sheets to create the comics. Original children’s stories may contribute to the scenarios

Share material.

Co-decide with your pupils whether to run additional activities on the topic.

Proceed to the next topic.

By the end of the school year, answer the mini-questionnaire again, scan and email the answers.

THE PEER RELATIONS QUESTIONNAIRE (PRQ)

FOR CHILDREN

Show how often the following statements are true of you. Circle one of the answers for each statement.

1 I get called names by others Never Once in a while Pretty Often Very Often

2 I give soft kids a hard time Never Once in a while Pretty Often Very Often

3 I get picked on by others Never Once in a while Pretty Often Very Often

4 I am part of a group that goes round teasing others Never Once in a while Pretty Often Very Often

5 I like to help people are being harassed Never Once in a while Pretty Often Very Often

A6 I like to make others scared of me Never Once in a while Pretty Often Very Often

7 I share things with others Never Once in a while Pretty Often Very Often

8 I enjoy upsetting wimps Never Once in a while Pretty Often Very Often

9 I like to get into a fight with someone I can easily beat Never Once in a while Pretty Often Very Often

10 Others make fun of me Never Once in a while Pretty Often Very Often

11 I get hit and pushed around by others Never Once in a while Pretty Often Very Often

12 I get hit and pushed around by others Never Once in a while Pretty Often Very Often

The characters

(in mother language)

Name: ________________________

Who is…: ____________________

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Name: ________________________

Who is…: ____________________

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Name: ________________________

Who is…: ____________________

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Name: ________________________

Who is…: ____________________

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The stories (in mother language)

2.Ending:_____________________________________

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1.Beginning:_________________________________

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Our story happens here:

3.What does the story mean:

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In English

Title:

What to expect?

Sometimes it takes a lot of effort and pain to come up with a simple or even disappointing result. Teachers may think that they cannot put their classes to a task, because they feel that the children are not acquainted to some of the skills required. Since learning is trying, even the worst result may conclude the achievement of a vast amount of learning. Further more, once intrigued, the pupils will find a magical way to complete the task the best they can, producing beautiful outcomes.

Here are two different examples:

1. Topic: ‘Accepting diversity’

Two different stories, each consisted of four motions, created by 9year-olds in half an hour, after watching ‘Marciano’. Both are group works, the first story created by a mainly boy - group and the second by a mainly girl-group.

2. Topic: ‘friendship’

The second example aims to show what can be done by using an application, in this case ‘Prisma’ (any other would do). Real photos have been altered into comic-like images via the app and located in a Word table. Children over the age of 10 or 11 may be perfectly capable of conducting such a work in the a school ICT lab. Most of them use such applications in their everyday life.

What I like about my peers is that they are my best friends

When I first came to the school there was no one I knew

I didn’t even understand the language

Now I know I can count on them

THE END

Once assigned with such an intriguing task, most of them will turn into hard workers and will not stop working even during their break-time.

When to consider it done and over with?

Definitely by the end of the school year. It all depends on how difficult you make it, in order to fulfil your instructional goals. The primary goal would not be to complete the tasks. It would be to learn how to communicate, trust and depend on each other, discuss serious matters, work together, come with a result and precend it to an audience. If you join the eTwinning program do not forget to communicate, make questions and provide with answers, share material and expertise. Teachers are often acknowledged for their good work when the least expected, but it will only happen when acquaint others (pupils included) with it.

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Literature

Brody, C. & Davidson, N. (1998). Professional development for cooperative learning. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Howes, C. & Ritchie, S. (2002). A matter of trust. Connecting teachers and learners in the early childhood classroom. New York: Teachers College Press.

Kagan, S. & Kagan, M. (1998). Staff development and the structural approach to cooperative learning. In C. Brody, & N. Davidson (Eds.) Professional development for cooperative learning (pp.103-120). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Leu, D. & Kinzer, C. (2000). The convergence of literacy instruction with networked technologies for information and communication. Reading Research Quarterly, Vol.35, No. 1 (pp.108-127). International Reading Association.

Mercer, N. & Littleton, K. (2007). Dialogue and the development of children’s thinking. A sociocultural approach. London: Routledge.

Mooij, N. (2004). Optimising ICT effectiveness in instruction and learning: Multilevel transformation theory and a pilot project in secondary education. Computers & Education 42, 25-44. Pergamon.

Schmuck, R. & Schmuck, P. (1983). Group processes in the classroom. Dubuque: Wm. C. Brown Company Publicers.

Wiles, S. (1985). Language and learning in multi-ethnic classrooms. Strategies for supporting bilingual students. In W. Gordon, & J. Nicholls (Eds.) Language and learning: An international perspective (pp.83-94). East Sussex, UK: The Falmer Press.