Using the Dolphin System at Kingshott School
Overview
Kingshott is an Independent Prep School, with pupils in the age range of 4 - 13 years (Years 0 - 8). Pupils take the Common Entrance examination at 13+ and most progress to senior independent schools.
From Year 1 the pupils have one lesson of 35 minutes in the computer room with an ICT teacher, and then they may also come in with other subject teachers as the need arises. There is close co-operation between the ICT department and other areas of the curriculum. The room is open for 40 minutes each lunch-time, supervised by prefects, but with an ICT teacher in attendance. The pupils who wish to work at lunchtime "sign in" and state the nature of their work.
I begin to use the Dolphin System approach to work from Year 3. After initially helping the pupils to find their way around the system, and introducing them to the record booklet they then tackle various aspects of the materials, and record their results. We do not always follow the "Ladder of Success" in a chronological order, because sometimes there are certain topics that I prefer to complete before others, and sometimes the class teacher may request that a particular piece of work is completed in the ICT lesson time; but over a period of time the pupils usually complete each step before progressing to the next.
Benefits to the staff
- Most classes at Kingshott have an experienced ICT teacher, but the System gives confidence to those teachers with limited personal ICT skills, as it provides a framework on which to build. They also learn the variety of skills as they progress through the scheme with the pupils. It can also provide a base for individual lessons. Dolphin encourages cross-curricular teaching because of the variety of topics covered.
- Easy to administer: pupils record their own progress in their record booklets, with the teacher recording the progress at the end of a step on the ladder. It is also easy to look in the pupils booklet to see where have got to. The pupils tend to be very honest when recording their own progress!
- It requires minimal time for administration and lesson preparation as the skills to be taught are set out and the pupils follow it through in sequence. Even those teachers with very limited personal IT skills can manage to stay one step ahead of the pupils. Peer tutoring also allows the teacher to spend more time with those pupils who need extra tuition.
- Dolphin links with other software so that skills can be taught using existing software that has been chosen by the teacher. Minimal materials are required to run the scheme successfully.
Benefits to the pupils:
- The Peer tutoring aspect encourages co-operation between pupils. The pupils are surprisingly honest when recording the tutor's skills in the booklet! This can lead, for instance, to a child to becoming more understanding when helping another. When a "less able" pupil is able to tutor another child, he or she gains enormously in confidence. Most pupils respond very well to helping another. The comments in the booklet (brain, mouse, heart, car) about helping others also makes the pupils think about their approach to the task.
- The pupils are able to work at their own pace. There is enough material to be able to give the quicker ones extension tasks. The slower ones are determined to finish a step on the ladder and are highly motivated to come at lunch-time to complete the tasks as quickly as possible.
- The pupils are awarded for achievement. The certificates of achievement are an incentive to work and to be a tutor! At our school the certificates are given out during the house assembly time, so that the pupils receiving them have some recognition for their work from pupils throughout the school, rather than just from their own class.
- The booklets provide a means by which the pupils can understand where they are aiming. They can easily see the tasks to be completed on each step of the ladder.
- The pupils become skilled and confident computer users in a variety of software.
During the last year, Dolphin has changed from being a program running from discs (even though they had an internet type interface) to a being program which is online, although I am looking forward to receiving the CD version as a "back-up". Several of the units of work use web-based ideas, and the links provide safe sites to use for a variety of topics.
I like the the new version as it is more user-friendly:
- The pupils can immediately see different lessons on each step of the ladder.
- It outlines the skills to be learned (how many parents ask their children 'what have you learned in ICT today?') and guides them through the lesson.
- It has more extension work for the faster pupils.
- It includes work from more areas of the curriculum e.g. seasons, plants growing in Science.
Overall, I enjoy using Dolphin with the pupils, especially with those up to Year 5 and I feel that good progress is made quite quickly and with enthusiasm. Most importantly, the pupils have a sense of achievement with quick rewards. Pupil motivation and seeking to improve their level of skills are self-generated using Dolphin in a fun, well presented way. I now look forward to the challenge of introducing Dolphin, Infant version, to year 2!
Mrs Rose Dickinson
ICT Co-ordinator, Kingshott School