The Self Organised Learning Environment (SOLE) School Support Pack.

Full text

A copy of this document is on the ALT Open Access Repository at http://repository.alt.ac.uk/2208.
A Kindle version of Sugata Mitra's "Beyond the Hole in the Wall: Discover the Power of Self-Organized Learning" is
available at http://goo.gl/iaL4B.
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TheSelfOrganisedLearning
Environment(SOLE)School
SupportPack.
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SugataMitra
ProfessorofEducationalTechnology

DavidLeat
ProfessorofCurriculumInnovation

PaulDolan
TeachingFellowinTechnologyEnhancedLearning

EmmaCrawley
Year4Teacher,StAidan’sChurchofEnglandPrimarySchool

3/12/2010

A copy of this document is on the ALT Open Access Repository at http://repository.alt.ac.uk/2208
A Kindle version of Sugata Mitra's "Beyond the Hole in the Wall: Discover the Power of Self-Organized Learning" is
available at http://goo.gl/iaL4B.
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Contents
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1. Introduction
2. WholeSchoolImplications
3. Benefits
4. SettingupaSOLE
5. WhatMakesaGoodEnquiryQuestion?
6. TheRoleoftheTeacherinaSOLE
7. TheRoleoftheStudentManager
8. CommonSituations
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Appendices
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1. SelfOrganisedLearningEnvironments
2. Exemplarstudentwork
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A copy of this document is on the ALT Open Access Repository at http://repository.alt.ac.uk/2208.
A Kindle version of Sugata Mitra's "Beyond the Hole in the Wall: Discover the Power of Self-Organized Learning" is
available at http://goo.gl/iaL4B.
1.Introduction


ThisdocumentisdesignedtosupporttheimplementationofSugataMitra’sSelfOrganised
LearningEnvironment(SOLE)intomultipleschoolcontexts.Itcontains‘wholeschool’
relatedinformationforHeadTeachersandseniorstaffinadditiontoteachingandlearning
supportforteachersandsupportstaff.
WhatisaSOLE?
Inthisdocument,‘SelfOrganisedLearningEnvironment’referstotheadaptationofaschool
spacetofacilitateEnquiryBasedLearning.Ateacherencouragestheirclasstoworkasa
communitytoanswerquestionsusingcomputerswithinternetaccess.Theclasswork
aroundaguidingsetofrules:

• Studentsneedtoformgroupsofabout4
• Childrenchoosetheirowngroups
• Theycanchangegroupsatanytime
• Childrencanlooktoseewhatothergroupsaredoingandtakethatinformation
backtotheirowngroup
• Theyshouldbereadytopresenttheiranswersbacktotheclassattheendof
thesession

AlthoughMitra’sresearchcontainsdesignsforspeciallydesignedSOLEs,formostschoolsa
SOLEwillconstituteaclassroom,asetoflaptopsandateacherwillingtoexperimentwitha
differentteachingstyle.Asaresult,thisdocumentfocusesmoreonthemechanismsand
strategiesteacherscanemploytosuccessfullymanageaSOLEthantechnicalrequirements.
Thisdocumentisinanearlystageofdevelopmentandwouldbenefithugelyfromthe
experiencesofstaffundertakingthisparticularmethodofEnquiryBasedLearning.Each
sectionshouldberegardedasastartingpointforyourownpractice.Ouraimistodevelopa
documentthatmakesitquickerandeasierforschoolstoadopttheSOLEmethodofEnquiry
BasedLearning.Thiswillbeconsiderablymorevalidifitcontainsyouropinionsand
experiences.



A copy of this document is on the ALT Open Access Repository at http://repository.alt.ac.uk/2208
A Kindle version of Sugata Mitra's "Beyond the Hole in the Wall: Discover the Power of Self-Organized Learning" is
available at http://goo.gl/iaL4B.

2.WholeSchoolIssues

HowShouldaSchoolgoaboutsettingupaSOLE?

Thisdependsonthespecificcultureandstructuresthatexistinyourschool.However,itis
suggestedthatthesecriteriaareessentialtosuccessfulimplementation:

• SupportiveSeniorStaff
• Anenvironmentinwhichstafffeelabletomakemistakes
• Staffwho‘buyintothebenefits’
• Acommunicationsystemforstafftoshareideasandexperiencesofworking
withinaSOLE

IntegrationintoCurriculum.

Therearearangeoflevelsatwhichaschoolcouldintegratethismethodintoexisting
curriculumstructures.Itisadvisableinthefirstinstancetotrialthemethodaspartofatopic
andthenextendusageonceateacherisconfidentenough.
SomeschoolsusetheSOLEatthestartofatopicasawayofgeneratinginterestand
allowingstudentstofindtheirown‘routein’toasubject.
SomeschoolsusetheSOLEmoreoften,respondingtoeitherthestudent’spreferencefor
howtheywouldliketolearnortheteacher’sperceptionofwhereanEnquiryisbestplaced
withinatopic.Successfulimplementationwilllikelydifferfromschooltoschoolbutadhere
totheabovesuccesscriteria.
SOLEscanbeusedtoallowstudentstolearnaboutanysubject.Thereareofcourse,time
implications.Itislikelythattheteacherwillatfirstenvisageasmallrangeofopportunities
forwhatinformation/skillscanbelearntusingthemethod.Astimegoeson,andtheteacher
growsinconfidence,moreopportunitieswillpresentthemselves.
Foranysignificantchangetooccur,leadershipmustgiveactive,sustainedandinformed
support.Leadershipcannotallowotherprioritiestocompete.

A copy of this document is on the ALT Open Access Repository at http://repository.alt.ac.uk/2208.
A Kindle version of Sugata Mitra's "Beyond the Hole in the Wall: Discover the Power of Self-Organized Learning" is
available at http://goo.gl/iaL4B.
IntegratingSOLEsintothecurriculumrequiresseriouscurriculumplanning.
KeyStageConsiderations

TheSOLEmethodcanbeadaptedtoworkwithmostKeyStages.Someaspectsmayhaveto
bemodified.Forexample,withyoungerstudents,theresponsibilityforbehaviour
managementcanbedelegatedtoa‘policeperson’whotendtoenjoywearingapolice
helmetaspartoftheirrole.Witholderstudents,itmightbenecessaryforthisroletohavea
moreprofessionaltitle,suchas‘studentmanager’.Theprincipleofnominatingastudentto
beresponsibleforstudentbehaviourremainsthesame.
Theageormaturityofastudentmaybeacauseofconcernwhenchoosingwhichyear
grouptoworkwith.However,SOLEsallowstudentstheopportunitytodeveloptheirsocial
skillsatafasterpacetoaconventionalclassroomenvironment.Thismeansthatafteran
initial‘adjustment’period,evenyoungchildrencanfunctionasagroup.

Staffing

AsaHeadteacherofSeniorStaffmember,itisusefultoconsidertheeffectsonteachers
usingtheSOLEenquirymethodforthefirsttime.
Itcanbedifficultto‘stepback’fromtheconventionalroleofteacherandassumetheroleof
a‘friendlymediator’.Teachersshould,wherepossibleandappropriate,actaspartners,
ratherthanmentors,exhibitingcuriosity.Ittakestimeandsupporttohelptheteachergain
confidencewiththetechnique.
Iftheteacher’sexpectationsoftheoutcomesarenotmetduringearlyexperiencesitcanbe
disheartening.Itislikelythattheclasswillalsofinditdifficulttoadjusttotheirownrole
changes,makingitunlikelythatateachertriallingthemethodforthefirsttimewill
experience‘instantsuccess’.
Havingsaidthat,withtherightdirectionandsupportfromtheteacher,theclasswill
improvequickly.Itisimportantto‘havefaith’intheclassandteacherthatoverashort
periodoftime,theywilladapttoworkinginaSOLE.
Teachersareguidedintheiractionsbytheirbeliefsaboutlearning.Theremaybeneedtobe
someunlearningtomakeSOLEsworkwell.
Itcanbeusefulforstafftopartnerwithcolleaguestoshareexperiencesandtalkthrough
someofthechallengesofadaptingtotheSOLEenquirymethod.
Discussingandevenarguingaboutpracticebeliefsandoutcomesisimportant.Such
argumentisbestinformedbyevidenceandfeedbackfromthepupils.

A copy of this document is on the ALT Open Access Repository at http://repository.alt.ac.uk/2208
A Kindle version of Sugata Mitra's "Beyond the Hole in the Wall: Discover the Power of Self-Organized Learning" is
available at http://goo.gl/iaL4B.

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Whatotherwholeschoolissuesdoyoufeelneeddiscussing?
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Notes
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A copy of this document is on the ALT Open Access Repository at http://repository.alt.ac.uk/2208.
A Kindle version of Sugata Mitra's "Beyond the Hole in the Wall: Discover the Power of Self-Organized Learning" is
available at http://goo.gl/iaL4B.

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3.Principles.

‐Sometimesdidacticlessonscanimposedefinedboundariesonstudentprogress.Within
SOLEsstudentprogressisnotlimitedbyteacherperceptionsorexpectedcurriculumlevels.
‐Studentscanbecapableoflearningandunderstandingmorethantheteacherand
curriculumgivesthemcreditfor.
‐Studentscanlearnsociallybeforeinternalizingtheirknowledge.Thiscanhelpwithmemory
recallandalsodevelopmentofsocialskills.
‐Studentsactivelyconstructtheirownunderstandingofnewknowledgeandconcepts,
whichtheydobyrelatingittowhattheyalreadyknow.Sometimesexisting,erroneous
knowledgehastobechallenged.
‐Activeconstructionofunderstandingrequiresthoughtandtalk,especiallyexplanatorytalk.
‐Learningtocollaborategreatlyimprovesexplanatorytalk.
‐Choicegreatlyimprovesmotivation.
‐Childrenhaveasignificantcapacitytoteachthemselvesandtheycanlearncriticality
surprisinglyquickly.
‐Learningismorethanacquisitionofspecifiedcurriculumknowledge,itisalsoabout
participation–beingabletouselearningtools.


A copy of this document is on the ALT Open Access Repository at http://repository.alt.ac.uk/2208
A Kindle version of Sugata Mitra's "Beyond the Hole in the Wall: Discover the Power of Self-Organized Learning" is
available at http://goo.gl/iaL4B.


4.Benefits.
Pleaseratetheimportanceofthesesuggestedbenefitsbycirclingthenumbersforeach
statement.
1=important;2=fairlyimportant;3=notimportant;4=don’tknow
Therearealsospacesinthetableforyoutocontributeyourownsuggestions.
Reductioninstressas‘teacher‐studentresponsibilityratio’
becomesmoreequal
1 2 3 4
Studentsdevelopquestioningskills1 2 3 4
Improvedrepertoireofstrategiesforcommonclassroom
problems
1 2 3 4
Sharedresponsibilityforclassprogress1 2 3 4
Greaterinterestintopicsfromstudents1 2 3 4
Thesenseofoccasionalteacherfallibilitycanimprove
relationshipswithclassandprovideasensethattheteacheris
learningalongsidetheclass.
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
Teacher
1 2 3 4
Notes



A copy of this document is on the ALT Open Access Repository at http://repository.alt.ac.uk/2208.
A Kindle version of Sugata Mitra's "Beyond the Hole in the Wall: Discover the Power of Self-Organized Learning" is
available at http://goo.gl/iaL4B.
  1 2 3 4
Ownershipoverlearninganddirectionoflearning.1 2 3 4
Memoryrecall1 2 3 4
GreateropportunitiesforIntrapersonalandInterpersonalskill
development
1 2 3 4
Abilitytoworkwithinpreferredlearningstyle1 2 3 4
Improvedsenseoftrustwithteacher1 2 3 4
Incorporationofexternallearningintoclassroomtopics1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
Student
1 2 3 4
Studentslearnindependentlearningskillsearlierinschoollife.
Leadstostrongerindependentlearningprogression.
1 2 3 4
Effectonstudentperceptionofownershipandconnectionto
school.
1 2 3 4
Aclimateofenquiryisestablished.Theremovalofteacher‐
imposedknowledgeparametersleadstostudentswithalarger
desireforknowledge.
1 2 3 4
Greateropportunitiesforinterpersonalandintrapersonal
learningtooccur.
1 2 3 4
Schoolisofferingpersonalisedlearning.1 2 3 4
Improvedteacher–studentrelationships1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
School
1 2 3 4

A copy of this document is on the ALT Open Access Repository at http://repository.alt.ac.uk/2208
A Kindle version of Sugata Mitra's "Beyond the Hole in the Wall: Discover the Power of Self-Organized Learning" is
available at http://goo.gl/iaL4B.




5.SettingUpaSOLE

AlthoughSugataMitra’sSOLEdesignsinvolvetheinstallationofcustomfurnitureand
technology,thesameresultsareachievableinanormalclassroomwithasetoflaptopsor
netbooks.Thefollowinginformationdescribestheminimalconditionsnecessarytomakea
SOLEfollowedbyMitra’s‘advancedsetup’.
Suggested Minimum Set Up Please describe your set up:
Enoughlaptopsforoneper4students. 
Notes



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A Kindle version of Sugata Mitra's "Beyond the Hole in the Wall: Discover the Power of Self-Organized Learning" is
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Laptopswithlargerscreensarepreferableasthey
enablethegrouptogetabetterviewofwhatison
screen.
Ablackboard,whiteboardorinteractivewhiteboard
onwhichtowritetheEnquiryquestion.
Paperandpensforthestudentstowritenotes.
Foryoungerstudents,apolicehelmet,sheriffs
badgeorsimilarsymbolofauthorityforthestudent
manager.
Aspaceforstudentstopresentbacktheirfindingsat
theendoftheEnquiry.

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Pleaseratetheattainabilityofthefollowing‘advancedsetup’suggestionsbasedonthe
followingscale:
1=EasilyAttainable;2=Attainable;3=Difficult;4=Impossible;5=Don’tknow
Advanced Set Up 1 2 3 4 5
Identifyalocationintheschool,typicallyaroomthatishighlyvisibleto
passingadults,forexample,theHeadoftheschool,theteachers,the
parentscomingtopickupchildrenandotherchildren.
1 2 3 4 5

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
Createglasswallsfortheroomsuchthattheentireareaisvisible.Putin
brightCFLlightingandpaintthewallsinlight,cheerfulcolours.The
flooringshouldbeeasytocleananddustfree.
1 2 3 4 5
Designfurniturethatenablesgroupsof6‐12yearoldchildren(usually4
to6inagroup)tointeractwithacomputerwithoutovercrowding.
1 2 3 4 5
About6itemsoffurniturewillenableaclassof24‐30childrentousethe
facility.
1 2 3 4 5
Designthefurnituresuchthattherearenosharpedgesanywhere.All
furnitureshouldbeeasytocleanand,preferably,washable.
1 2 3 4 5
Purchasedesktopcomputers,oneforeachgroupof4‐6children.The
computersshouldhavefastprocessors,alarge(atleast19inch)LCD
monitor,speakers,wirelesskeyboardsandwirelessmouse.Fixthe
speakerssecurely.
1 2 3 4 5
PlacetheCPUofeachcomputerinasafeplaceunderthetables.The
powerswitchesofthecomputerandtheconnectingcablesforpower
andmonitorshouldnotbeaccessibletothechildren.Placemonitorsona
standsuchthattheyareraised,atleast12inchesoverthesurfaceofthe
table.Thiswillensurethatthemonitorsareclearlyvisiblefromthe
outsidewhenchildrenareusingthemandarenotblockedfromviewby
theirheadsorbodies.
1 2 3 4 5
PlacetheCPUofeachcomputerinasafeplaceunderthetables.The
powerswitchesofthecomputerandtheconnectingcablesforpower
andmonitorshouldnotbeaccessibletothechildren.Placemonitorsona
standsuchthattheyareraised,atleast12inchesoverthesurfaceofthe
table.Thiswillensurethatthemonitorsareclearlyvisiblefromthe
outsidewhenchildrenareusingthemandarenotblockedfromviewby
theirheadsorbodies.
1 2 3 4 5
EnsurethatallthecomputershavebroadbandInternetaccessatspeeds
of2MBpsormoreifpossible.Donotusefirewalls,unlessunavoidable.
Wirelessbroadbandisrecommended.
1 2 3 4 5
Allelectricalwiringandoutletsshouldbeconcealedbuteasilyaccessible
whenrequired.Itshouldnotbenecessarytocrawlundertablestoaccess
connections.
1 2 3 4 5
Installanyfreeware,suchasOpenOffice,forthechildrentoworkwith.
Softwareforpainting,suchasMSPaintorAdobePhotoshopor
equivalentfreewareisamust.
1 2 3 4 5

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OneofthecomputersintheSOLEshouldhaveawebcameraand
microphoneinstalled.Thecamerashouldbepermanentlymountedsuch
thatitenablesafullviewoftheSOLE.Acamerawithpanandtiltfacilities
andabuiltinmicrophoneisrecommended(forexample,theLogitech
Spherecamera).ApersonaccessingtheSOLEover,forexample,Skype,
shouldbeabletoseemostofthechildreniftheygatheraroundthe
computerwiththecamera.
1 2 3 4 5
Installadequateandappropriatepowerconditioningandbackup.An
UPSisrecommendedinareaswhereelectricitysupplyisnotreliable.A
generator,orsolarpanelsandbatteriesshouldbeusedinareasthathave
noelectricity.
1 2 3 4 5
KeepasmalltableandchairintheSOLEforanattendant. 1 2 3 4 5
ChecktoseethatallmonitorsareclearlyvisiblefromoutsidetheSOLE.1 2 3 4 5
TheSOLEwouldtypicallybesetupbyavendorwhowouldalsoprovidea
technicalpersonforattendingtoanyproblems.Thispersonshouldbe
capableofattendingtoelectrical,electronic,softwareandconnectivity
problems.
1 2 3 4 5
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
6.WhatMakesaGoodEnquiryQuestion?

Large,open,difficultandinterestingquestionsoftenmakethebestEnquiryquestions.
Questionsthatareunanswerable;suchas‘Whomadespace?’aregoodtoencourage
studentstooffertheoriesinsteadofconcreteanswers.Attheendofanenquirysessionan
answersuchas“Well,noonereallyknows,butwethinkthatithappenedbecauseoftheBig
Bang”maybearrivedat.Questionsthatcannotbeansweredby‘yes’and‘no’andrequire
developedanswers,thoughtanddiscussionarepreferable.
Notes



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A Kindle version of Sugata Mitra's "Beyond the Hole in the Wall: Discover the Power of Self-Organized Learning" is
available at http://goo.gl/iaL4B.

Enquiryquestionsshouldengagetheclassforaroundfortyminutesofenquiry.Itis
importantnotto‘aimlow’andaskquestionswitheasyanswers.“Howmanycountriesare
there?”canbetypedwordforwordintoasearchengineandansweredalmostimmediately.
QuestionsthatencouragestudentstouseHigherOrderThinkingSkillstendtoengagefor
longerandpromotedeeperconversationsamongstgroupsandpeers.
IfyouareaskinganEnquiryquestionsaroundatopicalreadytaughtinclass,itcanbe
helpfultoaskaquestionslightlyremovedfromthespecificsofpreviousclasswork.A
questionthatreferstothe‘bigpicture’canoftenyieldmoreinterestingresults.For
example,duringatopiconVikings,studentsatSt.Aidan’sPrimarySchoolwereasked“What
didtheVikingsbelieveaboutGod?”Thiswastoopenupinvestigationintoanareathatthe
teacherperceivedthechildrenhadnotlearntenoughabout.

ExampleQuestionsaskedtoaYear4class:

• WhatwasancientEgyptreallylike?
• Whatkindsofanimalareendangeredandwhy?
• Whatisthefunctionofthehumanskeleton?
• Howdoesasolidturntoaliquidthenagas?
• Whydopeoplesliponwetsurfaces?
• Diddinosaursreallyexist?
• WhatistheGreenhouseEffect?



Questions you have asked your class Student Response to Question

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A Kindle version of Sugata Mitra's "Beyond the Hole in the Wall: Discover the Power of Self-Organized Learning" is
available at http://goo.gl/iaL4B.
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7.TheRoleoftheTeacherinaSOLE.

ThisisaloosemodelforhowteacherscanmanageaSOLE.Thetimingsareastartingpoint

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A Kindle version of Sugata Mitra's "Beyond the Hole in the Wall: Discover the Power of Self-Organized Learning" is
available at http://goo.gl/iaL4B.

andmayneedadjusting.Mostcommonly,thetimeallocatedfortheEnquirycanbereduced
whilststudentsarefamiliarisingthemselveswithhowtoworkinaSOLE.Dependingonthe
complexityofthequestionposedandanswerscollected,theReviewwillregularlyrequire
differentamountsoftime.
PhaseTimeActivity
QuestionApprox
5mins
•Poseanenquiryquestion(see‘WhatMakesaGoodEnquiry
Question?’),perhapsgeneratinginterestbyshowing
visual/audiostimulusandhavingabriefdiscussionaroundthe
question.
•Explainthe‘rules’(printablelistinAppendix2)
•Nominateastudenttotakeresponsibilityforbehaviour
management.Discussbrieflywhatthisrolemayinvolve.
EnquiryApprox
40mins
•Letthestudentsworkingroupsforaround40minutestofind
answerstothequestionsonlaptops.
•Interveneminimally,withurgentissuesdelegatedtothestudent
managertotakeresponsibilityfor.
•Avoiddirectinterventionsandinstructionsthatunderminethe
authorityofthestudentmanager.
•Trynottogivestudentsanswersforthesakeof‘speedingthings
along’.Instigate‘kindandpurposefullearninginterventions’in
theformofusefulandopenquestions.
•Recordthesituation–takenotes–directquotations,photographs,
audiorecordingsandpresentitbacktotheclasswithout
judgement.Askquestionsaboutwhattheythink.Inevitablythey
willpresentacomparablejudgementtoyourown.Thiscanbe
anexcellentopportunitytoreflectonbehaviourandgroup
dynamicsduringthereview.

ReviewApprox
10‐20mins
•Organisestudentsinaspacewheretheycanfeedbacktheir
answers/information.
•Facilitateadiscussioninwhichstudentsareabletogiveopinions
onthequestionitselfandthenhowtheywentaboutanswering
it.Forinstance,theyclassmayhavegeneratedexcellent
information,butbehavedinappropriatelywhilstdoingso.
•Notmakejudgementcallsontheclass,butaskquestionsthatallow
themtoassessthemselves.




WorkinginaSOLEenquirybasedlearningsituationforthefirsttimewilllikelytheteacherto
experienceroleconflict.Thestructuresandsystemsthatteachersusetomaintainorderand

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balanceintheirclassroomsallofasuddenbecome‘judgementcalls’and‘direct
interventions’.
Theshorttermeffectontheteachercanbedisorientating.Insteadofobserving,reflecting,
andinstigating‘kindandpurposefulteacherinterventions’,thereisanaturaldesiretofix
problemsforstudents.Shorttermfixes,however,willnotleadtothelongtermbenefits
possiblebyuseoftheSOLEs.
Itisimportantthattheteacherallowsstudentstomakemistakes.Thesemistakes,once
discussedwiththeclasslateron,presentedwithoutjudgement,canleadtotheclasstaking
increasedresponsibilityfortheiractions.
Theproblemwithbeingagood‘teacher’inaSOLEisthatteachersmustseektoreduce
‘visible’teachingmechanics,therebyappearingtodolessofthingsthata‘goodteacher’is
expectedtodo.
Itiscommonfortheteacherto‘worrythatwhenotherteacher’scomeintheythinkthatI’m
notdoinganything.’
Theteachermustbepreparedtoreflectbackstudentquestionsinsuchawayastoinstigate
newlearningopportunitiesforstudents.Itcanbedifficulttobeefficientinidentifyingand
actinguponthesemomentsinitially,butperseverancecanleadtoinspiredstudentled
solutionsfor‘nagging’andconsistentproblems,suchasarguingoverwhogetstousethe
laptopsfirst.
Tostudents,andteacherswhoarenotfamiliarwithactingas‘Mediators’,itcanseemas
thoughtheteacherisnotactivelymanagingtheclass.Indeed,itcansometimesfeellikethis
fortheteacherthemselves.Ultimately,thereductionofteacher’s‘wholeclass’talktimeand
instructiongivingisapowerfulstrategyinmaintainingtheshiftoflearnerresponsibilityto
thestudents.









ItmaybehelpfultocomparetheroleofateacherinaSOLEwiththatofaconventional

A copy of this document is on the ALT Open Access Repository at http://repository.alt.ac.uk/2208
A Kindle version of Sugata Mitra's "Beyond the Hole in the Wall: Discover the Power of Self-Organized Learning" is
available at http://goo.gl/iaL4B.

classroomenvironment.Pleaseeditthistableandcontributewithyourownsuggestions.
Conventional Classroom SOLE
Teacherpredominantlytells
studentsanswers
Studentsfindoutanswersthemselves
Teacherconstantlymanages
studentbehaviour
Teacherdelegatesbehaviourmanagementto‘student
manager’
Teacherorganisesgroup
structures
Teacherperceivesstudentmistakesaslearningopportunities
Possibilityforsocialandpeer
learningislimitedand/or
structuredbyteacher
Studentsfreetoorganisetheirowngroups
Studentsperceiveteacher
controlsthedirectionoflessons
Frequentopportunitiesforsocialandpeerlearning
Studentsperceiveteacheras
‘beholderofallknowledge’and
infallible.
Studentsperceivegreatercontroloverthedirectionof
learninginlessons
Studentsfeellearningis‘owned’
bytheteacher
Studentsperceiveteacherasequallyfallibleandequally
interestedintheanswertopurposefulquestions.














Notes



A copy of this document is on the ALT Open Access Repository at http://repository.alt.ac.uk/2208.
A Kindle version of Sugata Mitra's "Beyond the Hole in the Wall: Discover the Power of Self-Organized Learning" is
available at http://goo.gl/iaL4B.
8.TheRoleoftheStudentManagerinaSOLE.
Ifdirectteacherinterventionistobekepttoaminimum,whatstrategiescanbeemployed
tomaintainapurposefullearningenvironment?
Itisanaturalrequirementfortheretobeanauthoritativefigureintheroom.Itcanbe
usefultovisiblypassthisontoastudentorgroupofstudentsinordertosolidifyintheir
mindthatashiftinresponsibilityhasoccurred.
Asinglestudentcanbeputincontrolofmanagingbehaviourintheclass.Dependingonthe
classitself,thestudentcaneithersitoutfromtheenquirytaskandfullyfocustheirefforts
onclassroommanagementorworkwithinateam,occasionallyroamingandrespondingto
problemsastheyoccur.Anewmanagercanbeselectedforeachlesson.Anyinterventions
theteacherwishestoputinplacemustbecoordinatedthroughthestudent‘manager’.
Thethoughtsandopinionsofthestudentmanageronthebehaviouroftheclassisgenerally
veryinterestingandhelpfultodebriefandreflectonattheendofthelesson.Often,itisthe
firsttimethatthestudenthasbeenplacedinapositionwheretheyfeelsuchresponsibility
forthecollectiveperformanceoftheclass.Acameracanbegiventothepolicepersonto
takephotographsofgoodandbadexamplesofteamworkintheclass.Thiscanformpartof
thereviewattheendofthesession.
Somestudentsarenaturallymoreaccustomedtoimposing‘lawandorder’inaclassroom
situation.Itcanbehelpfultoencouragestudentmanagerstosharebestpracticeduring
reviews,andopenupdiscussionsabouthowtodealwithdifficultbehaviour.
AttheendoftheSOLEsession,theremovalofthepolicehelmetorendofthestudent
manager’s‘shift’signifiesthepassingofresponsibilitybacktotheteacher.
Pleaseusethisspacetocontributeyourownobservationsofstudentmanagergood
practice:


Notes



9.CommonSituations.
Problem Possible Solution Outcome Your solution Outcome
Childapproaches
teacherwitha
behaviourproblem.
‘Miss,Lucyisn’tdoing
anywork’
Teacherdivertsresponsibilitybackto
studentmanager.‘Thatsoundslike
somethingthestudentmanagershould
knowabout.Haveyoutoldthem?’
Studentsrealisethatthe‘easy
option’ofhavingtheteacher‘fix’a
problemisnotviable.Thisforces
thestudentstocompromise,
communicateandexperience
difficultgroupsituations.
 
Onechildinalarger
groupisofftask
Asimplesolutionmaybetoremindthe
studentsoftherules.Theycanchange
groupsiftheychooseto.

Itmaybenecessaryfortheteacherto
speaktothestudentmanager,asking
themquestionsaboutwhythechild
mightbeofftask.Perhapstheother
membersofthegrouparenotlistening
totheirideas.‘Isthereanythingyou
coulddotohelpthemgetbackontask?
Studentsunderstandthattheycan
changethesituationbymoving
groups.

Studentsbecomeexperiencedat
positivebehaviourreinforcement
strategies.

 
AgroupareofftaskAgain,remindthegroupasawholeof
therulesmaypromptthemtochange
groupsandresumeworking.

Teacherspeakswithstudentmanagerto
findasolution.Itcouldbethegroup
needtosplitupandjoinothergroups.
Thestudentmanagershouldmakethese
decisions.
Studentsunderstandthattheycan
changethesituationbymoving
groups.

Studentsrecognisetheimportance
ofchoosingateamthatcanwork
together.
 

Astudentorgroup
presentbacka
factuallyinaccurate/
irrelevantanswer.
Theteacherdeconstructstheanswer,
asksaboutwhichsourcesthegroup
used.Aconversationabouthowtofinda
reliablesourceofinformationonthe
internethappens.Perhapsthestudents
starttokeepbookmarksof‘trusted
sources’.
Studentsbegintointerrogate
internetsourcesmorethoroughly.
 
Astudenthas
difficultyreadingthe
informationcollected
fromtheinternet
Thereareoftendiscrepanciesbetween
thestudent’sreadinglevelandthe
complexityofthewrittenlanguagefound
online.Sometimesiteasiertoaskthe
studenttonotreadfromthepaper.The
understandingmaybetherebuttheir
readingabilitymaynot.Askingastudent
toexplainintheirownwordscanavoid
thisproblem.
Studentsdonotperceivereading
abilityasa‘barrier’.Reduces
studentanxietyaboutpresenting
backinformation.
 
Thestudentmanager
ismisbehaving.
Dependingonthesituation,itcouldbe
thatthestudentmanagerisunawareof
howtomanagetheclass,andwillneed
plentyofhelpfulsuggestionsandadvice
fromtheteacher.Trytoavoid
challengingthestudentmanagerinfront
ofotherstudents.Praisinggood
examplesofstudentmanagerbehaviour
attheendoftheenquirycanhelpother
studentsbecomeawareofwhatthe
expectedstandardis.
Studentmanagerdevelopssocial
skillsandconfidence.
Classbehaviourimproves.
Lesslikelyforteacherbehaviour
managementinterventions.
 














Astudentcomplains
thereis‘nothingto
do’assomeoneelseis
usingthelaptop.
Perhapstheteacherasksthestudents
howtheyfeelaboutsharinglaptops
duringthereview,andbringsabout
solutionsfromstudentsonsharing.

Studentsdeveloptheirown
solutionsandretainownershipover
theirselfmanagementsystems.
 


PleasecontributeproblemsyouhaveencounteredwhilstinaSOLE.

Problem Your solution Outcome

 

 

 


 

 

 
 







Appendix1

SelfOrganisedLearningEnvironments
TheHoleintheWall(referredtoasHiWintherestofthisarticle)experimentswerefirst
implementedin1999,whenacomputerwithaninternetconnectionwasembeddedintoawall,
forchildrentodiscoveranduseunsupervised.Thewalladjoinedaslum;andonlyamonthlater,
itwasevidentthatthechildrenhadtaughtthemselvestousethecomputerandalsopickedup
someskillsinEnglishandMathematics.Thiskindofdesignwasthensetupinmoreremote
areasacrossIndiawithalmostidenticalresults.Thesewerecomputersembeddedinwallsor
kiosksineasilyaccessibleandhighlyvisiblepublicspaces,facilitatingpeerinteraction,discovery
andlearningingroupsofchildren.
Weconcludedthatgroupsofchildrenfromdisadvantagedandremotesettingscanlearntouse
computersandaccessinternetresources,ontheirown,ifgivenappropriatefree,publicand
unsupervisedaccess.
TheseearliestexperiencesalsoshowedthatchildrencoulddevelopsomeskillsinEnglishand
Mathematics.Whatcamethroughunequivocallyinthisandfurtherworkonselforganising
systemsineducationwasthatgroupsofchildrenirrespectiveofwhoorwhattheyare,orwhat
languagetheyspeakin;givenfreeandpublicaccesstotheinternetcan:
1. Becomecomputerliterateontheirown,thatis,theycanlearntousecomputersandthe
Internetformostofthetasksdonebylayusers.
2. TeachthemselvesenoughEnglishtouseemail,chatandsearchengines.
3. LearntosearchtheInternetforanswerstoquestionsinafewmonthstime.
4. ImprovetheirEnglishpronunciationontheirown.
5. Improvetheirmathematicsandsciencescoresinschool.
6. Answerexaminationquestionsseveralyearsaheadoftime.
7. Changetheirsocialinteractionskillsandvaluesystems.
8. Formindependentopinionsanddetectindoctrination.
Wethenwentontoshowthatthequalityoftraditionalschoolingreduceswithacleardeclinein
performance,runningconcurrentwiththegeographicalremotenessofschoolsfromtheurban
centreofNewDelhi.AsimilardeclineisalsovisibleintheUKasonegoestomoreeconomically
disadvantagedareas.Thereasonsforthishavebeenattributedtothelackofandunwillingness

ofteacherstoworkintheseareas.
Finally,wefoundthatthepresenceofa‘friendly,butnotknowledgeablemediator’canenable
childrentoreachsimilarlevelsoflearningasinformaladvantagedschoolswithtrained
teachers.Wewentontosetupa‘cloud’of‘eMediators’,mostlyretiredschoolteacherswith
broadbandaccessfromtheirhomes.Schoolscanaccessthis‘cloud’overSkypeandchildrencan
interactwiththemediatorsoverfreevideoconferencing.
Interestingly,inthehandsofgoodteachers,thesemethodscanbepowerfulmotivatorsfor
children,resultinginbetterperformance.Whatstartedoutasasolutionforremoteareas
turnedouttohaveuniversalapplicability.
BothHiWandtheworkdonelaterarebasedontheconceptof‘MinimallyInvasiveEducation’
(MIE),apedagogicmethodthatmotivatesgroupsofchildrentolearninanenvironmentwith
littleornointerventionfromteachersorotheradultsandformedthebasisofthedesignofthe
‘HiW’computers.
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Appendix2
SamplesofStudentWork–MixedabilityYear4class
Pleasecontributeworkfromyourclass.
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