Technology for Classroom Orchestration - New Science of Learning - page 516

Factor 8. Relevance . The total time that a method requires to teach X should
be proportional to the importance of X as specified in the curriculum
A method that “works well” must be flexible in terms of time segmentation.
Should the next activity require a full period or can it be segmented into two periods?
Should the teacher stop 15 min before the break because it is not worth starting a
new activity for 15 min? Can students save and reuse intermediate work states?
Factor 2 (again). Flexibility . Teachers have the possibility to adapt the next
pedagogical activity to fit the time slice available.
The dynamics of a method that “works well,” the feeling of drama, require the
right intervention at the right time. This is a trivial statement but isn't true that
the best joke can be destroyed by a bad timing? This means that some activities
must be set up when the students are hot, when the energy is present. This new
instance of factor 7 will be illustrated in “The 'SWISH' model and the ManyScripts
environment.”
Physicality
Finally, conducting an orchestra is rather physical. It is not a virtual action in a
virtual space. The conductor is physically engaged. The spatial layout of the room
and the location of each musician are very important. The orchestration of class-
room activities encompasses the spatial organization of tables, chairs and tools. This
layout must facilitate the transition between the different forms of grouping in the
scenario and depicted in Fig. 26.1. It must enable students to move when they have
to move, for instance because they are switching roles within a group or switch-
ing between groups as in some Jigsaw scripts (Aronson, Blaney, Sikes, Stephan, &
Snapp, 1978). The teacher must be able to pass between groups and be present
across the space. The students' and teachers' location must enable them to see what
they are supposed to see.
Factor 9. Physicality . Compared to previous models that stressed virtual learn-
ing spaces, orchestration refers to the concrete layout of the physical space in
the classroom and to the physical movements of the different actors.