- - This is the first time I have completed an action research in a classroom, using an application that my students and I are learning together. As we explore the Questions Formulation Technique (QFT) as a strategy to improve student agency and skills in a blended learning environment, I wanted to have a learning environment that would enable me to observe if students were transferring the use of the QFT strategy to other learning engagements with our units of study.
Parlay is a discussion tool that offers a plethora of features that support student voice of all your students in debates or discussion. Teachers can organise discussions online in a blog format or as a live class room discussion. Some of the superpowers of this tool are the following:
- Embed videos/documents/weblinks
- Teachers can provide live feedback
- Nudge students to participate
- Captures in-depth data about student participation
- Export color data charts and graphs for student reflection about participation
- Define and save your assessment criteria for
- Provide individual and group feedback on communication skills
- Students can use fun pseudonyms in discussions that encourages shy students to participate more
And so much more...
To launch Parlay in my MYP classes, I organised resources provided on the parlay ideas website.
1. I created a folder with a few key presentation slides and 2 short videos that explain how the website works. I sent these sources to students as homework.
2. In class before launching our first use of Parlay, I explained why I decided to try this tool in our class.
This was really important as there is a feature in Google Classroom that is similar to the blog style feature of Parlay, however, it does not have all of the bells, whistles, and useful reflection tools. I am referring to the question feature in Google Classroom. See the image below.
In Parlay, teachers can can create questions around an area of inquiry, for students to reflect on in advance prior to a conversation. Teachers can quickly assess and provide feedback immediately or shortly after a debate with corresponding criteria levels about the performance on an assignment as well as the communication skills of a student during a live or blog discussion. See images below.
Therefore, taking the time to explain the importance of voice in our discussions and the tools available to supporting their own reflection about how they behave during a discussion was important for students to understand the value of learning a new tool that seems similar to Google Classroom.
I was also transparent with the students about learning the tool with them and how we all add to share our discoveries as we went along. This went a long way with my scholars who were initially not very open to learning a new tool while trying to learn new content. While there was a huge learning curve the first day, I was very pleased that everyone was patient and helpful to each other.
I was also transparent with the students about learning the tool with them and how we all add to share our discoveries as we went along. This went a long way with my scholars who were initially not very open to learning a new tool while trying to learn new content. While there was a huge learning curve the first day, I was very pleased that everyone was patient and helpful to each other.