Transcript USING THE TASC WHEEL

Claire Seeley
TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)
What is it?
TASC stands for Thinking Actively in a Social Context.
TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)
How does it work?
TASC runs alongside BLOOMS taxonomy and scientific
method. It gives children a really clear process to follow
when investigating or problem solving.
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Children use lower and higher order thinking skills. They
experience more of the though process, therefore have
greater ownership of the task in hand.
MORE COMPLETE LEARNING EXPERIENCE.
TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)
 HOW
DOES IT HELP LEARNING?
Remember Vygotsky? TASC challenges are designed
to help children to work out of the ZONE of
PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT – just enough challenge
to make them think, not too much to freak them
out!
TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)
 Science
enquiry is ‘what children do in order
to answer scientific questions about the
world around them’ (Turner et al 2011). It
can take a range of shapes and styles which
might include observing over time,
identifying and classifying, pattern seeking,
researching and fair testing.
TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)
The best
investigations come
from the children’s
own experiences or
interests…
What’s in
the NEWS?
TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)
1. LAUNCH ASSEMBLY input about BEES plus WORKSHOP
with LOCAL BEEKEEPER.
2.LAYERED TASC CHALLENGES – children centred problem
solving
●
FOUNDATION STAGE
What do bees make? How can we use it?
●
YEARS 1/2
Where do bees live? Can we make some places for them to
live?
●
YEARS 3/4
What would happen if there were no bees? Why is pollination
important? How can we encourage more bees into our
school grounds?
●
YEARS 5/6
How do bees communicate? What are the health benefits of
honey?
3. SHARING ASSEMBLY TO SHARE OUTCOMES
TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)
TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)
TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)
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Stimuli – can be anything…. Newsround website is good. For
maximum impact it should be relevant to the children’s work.
Each group needs a big piece of A3 paper and a TASC wheel to
record / jot ideas on.
Provide a selection of equipment for the children to use…
The children may wish to clarify the problem.
Teacher’s role is to facilitate and ask questions – do less but
achieve more….
One cycle may trigger further cycles.
Give the children the opportunity to share their learning
through a creative outcome – dvd, newspaper report, diary
entry, presentation….. Great if they can choose this…
TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)
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Encourage trial and error. Good scientists reflect on
their work and adapt their approach. Be open to the
fact that they may not get it right first time – create
the right emotional environment for this type of
learning…. (BLP: Resilience – learning disposition.)
Groups – Generally I do this work in mixed ability
groups however I do hive off the ALPHA children into
one group so they don’t dominate everyone else.
Develop rules for groupwork – everyone has to
contribute… everyone has a right to be heard and
their idea must be thought about….(BLP:
Recipriocity)
If conversation is dry - give each child 5 cubes they
must spend during the session.
TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)
TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)
PROBLEM: HOW CAN WE HELP THIS BIRD TO FLY AGAIN?
GATHER : WHAT DO YOU ALREADY KNOW ABOUT THIS PROBLEM?
IDENTIFY: WHAT AM I GOING TO FIND OUT?
GENERATE: HOW MANY IDEAS CAN I THINK OF?
ANALYSE: WHICH IDEA AM I GOING TO TRY 1ST?
IMPLEMENT: GO FOR IT….
EVALUATE:HOW WELL DID WE DO?
COMMUNICATE: LETS TELL SOMEONE
LEARN FROM IT: WHAT DID I LEARN? WHAT CAN I DO NEXT?
TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)
The children came up with two ideas:
Physically scrapping off oil
Chemically remove with washing up liquid

o
Similar to CASE sessions - Children challenged each other
to refine their ideas
o
Children came up with further cycles of enquiry such as
Which washing detergent is best for removing oil?
Does using detergent affect the sea? How?
Would detergent work for all types of feather? Types of oil?
TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)
TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)
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 If
you want to know more:
Primary Science magazine Issue: November 2011 120
Author: Claire Seeley
Extract: Claire Seeley shares how the TASC wheel can help
develop children's thinking skills in science
TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)
TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)
TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)