What do we need to learn?

Rutger Bregman: Poverty isn't a lack of character; it's a lack of cash

Rutger Bregman:

Poverty isn't a lack of character; it's a lack of cash

The purpose of listening to Bregman is to identify the effects of poverty and a possible solution.

Analyse = Recognise the key information (main ideas)

Consider the supporting information and decide how relevant and convincing it is

Task:

1. Listen to the TED talk.
2. Write down the key information and the supporting information in columns 1 & 2.
3. Listen to the TED talk again.  
4. Add additional information that you notice and then complete the third column of the table.
5. Underneath the table, write your own views on the topic, and the advantages and disadvantages of Bregman’s proposed solution.  Use examples from the talk to develop your argument.

Key information	Supporting information on this topic	How this topic is relevant to the purpose of identifying the effects of poverty and a possible solution..

Write your own views on the topic, and the advantages and disadvantages of Bregman’s proposed solution.  Use examples from the talk to develop your argument.

Taking notes: the best pizza & science supporting industry

Learning objective: we are learning to make notes from a radio interview
Success criteria:
1. We can identify the purpose for listening.
2. We can create notes showing key information and supporting detail.
3. We can summarise the interview and present it to a new audience.

Here is Kathryn Ryan's interview with Frank Pinelli.

We talked about laying out our notes so that the key information is against the margin and the supporting detail is indented underneath.  It's okay, good even, to leave lines between key ideas so that we can recognise the main ideas and supporting detail easily at a glance.

After listening and taking notes, our final task is:
Write a 100-200 word article on Frank Pinelli's thoughts on the best pizza.  Aim for an article that can be published by the Grey Star.

Next: Top Scientists team up with New Zealand industry

Faster Better Stronger part 2

Yesterday we watched David Epstein's TED talk on improving athletic performance over time, and worked on selecting key information, supporting information and then analysing the relevance of each section to the purpose of listening.

Today we are working on recognising the key idea which Epstein is discussing when he mentions each of the athletes and other topics in our worksheet.  Once we have renamed the key information, it becomes easy to write our sentences analysing how relevant each topic is to the purpose of our listening.

For example, the discussion of Jesse Owens and Usain Bolt is actually about track technology.  It shows that one reason athletes are improving is because track technology has improved dramatically.  The changes in track technology account for a big part of the difference between the run times of Owen and Bolt.

Our next step, after we have completed the table, is to write a summary of Epstein's argument, and to explain how each topic contributes to the argument.

Listening comprehension: Are athletes really getting faster, better, stronger?

Today's activity is all about listening comprehension.  You will get a printed version of this task in class.

Listening activity: Jamie Drummond

Today we are looking at Jamie Drummond's presentation: "Let's Crowdsource the World's Goals."  The accompanying activity will be given to you in class to complete.

New term, new learning focus

This term we are all about speaking and listening skills.  Earlier this week we looked at a range of TED talks presented by people under 20, and considered the purpose of each talk, our expectations based on the blurb, and evaluated the extent to which the actual talk met our expectations.  We practised taking notes on what we listened to.

Yesterday and today, we worked in small groups to identify a TED talk and write or present a review on it.  Our learning objective in this is to build our skills at identifying the purpose of a text, describing the main ideas and appropriate supporting evidence in oral texts and to evaluating the purpose of a text and then how effective it was.

Review checklist:

• Title and presenter of the talk
• Your purpose in watching the talk (e.g. the learn about how fashion changes)
• What the talk is about - 3 main points, with supporting examples
• Did the talk meet your expectations?  Include strengths and weakness of the talk.
• Who would you recommend it to?