Virtual PREX Machinima Scenario

Name of scenario

Addressing Off Task Behaviour: Introduction

Overview of the scenario

(i.e. a brief overview of the way the scenario plays out)

The teacher commences a lesson about family history. It begins with general question and answer about families, origins, etc. One is not taking part, but is mainly sitting observing other students and occasionally making sotto voce comments while the others respond to questions.

The students are then asked to complete a pair-share about their family history. The off task student now begins to tell other students she is not going to talk to them and she begins to get out of her seat. The other students are quietly discussing family history in the background.

The scenario ends at this stage. (NB. This is an introductory scenario. In scenario 2 this introduction is addressed in terms of strategies to bring the student who is off task back on task).

Type of lesson and part of the lesson being role-played

Family History - Stage 2/3 (i.e. 9 - 10 years old).

This is the introduction to a lesson on family history. It commences with students generally on task listening to a brief description of family history and then moves to a question and answer session followed by a move to group discussion. It concludes when one student moves completely off task, disrupting other students' learning and her own.

Teaching Strategies Demonstrated

• Teacher whole class instruction
• Question and Answer
• Pair-share

Number of avatar controllers and avatars and main role of each

(Include information about whether some roles can or would ideally be performed by somebody carrying out multiple roles on multiple computers. Possibly a table showing avatar controllers and the avatars they will control).

Avatar Controller	Avatar	Role
1	Teacher	Teach the lesson and monitor students.
2	Emma	Student who progressively moves off task. Seated at desk with Amy.
3	Jeff Mark Alex	Seated at desk with Mark - answers a question and also talks to Mark quietly during pair-share. Seated at desk with Jeff - talks to Jeff quietly during pair-share. Seated at desk with Chris - appears to pay attention and looks at Chris during the pair-share, but requires no voice or interaction.
4.	Kath Jess Chris	Seated at desk with Jess - answers a question and also talks to Jess quietly during pair-share. Seated at desk with Kath - talks to Kath quietly during pair-share. Seated at desk with Alex - appears to pay attention and looks at Alex during the pair-share, but requires no voice or interaction.
5.	Amy Jake Joe	Seated at desk with Emma - appears to pay attention and looks at Emma during the pair-share, but requires no voice or interaction. Seated at desk with Joe - appears to pay attention and looks at Joe during the pair-share, but requires no voice or interaction. Seated at desk with Jake - appears to pay attention and looks at Jake during the pair-share, but requires no voice or interaction.
*NB this scenario can occur without person 5 if one other avatar controller adds Amy to their number of avatars. The scenario would then be with 8 students rather than 10.

Equipment needed

(Number of computers, headsets etc)

11 computers (one teacher and 10 students) are needed. It will be necessary for some computers to be close to each other for one person to control more than one avatar.

One headset will be needed for each person controlling avatars.

Environment and layout

(Include any special environment tools or features)

Use of one of the role-play classrooms (the same classroom and avatars will be used for this scenario and  follow-on scenarios). Nothing special is required for this scenario, but perhaps a family tree could be on the whiteboard.

Initial positioning

Students are seated in pairs at their desks (starting from desks at the front) and the teacher is at the front of the classroom. The student who will become off task is seated nearer the back.

Sequence of events

(Aim for between 5 and 10 events)

Timing	Event (not word for word)	Camera positioning
30 sec to 1 minute	The teacher greets the class. Most students respond to the greeting.	1. View of teacher. 2. View of students greeting teacher.
1 to 1 min 30 sec	Introduction to the lesson. The teacher talks about family and how we can develop family history. The students are quiet and generally attentive. Emma keeps looking round the class but remains quiet at this stage.	1. View of teacher. 2. View of students paying attention. 3. View of Emma moving off task
1 min 30 sec to 2 minutes	Question and answer session. The teacher begins to ask questions about the students' families and past history. The students respond by raising their hands and answering the question. Emma does not respond and quietly makes a few comments such as "I'm not going to do this". The teacher is ignoring this behaviour at this time.	1. View of teacher. 2. View of students answering questions. 3. Several views of Emma moving further off task.
1 min 30 sec to 2 minutes	Pair-share session. The teacher asks the students, in their pairs, to discuss their own family history as they know it. Emma, who was earlier getting more and more off task, now stands up muttering to herself and moves to the window.	1. View of teacher. 2. View of students talking. 3. Several views of Emma moving further off task. 4. Final view of Emma moving from chair to the window.

Possible Use of the Scenario

The next scenario shows strategies that may re-engage Emma without need for any major intervention. This introductory scenario could have time for reflective space, with some questions, as to why it has reached this point and what the teacher might do, before PSTs then observe the later scenarios.