A Graphic Organiser

Graphic organisers is an effective way of learning. It allows students to make connections with subjects, it allows students to think on a broader level. The use of graphic organisers allows students to form ideas by writing things down, use images and use cross-linkages. Graphic organisers cater for most of Gardner's intelligences, such as: the visual learners; interpersonal learners; linguistic learners and the interpersonal learners. Linguistic and interpersonal learners are able to work collaboratively and share ideas. Vygotsky suggests that knowledge is constructed through social interactions; through graphic organisers knowledge can be constructed effectively. Interpersonal and visual learners may use graphic organisers as a tool for creative problem solving. Graphic organisers are a good cognitive tool with in a learning environment because students are able to summarise information, think through problems, and images help to recall information. (http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newISS_01.htm)

BRAIN GAME

ONLINE MATHEMATICS GAME

soundfile

Online Mathematics Games

http://www.coolmath-games.com/Timernator/Timernator-multiplication.html

An online mathematics game

http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/mathsfile/shockwave/games/train.html

Understanding the area of a triangle

Understanding Trigonometry

Assessment Task Five - John Hattie

Hattie set out to question the greatest influence on student learning. He believes that it is the teacher that makes the difference to student learning.

(Hattie,1999) (http://www.teacherstoolbox.co.uk/downloads/managers/Influencesonstudent.pdf)

Hattie suggests that teachers are able to make a difference by influencing their students and ensuring that this influence is of a positive nature. I too believe that teachers have a responsibility for students’ learning, because whether the teacher likes it or not, he/she will have an effect on students’ learning in one way or another. For this reason, I would hope that teachers take their responsibility seriously and aim to influence students’ learning in a positive manner through encouraging feedback (positive reinforcement) and constructive criticism (corrective work).(Petty,1998) (www.geoffpetty.com/research.html)

Hattie identifies five major characteristics that distinguish expert teachers from experienced teachers. He believes expert teachers can identify essential representations of their subject; can guide learning through classroom interactions; can monitor learning and provide feedback; can attend to affective attributes; and can influence student outcomes. (Hattie,2003)

(https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/proflearn/docs/pdf/qt_hattie.pdf)

I agree with Hattie’s five major characteristics of an expert teacher. As a student, I believed that the teacher who had the greatest impact on my learning possessed these five characteristics. Of these five major characteristics, I believe the most essential element is for teachers to provide feedback to students. Similarly, Hattie has also determined that the greatest effect on students’ performance is feedback, or lack thereof. In time, I hope to possess the five qualities of an expert teacher that Hattie describes. Hattie also suggests that it is the expert teachers that contribute to more deep cognitive learning in their classrooms. This is the level of learning I hope to attain from my students when I teach.

Assessment Task Four -William Glasser

William Glasser’s Choice theory provides a framework for understanding why and how people behave. Choice theory suggests that all behaviour has its own purpose and this behaviour is related to satisfying the five genetic needs that all individuals are driven by. (Harshman, 2006) http://www.wglasser.com/whatisct.htm The theory suggests that all individuals have basic needs including survival, love and belonging, power, freedom and fun. Once all needs are satisfied, individuals are more likely to be motivated to learn.

Glasser’s choice theory suggests that all behaviour is chosen and that individuals can only have control over their own behaviour. (Harshman, 2006) Choice theory also suggests that no other individual can make you do or feel anything. All that an individual can do is to influence another by giving information, and it is up to that individual to make a decision regarding this information. I realise now, as a future teacher, that I am able to influence students by giving them information, but it is up to the students whether they want to accept it. In understanding Glasser’s choice theory, I have come to understand the importance of the role of the teacher. A teacher must realise the impact that they have on students through the information that they provide. This impact can be positive or negative. (Piltz, 2002) http://www.ausport.gov.au/fulltext/2002/achper/Piltz2.pdf I also realise that it is the teacher’s responsibility to provide a positive classroom environment that satisfies the needs of students. Glasser’s choice theory is effective because it focuses on the needs of individual students and their learning. This theory allows teachers to motivate their students and allow positive student- teacher relationships.

Assessment Task Three - Jean Piaget

Piaget stated four stages in cognitive development. (http://www.funderstanding.com/piaget.cfm

These stages of cognitive development are believed to be the reason for the separation of schools into levels such as pre-school, primary and secondary.(2001) (http://hsc.csu.edu.au/pro_dev/teaching_online/how_we_learn/developmental.html)I believe that allocating certain age groups into specific levels of schooling is extremely effective because it allows individuals to progress from one cognitive stage to another. For instance, individuals from the pre-operational stage can not learn with individuals from the concrete operational stage because they are at a different cognitive level. That is the reason why the majority of schools do not combine five year old children with ten year old children in the one classroom. I recall being in a grade 3/5 composite class and I found this to be ineffective.

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development is based on a constructivist view of learning. (2001)

http://hsc.csu.edu.au/pro_dev/teaching_online/how_we_learn/developmental.html That is, individuals build on their understanding of the world through experience and as a result they are responsible for their own development of intelligence. I agree with Piaget’s view that individuals learn solely from experience but I also believe that individuals learn through social interactions.

Assessment Task Two - Lev Vygotsky

Vygotsky believed strongly in the importance of the social and cultural factors on children’s learning. His work strongly emphasised social learning and he encouraged the essentials of students working together to solve problems and teachers’ ‘scaffolding’ their students’ learning. Scaffolding is the process in which the adult supports children’s learning by, for instance, asking key questions or encouraging children to work through a similar example first. Vygotsky also states the significance of the zone of proximal development (ZPD).

(http://tip.psychology.org/vygotsky.html) ZPD refers to the notion that the level of skill a learner can reach in collaboration with an adult or peer collaboration, will exceed what can be achieved alone.

I recall an incident that occurred in my first year of Education at another University. The incident was initiated by my tutor, who announced she would not tolerate students collaborating with other students on their assignment. She encouraged students to work independently. In contrast, my English teacher in high school encouraged group work and active learning. She structured all her classes to engage all students in learning by encouraging collaborative team work. From her classes I grasped the advantages of team work which includes increased communication skills and increased confidence. I believe information is most effectively gained through team work and I understand the importance of social interaction on students learning. As a future teacher, I aim to incorporate collaborative learning in my lessons.

Assessment Task One - Jerome Bruner

Jerome Bruner organised the process of education into four basic parts: structure, readiness for learning, intuitive and analytical thinking, and motives for learning. Bruner explained that the role of structure in learning is about learning how things are related. Bruner suggested that the initial teaching of any subject should emphasise grasping the main points intuitively. He believed that the curriculum should then re-examine these points repeatedly so that students eventually understand the points and make connections between them until the student has grasped full understanding. He called this cycle the spiral curriculum.

(Smith, M.K, 2002) http://www.infed.org/thinkers/bruner.htm

I recall my year 10 mathematics teacher in high school using a curriculum organised in a spiral manner, so that students continually build upon what they had already learned. I remember how effective his teaching style was when he explained the concept of pronumerals and how he repeatedly returned to this basic concept in later lessons. At that time I was impressed by how he managed to reach every learner in the classroom. I feel that this is an invaluable tool to have as a teacher as it is the task of every teacher to get through to every learner in the classroom, no matter what the situation. As a future teacher I would also try to modify my teaching approach to include a spiral curriculum. The understanding that I have gained about effective teaching will allow me to apply the concepts that I have learned in my University studies to the classroom once I begin my practicum in Term 2.

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