Sunday, March 18, 2007

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 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)
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.




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Video Clips

Video Clips is an effective learning tool in an ICT learning environment. It caters for both the visual and auditory learners and the linguistic, interpersonal, intrapersonal intelligences. Visual learners absorb information from visual displays, auditory learners absorb information through listening, they learn best through sound. Linguistic intelligences are able to learn well through words and language. Video clips assist in engaging students. It helps in enhancing a students learning by making the students become interested in what they are learning. Video clips also assist in constructing knowledge. By having discussions, students are building a greater sense of knowledge. A teacher could guide student's by asking student's relevant questions about the video. Videos may also spark emotions, this allows students to retain information more likely in the long term. E.g A humourous video in mathematics may assist in recalling information. Video clips are good cognitive tools, students are likely to think more broadly through video clips than through words. Video clips usually have an underlying message that is conveyed to the audience. This message may promote a higher order of thinking in a student.