TP Task Two – Active Learning Environments

A website/blog is required for this task.

Planning activities that allow students to clarify, question, apply, and consolidate new
knowledge.
What is an active learning environment? What are its benefits? How does it link to the inquiry
cycle?
Active learning environment its part of cooperative learning which students engage and discover
the main concept with available resources, and to let them have sense of how they find solution
by providing support and giddiness from the teacher (Burff, 2009). The benefits of active learning
environment it makes the class more students centered which help learners to improve their
skills, help them gain more experiences and help the teacher to be facilitator and ask for
justifications (Wilson, 1996). The active learning environment is connected to inquiry cycle
because its students centered which students are responsible to discover their own learning and
responsible to find solutions and the teacher scaffold and guide the nlearning (Jarret, 1997).
References Bruff, D. (2009). Teaching with classroom response systems: Creating active
learning environments (1st ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Jarrett, D. (1997). Inquiry Strategies for Science and Mathematica Learning:
It’s Good Teaching. Portland: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.

Wilson, B. G. (1996). Constructivist learning environments: Case studies in

instructional design. Educational Technology.

Choose 3 lessons to observe to answer the following questions:

Subject: Social studies.
Activity: Creating a small note book that contain information about the UAE.
Prior knowledge: The learners had a whole unit about the UAE in grade 4, so they
know which type of information they can put in their book.
Impact of the activity (number of students engaged): Students were highly engaged,
each student has his own materials (computer, Ipad and colors). From that they appy
what they know and that develop their creative thinking.
Subject: Math.
Activity: The teacher divides the class into two sections one will convert the
denominator to 10 and the other group will convert the denominator to 100.
Prior knowledge: The students know that topic but they didn’t study in details and the
teacher did that to see which students have schema and which aren’t.
Impact of the activity (number of students engaged): Students use manipulatives
and that was a method to engage them and they were ready to learn.
Subject: Science.
Activity: The teacher gives each group of students some objects and sentences about
healthy and unhealthy (foods, drinks and habits). Students should classify them in the
correct place.
Prior knowledge: Students has some knowledge even from school lectures or family
advice about what they should eat and what they should do daily.
Impact of the activity (number of students engaged): Providing hands-on minds-on
materials help students open their mind and start thinking about the topic. As a result,
learners engaged the activity and understand the concept.

The most activity that engaged students was in science section and the lesson was
about healthy and unhealthy habits. I think students were very active in that section
because the lesson is concocted to our daily routines and students know most of the
information about that topic. Also, the teacher made the lesson more fun by doing
sequenced activities and allow students to share their ideas and thoughts. For further
implementation, the teacher can do a lesson by giving each learner a basket and do like
a small shop in the back of the class and let students choose what they like from that
shop and after that she might ask them some questions related to the topic. As a result,
students will be highly engaged and they will have a real life experience.
Concept Role in active learning One reference from 2015 forward that
(definition) shows what the concept is AND how its
works in active learning
Student centered it's work based on students which https://www.edglossary.org/student-centered-
learning/
designed to develop the individuals and
social qualities of a student rather than
provide a generalized information or
training by way of prescribed subject
matter, used of elementary or secondary
education or schools.
Inquiry cycle Is an educational strategy in which Pedaste, M., Mäeots, M., Siiman, L. A., de Jong,
students follow methods and practices T., van Riesen, S. A. N., Kamp, E. T., . . .
Tsourlidaki, E. (2015). Phases of inquiry-based
similar to those of professional scientists
learning: Definitions and the inquiry cycle.
in order to construct knowledge. Or it's a Educational Research Review, 14, 47-61.
process of discovering new causal doi:10.1016/j.edurev.2015.02.003
relations, with the learner formulating
hypotheses and testing them by
conducting experiments and/or making
observations.
Process skills A method of investigation in which a https://www.thefreedictionary.com/Scientific+process

problem is first identified and

observations, experiments, or other
relevant data are then used to construct
or test hypotheses that purport to solve
it.
Hands-on Minds- it's a form of inquiry or problem based https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpR0zmIIkkU

on learning and it's an activity that allows

students to directly manipulate and use
materials in order to gain an
understanding of the theory presented.
Constructivism It's a theory based on observation and https://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/co
nstructivism/
scientific study about how people learn
and construct their own understanding
and knowledge of the world through
experiencing things and reflecting on
those experiences.
Problem solving The process or act of finding a solution https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/problem-solving
to a problem.

Bloom’s taxonomy Is a classification system used to define https://www.edglossary.org/blooms-taxonomy/

and distinguish different levels of human

cognition—i.e., thinking, learning, and
understanding.
Essential & Guiding Essential questions are based on the https://sites.google.com/a/rsu13.org/regional-world-
language-leader/writing-essential-questions
questions broad topics (lynchpin ideas) that are
common to all aspects of social studies.
Guiding questions provide focus and
direction in answering the essential
questions and are linked to the specific
region or time period being studied.
Both essential and guiding questions
define key instructional content and
assist students and teachers in
understanding what is important to
teach and to learn.
Sequencing of Is the process of identifying and https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/a-guide-
to/9781935589679/sub6.3.xhtml
activities documenting relationships among the
project activities. The key benefit of this
process is that it defines the logical
sequence of work to obtain the greatest
efficiency given all project constraints.
Assessment The process of testing, and making a https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/a
ssessment
judgement about , someone's
knowledge, ability, skills.
Reflection:
In social studies lesson the teacher did not say anything about safety issues
consideration because the lesson was not including materials can cause risk to
students. However, the teacher provide safety for students in different way she let
students have chance to participate during the session and she make fun activity. If we
compare it to the Math and Science lessons the teacher says for students that don’t not
fight with you group members, while you are walking do not push others, please the
wooden sticks are for learning not for heating each other and you know If you do
harmful things I will send you immediately to Mrs, Charlotte room. All students were
aware of the safety consideration and when they move they say to each other be careful
and don’t put the basket here because we will full down. In this two sessions no safety
problems occur that were not planned for. Also, in the classroom there are a lot of
safety signage and some classes students sign on them and that can show that the
understand they are able to do and what they should avoid.