Teachers of Prince International Schools Held on 21st August 2006. Introduction • Schools are relied upon by many societies as centres for preparing children and youths for effective participation in the lives of their societies. • However, many children still remain out of school, many drop out, and many among those who finish do not achieve any meaningful learning. Due to: • Absence or shortage of basic infrastructure for teaching and learning. • Poorly trained and poorly motivated teachers • Teaching methodologies too teacher- centred, too passive and too examination centred. • The focus of the on-going Education for All (EFA) campaign is to ensure that all children receive education of good quality. • Having good quality education depends on what happens in the classrooms and the type of teachers we have. • Teachers are very influential on pupil development: effects of bad teaching hard to undo even when subsequent teachers are good. Questions • How can we change our teaching strategies in such a way that all learners find meaningful learning despite differences in their abilities, interests and needs? • How can we diversify our teaching in such a way that the able, average and the not-so-able all learn according to their abilities and needs? • How can we do these within the limitations of large class size, inadequate materials, limited time and other constraints in our school system? The Focus on Teaching • The scenarios of teacher-dominated teaching we have all experienced as learners at one point or the other in our school lives. • This type of teaching focused only on the able i.e. those who are most able to take advantage of formalised structure of school learning. • The vast majority of pupils who may possess different learning styles, who may not have had the adequate background experiences do not fit in and are oftentimes labeled as failures. Characteristics of Teacher-Focused Teaching • Learning is a passive activity – all that is required of pupils is to listen to teachers and they will absorb (learn) what is taught. • The only content worth learning is what is contained in the prescribed textbook and in the syllabus. They are the only sources of knowledge. • Learning is simply transfer of information from the teacher to the pupils – therefore the emphasis is for students to reproduce knowledge that we gave to them rather than producing their own knowledge. • Learners learn in the same way or they can be made to – once a lesson is delivered it is thought that learners will take it in; those who cannot, must be bent to fit in with the content. • Learning is based on the deficit model of the student – the school tries to identify weaknesses of the pupils and tracks, categorises or fails them based on these identified weaknesses. Problems • Are all learners the same? • Don’t we all learn in different ways? • Don’t we have different needs and interests? • Are we not individuals? • Why are we not treated as such by the school system? How Children Learn • No two learners are the same – the pupils we teach possess different characteristics which affect how they learn. Therefore learners differ in the way they learn. • Differences between learners are not simply a matter of differences in abilities as measured by their IQ’s (Intelligent Quotient). How a child learns (i.e. learning style) is a function of socio-economic factors (e.g. home background, prior learning experiences provided, nutritional level, existence of role models and support, etc.). • Learners have different preferences for learning – some learners feel more comfortable when they see text, pictures, illustrations etc (Visual Learning Style); some learners will like to listen, hear and discuss (Auditory Learning Style); while still others understand better when the lesson involves some hands-on experiences, outdoor activities and physical activities (Tactile Learning Style). • Learning is active – learners must be involved meaningfully in the learning process. They must be provided opportunities to interact with the learning material in a variety of ways. • The curriculum is not fixed and unbending – teachers can adjust the curriculum (in terms of its objectives, content, methods of delivery and assessments) to suit the different types of learners they have in their classes. This process is called curriculum differentiation • All learners cannot achieve the same objectives at the same time. In fact, learners may have and achieve different objectives within the same lesson. • Information needed for assessing learners can be obtained from more than one source – assessment is not restricted to paper and pen test only. Questions • Is it possible for teachers to diversify their teaching approaches to respond to different learners at different times? • How can this be done? The Formal Curriculum • The focus of any teaching is the CURRICULUM. • It is technically defined as all experiences offered to the learner by the school to enable the learner grow along some specified goals. • In practical terms, curriculum refers to is what is learned and what is taught (i.e. content), how it is taught and learned (teaching-learning methods); how it is assessed (i.e. assessment) and the resources used in the teaching and learning (i.e. materials). • This is the FORMAL CURRICULUM • This is the curriculum on which our pupils are to be examined on, and as a result we implement it to the letter. • Learners must bend to and learn the curriculum in the limited time allotted so that they are prepared for a common examination at the same time. • This is not FAIR!! Hidden Curriculum • There is also the unplanned learning that takes place as learners interact with each other, with teachers, the learning environment and the learning material. • This can be a useful source of learning experiences for pupils if well utilised. Questions • Can a classroom teacher change the curriculum? • How can he/she do so without encountering problem with the school management? • Which aspects of the curriculum can we teachers change, and how? Modifying Objectives • Instructional or Behavioural Objectives: these objectives state the specific behaviour that all learners must acquire as a result of our teaching. • They are very useful in learning specific facts and skills • They also make assessment of learning easier. Problem • They compel all learners to learn the same thing at the same time, as if this is possible. • They do not allow for variations in learning achievement or style of learning. • They do not make provisions for alternative learning. Expressive Objectives • We can modify our objectives by the way we state them. • Expressive objective describes the situation in which the learning would take place i.e. the work pupils will do, a problem they are to solve or a task they will perform in the course of the lesson. • They do not state a particular behaviour all learners must perform. Examples • Topic – Living Things • Objective – To examine and classify living things • Or, • Topic – Water Borne Diseases • Objective – To study the nature of water borne diseases Advantage • By not specifying a particular behaviour, you allow learners to achieve different learning outcomes from different learners • No learner is frustrated because he cannot achieve the teacher’s expectations. • Objectives are personal to the learner, and therefore each learner progresses at his/her own speed. Challenge • Assessing learning must be varied since learners are likely to exhibit different outcomes • Assessment must be personal i.e. learners must not be compelled to conform to the group norm. Modifying the Content • Content is what learners are expected to learn – it is the facts, concepts, skills and attitudes that students acquire within their learning environment. • It should be meaningful, relevant to students’ needs and interests; relevant to the learners’ environments; and it should be more than mere facts, it should develop appropriate skills and attitudes. Example • Topic – Calculating Areas of Spaces • Find the length of your desk; the breadth of your desk; cut a cardboard size of the area of your desk; how many desks are on the length of your class; how many desks are on the breadth of your class Modifying the Delivery Methods • Lesson delivery school consist of: • Methods of Presentation and Methods of Practice and Performance. • In most of our teaching we emphasise only methods of presentation, which in most cases we take to be TEACHER TALK and CHALKBOARD Method of Presentation • Allow pupils to • Observe • Read • Listen • Do (Perform) • These 4 are called INPUT MODES Methods of Practice and Performance • What pupils do to practice, use and add to the knowledge acquired. Allow pupils to: • Write • Speak • Draw • Make • These 4 are called OUTPUT MODES Modifying Methods of Assessment • Assessment is both Formative and Summative • Summative assessment is terminal and provides information for placement and certification. This is the most common assessment mode employed by teachers Formative Assessment • This is the assessment that takes place in the course of teaching. It is part of the teaching. • Information obtained helps the teacher to spot strengths and weaknesses so that they can be reinforced or redress. • This assessment is more important for teaching purposes. This is the idea of continuous assessment. Different Ways of Assessing • Assessment is not only paper-pencil test. There are several ways of assessing: • Observation • Entry Level Indicators (Pre-assessment) • Record Keeping – anecdotal, portfolios and journaling. • Error Analysis • Performance Assessment Managing Class within the Context of Diversity • Diversity of Learners’ Responses: Do not expect learners to respond or react to situations in the same way. • Flexible Groupings: allow for flexibility in class arrangement. A class should be dynamic i.e. changing to different learning situations. Different Grouping Methods • Whole Class Grouping- instructing whole class at once. • Small Group – Grouping according to abilities, interest or sex depending on activity. • Paired Groups – groups of 2. • Co-operative Expert Groups (Jigsaw) Managing Time • Where is the time? This what many teachers ask. • Concentrate on the essentials • Engage learners meaningfully • Scale contents to the abilities of learners. Oversized Classes • Too many pupils to a teacher. This another constraint. • Team teach • Work cooperatively with other teachers, older more brilliant pupils. • Group them. Learning Materials • There are no enough materials. This is a constant cry by teachers. • Use locally available materials • Innovate – always think of alternatives to the commercial material. • Involve pupils and by extension their parents. • Develop a library of essential materials Conclusion • Getting education to everyone does not only mean getting everyone to school. • It also means making sure that those in school get education that will empower them with the basic skills. • It also means that focusing on that learner who has difficulties learning and ensuring that he learns as well as he can. Thank You for giving me the opportunity Qts • Poor learners from rich backgound • Output/input – use both in plng. • Objects to teach colours • Concepts unrelated to content • Assessment using non-beh. Objvs