writing 11

Discovery learning
Discovery learning is a powerful instructional approach that guides and motivates learners to explore information and concepts in order to construct new ideas, identify new relationships and create new models of thinking and behavior.
By using the discovery learning, it incorporate three key ideas:
• Problem Solving: They guide and motivate learners to find solutions by pulling together information and generalizing knowledge.
• Learner Management: They allow participants, working alone or in small teams, to learn in their own ways and at their own pace.
• Integrating and Connecting: They encourage integration of new knowledge into the learner's existing knowledge base and clearly connect to the real world.
Discovery Learning provides students with opportunities to develop hypotheses to answer questions and can contribute to the development of a lifelong love of learning. Students propose issues or problems, gather data and observations to develop hypotheses, confirm or refine their hypotheses, and explain or prove their problems
Advantages
The discovery learning literature often claims the following advantages:
 Supports active engagement of the learner in the learning process
 Fosters curiosity
 Enables the development of life long learning skills
 Personalizes the learning experience
 Highly motivating as it allows individuals the opportunity to experiment and discover something for themselves
 Builds on learner's prior knowledge and understanding
 Develops a sense of independence and autonomy
 Make them responsible for their own mistakes and results
 Learning as most adults learn on the job and in real life situations
 A reason to record their procedure and discoveries - such as not repeating mistakes, a way to analyze what happened, and a way to record a victorious discovery
 Develops problem solving and creative skills
 Finds new and interesting avenues of information and learning - such as gravy made with too much cornstarch can become a molding medium
These sorts of arguments can be regrouped in two broad categories
 Development of meta cognitive skills (including some higher level cognitive strategies) useful in lifelong learning.
 Motivation
Disadvantages
.
 (Sometimes huge) cognitive overload, potential to confuse the learner if no initial framework is available, etc.
 Measurable performance (compared to hard-core instructional designs) is worse for most learning situations.
 Creations of misconceptions ("knowing less after instruction")
 Weak students have a tendency to "fly under the radar" (Aleven et al. 2003) and teacher's fail to detect situations needing strong remediation or scaffolding.
 Some studies admit that strong students can benefit from weak treatments and others conclude that there is no difference, but more importantly they also conclude that weak students benefit strongly from strong treatments.
Advantages and disadvantages -http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/Discovery_learning

Writing 10

Cooperative Learning.

“Cooperative learning is the use of small groups  through which students work together to
accomplish shared goals and to maximise their own and others’ potential.”  Johnson, Johnson and Holubec (ASCD 1994)
Using co-operative teaching and learning structures (Kagan, 1992) in the classroom can have many benefits for both teachers and pupils. Teachers can:
• organise classes into small groups with a common goal;
ensure that pupils within a group work collaboratively until they understand
and have completed the task;
• ensure that pupils engage in peer teaching, learning and assessment;
• celebrate collaborative efforts with pupils.
Group work can also encourage and help pupils to:
• use and manipulate knowledge in practical situations;
• develop language and social skills needed for cooperation;
• use exploratory language to try out ideas;
• stretch their language as they talk critically and constructively;
• support and build on each other’s contributions;
• take turns in discussion;
• develop other important life skills including:
 organisation;
 negotiation;
 delegation;
 team work;
 co-operation;
 leadership
• Develop and increase their thinking skills by explaining and negotiating their contributions to a group. In other words, they are able to use this “low risk” situation to begin to establish what they know and to find out what they have yet to learn;
• Acknowledge and utilise the strengths and talents of individual pupils;
• Explore a topic in a limited time frame;
• Develop a sense of responsibility through group accountability and assessment

writing 9

Jigsaw in 10 Easy Steps
The jigsaw classrom is very simple to use. If you're a teacher, just follow these steps:

Divide students into 5- or 6-person jigsaw groups. The groups should be diverse in terms of gender, ethnicity, race, and ability.

Appoint one student from each group as the leader. Initially, this person should be the most mature student in the group.

Divide the day's lesson into 5-6 segments. For example, if you want history students to learn about Eleanor Roosevelt, you might divide a short biography of her into stand-alone segments on: (1) Her childhood, (2) Her family life with Franklin and their children, (3) Her life after Franklin contracted polio, (4) Her work in the White House as First Lady, and (5) Her life and work after Franklin's death.

Assign each student to learn one segment, making sure students have direct access only to their own segment.

Give students time to read over their segment at least twice and become familiar with it. There is no need for them to memorize it.

Form temporary "expert groups" by having one student from each jigsaw group join other students assigned to the same segment. Give students in these expert groups time to discuss the main points of their segment and to rehearse the presentations they will make to their jigsaw group.

Bring the students back into their jigsaw groups.

Ask each student to present her or his segment to the group. Encourage others in the group to ask questions for clarification.

Float from group to group, observing the process. If any group is having trouble (e.g., a member is dominating or disruptive), make an appropriate intervention. Eventually, it's best for the group leader to handle this task. Leaders can be trained by whispering an instruction on how to intervene, until the leader gets the hang of it.

At the end of the session, give a quiz on the material so that students quickly come to realize that these sessions are not just fun and games but really count.


(http://www.jigsaw.org/steps.htm)

Writing 8

Assessment of, for and as Learning
The purpose of this kind of assessment is usually SUMMATIVE and is mostly done at the end of a task, unit of work etc. It is designed to provide evidence of achievement to parents and the students themselves
 “Teachers have the responsibility of reporting student learning accurately and fairly, based on evidence obtained from a variety of contexts and applications.
Effective assessment of learning requires that teachers provide:
• a rationale for undertaking a particular assessment of learning at a particular point in time
• clear descriptions of the intended learning
• processes that make it possible for students to demonstrate their competence and skills
• creating differentiated teaching strategies and learning opportunities for helping individual students move forward in their learning

writing 7

TYPES OF LEARNERS
To understand how to move from passive to active learning, it is important to understand the different types of learners. There are four primary learning styles: visual, auditory, read-write, and kinesthetic. People learn
using a variety of these methods, but one method is usually predominant. Familiarity with the characteristics of each learning style and associated strategies allows you to address the needs of each type of learner.
Visual Learners
Visual learners are characterized by the following:
❙ They tend to be fast talkers.
❙ They exhibit impatience and have a tendency to interrupt.
❙ They use words and phrases that evoke visual images.
❙ They learn by seeing and visualizing.
Your teaching strategy for visual learners should include the use of demonstrations and visually pleasing materials, and you should make an effort to paint mental pictures for learners.
Auditory Learners
Auditory learners are characterized by the following:
❙ They speak slowly and tend to be natural listeners.
❙ They think in a linear manner.
Part I: Teaching and Learning Styles
11❙ They prefer to have things explained to them verbally rather than to read written information.
❙ They learn by listening and verbalizing.
Your teaching strategy for auditory learners should sound good and should be planned and delivered in the form of an organized conversation.
Read-Write Learners
Read-write learners are characterized by the following:
❙ They prefer for information to be displayed in writing, such as lists of ideas.
❙ They emphasize text-based input and output.
❙ They enjoy reading and writing in all forms.
Your teaching strategy for read-write learners should include writing out key words in list form. The learners will learn by silently reading or rewriting their notes repeatedly; writing out in their own words the ideas
and principles that were taught or discussed; organizing any diagrams, graphs, other visual depictions into statements (e.g., “The trend is . . . ”); and putting reactions, actions, diagrams, charts, and flowcharts into
words. They like multiple-choice tests.
Kinesthetic Learners
Kinesthetic learners are characterized by the following:
❙ They tend to be the slowest talkers of all.
❙ They tend to be slow to make decisions.
❙ They use all their senses to engage in learning.
❙ They learn by doing and solving real-life problems.
❙ They like hands-on approaches to things and learn through trial and error.
Part I: Teaching and Learning Styles
12Your teaching strategy for kinesthetic learners should include handson demonstrations and case examples to be discussed and solved.
Can You Identify Your Predominant Learning Style?
There are a variety of types of learners in a single classroom.
Therefore, it is important to incorporate multiple teaching methods. It is also important to know what your own predominant learning style is,because when you teach, you may unintentionally favor your learning
style and shortchange other types of learners in the classroom.
An active learning process involves listening, demonstrating, interacting, and understanding in order to engage all learners. Adult learners tend to have a need to interact and share with others. Well-designed training and educational programs use both active and passive methods. There needs to be some information transfer, but information that is only shared in a passive learning format is likely to become boring or seem irrelevant
to learners. The key to teaching adults is to provide new information that is relevant and usable within a relatively short period of time. A good framework to keep in mind is the active training credo:
What I hear, I forget.
What I hear and see, I remember a little.
What I hear, see, and ask questions about or discuss with
someone else, I begin to understand.
What I hear, see, discuss, and do, I acquire knowledge and skill.
What I teach to another, I master. (Silberman, 1996, p. 1)
As a teacher, your goal is not only to present information that learners need but also to facilitate experiences that will help them gain and master the knowledge and skills that they need to know and practice. By
using a variety of teaching techniques and by actively involving learners in the experience, we increase the chances that they will retain and use the information.
I always try to take into consideration what I call the Sesame Street factor. Most Generation Xers and Millennials grew up on Sesame Street, which uses short vignettes that are usually no longer than one or two
Part I: Teaching and Learning Styles
13minutes. Children who watched Sesame Street are now adults who want their information in short and quick forms. The average adult attention span is between six and twenty minutes, but this varies greatly depending on factors such as the initial interest in the topic, the heat of the room, the time of day, and the energy level of the learner (Johnstone & Percival, 1976; Middendorf & Kalish, 1996). A change of pace at least every seven to ten minutes can give participants the chance to refocus and renew their interest in the topic (Jones, Peters, & Shields, 2007). Thus it is important that the pace of the teaching correspond to the attention span of the learners. For teachers who are more comfortable with the lecture-only teaching
style and learners who are more comfortable with passive learning, group involvement and active participation may seem problematic. Instructors may feel that they lose control of the class when they allow exercises to dominate classroom time. Learners may feel they would be learning more if they could get the information through lecture or readings. As teachers,we must remember that learners are capable of cognitively understanding a great deal of information, but they can only retain segments and will only experience a value change based on some of that learning experience. We can increase retention and behavior/value change by utilizing multiple training styles such as lecture, experiential activities, and small
and large group activities, and by repeating the information throughout the session.
FACTORS AFFECTING LEARNING
Learning is not an automatic process. There are a number of factors that can inhibit the process. These may include one or more of the following:
❙ Learner feels he or she is at least as competent in the subject matter as the instructor.
❙ Learner resents authority figures such as the instructor.
❙ Learner is fearful of being seen as inferior or of being  embarrassed.
❙ Learner is anxious.
❙ Learner has had a bad learning experience in the past.
Part I: Teaching and Learning Styles
14❙ Learner comes to the session with other problems on his or her mind and is unable to focus.
❙ Learner is in class against his or her will and resents this.
❙ Learner is interested in the material but is constrained by time and focused on other priorities.
❙ Learner has personal barriers or biases to learning about the topic. For example, a learner may be resistant to learning about a topic (e.g., evolution) that contradicts his or her  religious beliefs.
❙ Learner has culturally based inhibitions to discussing or learning about the topic.
❙ Learner focuses on an annoying mannerism of the instructor.
❙ Learner is uncomfortable with the learning technique being used; this is common when learners are being introduced to technology for the first time.
Although it is difficult to address everyone’s needs, it is important to meet as many needs as possible. To accomplish this, the instructor should assess learners’ needs and issues. One way to do this is to simply ask the learners what their expectations are for the class session. There are more sophisticated assessment tools as well. Any of the ten methods described in part II can be used as a formative evaluation measure to make sure that a topic was understood before the class moves forward to the next topic. I prefer to use continuous evaluation mechanisms throughout the learning session to provide opportunities for learners to reflect on the content that was covered and answer questions while they are fresh in the learners’ minds. Sometimes learners have questions about issues that are beyond the scope of the instructor’s responsibilities. The value of the question should be acknowledged, but you should politely tell the learner that the
question is beyond the purview of the course. However, you may still be able to establish the value and relevance of the questions to the entire course.

(http://lyceumbooks.com/pdf/HowToTeachEffectively_TypesofLearners.pdf)

writing 6

Motivation 

Motivation means someone derives or moving.  “The definition of motivation is the force that energizes and directs a behavior towards a goal.” 

(Baron, 1992 and Schunk, 1990).  Motivation is very important factor to achieve the targets or the goals. In a classroom motivation is very vital to accomplish healthy environment, which enhance learning and teaching effectively. Teachers motivate learners by helping them develop an expectancy that a benefit will occur as a result of their participation in an instructional experience. Motivation theories can be classified broadly into two different perspectives: Content and Process theories. Content Theories deal with “what” motivates people and it is concerned with individual needs and goals. Process Theories deal with the “process” of motivation and is concerned with “how” motivation occurs. 

Content Theory  of Motivation

Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs 

According to this theory individual strives to seek a higher need when lower needs are fulfilled. Once a lower-level need is satisfied, it no longer serves as a source of motivation. Needs are motivators only when they are unsatisfied. 

  

 In the first level, physiological needs exist which include the most basic needs for humans to survive, such as air, water and food. 

 In the second level, safety needs exist which include personal security, health, well-being and safety against accidents remain.

 In the third level, belonging needs exit. This is where people need to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance. It is about relationships, families and friendship. Organizations fulfill this need for people.

 In the fourth level, self-esteem needs remain. This is where people looks to be respected and to have self-respect. Achievement needs, respect of others are in this level.

 In the top-level, self-actualization needs exist. This level of need pertains to realising the person’s full potential.  (A Brief Introduction to Motivation Theory)

Maslow’s theory of motivation can be applied in typical classroom, if a student feels hungry (food- physiological need) then the student cannot concentrate on study or if other low level needs are not fulfilled learning cannot take place. In order to achieve the success low level needs such as  physiological needs, safety needs or belonging needs should be fulfilled.

Reference 

A Brief Introduction to Motivation Theory. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://ozgurzan.com/management/management-theories/theories-about-motivation/.

writing 5

 Using Piaget’s cognitive learning theory in the classroom 

Learning can be takes place by using different strategies and resources. When we select the activity or resources or teaching aids must match with lesson and with ability level of the students. Learning is characterized by what is suitable for each learner’s needs, interest and developmental levels. Piaget’s theory of stages can prepare us for the types of thinking we may expect at various ages and levels of schooling, but we need to include this by carefully observing our learners and reflecting on each lesson we teach.
In a classroom different students may have different cognitive ability. There needs to be a variety of learning experiences appropriate for children at different levels of cognitive development. And the tasks need to be challenging and fit for the age group. (They can do and avoid what they cannot meaningfully understand).
Begin lessons with concrete objects or ideas and gradually shift explanations to a more abstract and general level (especially with younger learners). Organize the learning situation with social interaction which will foster the learning. In addition put the students in a mixed ability group.
Discovery learning is very essential for teachers who are concerned about students’ cognitive development. However, learners need plenty of varied experience over time for the structural changes to their schemas to take place. Learning through activity and direct experience is essential. Provide plenty of materials and opportunities for learners to learn on their own.