General method of teaching (8601) solved Assignment no 1 spring 2022

 

ALLAMA IQBAL OPEN UNIVERSITY, ISLAMABAD

(Department of Special Education)

 

Course: General Methods of Teaching (8601)                                                   Semester: Spring, 2022

Level: B.Ed (1.5 Year/ 2.5 Year)

Assignment No. 1

Note: Attempt all questions. Please avoid reproducing form books, your own analysis and synthesis will be welcome.

Q. 1 Specify the personal and professional characteristics of good teachers.

Ans: Knowledge and skills are taught and learned at school. School is a little community in itself where teachers and students interact with each other. During this interaction teachers influence their learner’s behavior and learners influence their teacher’s behavior. The nature of this interaction is an important factor in determining the learner's perceptions of school and his/her attitudes toward school-related persons and activities. This factor involves the relationship between the personality of the teacher and that of the learner. A teacher’s personality traits are important as Callahan, (1966) says that the teacher whose personality helps create and maintain a classroom or learning environment in which students feel comfortable and in which they are motivated to learn is said to have a desirable teaching personality. Research says that teachers are cognitively oriented toward pupils while pupils are affectively oriented toward teachers. Teacher’s personality is, therefore, directly and indirectly related to learning and teaching in the affective domain as well as to that in cognitive and psychomotor domains, (LEW, 1977).

Personal qualities

 Elementary school teachers need the following characteristics:

 • strong interpersonal and communication skills

• a genuine interest in children and respect for their individuality

 • the ability to sense children's individual needs

 • the ability to be creative, imaginative, patient, energetic, organized and resourceful

• the ability to establish rapport children and parents

• strong leadership and teamwork skills and a good sense of humour

• a high level of dedication to work which often impacts personal lifestyle choices

• a clear, pleasant speaking voice and the ability to convey confidence

 • positive conflict resolution skills and the ability to handle stress well.

 

1)      Fairness

Fairness is one of the characteristics of the students’ favorite teachers. All humans possess an inbuilt sense of fair play. Whenever a person violates, the other person in this situation is prone to react negatively.

 Any impression of favoritism, or lack of fairness, leaves scars on the life of persons that lasts forever. The students report in great detail, the unfair actions of their teachers when they had negative experience of competition between classmates, even after many years have passed.

2)      Positive Attitude

Another characteristic that students’ like most is the positive attitude and approach of their teachers they use into the classroom. Scholars suggest that effective teachers are those who use meaningful verbal praise to get and keep students actively participating in the learning process. The effective teachers are generally positive minded individuals who believe in the success of their students as well as their own ability to help student’s achievements.

3)      Preparedness

Competence and knowledge of the content area being taught is something that our college students have always mentioned about their favorite teachers. In a research the students pointed out that in classrooms where teachers were well prepared, behavior problems were less prevalent.

4)      Personal Touch

Teachers who are connected personally with their students; call them by name, smile often, ask about students’ feelings and opinions, and accept students for who they are. As well as the teachers who tell stories of their own lives events which relate to subject matter currently being taught, motivate student’s interest and endorse bonding with the students. Teachers who show interest in their students have interested students.

Professional Qualities

The teacher’s professional characteristics are following:

Collaboration The teacher works with others to achieve a common goal.

i)                    Interacts constructively with peers/colleagues, administrators, supervisors, staff, mentor teachers, and parents

 • Shows consideration and respect for thoughts and feelings of others

 • Demonstrates effective verbal and non-verbal communication skills

• Demonstrates flexibility with others

• Solicits suggestions and feedback from others

Leadership and Responsibility

The teacher acts independently and demonstrates accountability, reliability, and sound judgment.

i)                    Is aware of and acts according to school policies and practices

 • Has obtained and read school policy manual

• Adheres to class, school, and district rules and policies.

ii)                   Advises students in formal and informal settings

• Shows concern for all aspects of a student’s well-being, is alert to signs of academic and behavioral difficulty, and responds appropriately

• Actively listens to and advises students, making referrals as appropriate

 

Q.2 Define effective teaching. Discuss the factors contributing towards effective teaching.

THE CONCEPT OF EFFECTIVE TEACHING

It is universally recognized that the teacher is the key person in an education system and whole system of education revolves around him/her.

 Educational practice and researches are continuously working in the area of “improvement of learning”. The concept of effective teaching has emerged out as one of the component that contributes a large in improving learning. Interaction in classroom is often dominated by the teacher. According to Ilukena, A. (1998) teachers are the persons who can bring a difference in educational practices. Quality of their teaching is an important factor in promoting effective learning in schools.

Effective teaching involves talking to the learners about their learning and listening to them. St. Augustine quoted in Fisher, (1992) says I learned not from those who taught me but from those who talked with me. Being important persons of the teaching and learning process, the effective teachers must be highly competent in planning and organizing instruction as well as in managing in classroom environment, if they want their students to be academically successful (Dilworth, 1991). Cruickshank, Jenkins & Metcalf (2003) define effective teaching: Most people would agree that good teachers are caring, supportive, concerned about the welfare of students, knowledgeable about their subject matter, able to get along with parents…and genuinely excited about the work that they do….Effective teachers are able to help students learn (p. 329).

Effective Teaching Measures

Effective teaching involves effectively managing a classroom, starting each class with a clear objective, engaging students with questioning strategies, strengthening the lesson at the end of a period, and diagnosing common student errors and correcting them. MET project (2010) enlisted the following seven measures:

1 multiple measures of effectiveness

2 accurate teacher evaluation

3 more meaningful tenure

4 differentiated pay based on effectiveness

5 strategic placement of teachers

6 more effective teachers

 7 better student outcomes

The aims and desired learning outcomes of effective teaching bring positive changes in the following areas:

i)                    Knowledge

§ Discipline/profession-specific knowledge.

§ General knowledge: fundamental concepts that an educated person/university graduate should have, regardless of area of specialisation.

§ Awareness/familiarity across knowledge domains (i.e. ‘rounded’ education).

ii)                   Abilities

§ Ability to identify what information is needed and where to find it.

§ Evaluation of information and discrimination of what is valid and useful from what is not.

§ Application/adaptation of knowledge to problem solving and making of informed judgements.

§ Self-directedness in learning and the ability to sustain lifelong learning.

§ Capacity for independent research and knowledge.

iii)                 Mindset

§ Questioning habit of mind with readiness to seek evidence/support for ideas/concepts presented, and to investigate/challenge established and controversial views including those which are generally taken as ‘knowledge’.

§ Awareness of the complexity and dynamic nature of human knowledge and the need for evaluation and re-evaluation of knowledge.

§ Enjoyment of learning.

§ Learning as a lifelong habit

The Four Aces of Effective Teaching

 According to Walls (1999) student learning is better, faster, and/or more long-lasting when teachers play the following four principles:

 1: Outcomes

The outcomes enable students to focus their attention on clear learning goals. These outcomes inform students of where they are going and how they will get there. Outcomes also provide the teacher a framework for designing and delivering the course content. Outcomes enable teachers to assess student learning as a measure of their own instructional effectiveness.

2: Clarity

The effective teachers provide explanations and give details of the course concepts and content. If students DO NOT LEARN, it means the methods of delivery may lack the required degree of clarity. So the teacher should make the message clear from alternate perspectives to alternate senses, the effective instructional practice of the teacher should afford students the opportunity to make connections between the new material and the concepts that they have already been learned.

3: Engagement

 This principle suggests that students learn by doing. Teachers must create an educational environment that offers students the opportunity to practice every concept that they are learning. The effective teachers use those instructional strategies that engage students throughout the lesson.

Approaches to teaching effectiveness

Tharp, and Gallimore, (1991) viewed teaching effectiveness from three perspectives; the ‘style’ view (how teachers teach), The ‘outcomes’ approach (student result), and The ‘inquiry’ approach (style and outcomes within a framework).

Q.3 Highlight the steps of planning "development of instruction".

Planning Backwards Begin with the end in mind - Steven Covey When planning a course, the best place to start is at the end. Determine what students might reasonably be expected to achieve from a course and then plan how material can be organised and delivered to reach this end. Overarching Goals Overarching goals describe the most important understandings that students should develop during an entire course. Ask yourself: When my students leave my class at the end of this course, what are the essential understandings that I want them to take away? Where possible, students should have a role in determining the goals of a programme. However, in instances where goals are determined by an outside body, e.g. stage agency or funding body, it is important to ensure consultation and collaboration between all the stakeholders. Learning Outcomes Once the overarching goal is determined, the next step is to break this into identifiable and manageable units of achievement, i.e. learning outcomes. Statements of what a learner is expected to know, understand and/or be able to demonstrate after completion of a process of learning. Students may ask, what will I learn from this course? What will I be able to do when the course is over? Sometimes the course description alone does not provide sufficient detail.

The 5 E's Lesson Planning Model is most often associated with constructivist learning design. It involves following 5 E’s:

• Engage - students come across the material, define their questions, do the basic work for their class work, make connections between new and known ideas, identify the relevant practices from their daily life.

• Explore - students directly involved with material, go through the learning process to solve the problems. They work in a team to share the knowledge.

• Explain – the student gets an opportunity to explain the learned concepts such as discoveries, processes, and ideas by written/ verbal assignments or through creative writing/ projects. The teacher supplies material, books/ resources, gives feedback, enhances vocabulary, and clarifies misconceptions/wrong points if any.

 • Elaborate – the teachers can enhance students’ knowledge with the help of other examples and expand their knowledge by explaining similar concepts, and asking them to apply it to other situations. The learning of the new concepts also raises questions relating to other concepts (lead to new inquiry).

• Evaluate – evaluation of learning is an on-going (continuous) process. Both teacher and learner check the understanding of the concepts. Different evaluation techniques can be used such as rubrics, checklists, teacher interviews, portfolios, problem-based learning outputs, and assessments results. Results are used to evaluate the students’ progress and to modify instructional needs in future.

Q.4 a) Describe difference between instrinsic and extrinsic motivation.

Different psychological perspectives explain motivation in four different ways. Let us explore four of these perspectives; behavioural, humanistic, cognitive and social.

The Behavioural

Perspective According to the behaviourist view of learning, when children are rewarded with praise and a gold star for doing their job correctly, they will look forward to the next mathematics lesson, anticipating another rewards. At some time in the past, they must have been rewarded for similar achievements and this experience acts as a motivator for future learning of a similar type.

 For behaviourists, motivation is simply a product of effective contingent reinforcement. So, they emphasize the use of extrinsic reinforcement to stimulate students’ task engagement. The reinforcement can take the form of praise, a smile, an early mark or loss of privileges such as missing out on sport. “Almost all teachers use extrinsic reinforcement in some form to motivate students, although they may not realize they are doing so and may not always use such reinforcement effectively.” (Brody, 1992 in Krause, et. al, 2003) The Humanistic Perspective

The humanist theory of motivation is interesting because it is not only linked to achievement and education, but also has implications for students’ welfare and wellbeing through its concern with basic needs. It stresses on students’ capacity for personal growth, freedom to choose their destiny and positive qualities. There are two theories of motivation from humanistic perspective:

(a) Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Maslow (1954) perceived motivation in terms of a hierarchy of needs that can also conceiveas ‘motives’. According to Maslow’s model, once basic physiological needs have been satisfied, efforts are directed toward achieving needs associated with safety, love and belonging, and self-esteem.

b) Roger’s motivation theory Carl Roger’s ideas are also influential in discussing the nature of motivation and its impact to human lives. Rogers argued that:

 Behaviour was influenced by the individual’s perception of both personal and environmental factors. People should listen to their ‘inner voices’ or innate capacity to judge what was good for themselves, rather than relying on feedback from external sources. The Cognitive Perspective “According to Santrock (2006) the cognitive perspective on motivation focuses on students’ thought guide their motivation. It focuses on students’ internal motivation to achieve, their attribution (perception about the causes of success or failure) and their beliefs that they can effectively control their environment. It also stresses on the importance of goal setting, planning and monitoring progress toward a goal.”

 b) Define the term inquiry approach and enlist the methods that come under the umbrella of this approach.

There is a certain consensus and also some evidence that inquiry as a pedagogical approach is a motivating, meaningful and pedagogically rich scenario for the learning. It brings authenticity to the traditional classroom by involving students in reasoning and investigative tasks. In addition, inquiry as a teaching and learning approach is related often with constructivist ideas, thus involving student-centered learning, students’ active involvement and crucial teacher guidance. The following are the major advantages of the inquiry approach.

• Be interested and enthusiastic

• Get students talking to each other and learning from the peers

• Promote the use of accurate current information resources as students research their learning issues

• Establish a good learning environment for the group Students develop skills in:

• Critical and creative thinking

• Communication

• Self-directed learning

• Team-work

• Project management

• Problem-solving and

• Students get to know one another better and make friends

 The problem lies with the assessment of inquiry instruction and major problem with inquiry programs is that valid acceptable measures of the outcomes of inquiry based learning are hard to find or difficult to interpret. Inquiry learning is also difficult to quickly access and analyze through testing. Multiple-choice questions, the preferred mode for standardized testing, are not readily adapted to measuring the process skills needed for critical thinking. Structured short-answer questions have the ability to measure problem-solving abilities as well as knowledge recall, but are more time consuming to develop and score. Time spent in study outside of class is a factor of concern to both instructors and students alike, it is too much time consuming. The scope of the inquiry method is limited in terms of contents also the effective applications of this approach requires motivated and mature students. The teachers also need to be well competent in planning, designing, conducting and monitoring the inquiry based learning.

Q.5 What is an activity? Discuss the importance of activity method. Name the different types of activities you would use in English.

It is said that children learn best when they are allowed to construct a personal understanding based on experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences. According to Confucius:

– What I hear, I forget

– What I see, I remember

– What I do, I know

This saying advocates the activity based learning of the students. Through which schools have to reshape as activity schools which emphasize the creative aspect of experience. Now a days it is considered that directed activities focus on reality of learning. For this purpose all available resources are being used for making the teaching effective. Activates are meant to provide varied experience to the student to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge, experience, skills and attitudes. Through these activities, students are prepared to know well, to do well and to behave well. Overall this method allows the student working individually or in small groups and develop real-life problem, simply in this method student’ work independently and with the division of tasks clearly defined.

What is Activity Method? Before explaining the activity method, it seems better to answer this question, what is an activity? Anything which is carried out with a purpose in a social environment involving physical and mental action. Such activities help in the establishment of stimulating environment for creative expression.

Types of Activities:

Activities can be of three types:

1. Exploratory – Knowledge getting

2. Constructive – Experience getting

3. Expressional – Presentation Activities will vary according to the age group of the students. At elementary level of education pupils may involve in different activities such as listening observing, planning, collecting, talking, singing, dramatizing, experimenting and constructing. The variety of activities grows as children progress in elementary programme. This may include, painting, drawing, designing, wood carving, writing, composing, interviewing, acting, reading, map-making and graph making, field trips, gardening and camping. It is not always necessary that activity should only be motor or manipulative. It can also be mental. Knowledge-getting activities occupy a prominent place. a) Knowledge – Getting Activities.