Preventative, corrective and supportive approaches

Rogers identifies preventative, corrective and supportive forms of classroom discipline (Rogers, 1997: 10):

• 'Preventative' approaches establish clear rules and consequences which aim to prevent the development of poor behaviour
• 'Corrective' approaches 'correct' disruptive behaviour by 'telling off'
• 'Supportive' approaches offer 'correction' supportively, quickly re-establishing working relationships

In my opinion, each of these approaches to classroom management support learning effectively, A good way to use the preventative approach is to create classroom contracts and get students involved. Sometimes the corrective approach can be a bit damaging to the flow of the lesson and can make the ‘corrected’ pupil harbor a sense of resentment. The ‘supportive’ approach is better, if you quietly explain to a pupil away from peers, why his behavior is not acceptable resentment is less likely to occur.

Rewards and sanctions, rules and routines

Child (2002) says that unacceptable classroom behaviour is likely to be minimised when the teacher

• Aims to personalise the learning for each student and identifies the most appropriate learning style
• Supports and challenges students as well as planning activities and content which are interesting
• Monitors and recognises progress based on well developed assessment strategies

I would agree with Child on these 3 points, students all have a preferred method of learning and I’ve found that if the activities are not engaging and interesting students lose focus.

The school I teach in has very few students so it is important that you develop a good relationship with these pupils although effective classroom management needs to be enforced for good learning to take place. In my opinion praise, rewards, sanctions, rules and routines need to be consistent and a school must have a code of conduct which pupils must follow and teachers should enforce. Praise should be plentiful to motivate students and set a good example to those who aren’t behaving. Rewards should be followed through on and not be superficial (such as a chocolate bar), good rewards might be a letter of praise sent home or a certificate of merit. Punishments must be fair and worthwhile and should also be followed through on because if there not pupils know that they can get away with bad behavior. These good relationships with pupils must have a line drawn somewhere so effective classroom management can take place. I have an experience of punishing a pupil many times and in return this pupil started to behaved and respected me more.

Planning issues for inexperienced teachers

One sign of teacher development is the moment when she or he becomes more concerned about how pupils are learning (and how to develop this learning) than about survival during the lesson.

After watching a video about an inexperienced French teacher planning lessons, these were my observations:

Claire was concentrating on how pupils were learning, she planed her lessons to suit different learning styles, set lesson objectives, made pupils set personal objectives and at the end of the lesson she tested the pupils knowledge. 

The planning challenges which Claire faced included:

- Time of the lesson (afternoon)

- Lots of different abilities in 1 class

She addressed these problems by making activities energetic and putting students in groups to help those less able. She also made pupils set realistic personal aims which they were to achieve by the end of the lessson.

Claire learnt that planning is easier when you use a mind map - a non-linear way of planning.

The importance of effective planning

Effective teachers are those who are:

good at setting a clear framework and objectives for each lesson. The effective teacher is very systematic in the preparation for, and execution of, each lesson. The lesson planning is done in the context of the broader curriculum and longer-term plans. It is a very structured approach, beginning with a review of previous lessons, and an overview of the objectives of the lesson linked to previous lessons.
(Harris, Day, Hadfield, Hopkins, Hargreaves and Chapman, 2002: 59)

I would  agree that there is a close relationship between the success of a lesson and the quality of its planning. If a teacher takes the time to set lesson aims, think of a range of activities and anticipate problems then the lesson usually goes smoothly and is enjoyable for both teacher and pupil. This is not always true though, there have been times when I have had no time to plan and therefore have just taught a lesson ‘off the top of my head’ and this has gone very well as there is a sense of spontaneity – which pupils don’t realize. It gives you a chance to experiment although it is rare that these types of lessons are successful.  

A successful lesson I have taught recently was for ESL. The lesson was on the subject of ‘Honesty’ and focused on speaking. I had lots of different activities planned and had even gone as far as writing instructions for students in my lesson plan. If this lesson was not plan ned to the extent it was it would not have been so successful. The planning allowed me to carefully source together relevant activities and set clear aims and learning objectives. This lesson was so successful that after reflection on the lesson I was able to render any problems and continue to use it with added activities and methodologies.

A lesson which was not very successful was a lesson focusing on revision and exam focus. I had not planned anything and there was to much teacher talking time. The resources were not sufficient enough and students seemed very disinterested and demotivated.

Piaget: assimilation and accommodation

Piaget: assimilation and accommodation

Suppose an infant of 4 months is presented with a rattle. He has never before had the opportunity to play with rattles or similar toys. The rattle, then, is a feature of the environment to which he needs to adapt. His subsequent behaviour reveals the tendencies of assimilation and accommodation. The infant tries to grasp the rattle. In order to do this successfully he must accommodate in more ways than are immediately apparent. First, he must accommodate his visual activities to perceive the rattle correctly, for example, by locating it in space. Then he must reach out, adjusting his arm movements to the distance between himself and the rattle. In grasping the rattle he must mold his fingers to its shape: in lifting the rattle he must accommodate his muscular exertion to its weight. In sum, the grasping of the rattle involves a series of acts of accommodation, or modifications of the infant’s behavioural structures to suit the demands of the environment. At the same time, grasping the rattle also involves assimilation. In the past the infant has already grasped things; for him, grasping is a well-formed structure of behavior. When he sees the rattle for the first time he tries to deal with the novel object by incorporating it into a habitual pattern of behaviour. In a sense he tries to transform the novel object to something that he is familiar with – namely, a thing to be grasped. We can say, therefore, that he assimilates the objects into his framework and thereby assigns the object 'a meaning.'
(Ginsburg and Opper, 1979: 19)

Here is a link with a diagram to explain this:

http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/assimacc.htm

My own example of a recent personal experience that involved both accommodation and assimilation is when I change my daughters nappies – we always have the wet wipes right beside her. When she first grasped for it she had to experiment and found that she could pull tissues from the packet. Now whenever I change her nappie she automatically goes for the packet and pulls out the tissues; understanding the function of the packet.

This experience involved 'constructivist learning' because my daughter has gained knowledge as to the function of the packet. This experience could be more successfully explained in terms of behaviourism as it is a baby’s instinct to grab and experiment with new things

The Montessori method

The Montessori method is primarily designed to support pre-school children in directing their own learning. They are encouraged to choose from among a range of graded materials within their classrooms, created to develop their abilities in the following areas:

• Practical Life (to refine manual and motor skills)
• Sensorial activity (to train the senses)
• Language development (to develop the ability to listen, speak, read and write)

In The Secret of Childhood, Montessori develops this radical principle of child-centred education through a critique of the traditional view of the child as an empty vessel which the adult must try to fill:

The adult has become egocentric in relation to the child, not egotistic, but egocentric. Thus he considers everything that affects the psyche of the child from the standpoint of its reference to himself, and so misunderstands the child. It is this point of view that leads to a consideration of the child as an empty being, which the adult must fill by his own endeavours, as an inert and incapable being, for whom everything must be done, as a being without an inner guide, whom the adult must guide step by step from without. Finally, the adult acts as though he were the child’s creator, and considers good and evil in the child’s actions from the standpoint of relation to himself. The adult is the touchstone of good and evil. He is infallible, he is the good on which the child must model himself. Any way in which the child departs from the characteristics of the adult is an evil that must be speedily corrected. And in adopting such an attitude, which unconsciously cancels the child’s personality, the adult feels a conviction of zeal, love and sacrifice.
(Montessori, 1936: 19)

Scaffolding

David Wood and his colleagues (Wood, Bruner and Ross, 1976) were the first to use the word 'scaffolding' in an educational context. They defined scaffolding as 'a form of adult assistance that enables a child or novice to solve a problem, carry out a task or achieve a goal which would be beyond the child's unassisted efforts'.

Scaffolding is very similar ' to the concept of the 'zone of proximal development'. The scaffolding is the assistance from peers or an adult.

In Thought and Language Vygotsky (1962) referred to several types of assistance that might be given when a child was engaged in a problem-solving activity:

• providing the first step in a solution
• asking a leading question
• explaining
• supplying information
• questioning
• correcting

'Ddifference that makes the difference' (Webster et al., 1996, p. 151) was how teachers 'scaffolded' the learning process. By 'scaffolding' they meant 'the complex set of interactions through which adults guide and promote children's thinking'. This definition emphasised that 'scaffolding' was much more than teachers simply providing help. It was a collaborative process involving dialogue in which learners had as important a role as teachers making the child explain.

Scaffolding involves:

• getting children involved in the task
• helping children to represent tasks in terms they understand
• helping children to adapt and develop concepts
• helping children to externalise their learning. listening to how the children are pursuing the learning activities
• reviewing the process of learning and its worth

Here is an example of using scaffolding is in a recent English as a Second Language (ESL) lesson I taught. The lesson started with a warmer for which I moved all furniture out of the way; this was the prepares for assembly (PFA) stage. I then gave the students instructions “Take it in turns to run to the board, grab a pen, write 1 word which is related to the topic, run back and bass the pen to a team mate, the team with the most words, wins” This is Specific Verbal Instruction (SVI), as I was saying this I ran to the board, grabbed a pen and wrote down a word, then I ran to a student gave them the pen and told them to GO! This was the Demonstrate (DEM) stage. This introduced the topic, which in my opinion was a General Verbal prompt (GVP) stage. Once students were on topic we had a discussion and moved on to the target language for the lesson. I introduced some new vocabulary, "If something is glamorous and shiny, how else might we describe it? Its 6 letters, first letter is G"  another example of GVP. I wrote five blank spaces on the board G _ _ _ _ _ , students started to guess other letters; GL_ _ZY, a student's shouts “Is it glitzy”, I reply ‘Yes, well done”, praising his enquiry skills. This process goes on for other words and phrases using other methods such as mime, pictures and descriptions once again utilising the GVP stage. Later we looked at a reading comprehension with all the vocabulary (which I anticipated would cause problems) highlighted, this was the vocabulary we went through earlier on, this made use of the Indicates Materials (IM) stage. The students answered various comprehension question then we had another discussion followed by a role play. The role play was demonstrated with two strong students, using DEM once again. To finish off students were tested on the target language. I handed out two piles, pile was definitions the other was the target language. "Now, in pairs, I want you to match the correct definition (pointing to the pile of definitions) with the correct word (pointing to the pile of words), Maritsa, what do I want you to do" Maritsa repeats to check understanding and instruction; this incorporated GVP (giving instructions) and IM (pointing to each pile).

The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

Here is Vygotsky's grandly-named 'general genetic law of cultural development':

Every function in the child's cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later on the individual level; first, between people (interpsychological), and then inside the child (intrapsychological). This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relations between human individuals.
(Vygotsky, 1978: 57)

I believe that social interaction enhances the mind but it is not the be all and end all. There are other factors involved in cognitive development, these could involve the child’s self esteem, hobbies, interests, behavior and how a child is nurtured and the home environment.

Vygotsky explains how children internalise collective, shared experience through his famous concept of the Zone of Proximal Development (the ZPD). 'Proximal' means 'next to'. Some Vygotskian scholars believe that this Russian phrase should have been translated as the 'Zone of Potential Development'.

I believe potential would be a better translation because it gives more he ZPD is ahead of what a child can already achieve unaided.flexibility and allows for the factors I mentioned above.

I taught a lesson recently on ‘using critical thinking when evaluating the reliability of sources’. Students were able to practice deconstruction skills, understand how claims should be supported by evidence, evaluate evidence and see how it is used in an argument. Most students were able to follow instructions and follow the critical path unaided, occasionally asking questions to clarify their own thinking;; the task challenged them and was within the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and the pupils showed signs of being ‘ripe’ to learn. 3 other students needed guidance and help, they asked me probing questions and needed occasional help on a couple of occasions, they asked their class mates later on, with this guidance they were developing problem solving skills and understood what was expected, their conceptual learning was being developed within the ZPD in collaboration with an adult and peers; when given the same style or similar task in a future lesson these students will be able to do it confidently with no guidance needed. As a conceptual tool for teachers the ZPD is helpful when assessing what year group a student should go into or when developing a curriculum that will challenge pupils and enable them to enquire, it also brings to light scope for effective pupil grouping so weaker students can learn from peers.

Vygotsky's central ideas

Here are 4 famous quotations by Vygotsky:

• Education must be orientated not towards the yesterday of a child's development, but towards its tomorrow (1987a)

I agree with this – it is saying that education should prepare pupils for the future, teaching them the skills necessary to succeed in modern society. Very similar to the view of White, Trilling and Hood.  We must provide students with modern multi media equipment and formulate a relevant curriculum. We must also use modern day teaching methods which appeal to children today.

• It is through others that we become ourselves (1987a)

I somewhat agree with this. From what I understand from this quote is that we learn from society, teachers, parents and peers. Although I think we as individuals have more control over the person we become and the choices we make.

• What a child can do in co-operation today, he can do alone tomorrow (1986: 188)

This I agree with, children who are apprehensive to the approach of learning learn best collectively in groups and from peers. It also states the importance of team work which is a valuable skill to have in a career.

• Therefore, the only good kind of instruction is that which marches ahead of development, and leads it (1986: 188)

I don’t agree with this. This is stating that the only teaching worthwhile is that which teaches about the present and future and our impact in the future, but it is also important for students to have an understanding of history and the past to know who they are and learn from past progressions which could be applied to the future.

Criticisms of Piaget

There are many who criticize Piaget, one is Margaret Donaldson, she was a pupil of Piaget's who challenged his theories in a her 1978 book, Children's Minds.

pre-school children are not nearly so limited in their ability to 'decentre', or appreciate someone else's point of view, as Piaget has for many years maintained.
(Donaldson, 1978: 30-31).

The evidence she gives to support this is that the experiments Piaget uses are not explained properly to younger children, two of the the same experiments were carried out by Martin Huges and explained properly to a child; they were able to do it.

In  another  study,  Hughes  used  a  simplified  version  of the
mountains task and found that it was possible, by taking great care
over the way  in which the problem was introduced, to get a high
proportion · of correct responses  from  pre-school children.  So  this
lends  further  support  to  the  view  that  Piaget's  subjects  did  not
understand.                                                                                                      (Donaldson, 1978: 23).

Donaldson also refers to the ‘mountains experiment’ as being to abstract, she also states that a person preforming these experiments is accustomed to abstract and formal  modes of thought. These abstract experiments seem bewildering and senseless to a child.

Donaldson also shows evidence that Piagets idea that a child belives an object ceases to exsist when it is coverd; Tom  Bower  and  Jennifer Wishart, report that in these circumstances  children quickly reach out in the appropriate direction to find  their  toy  again:  Thus  Piaget'.  claims  about  egocentrism  are once again challenged. They are yet to develop  a  full appreciation of spatial relations  such as on,  in,  in front  of,  and  behind. * They  do  not derive  from  the complete lack of a notion of a world of 'other things'.

Another experiment was done by David Lloyd in which a talking toy panda asked for help. He found that, though the children would try to help the
panda, they were not so ready to signal when they themselves needed help. They were not given to indicating that a message which they had received was inadequate. 

Therfore, the evidence shows that its not so black and white; pre-school children are not nearly so limited in their ability to 'decentre', or appreciate someone else's point of view.

Piaget: theory of stages

Piaget argues that intellectual growth is continuous, he also maintains that particular mental abilities tend to appear at certain stages of a child's development. Some children might show the ability earlier and some later, but children in all cultures will pass through these stages at some point:

• The sensory motor stage (or pre-language stage), which usually occurs between birth and two years.

- lasts until the baby is about 2.

- Action stage before speaking.

- unable to make distinctions between self and other

- ‘object permanence’ – babies realise objects exsist

• The pre-operational stage (usually between two and seven)

- Children are able to represent things eg. Doll = baby

- Spoken language is developed

- childs thinking is; what is seen not logical principles

- can see that the self is different from the rest of the world

- can’t understand anothers point of view

- understand that something remains the same even though it has been transformed in appearance.

• The concrete operational stage (usually between seven and twelve)

- become much better at classification.

- better at conservation operations by the end of this stage but only when the concrete objects are physically present.

• The formal operational stage (or stage of propositional operations), usually from eleven to twelve onwards

- the highest level of thinking

- development of abstract thought.

- become concerned about the future and about ideological problems.

- allows mastery of complex systems like science, religion and mathematics. Teenagers can make and test hypotheses about things which they haven't actually experienced themselves.

Piaget says that all children pass through these stages in the same order but at different speeds. Intellectual development is always an extension of what has preceded it.

My Account of a Formal Operational Student

Here is my account of a child who show characteristics of one of Piaget’s Theory of stages. I will keep the identity of the student anonymous and refer to him as pupil A. Pupils A falls into the formal operations stage. He is a 14 year old who shows leadership skills and concern for world issues and future occurrences. He has full development of abstract thoughts and understands all his subjects by making hypothetical judgments before investigating the answers; an example of this is when he began using a video editing software program of which he had no knowledge, he was able to experiment and teach himself the basics of this program, only referring to a user manual when his experimentation had run its course.

His thinking is very typical of this stage as he likes to know about things in lots of detail, he is very inquisitive. He shows concern and empathy for his peers and at times (when working in groups) will assist others. He recently volunteered to join a mock UN Summit investigating different world organizations which involved taking part in various debates; he has a clear understanding of world issues. A lot of his learning comes from experience, in and out of school and he always comes to school with probing questions regarding an experience or something he has watched on TV. If you are to have a conversation with' ‘pupil A’ it is very adult like and as a teacher and student we are able to have meaningful discussions which result in understandings of new theories and perspectives. His writing has advanced over the year I have known him and he uses many different synonyms and complex phrases.

These are all signs that this student has flourished into a  ‘formal operational’ thinker.

Behaviorist family of learning theory

A human being begins as an organism and becomes a person or self as he acquires a repertoire of behavior... There is no place in the scientific position for the self as a true originator or initiator of action.
(Skinner, 1974: 225)

I think that it is not helpful to ignore the 'self' as an initiator of classroom behavior because we are all responsible for our actions and through the teachings of society and family we know wrong from right.

Skinner is famous for having taught rats to press levers and pigeons to play table tennis for rewards such as food. By comparing animal behavior with the behavior of human beings, he drew the conclusion that learning is achieved by association between stimulus and response (S-R).

Skinner argued that a learner's actual response can be brought closer and closer to desired response through the controlled use of stimulus-response associations. He also developed a 'law of positive reinforcement' which maintains that a stimulus-response sequence which leads to pleasing consequences for the learner is more likely to be repeated.

So far does my classroom experience has lead me to agree with this law, pupils respond very well to rewards and praise and punishments only create bad relationships and a sense on resentment. I need to use more praise and rewards (and follow through on the rewards) in order to train pupils to have automatic responses. If I was to have my own code it would be stimulus – response – apply – reward (S-R-A-R).

Assertive discipline is a structured, systematic approach designed to assist educators in running an organized, teacher-in-charge classroom environment.

The principles of assertive discipline can be linked to Skinners theory as it makes use of the S – R theory, but in this case the response is either good or bad, although the principle still applies that if the response is good a pupil will continue the good behavior. The only difference is that if the behavior is bad it is hoped that a child will change due to a negative response. The main difference is that Skinner believed punishments increased negative behavior gave pupils a feeling of unease and resentment.

The 'assertive discipline' approach has some what been adapted at our school would be very effective in primary school but not secondary. We have to adapt it for secondary students to make the rewards more appealing and all staff have to be consistent with rewards and punishments. I will suggest this method in our next school staff meeting.

Critique of MI theory

Gardner MI theory has documented what most of us already know but never labeled. I agree with Gardner that all of us are individual and have our own learning styles but it is not that black and white. I think every person has all of these intelligences, although we each have different levels of each. Therefore teachers should try to constantly switch and vary classroom activities so each learning style is utilized. The Theory, as a label to how different students learn is very useful and can help with the planning of lessons and a curriculum. The theory also gives children a higher self esteem making them realest and put the label to the fact that although they are not very good at one thing, they are better at another. Although schools and educators can take the theory to seriously and insist that all learning styles should be catered for always, but realistically; rather than include all learning styles to suit each MI in a subject, why not focus on the style needed for the subject being taught, for example; it is almost impossible to include analytical-mathematical intelligence in an Art lesson, why not focus on spatial or kinesthetic and save the analytical-mathematical skills for business studies or Math's; surely this is the reason we as individuals go into different professions. Another problem with the MI theory is although we are staving to educate children with their preferred learning style it is also important that we prepare them for testing in order to preform well in external examinations so they can gain a qualification; these examinations are presented in the MI style necessary for the specific subject so therefore we need to train students to use or practice these learning styles in order to preform well.

My own draft theory of learning

How do I personally learn best?

I learn best in a friendly, comfortable and stimulating environment. I need a stimulating activities and prefer the use of multi media. I like to figure out problems by myself and usually learn by mistakes.

How do pupils learn best in your own classroom?

Pupils in my classroom learn best by having a mixture of stimulating activity. It is best if they are part of the planning process and are taken seriously on ideas. They responded well to competition and lessons with relevance to real life or topics which interest them. It is best if they get on well with the teacher and have formed a trusting relationship.

What is the difference between learning and performance?

Learning can be defined as the ability to obtain new information, performance is how students apply this new information.

How many different kinds of learning are there?

There are 3 types of learning:

1. Listening learners
2. Seeing learners
3. Touch / experience learners

Why is it important to study the learning process?

It is important to study the learning process so we, as teachers can cater for the needs of students and enable them to preform to the best of their ability.

My Theory

A teacher must maintain good relationships with pupils and be active and motivated, this will make learning a pleasurable experience for students and they themselves will be motivated. Lesson plans should be concise detailing when pupils will be engaged in activities as planning enables effective teaching practice, but a lesson plan must also be flexible to allow for discussions which might or might not lead off topic; but still be useful.

Pupils should be part of the planning process for a curriculum which creates good morale and increases motivation. They should be consulted and ask for feedback as to the effectiveness of a lesson or how things could be improved, this makes learners feel as though they are fully involved and in control of their own learning.

Learning should not be confined to the classroom, learners must have the chance to go on field trips where they learn passively through experience or be enabled to use a variety of multimedia. This makes learning relevant to real life and teaches valuable teamwork and management skills necessary for a career. Learning is more effective when it is student lead and the teacher acts as a facilitator, although careful planning must be done so pupils achieve the desired outcome of an activity or task. Students should create long term and short term aims and objectives and these should be reviewed regularly to make sure the student is on track; this allows the student to know what needs to be done to achieve to the best of their ability.

Assessment must not only be testing, some intelligent pupils don't test well and low exam scores will only create low self esteem and unwillingness to learn; therefore assessment should be a mix of tests, course work and continuous class assessment.

Students either learn by listening, seeing or experience, for individuals different styles are more effective although each method still drills information. For a pupil to learn effectively they must be stimulated constantly and have the freedom to enquire rather than be fed in formation; this enables students to have more control of the learning process. Students should be taught using these receptors through many different activities and these activities should only last a set period of time as learners start to lose concentration if activities are drawn out for a long period.

Intelligence tests

After looking at an exemplar intelligence test by Dennis Child created in 2007 I realised that to complete this intelligence test successfully you need to use analytical-mathematical and linguistic intelligence.

The whole concept of a general intelligence has been disputed by a number of commentators. I do not think 'intelligence testing' of this kind can be useful in measuring intellectual ability as it only caters for a certain type of intelligence. To pass this intelligence test a person will have to be trained on how to answer these types of questions. This  may be useful for  IQ testing but it is not relevant to modern day intelligence which comes in many different forms.

What do you mean by intelligence

When comparing the subjets ESL and Global Perspectives, it is understood that each requires a different type of intelligence. ESL requires linguistic intelligence for expressing yourself orally and learning a language, intrapersonal intelligence allowing the ability to understand yourself and Interpersonal intelligence to grasp moods and intentions of people.  GP requires logical-mathematical intelligence to interpret data, it also requires linguistic and interpersonal intelligence to work in groups.

When I think of 2 ‘intelligent’ people I think of my mum and my dad. They are very different. My Dad is a Civil Engineer; he is a logical man who understands physics and math's on a deep level although he is very socially awkward. My mum is the opposite, she is able to pick up on people’s emotions and make friends very easily; she is a people person although she can be very illogical with her reasoning.

Here is my definition of intelligence:

INTELLIGENCE – Intelligence is the ability to learn, understand, interpret and apply information to a high ability. These abilities can consist of many different aspects which require thorough thought processing to complete a task or activity.

Pupil Motivation in English Schools

http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/cms/Default.aspx?tabid=304

This webpage reports on the findings of a systematic review - Smith, C., Dakers. J., Dow, W., Head, G., Sutherland, M. and Irwin, R. (2005) - of what pupils, aged 11-16, believe has an impact on their motivation to learn in the classroom.

I would say these findings are very similar to the attitudes of pupils in my school. Pupils are motivated by the same factors although we are hindered by the size of the school so the influence of peers is not effective and this school size also effects the ‘Role of Self’ as pupils don’t have much say in the planning or choosing of subjects and curriculum.

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation in Practice

After watching a video about a maths teacher teaching students about trigonometry I witnessed motivation in practice. The teacher took students outside to work out the height of the school buildings. First of all they guessed then went outside to take measurements.

The teaching challenges faced by the math's teacher were that the students were a bit skeptical and afraid of change, but the teacher overcame this by talking the pupils through this. The strengths of this lesson were that it was creative, got learners out of the classroom and related trigonometry to real life. The pupils were both intrinsically and extrinsically motivated by the use of competition, group work, roles and responsibilities, relevance and an energetic teacher.

This lesson would work well in my own school setting, pupils will react well and be motivated. They are likely to go off task so roles are a good idea as well as time limits and competition.

• Write about the ways in which the math's lesson on outdoor trigonometry in the Teachers TV programme motivates pupils and addresses each level in Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

Physiological Needs were meet because the students were outside in the fresh air and provided with all material necessary. Safety Needs were met as the teacher was talking students through the activity and assisting. Needs of Love, Affection and Belongingness were met as each group member had a specific role and responsibility. Esteem needs were not met because the teacher did not give much praise to pupils.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

 

What do you understand by a 'self-actualizing person'?

In my view, I would say a self-actualizing person is a person who is content in life. It is a person who is fully motivated and his words and actions motivates others. A self actualized person is a well educated person who has grown up in perfect conditions allowing all needs; physical, emotional and psychological, to be met. This person would be wise and had life experience. They will have high self esteem and be very successful.

‘educators should respond to the potential an individual has for growing into a self-actualizing person (Simons et al., 1987)’

I totally agree with this statement. Education has a very big influence on the sort of person one might become. Therefore educaters should respond to pupil needs ad provide an environment that allows individuals to flurish into the sort of person they could become. Although I would say that this is not only the responsibility of educators; parents, society and the individual should all work collectively.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in my Classroom

Maslow's five levels of need are met in my own classroom, our school is a very caring school that caters to the individual needs to students, although there are hindrances to achieving the higher levels of this hierarchy as the class sizes are very small and there is not much competition therefore the students settle for mediocre standards this could be overcome by arranging visits to other schools so students are able to see the other standards of work and achievement. Another problem is that we allow pupils who speak little English into the school, they are hindered because all lessons are taught in English, they often feel unmotivated as they don’t understand their lessons. A way to deal with this would be to have intensive English courses when non English speaking students enter the school, they should also have an ESL support teacher who will shadow them and explain things in more detail.

How useful do you find his analysis?

Maslow’s analysis is helpful, he has documented the main categories in which a person needs to become a contented adult. It helps identify which needs are most important and those which are less important. He gives 10 useful points that help educators enable students to fulfill these needs and become well rounded individuals, although they simple state what educators 'should do' not 'how', so his 10 points can be open to interpretation as to how an educator fulfills each need. I can identify theses needs in myself and others and understand how to fulfill these needs in others. On the other hand the analysis does not take into account other factors, other than society, which could stop a person becoming self actualized. It is very black and white. In an ideal world this analysis would be very effective but every person is different and has different needs, therefore I believe this analysis is useful as a base theory but needs rendering when dealing with different students of different ages, from different backgrounds and cultures.

My Own Learning

1. How did you learn?

I have learnt to use a number of computer graphic design and editing programs at University.

When did you learn best?

I am a kinesthetic and visual learner, I learnt best by seeing and doing. I would have to shown examples and try it for myself. I was much better at project work rather than being tested.

What prevented you from learning?

I was prevented from learning if I had distracting class mates or my teacher failed to enforce discipline in class. I also learnt best when I respected and liked my teacher.

What motivated you to learn?

My motivation to learn was achieving successful grades so I could later go to University and get a good job. I was also motivated by inspiring teachers.

How did this vary, depending on time, place and teacher?

This motivation changed when I was at University as I had other distractions. The course I did was unorganized and I disliked the tutors.

Why Are Learning Theories Important?

Teaching priorities right now:

• Coping with workload
• Personal survival
• Classroom management
• Being liked
• Being regarded as a 'real teacher'
• Creating a professional image

My priorities as a teacher at the moment are to prepare students to pass the IGCSE exams. A lot of pupils are at a very low standard when compared externally. It is also a priority to motivate students and get them to take priority for themselves. Another  priority is planning of lessons to make sure work is relevant to the curriculum and pupils enjoy lessons. Being the ESL coordinator I have a priority to bring students level of English to a better standard. It is another priority to introduce new ideas to the school, as it is still a new school there is a chance for experimental change – for example D of E and Work Experience. I do regard learning theories as a priority but have not yet applied any.

Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivation

Here are 8 ways in which I motivate my pupils:

PRAISE (Extrinsic)

REWARDS (Extrinsic)

SET INDIVIDUAL AIMS (Intrinsic)

CREATE A POSITIVE CLASSROOM ETHOS (Extrinsic)

USE POSITIVE EMOTIONS (Extrinsic)

GIVE TASKS THAT ARE ACHIEVABLE BUT CHALLENGING (Intrinsic)

BE ENERGETC (Extrinsic)

BUILD QUALITY RELATIONSHIPS (Extrinsic)

Intrinsic Motivation

Intrinsic means internal or inside of yourself. When you are intrinsically motivated, you enjoy an activity, course or skill development solely for the satisfaction of learning and having fun, and you are determined to strive inwardly in order to be competent. There is not external inducement when intrinsic motivation is the key to behavior or outcome.

 

Extrinsic Motivation

Extrinsic means external or outside of yourself. This type of motivation is everywhere and frequently used within society throughout your lifetime. When you are motivated to behave, achieve, learn or do based on a highly regarded outcome, rather than for the fun, development or learning provided within an experience, you are being extrinsically motivated.

Pupil Grouping and the Learning Environment

Another influential factor in determining the character of the classroom ethos is the way in which pupils are grouped, both within the classroom and within the school more generally.

Peter Kutnick and his colleagues report on the findings of an extensive research study of the prevalence and impact of different kinds of pupil grouping in primary and secondary classrooms in England. The report indicates that there is no evidence to support the view that any particular grouping strategies lead to significant improvements in attainment. It is then suggested that there is only 'limited evidence that pupils or teachers had received training or support to work effectively within their classroom groups.'
(Kutnick et al., 2006: 7).

http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~ttzelrn/contexts/unit3/documents/kutnick_et_al.pdf

Interviewing 2 Teachers

I interviewed two teachers with differing approaches to pupil grouping. My questions were base on the findings in Kutnick et al.’s report

Here are the summaries of my findings:

The first teacher I interviewed is an art teacher. She said that she prefers to put the chatty students with the less chatty. She separates the badly behaved students but sometimes has a problem with those pupils shouting to each other across the room which disturbs the whole class. Her classes are mostly projects so the students work individually, but when they are working together she mixes the genders. She groups the pupils according to skill and interests and the groups are usually 4 or 5 students. To cater for children with specific education needs she monitors and pays special attention to those pupils. She finds that grouping the pupils in mixed ability encourages them top teach each other.

I then interviewed a teacher who teaches Business Studies and Maths. She found that the groupings changed in each subject because Business Studies is more discussion orientated. She too puts the students in groups of mixed gender and ability and finds that the pupils will assist struggling students. She give each group a score and reflects on this score every month, then she changes the group accordingly. She lets students choose their own groups.

My Preferred Approach

My own preferred approach to pupil grouping in the classroom is to have students of mixed ability and mixed gender sat together in groups no larger than 4.  Although I like to vary the groups. Particularly in ESL where I usually start off as 1 big group, break students into smaller groups and then into pairs – this depends on the activities. I always make sure the groups are mixed by gender and ability by regularly getting pupils to swap with each other. This creates a stimulating environment because when a higher level ability student works with weaker students they can teach and encourage those weaker students although at times the pupils with higher ability might overpower the struggling students, or the weaker students may not contribute as much. Another reason is that some pupils don’t like working together so if groups are consistently changed it is fairer for everyone.

When I teach Global Perspectives I group students with mixed ability and it is hoped that every group will be at the same level of achievement. I separate the students who are badly behaved because when these students are grouped together they can be very disruptive to the class. As there are only 2 girls, I group them together as they give each other support and confidence making a safe learning environment in a male orientated classroom. When it comes to the externally marked projects I will let students choose their own group – this involves them in the decision making, but if a group is formed which I feel could not preform to the best of its ability I will advise the pupils against it.

Our school is too small to have any sets, but if it was big enough I would group pupils in a mixed tutor group which would be together for most subjects. This would create unity and companionship amongst the class. I would then group them in ability, for subjects like Maths,  Languages and sciences as I find that pupils with a lower ability can slow down the progress of these particular subjects. A different pace  and quantity of material covered is needed for each ability hence the introduction of the ‘extended’ curriculum in Cambridge IGCSE. I would make 3 different sets for ESL – beginner, intermediate and advanced because it is very difficult to prepare a lesson which meets the needs of a number of different students with a variety of English ability levels and it is not as productive or stimulating for the pupils. There would only be 1 set of mixed ability for Global Perspectives. 

Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning

'Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning' (SEAL) is a comprehensive approach to the promotion of social and emotional skills in the classroom, introduced in England and Wales beginning with the Primary National Strategy in 2005. The aim of the approach is to help to promote positive behaviour and effective learning.

http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~ttzelrn/contexts/unit3/documents/seal_guidance.pdf

Social and emotional aspects of learning, such as self awareness, managing feelings, motivation, empathy and social skills are considered to be important in the SEAL approach because Social, emotional and behavioural skills underlie almost every aspect of school, home and community life, including
effective learning and getting on with other people. They are fundamental to school improvement. Where children have good skills in these areas, and are educated within an environment supportive to emotional
health and well-being, they will be motivated to, and
equipped to:

• be effective and successful learners;
• make and sustain friendships;
• deal with and resolve conflict effectively and fairly;
• solve problems with others or by themselves;
• manage strong feelings such as frustration, anger and anxiety;
• be able to promote calm and optimistic states that promote the achievement of goals;
• recover from setbacks and persist in the face of difficulties;
• work and play cooperatively;
• compete fairly and win and lose with dignity and respect for competitors;
• recognise and stand up for their rights and the rights of others;
• understand and value the differences and commonalities between people, respecting the right of others to have beliefs and values different from their own.

These approaches have been used in my school for the Primary where it is incorporated to other subjects. It is adopted to such an extent that our school has a theme of the month dealing with various social and emotional issues. Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) has been introduced to our secondary where we have one 80 minute lesson a week. It has not yet been incorporated into other subjects, teachers are free to do so but I have seen no evidence of it.

Secondary teachers could make the most of SEAL resources in creating a positive classroom ethos in the following ways:

 As communicative discussion activities in ESL lessons – the material can be used to prompt discussions and introduce students to new vocabulary 

Revision techniques– Students can be taught various ways of dealing with stress and anxiety whilst preparing for exams.

Empowering pupils - This might be in a situation where there is an argument or disagreement between friends. If all students are educated with SEAL resources they will be able to deal with these problems without having to involve the teacher.

As a warmer – confidence and self esteem activities could be used as warmers to energise students and therefore make them more motivated.

SEAL has its critics and sceptics, some of whom see it as a further – and in many ways unhelpful - extension of what is claimed to be a wider 'therapy culture'. A recent book review in The Daily Telegraph expands on some of the concerns.

Creating a positive classroom ethos

This is advice from Scotland (The Highland Council, 2010) on creating a positive classroom ethos.

In my opinion, what educators mean by ethos is the way in which students, teachers, parents and any other school staff behave and treat each other in order to make a positive learning environment for all involved.

It is important because if students and teachers have negative thoughts, lack of motivation and low self esteem the learning and teaching can not be utilised to its maximum benefit. Feelings of  being inadequate and having low self esteem can have a damaging effect on a school and classrooms because pupils feel discouraged and don’t want to learn.

The whole school ethos impacts the classroom because feelings are infectious. If all school staff feel confident, have a sense of place and well being they will lead by example creating comfortable classrooms for students with positive attitudes. A whole school ethos is a set of rules which create boundaries for every one so negative behaviour can be irradiated.

The following link is a blog about classroom displays:

http://usefulwiki.com/displays/

The value and purpose of classroom display in contributing to a stimulating and safe learning environment is huge.

Students are able to use them as a learning resource, to celebrate achievement, to celebrate diversity, to promote a sense of community and belonging, to improve the environment, to provide information and to prompt feedback. Classroom displays give students more purpose to the work they are doing and they are able to compete to get ‘that space on the wall’.

Wall displays and seating arrangements have an impact on the quality of classroom learning because children are affected by their surrounding environment.  Classroom displays provide stimulation for children and can be used as a resource. Seating arrangements have an effect on how much information pupils are absorbing.

A minimalist approaches could be effective because it creates a calm, neutral environment for pupils to learn in. They are less likely to day dream or lose concentration. It is especially useful for students who have special needs because over stimulation can be damaging to them?

I think that wall displays could have a different effect according to the age range of the pupils. Younger children who have shorter concentration spans and learn easily by observation could be stimulated by lots of wall displays where as older pupils may find it to be a distraction.

Here is a list of what I consider to be five important factors in creating a positive classroom ethos:

Classroom displays – A happy medium, not too much and not too little. The pupils should contribute to the displays.

Seating arrangements – Seating arrangements should be flexible so they can be moved at any time for different activities. I think students should sit on ‘island’ tables so they can discuss and confer. All pupils must be facing the teacher.

A good relationship with the teacher – The teacher must have a good relationship with the students and vice versa so students feel relaxed and confident.

Classroom contracts – It is beneficial for pupils to be involved in the decision making process and they have a clear idea of what is expected of the teacher and themselves. It is mutually agreeable.

Clean and tidy organised rooms – Clutter and mess can be very distracting for the teacher and students so it is best that the classroom is clean, tidy and well organise for accessing computers, books and other materials.

The Ethics of Classroom Observation

In the following quotation from an article about the ethics of classroom observation, Barnard suggests that it would be ethical for the process of observation to be mutually beneficial both for observer and observed:

Observers need to advise teachers of their intentions in a timely and sensitive manner in order to gain their willing participation. It is also important to take steps to make observation useful to both parties. For example, providing feedback to the teachers can be mutually beneficial. Indeed, it is essential for quality-control purposes, for otherwise the process is one-sided and quite unjust. Student teachers will often find teachers and students very happy to discuss their observations. Because good classroom observation is a mirror of professional practice, experienced teachers will wish to reflect upon their own teaching and learning situation as seen through fresh eyes. 
(Barnard, 1998: 53)

Here are my five proposed key guidelines for ethical classroom observation:

1) All parties;  including the teacher, observer, students, and school board must be informed of the observation within 1 week of the observation taking place

2) Any information obtained must not be used for any malicious reasons and should be used in the best interest of all parties involved, any loose talk should be avoided.

3) All parties must give consent if the information is to be used externally for the viewing of any parties not involved and participants should feel free to withdraw their consent at any time and for any reason.Those being observed should remain anonymous

4) Constructive feedback must be provided by the observer orally and in written format.

5) Participation should be voluntary

The Value of Observation

Carefully guided classroom observation can be invaluable in helping teachers at all stages of their careers to improve their practice. For you, such observation could take several forms:

• By you of other teachers

• By other teachers of you

• By you of you - via video

Both structured and open-ended observation are effective. One is more specific than the other and this can be both an advantage and disadvantage. The advantages of structured as opposed to open-ended classroom observation are the observer has a specific aim to which he/she is observing. The observer will have all plans and materials prepared and the observer will have a clear idea as to what he/she is watching for. The disadvantages are the students may act in a different way rather than naturally if they know they are being observed. The observation might be too narrow if a specific area of research has been established.

Rafi.ki

http://www.rafi.ki/site/

Linking your classroom to the world.

Rafi.ki is a secure online learning community that lets your pupils talk to schools all over the world.

Rafi.ki features:

• In the atlas area, pupils can safely publish information about themselves
• Lesson ideas can be shared in the resources area
• In the school yard, pupils can chat to each other across the planet and make contributions to an online newspaper
• The projects section stores curriculum-driven projects from particular countries which teachers in other countries are free to use and adapt
• In the communicate section, pupils and teachers can talk to each other across the world through email, video-conferencing, and instant messaging
• The staff room is an area where teachers can share resources and best practice, supporting and advising each other

The two areas I explored were the communicative section and the resource area. This website will be very useful for me. Particularly for the Global Perspectives Subject that I teach. This subject requires students to correspond with other schools to work together and gain different view points in projects. The resource area has lots of material that I would use and I would like to upload materials for others. It would also be helpful for me to contact teachers from around the world who teach the same subjects as me and perhaps collaborate. It will also be very helpful in my ESL classes for pupils to get a pen friend so they can write letters and practice written English. I think there will be more incentive for pupils to try harder and take more pride in their work if it can be uploaded and shared with other schools who are free to comment or criticise.

The British Council World Class

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldclass/getstarted/

The British Council offers a range of funded opportunities for professional development and links with schools around the world. It manages the Global Gateway website on behalf of the Department for Education, which provides support and information for schools looking to develop international partnerships, including a partner-finding database and international resources for the classroom.

The advantages of online collaboration with a partner school somewhere else in the world are:

• Different perspectives on a variety of subjects
• The ability to share recourses
• Share ideas and techniques with other schools
• Share experiences with other teachers
• develop a global dimension in the curriculum.

The benefits for pupils are:

• being able to share information
• pupils can select a pen friend to practice letter writing in ESL
• pupils get a different perspectives from different schools in different countries
• pupils learn correspondence techniques

The benefits to my own personal development are:

• I will gain knowledge through advice and collaboration
• I can discover different teaching methods which work in other countries
• I can discuss any issues with non- biased teachers from other schools
• I can get support from experienced teachers

Improving Approaches

After watching the 3 programmes, it is my opinion that in Indonesia improvements could be made to exercise programs, vocational education and performing arts.

Indonesia should encourage children to do exercise before school to focus children and expand their concentration spans. Classrooms are very crowded here, so perhaps smaller class sizes will be beneficial to allow students to move more freely and teachers can introduce more active learning activities. This country should include teachings of the importance of exercise and a healthy lifestyle in the Physical Exercise curriculum because children here spend way too much time playing computer games or staying inside air conditioned houses, this could lead to serious health problems in the future. Heat is a major factor in children not wanting to exercise outside so schools should lead by example designing indoor air conditioned sports facilities. Swimming pools could be utilised much more and swimming should be made a priority. School hours could be made longer so children can incorporate more sports activities. To increase children's competitive and team spirit Saturday sports game fixtures should be mandatory.

Vocational education in Indonesia should enable students to do an apprenticeship or a work experience placement, this would dramatically improve this countries employment and widen children's horizons when looking for a career. An improvement would be the placement of a careers advisor in each school who could offer career guidance, they would teach students and put into practice skills necessary to survive in different work environments. In many schools here they have various food vendors which sell lunch and snacks to students, schools could allow students to set up their own canteen or a similar business, the implementation of a school business in each school could give students practical business education, team work skills, confidence and encourage them to think for themselves.

Being in Asia, drama is not seen as an important subject, I would like to see more teaching of the cultural importance and history of the performing arts in Indonesia and think that schools should teach puppetry and various traditional Indonesian dances, this could be incorporated into the 'Indonesian' and 'History' curriculum. As they do in Cuba, students could teach other students what they have learnt so students gain leadership qualities as well as being creative.

Differences between the English Educational System and JIMS

Both English schools and my school use the British system of GCSE and A Level for secondary. The main differences would be the number of students. In my school there is a total of 40 students in our secondary school so some classes are very small, the smallest being 3 students and the largest being 14. Being an International School some students are from Indonesia and the others from many different countries (mostly Asian). Some are good at English whereas a handful have very limited English. Apart from my English as a Second Language lessons, students are all combined into the same classes, with no special needs support for those who don't speak English. Students are from very wealthy backgrounds who are used to being looked after by maids, or driven around by drivers; this makes them a bit disorganised and they are used to being 'spoon fed'.

The school I teach in does not have the same strict rules as I remember British school having and there is a lot more freedom for the students, this makes it hard to enforce discipline.

The curriculum's are very similar, although we offer fewer subjects; 7 in total. We are a new school that is still growing and therefore the school is still 'testing the water', for example, last year was the first year students took their iGCSE and A Level exams and now there is talk of the school switching to the International Baccalaureate system.

Other than that, we have many resources available and our school strives to be as similar to the British system as possible.

Four go to Kenya

This documentary showed 4 teachers from England going to Kenya to teach.

The main problems faced by the teachers were:

- Mixed ages – because in Kenya if you don’t pass the exam you have to stay at school and as a result there are 20 year olds in the same class as 16 year olds.

- Mostly writing – the students were taught parrot fashion, meaning they were read information whilst they copied it down.

- Too much content – there is too much to cover in the Kenyan syllabus and therefore no time for teachers to use creative activities to enforce learning.

- Teaching styles – because the students were used to 1 particular style of teaching they did not react well to anything different and could not apply themselves fully.

'There was lots of teaching but not much learning .... We want assertive and confident people'

I totally agree with this statement. I do not think students can learn by just writing and being read to. There was no investigative learning enabling students to think for themselves and use research skills. The students were too placid, they were not keen to try different techniques and ask questions. If a student is assertive and confident they are more likely to ask questions and talk to there peers (on task) making learning for in depth and rewarding for the teacher and student.

The difficulties involved in transferring teaching techniques from one teaching culture to another is that students from different countries are brought up in different ways and as a result have different mannerisms, personalities and learning styles. For example, a debating activity in England would end up very heated with the teacher most likely having to step in so the lesson can progress, where as in Indonesia they end up agreeing with each other and it all a bit too pleasant.

Another aspect might be class size, in Indonesian schools there can be up to 40 students in one class, so classroom management will have to be different from teaching a class that is smaller. Also syllabuses might be different, so even if you are teaching in a way that is engaging students it might not be teaching them the techniques to pass exams. 

Students may not react well to a change of technique, they may be so used to learning in a particular way that no other way works for them. 

White’s Curriculum Aims

His explanation is expressed around the headings of personal fulfilment, social and civic involvement, contribution to the economy and practical wisdom.

The sort of people I want the education system to produce are well rounded adults. They need to the skills necessary for careers, family, social situations and be able to deal with difficult situations effectively. Students should have empathy for others and have a understanding of who they are. This gives them  confidence and ability to accept others for who they are. They must be organised, know how to study and work in a team. They should have an awareness of people and the world around them, how their actions affect others and vice versa. Students should have an awareness of health and diet and the risks of drug taking, alcohol and smoking; but they should still have the freedom to choose to partake or not. They should know the value of relationships; family, friendships and sexual. They should be aware of different cultures and religions. It is also important that they have a good knowledge of history and how past events have effected who we are today. But most importantly they have to be free thinkers who believe in the equality and wellbeing of themselves and others. Students should be able to pursue careers in their choice with the necessary writing, reading and IT skills. They should be able to use a wide range of multi media but also understand the importance of it and the rate at which it changes.

Overall Curriculum Aims

We want all young people to have a successful life. This means success in worthwhile activities and relationships which they have freely engaged in and which they pursue wholeheartedly.                                                                                      (White, 2007: 26)

Personal self-fulfilment is very important as an educational aim. Students should feel they have achieved something relevant to their needs in the future. This means that they have to be challenged by the curriculum because if it is to easy they will not feel as if they have achieved much. The curriculum must cater for every aspect of the students needs, not just a qualification. They should feel they have gained life skills and have become a well rounded person.

Students should feel they have developed relationships with friends, adults and members of the opposite sex. They should understand who they are and how others view them. It is important that they experience a wide range of emotions which may be inherited through life learning. If a student can show empathy for and feel confidence when interacting with others they will have a solid foundation for future work, academic, family and social life.

Wholeheartedness is extremely important for the school, teacher and students. Everyone has to be enthusiastic and sincere when adapting and fulfilling a curriculum for it to be effective. If there is any lack of motivation this feeling will spread to everyone involved making learning a challenging task.

So what counts as worthwhile? I would view the worthwhile activities as thouse which benefit the students and relate to their interest. The activities and relationships they engage in must be healthy and cater for the students wants. For example, there is no need trying to encourage a student who is an artist to pursue activities in Chemistry. Students should find there own vocation and explore the skills necessary to be successful, this will also provide scope for relationships with peers who have the same interest.  The activities and relationships should encourage enthusiasm for individual investigative learning which will last for a lifetime.

What should the education system aim to achieve?

http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=2348252

What Schools Are For and Why by John White

Personal fulfilment

Experience many absorbing activities

Engage in close relationships

Live a healthy life and understand what makes for this

Make competent decisions in relation to managing money

Social and civic involvement

Communicate with other people appropriately

Play is a helpful part in the life of the school and community

Critically assess the role of the media

Reflect on human nature, its commonality and diversity Contribution to the economy

Work collaboratively in the production of goods or services for the school or community

Be aware of the rights of workers and employers

Critically examine how wealth is created and distributed

Be aware of the impact of science, technology and global markets on work prospects

Practical wisdom

Sensibly manage desires

Learn to cope with setback, change of circumstance and uncertainty

Resist pressure from peer groups, authority figures and the media

Strike a sensible balance between risk-taking and caution

White’s view is that schools should be inculcating knowledge relevant to modern society, such as the ability to live healthily, to manage money and to find fulfilment.

I very much agree with Whites view on what education should aim to achieve. I think schools should offer a range of subjects suitable to students needs, abilities and learning styles. I think that schools should offer a range of subject in different areas  such as languages, humanities, arts, technical and vocational.  Students  should be able to choose more than one subject but it should be mandatory that they choose at least one in each area. Subjects such as English, Maths, Science should also be compulsory. Extra curricular subjects should be offered in the form of afterschool activities so students can put extra time into subjects they enjoy and will most likely utilise in later life. It is important that students have a wide range of choices and feel like they are part of the decision making process when mapping out their education, this is more realistic to real life, makes them more motivated and keen to learnt.

From my experience of school, we were offered a range of subjects at A Level but these subjects were ore academically related rather than relevant to modern society. This was great for students who would go on to Oxford or Cambridge but for students like myself I felt disillusioned about what path I could take to a career. Not any of the subjects offered were vocational. I wanted to study Information Technology and went to great lengths to arrange lessons with a college outside of school but in the end my proposal was denied. In the end I was lucky enough to be offered subjects which were mostly project based which suited my learning needs, but I still wonder I my life would be different if i was allowed to do the IT A Level.

It is important that children have skills necessary for life such as managing money, socialising, showing empathy to others and  decision making. This should be achieved through the community of the school. A school must give students the opportunity to prepare for future life by immersing them in real life activities such as work experience, expeditions, social events; possibly  let the students plan these events themselves. Studies should be related to real life situations. Teachers must also take the time to find out what is happening in their students life so they do not create a barrier between adults and students, schools must be able to cater to their needs and students will therefore relate to teachers and view school as a place which understands them and their needs. A place that will prepare them for everyday situations which we encounter as adults. 

All school staff must lead by example with the hope that students will follow. As teachers we must prepare students for real life situations; mentally, physically, emotionally and socially. Schools should make students aware of themselves and the world around them. We should teach the importance of  money management and practical wisdom and we must create an environment for students to explore who they are and develop the necessary skills; career, family and socially related,  in later life.

The Hidden Curriculum

Issues in the study of curriculum in the context of lifelong learning

The Hidden Curriculum is for students  to learn to conform not just to the formal rules of the school but also to the informal rules, beliefs and attitudes perpetuated through the school's processes of socialisation.

For example, schools may encourage students to compete or collaborate, to refrain from bullying, to value order, formal knowledge or common sense.

The intended hidden curriculum comprises those things that are not part of the formal curriculum but which teachers actively and consciously pursue as learning goals for their students.

There is a further hidden curriculum which is not consciously intended by teachers, and indeed may run counter to either or both of the intended hidden curricula. An example is of primary school teachers who tell pupils that it is important to work hard and concentrate but, in practice, value flair and natural ability more highly.

So this leads me to consider the following:

Is the hidden curriculum necessarily harmful?

In my opinion I do not think it is harmful if used correctly. From my experience I find the students that excel are those that have the organisational skills necessary to be prepared for classes. This will include the ability to meet deadlines, note take and store all hand outs in a safe place. I constantly try to enforce this so students can keep track of what they are learning and can always refer back to the material if they do not understand a given task. Another important part of the hidden curricula which I try to teach is study skills. The students must know how to study but first of all they have to know what type of learner they are so I always encourage them to investigate this and to use what works for them.

I have seen first hand students fail because the hidden curriculum has not been taught. An example of this is two boys in our year 12 who failed all of their AS Level exams. I believe that the reason for this was because school rules were not enforced for these boys. These boys did not value order. They were able to miss school, sometimes for weeks at a time. They never got involved socially and emotionally within the school and because the school rules were so relaxed they had the freedom to procrastinate. Another downfall was the fact that their were only two boys in that year, so they therefore had no competition, another downfall of my school which tries to ‘mother’ pupils to much rather than give a realistic view of the real world.

This mothering instinct is at the other end the spectrum of the hidden curriculum, teaching the children that it is ok to fail as long as they try hard. This is the damaging aspect of it. I have also witnessed this. Although teaching the skills of empathy, understanding, social skills are very important, they are not as important as teaching students value of order, respect and study skills necessary to gain qualifications, the other skills can taught at home and socially so parents and teachers must work together to provide children with the positive aspects of the hidden curriculum.

Deschooling Society

Many students, especially those who are poor, intuitively know what the schools do for them. They school them to confuse process and substance. Once these become blurred, a new logic is assumed: the more treatment there is, the better are the results; or, escalation leads to success. The pupil is thereby "schooled" to confuse teaching with learning, grade advancement with education, a diploma with competence, and fluency with the ability to say something new. His imagination is "schooled" to accept service in place of value. Medical treatment is mistaken for health care, social work for the improvement of community life, police protection for safety, military poise for national security, the rat race for productive work. Health, learning, dignity, independence, and creative endeavour are defined as little more than the performance of the institutions which claim to serve these ends, and their improvement is made to depend on allocating more resources to the management of hospitals, schools, and other agencies in question.
(Deschooloing Socity, Illich, 1971: 1)

Ivan Illichthat argues that there was a 'hidden curriculum' in Western education that indoctrinated pupils, smothered creativity, induced conformity and encouraged an acceptance of the 'status quo'.

This view is very similar to Pete Seeger's in the song ‘What did you Learn in School Today’ posted in my previous post. I agree that both of them had a realistic view of schools during that era but I think that was because their was not as many job choices back then. Jobs were more vocational and I believe the schools were only preparing children for these vocational jobs. With the inventions of new technology and changing times perhaps the schools became out-dated and these hidden curriculums no longer suited the needs of children.

I think that for a hidden curriculum to work in a school it has to suit the needs of the children and be more realistic.  It would work by issuing a code of conduct that outlines the rules and regulations of the school, but these rules have to be realistic and there has to be a reason that represents the best needs of staff and students. The hidden curriculum would have to be lead by example, so teachers or older year students must abide to it and put it to good practice which will then make the students follow. Certain topics can be interlinked with subjects, for example; an ESL lesson on cyber bullying. A school must have an ethos or adapt a motto in which it outlines how students are expected to behave. In an effort not to hinder any flair and creativeness by making students work harder and concentrate a range of subjects and classroom activities must be offered in order for the students to apply each skill effectively and in the right situation.

Teachers and schools might exercise a constructive control over both positive and negative features of the intended and unintended hidden curriculum by educating all staff on the matter and holding regular meetings to discuss any issues or new opportunities. Schools can also introduce different themes to each month such as empathy, confidence, stress; the teachers will then teach these aspects of the hidden curriculum through regular class activities.  A code of conduct must constantly adapt to changing times and student needs. Anti bullying campaigns should be introduced and the school must adapt pastoral care lessons where a tutor mentors a group of students in physical, emotional and health education. This tutor can be the go to person when students are having difficulties or if students are not conforming to the ethos of the school. These tutors should also be in contact with parents to maintain the same hidden curriculum out of school hours, which also gives scope into controlling the effectiveness f the efforts made.

Changing Curriculum Principles

What did you learn in school today?

 

I have very vague memories of the curriculum I followed when I was at primary school because I moved to lots of different schools in many different countries. The work I remembered that made the biggest impact was project work. For every topic we covered we had a project which really made me think for myself and learn in a more creative way. I still have some of those projects stored away at home in England which really hammers home the idea that if you, as a teacher, make the extra effort, these learning tools can turn into future nostalgia. If I compare my primary education to the primary education at my school I can see a lot of similarities, for example; no testing and learning through inquiry, although through my experience and observation of primary children at my school, I am not convinced that this is an effective method and believe that a happy medium of teacher led learning with testing and student led research learning in best. Not just one or the other.

When I moved to Secondary School I followed the GCSE  and A Level Cambridge system, similar to what my students are studying today. In total I did 10 GCSE’s and 3 A Levels. The aims of my school curriculums were to teach the topics in the syllabus and the exam skills necessary to get satisfactory grades at GCSE and A level. Each subject was different and I really responded well to subjects which included hands on activities, group work and project based assignments. The curriculums at my school gave students the freedom to pick subjects which were more suited to them, for example, you wouldn’t find mathematicians doing the arty subjects. The curriculum mostly stuck to the national standards and I did not get the impression that ideas were expanded on in a more in depth manner. Teachers had the freedom, in some subjects, to choose which set texts or topics would be covered but it would have been more effective if the students were involved in this decision process.

All in all the aims of the secondary curriculums were met and were very effective. Perhaps going more into depth would have confused me as a student and knowing enough to pass was enough. I don’t think y Primary curriculums were effective but this is most likely because of the instability of going to 4 different schools.

The curriculum I followed in Secondary is very similar to the curriculum I teach now with the overall aim of covering the course curriculum. I try to incorporate imaginative and innovative ideas to deliver the topics I cover and unlike the school I went to, I avoid using one core text, instead I try to incorporate a variety of multi media, magazines, newspapers, class outings and lots of various books to convey the units of study the IGCSE course requires. I try to involve my students as much as I can giving them various web links to the curriculum or summary hand outs so they have a clear and concise expectation and overview. This was a major difference with my education, I as a student, was never involved in the planning process..