Independent study
Context:
Leitch Review of Skills report sets the ambitious vision for UK to become world leader in skills by 2020.The report identifies that UK has serious social disparities with high levels of child poverty, poor employment rates for the disadvantaged, regional disparities and relatively high-income inequality. Improving our skill levels can address all of these problems.(Leitch Final Report P6, 7).
The review identifies that there are strong links between educational attainment of parents and their children; that means the children of those who have not attained highly at high school are less likely to do well. This makes a cycle of disadvantage that locks generations of the same family into persistent poverty. This cycle needs to be broken to raise aspirations and also ensuring that adults have real and effective second chance to improve their skills. There are also unequal distribution of skills between groups of people more that 40 percent working age Asian or Asian British hold low or no qualification compared with 31 percent of white population (Leitch Final Report, P109). The report recommends that aspiration should be raised backed by action in communities increasing appetite and opportunity to improve skills.
Ensure people can afford to learn providing financial support to those who need it most. Most importantly learning must be tailored to meet individual learning needs (Leitch Final Report P110, 111).
Introduction:
This report forms the assessment of the module EMOU05 'Independent Study'. This involves a case study of a particular learner 'Sania' who is my student at the Sandwell College Birmingham. In this case study I have identified the learning needs of Sania and I have made some recommendations to improve her and other learners' learning experience at Sandwell College.
.1 Why the learner was chosen?
Sania is a 19-year-old student in the ESOL (IT). She is studying for Entry Level 2 qualification. Sania was chosen to be the subject of this case study for a number of reasons. I wanted to choose a student who was sufficiently articulate to go beyond the surface when it came to asking often probing questions about them. Sania is an Asian girl of Pakistani origin that forms a large proportion of the college community and I made her my subject of study as she could represent this large community.
.2 Learner's Consent:
Before starting my research I had obtained Sania's consent to make her subject of my study. She was more than happy to be involved in this piece of research as she thought it would be beneficial for her and the rest of her community. She is a polite, well mannered and an enthusiastic young girl who has good potential for the future.
3. The Learner's needs
It is essential to plan an effective teaching programme to meet the individual needs of each student and it is therefore necessary to ascertain a lot of information about the students such as their learning needs, learning styles, background, previous learning and experience, motivation, attitude, aims, skills and barriers to learning etc.
It is vital to be aware of possible barriers to learning when planning activities for the students; take into consideration the disability of individual students and be particularly sensitive to student fatigue, self-confidence and self-esteem. Petty has identified that ...
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3. The Learner's needs
It is essential to plan an effective teaching programme to meet the individual needs of each student and it is therefore necessary to ascertain a lot of information about the students such as their learning needs, learning styles, background, previous learning and experience, motivation, attitude, aims, skills and barriers to learning etc.
It is vital to be aware of possible barriers to learning when planning activities for the students; take into consideration the disability of individual students and be particularly sensitive to student fatigue, self-confidence and self-esteem. Petty has identified that depression and anxieties are some of the factors that tend to demotivate students. (Petty G, 2001) It is critical to be aware of the diversity of cultures, religion and races and gender not only in order to adapt materials to make them relevant to students experiences but as potential barriers to learning.
In this case it has been identified that Sania being a Muslim woman feels more comfortable working in a group comprised of female students. It was also observed that she is reluctant to make any contributions to the class discussions. However I sometimes specifically ask her to contribute to the class discussion, as it is vital that all students feel they have a valuable contribution to make to the class, as this is a factor in increasing motivation. (Petty G, 2001)
Another essential factor crucial to the learning process is the analysis of the learning styles of our students. It is therefore extremely crucial that a learning style analysis of all students is carried out in order to adapt resources to meet learners needs and to use a variety of teaching methods and techniques to keep students interested and motivated. (Minton 1997). A recommended learning styles analysis is the 'Barsh Learning Style Inventory', which analyses students' learning styles by asking a variety of questions. It is then possible to identify the learning styles of students and plan lessons accordingly. I ascertained the learning styles of my students by using the college approved learning styles questionnaire. This was far simpler than the Barsh questionnaire and far more suitable for my students for many of whom English is a second language. There is a variety of learning styles in the class. Some students find it easier to remember information presented visually, others orally, and yet others prefer hands on experience. From my analysis Sania has a mixture of visual and kinaesthetic learning preferences with the predominant learning style being the visual one. As Petty says " a teacher can only suit all learning styles by using a good mix of teaching methods"(Petty 2001 p124). It is most essential to undertake the learning styles analysis so we don't fall into the trap of teaching in the way that we like to learn and thus not meeting the learning needs of our students.
In order to adapt teaching to specific learners, a teacher needs to be sensitive to what individuals bring to the class (Minton 1997, p107). Students have individual needs; abilities and motivation differ with age, culture and family background (Armitage et. al 1999, p50).
2. Methods of gathering information
From the above we have perceived the importance of compiling a range of information about our students. One method used to collect this information is the initial assessment. Initial assessment is a formative type of assessment (Reece and Walker 2000, p410). The purpose of the assessment is to find out as much as possible about the student so that we can create a teaching situation where each student will be able to learn effectively; to enable us to put the student in the correct learning environment and to set goals and targets. It can be very demotivating for students if their work is not set at the right level and if they are not given attainable targets to achieve. (Petty 2001 p 50)
In general, information is collected from the completed enrolment forms as well as gathered at the initial assessment. I have also used observation, individual tutorial, as well as discussion, questioning and analysis of learning styles questionnaires to develop the ILPs, lesson plans and the scheme of work. As Danes and Graham has stated, the needs, aspirations and expectations of every individual in the group should be taken into account to facilitate appropriate learning methods and to "determine the appropriate concepts, knowledge, procedures and skills" in which students should engage. (Danes J, Graham B,1996, p6)
3. Responding to Sania's Needs:
I have developed an Individual Learning Plan for Sania after the information on Sania has been collected. It details her aspirations and personal goals, identifying her areas of strengths, weaknesses and desired learning experiences. Sania is a student from Pakistan but has been in England for over 3 years. She is enthusiastic and extremely keen on her studies. She works hard and is keen to do extension exercises. However, it is noted that she learns at a slower pace and needs more repetition. I have suggested that she revises her work prior to the lesson and given her suggestions on organising her folder. Additionally I usually start my lessons with a revision of the previous lesson often in the form of brainstorm and also aim to end the session with a review of the lesson, sometimes in the form of a quiz. This repetition reinforces the learning of the student. "Learning needs to be reinforced by recall and practice" (Petty 2001, p23).
It was identified during an individual tutorial that Sania has found the sessions on 'word processing' more interesting than the ones on 'spreadsheets' as she is not really good at basic maths. We have recently discussed this and agreed that she could do some more word-processing exercises, as she is particularly interested in this topic whilst she can take extra homework for developing her numeric skills. Once she has gained an appropriate knowledge of basic maths, she can start practicing the spreadsheets exercises. This was also set as her target to be achieved by December 07.
During an individual tutorial we discussed what she hopes to achieves from the course and she was able to identify her limitations and targets which corresponded to the targets from the diagnostic testing such as being able to use keyboard and mouse correctly. Her learning style is a combination of visual and kinaesthetic so she enjoys typing and worksheets. Giving her a range of learning materials that she finds interesting will encourage and motivate her whereas if she is forced to focus on a topic in which she is not interested she may become demotivate and leave the programme. Thus involving her in the learning process, getting feedback about her interests and needs is crucial to the learning process. This is a fundamental principle that applies to all learners. Interesting material that they can identify and relate to plus a variety of teaching aids and involvement in the learning process are all fundamental principles that aid good practice. I also intend to encourage all of my learners to become independent learners and to assume some responsibility for setting their own targets and assessing their own progress. As Petty said learners learn best when they are involved in the learning process. (Petty g, 2001)
Through discussion it was discovered that Sania feels more comfortable working in a group comprised of female students. She is also shy to make contributions to the group discussions. I believe that there is an issue of self-confidence in her. However majority of my class appears reasonably confident. It is important that I try to praise her for any appropriate work that she produces and on attaining any targets set. During an individual session with her I offered encouragement and support. I believe praising students for their work is a good way of showing recognition, aiding motivation and giving feedback to students. Petty (2001) also suggests when personal targets are achieved there should be plenty of recognition and praise (Petty G, 2001).
By observation and talking with Sania I have discovered that she is motivated to study and that in spite of having to make quite a journey to the college, difficulties at home and financial problems she continues to struggle to attend his course. Difficulties at home often mean problems with attendance and punctuality. Her mother has recently died compounding the problems at home but she has continued to come in although her punctuality is a problem. One has to understand in view of her bereaved situation I referred her to student guidance to see if she can get financial help and she is now in the process of trying to sort out this matter. The importance of being aware of students' personal difficulties and problems are highlighted by this case. Help can be offered to meet individual needs if one is aware of the problems. As theorists have expounded, students will not be able to learn effectively if their basic needs are not met.
It is important that students are given a good induction to the college so that they are aware of what facilities and support is available.
Conclusion
In summary, it is crucially important to identify the factors that may demotivate learners such as emotional and personal problems and to try to find ways to overcome these barriers to learning by being sensitive and understanding. Using a range of teaching methods to make the lesson interesting, and to appeal to students of all learning styles, abilities and disabilities is also fundamental to the learning process. The importance of recognising the varying abilities and motivation between students; individual differences, cultural differences, gender differences, background differences etc cannot be understated. A teacher can then adapt their material to make it relevant, to stretch the most able, to support the least able and students with disabilities.
I try to incorporate all of these elements in my practice.
References
Armitage A, 1999. Teaching and Training in Post- Compulsory Education. OUP
Curzon L B,1997. Teaching in Further Education: 4th Edition, Cassell
Danes J & C, Graham B, 1996. Adult Learning, Adult Teaching: 3rd edition, Lavenham Press
Minton D, 2000. Teaching skills in Further and Adult Education. rev edition Thompson
Petty G 2001.Teaching Today: A Practical Guide. 2nd edition Nelson Thornes
Reece I and Walker S, 2000. Teaching Training and Learning: A Practical Guide, Business Education Publishers Ltd
Leitch Review of Skills, Final Report December 2006
