Cognitive – knowledge gain
Psychomotor – skill development
Affective – attitude formation.
Research and evidence has proven that no single theory can cover all aspects of learning (Hartley 1984). Classical and operant conditioning stress the importance of immediate feedback in learning to maintain a positive attitude to learning. However, Cognitive and the domains of learning, enable clients to develop problem solving skills and the underpinning knowledge of theory and skills. Each theory has pros and cons, determining which theory relates to your personal situation, will assist in effective learning.
Designing an appropriate teaching plan is quite a complex area of teaching. There are two important factors to be considered in order to implement effective teaching: does the plan fit the purpose and are the student’s abilities taken into consideration. Furthermore, for these plans to be effective teachers have to utilise a variety of methods. These methods generally fall into two categories: teacher centered and student centered.
The teacher-centered method is usually instructive in its implementation and this will have an uncertain degree of effectiveness. Therefore student-centered methods will have to be used in conjunction with teacher-centered methods. With the Tuesday group in mind the teacher-centered method has to be observed. However this method alone would not be totally appropriate, although it can be adapted to a particular group of students. Nevertheless if this method were used throughout the lesson plan, the students would soon lose interest and lose concentration.
During the course of the lesson other teacher-centered methods can be implemented with this group such as question and answer sessions and discussions on the subject matter. These alternatives can be used to gage the understanding of the subject you are teaching. The effectiveness soon becomes apparent if nobody answers a question or opens up a discussion, you have either a group very shy of students or the alternative is that learning outcome is unattainable that it requires a change of direction.
Therefore the teacher-centered method will be used in conjunction with Student centered methods. The first ten-minute of every lesson would be used to outline the aims and learning outcomes, this should be done to avoid confusion later on. This also enables the student to know what they are aiming to achieve at the end of the lesson. A further ten-minute’s is used in order to establish prior knowledge of the subject matter involved in the lesson. This is both useful to the teacher and the student, as the teacher can encourage the student’s to make the subject matter their own and therefore personalise the learning outcome, which is a positive approach to teaching the subject in hand.
Considering the preferred learning styles of the individuals it is very important to use Blooms Taxonomy to signify and determine the level of learning to take place as OCR wants the students to learn the basic information about employment. Although, it is apparent that students do suffer in my group from low concentration and unable to retain information for long periods. It is recommended that why I have varied teaching techniques that will make the session more interactive for students.
One of the sessions was based on Customer Service (see Appendix 1) encouraging students to participate in a role-play to demonstrate how to provide a good customer service. Majority of the students were hesitant to take part because they did not like to be observed by their peers. This would have been ideal for students to demonstrate by recollecting their own personal experiences as customers. However, this did not meet their needs and besides the content of learning required by OCR I reverted to my original plan that was to describe the scenario to the learners and then split them into two groups and get them to write in ways they could have improved the customer’s experience. Although the learning outcome had been achieved the whole reaction signified that learners need constant motivation to increase their confidence.
Collaborative Learning
The concept of collaborative learning, the grouping and pairing of students for the purpose of achieving an academic goal has been widely researched and advocated throughout the professional literature. The term "collaborative learning" refers to an instruction method in which students at various performance levels work together in small groups toward a common goal. The students are responsible for one another's learning as well as their own. Thus, the success of one student helps other students to be successful.
Proponents of collaborative learning claim that the active exchange of ideas within small groups not only increases interest among the participants but also promotes critical thinking. According to Johnson and Johnson (1986), there is persuasive evidence that cooperative teams achieve at higher levels of thought and retain information longer than students who work quietly as individuals. The shared learning gives students an opportunity to engage in discussion, take responsibility for their own learning, and thus become critical thinkers (Totten, Sills, Digby & Russ, 1991).
In spite of these advantages, most of the research studies on collaborative learning have been done at the primary and secondary levels. As yet, there is little empirical evidence on its effectiveness at the college level. However, the need for non-competitive, collaborative group work is emphasised in much of the higher education literature. Also, majority of the research in collaborative learning has been done in non-technical disciplines.
When implementing collaborative learning, the first step is to clearly specify the academic task. Next, the collaborative learning structure needs to be explained to the students. Instructions sheet that points out the key elements of the collaborative process preferably distributed. As part of the instructions, students are encouraged to discuss "why" they thought as they did regarding solutions to the problems. They were also instructed to listen carefully to comments of each member of the group and be willing to reconsider their own judgments and opinions. As experience reveals, group decision- making can easily be dominated by the loudest voice or by the student who talks the longest. Hence, it was insisted that every group member must be given an opportunity to contribute his or her ideas. After that the group will arrive at a solution.
Groups can be formed using self- selection, random assignment, or criterion- based selection. According to Rau and Heyl (1990), smaller groups (of three) contain less diversity; and may lack divergent thinking styles and varied expertise that help to animate collective decision-making. Conversely, in larger groups it is difficult to ensure that all members participate.
According to Vygotsky, (1978), students are capable of performing at higher intellectual levels when asked to work in collaborative situations than when asked to work individually. Group diversity in terms of knowledge and experience contributes positively to the learning process. Bruner (1985) contends that cooperative learning methods improve problem- solving strategies because the students are confronted with different interpretations of the given situation. The peer support system makes it possible for the learner to internalise both external knowledge and critical thinking skills and to convert them into tools for intellectual functioning.
Classroom Management
A classroom that has effective management is an essential skill that will have to master in the beginning years of my teaching career. To be effective I will need to focus on positive not the negative, have time management, and will engage the students in the lessons and activities.
Management needs to focus on the positive and not the negative. Positive language and encouragement keeps the student involved and wanting to learn more. The positive language that I will use as a teacher let’s the students know that I am approachable. This will encourage students to come to me when problems arise; whether it is an academic or disciplinary actions including controlling a bully, someone being picked on, or a personal problem. This will help build a supportive climate to help prevent discipline and learning problems.
Building a supportive climate as a teacher will need time management. A teacher’s time is precious, whether it is with planning lessons or spending some extra time with another student. Having a well-planned lesson that flow throughout the day will help to manage time in a stressful situation and will be able to see if more time needs to be spent on explaining or more time with activity time. Spending time with each student to show that teacher’s do understand where they are coming from will help the students build bridges in entrusting their teacher.
With a well-planned lesson a teacher needs to show their interest in the lesson. If I manage my enthusiasm, by showing my true passions and not being excited over every little thing students will become engaged in the lesson will encourage learning. A teacher needs to have different ways to engage students through activities, hands on and off, through verbal and nonverbal stimulation. This way the students will understand exactly how the teacher wants them to behave. The students will know through experience and by knowing the rules of the classroom. Another good way to keep good management is to maintain eye contact with the students to keep their attention.
Teachers will deal with problems by using nonverbal communication such as a touch on the shoulder to calm a student down. Speaking to students with soft and slow tone will gain students attention. Using humor to laugh off a minor incident instead of making a big deal of it, when a student has thrown a paper airplane, teachers may reply with “Buddy I’ll bet the Air Force could use you to help design airplane, now let’s get back to work.” Dealing with unacceptable behavior will require appropriate punishment for the discipline.
Conclusion
The successes of these lesson plans are yet to be determined. However, hopefully all areas will have been covered, styles, methods and strategies must be implemented all at once in order to achieve the outcome required to make it a success for the students and the teacher.
Classroom Management has so many aspects, a teacher needs to be well organized to deal with time management, a well planned out lesson, and encourage the class that learning is fun and teaches everybody so much. I know that some aspects of my management will change as the time and my experience as teacher grows. I want my management to encourage and let students know that I want them to succeed.
Bibliography
Bruner, J. (1985). Vygotsky: An historical and conceptual perspective. Culture, communication, and cognition: Vygotskian perspectives, 21-34. London: Cambridge University Press.
Hartley, B. (1984) What is Conditioning? Journal of Psychology. 1(11) 567-588.
Johnson, R. T., & Johnson, D. W. (1986). Action research: Cooperative learning in the science classroom. Science and Children, 24, 31-32.
Rau, W. & Heyl, B. S. (1990). Humanising the college classroom: Collaborative learning and social organization among students. Teaching Sociology, 18, 141-155.
Totten, S., Sills, T., Digby, A., & Russ, P. (1991). Cooperative learning: A guide to research. New York: Garland.
Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
