Research Articles Base: Teaching Plan

Develop a Teaching Plan

Develop a Teaching Plan

Develop a teaching plan including: Justify the model of teaching/learning utilized in the teaching plan. Develop a rationale, objective a...

Why you Opt to Take a Degree in Teaching

Why Opt to Take a Degree in Teaching?                 This paper discusses why you should decide on taking a degree in teaching. An introduction provides the reader sufficient background on the topic and it is where the major points on the reasons on pursuing a degree on education is presented. The personal and professional benefits of the said degree are also included, together with the possible plans for you to utilize what you have learned in the program. As a closing, a conclusion paragraph is presented summarizing the thesis and its main points. Introduction             A lot of challenges arise in the selection of one’s career path. In spite of this, it is also exciting since there are many things to be considered before making your final decision on the said matter. The career that you should be taking by now will define what you will be in the future. Since what you are considering here is not just a short time, but also a lasting career for your whole lifetime.             A self-assessment will help you know yourself better. Your interests and talents are a good place to start your self-assessment. You might consider asking yourself: Do I have a love for (continuous) learning? Do I enjoy being with children? Do I like the feeling of being smarter than others, even if the “others” are younger than I am (mostly below 8 years old or above, it depends)? Do I receive unlimited satisfaction from helping others learn new things? Do I enjoy challenges and ever-changing opportunities? If you have answered all or most of these questions with a yes, then teaching might be the one for you.             Challenges for you are exciting, and the rewards of it are priceless.  A simple smile from the face of a young boy as a sign of his realization that he can now read are only a few of the numerous accomplishments in life teaching can give you. Therefore, if you want to be one of the inspirations of our future musicians, mathematicians, scientists, and other future professionals of the next generation, consider the profession of teaching. Teaching as a Noble Profession             One of the noblest professions is the teaching career. Parents will be entrusting you with their children for almost eight hours a day. In other words, it is your duty to make them smart. You should be able to mold them into responsible human beings that will not shoot other people. As you slowly recall your past teachers from elementary up to the last time of your student days, you will soon realize that being a good teacher is not that easy as you think. It takes a lot of work, sacrifices, patience and dedication. The only thing that is truly rewarding is that you really can create a positive impact on your community, if you have done an excellent job. Being a teacher is a wonderful responsibility.             However, the pursuance of a degree in teaching should not be taken for granted. Your reasons on why you want to be in the field of teaching should always be with a purpose. Still, for you to have a purpose, you should have a better and definite view of the nature of your job, the challenges and difficulties that come along with it. You should be ready to face these challenges. Think of it like there is no turning back. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Why you Opt to Take a Degree in Teaching

Why Opt to Take a Degree in Teaching? This paper discusses why you should decide on taking a degree in teaching. An int...

Teaching Report

Teaching Diaries Report   Brief Resume of the Alpha to Omega Programmed             The said programmed was a one hour weekly lesson. It is said to be a multi-sensory method of teaching. It incorporates reading, writing, and spelling as an integrated programmed.             At the start of stage one, children like Jo would benefit from the lessons of sequencing, short vowels hard and soft ‘c’ and ‘g’ and wall words, along with the revision of more complex patterns such as consonant blends, vowel digraphs and homophones. Over learning and repetition dealing with grammatical structures are also included in the programmed. To establish rapid recognition of words of sounds, letters, and spelling patterns, dictation is used in isolation and in context. Other activities are included to backed-up the core activities, such as games, worksheets, flashcards, and others.             The need of visual discrimination exercises are addressed to solved the difficulty with regards to the b/d directionality. An example is the cut-out letters of ‘b’ and ‘d’ out of sandpaper. This will help in the improvement of the child’s skill in rapid and accurate visual discrimination, including the correct recognition of words when reading, and to recall while spelling.              color blocks are also utilized to assist in the development of visual sequential memory. This is to answer the child’s weakness in recalling words. The exercises expand to cover auditory sequential memory in the latter part of the programmed. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Teaching Report

Teaching Diaries Report Brief Resume of the Alpha to Omega Programmed The said programmed was a one hour weekly lesson. ...

Sample Essay Why Opt To Take A Degree In Teaching

Why Opt to Take a Degree in Teaching?                 This paper discusses why you should decide on taking a degree in teaching. An introduction provides the reader sufficient background on the topic and it is where the major points on the reasons on pursuing a degree on education is presented. The personal and professional benefits of the said degree are also included, together with the possible plans for you to utilize what you have learned in the program. As a closing, a conclusion paragraph is presented summarizing the thesis and its main points. Introduction             A lot of challenges arise in the selection of one’s career path. In spite of this, it is also exciting since there are many things to be considered before making your final decision on the said matter. The career that you should be taking by now will define what you will be in the future. Since what you are considering here is not just a short time, but also a lasting career for your whole lifetime.             A self-assessment will help you know yourself better. Your interests and talents are a good place to start your self-assessment. You might consider asking yourself: Do I have a love for (continuous) learning? Do I enjoy being with children? Do I like the feeling of being smarter than others, even if the “others” are younger than I am (mostly below 8 years old or above, it depends)? Do I receive unlimited satisfaction from helping others learn new things? Do I enjoy challenges and ever-changing opportunities? If you have answered all or most of these questions with a yes, then teaching might be the one for you.             Challenges for you are exciting, and the rewards of it are priceless.  A simple smile from the face of a young boy as a sign of his realization that he can now read are only a few of the numerous accomplishments in life teaching can give you. Therefore, if you want to be one of the inspirations of our future musicians, mathematicians, scientists, and other future professionals of the next generation, consider the profession of teaching. Teaching as a Noble Profession             One of the noblest professions is the teaching career. Parents will be entrusting you with their children for almost eight hours a day. In other words, it is your duty to make them smart. You should be able to mold them into responsible human beings that will not shoot other people. As you slowly recall your past teachers from elementary up to the last time of your student days, you will soon realize that being a good teacher is not that easy as you think. It takes a lot of work, sacrifices, patience and dedication. The only thing that is truly rewarding is that you really can create a positive impact on your community, if you have done an excellent job. Being a teacher is a wonderful responsibility.             However, the pursuance of a degree in teaching should not be taken for granted. Your reasons on why you want to be in the field of teaching should always be with a purpose. Still, for you to have a purpose, you should have a better and definite view of the nature of your job, the challenges and difficulties that come along with it. You should be ready to face these challenges. Think of it like there is no turning back.             Then from here, you can now base your purpose. Good purposes are said to be specific and personally meaningful. They represent your own bedrock convictions, things that you will never compromise. They are your deep abiding beliefs that may be buried within you for most of your life. You just barely know its existence. They affect the way you value some things over the other, unconsciously. In other words, they are considered personal to each individual.             Teaching is a job that if you let it, can take more out of you than gets put back in. As we all know, the benefits of the teacher nowadays seems to be low and they deserve more considering the sacrifices and dedication they put on their profession. Even if the demands of the job are not always equal to the rewards you are going to get, this should not be a reason for you to be less effective or worse, totally ineffective. Instead, you should be thinking the other way around, getting something back even more than what you put in. In this way, you are discovering your own purpose in teaching that goes beyond just doing your job.             Teaching is an interesting and challenging profession. It is not for the meek or faint of heart. With it come great challenges, opportunities and big responsibilities. You can choose from a number of alternatives. First, if you have the love or passion being with little kids, you can choose to teach young children in pre-school up to the elementary grades. However, if you opt to be with a little bit more mature children, you can work with middle and high school students. You can even specialize in different fields like arts, sciences, math, or technology education. You can also teach at a technical college or university level. Moreover if you still want a more challenging one, you can also work with special children. It includes cases like physically, emotionally or intellectually challenged children. You can act as a teacher, guidance counselor, psychologist, physical or occupational therapist, or as a social worker.             Teaching is a demanding, yet rewarding profession. It takes your heart and passion to be an effective teacher to your students. They all depend on you. That is why it is not enough for you to have good purposes for teaching. You should also make those purposes come alive by letting them influence what you do and the way of your teaching.   The Benefits of a Teaching Career Personal Benefits             Nothing can be compared to the joy brought about by a simple smile from the face of a little boy, from his delight that he can now read and enjoy reading fairytale books by himself. Knowing that you have imparted some of your knowledge to other people, especially the young ones, bring good feelings in our heart. Through the simple ABCs he uttered, the simple arithmetic he can now solve and the progress he undergoes are proofs in it. From there, we know that are sacrifices are now bearing its fruits and that we have completed a job well done. The best thing about being a teacher is simply the pure joy of working with kids. If you really work with your students, they can also mold you into being a great teacher.             Aside from the said benefits, we can also consider other things as benefits of being in the field of teaching. One thing is the massive summer vacation. Another is the fact that there is no teaching during weekends and holidays. In addition, there is the feeling of superiority over them, you feel smarter even if you are far older than they are.  There is the feeling of self-fulfillment, a feeling that you have made a difference. It is worth the sacrifices especially if you can now see your former students to be professionals already, successful in their respective chosen careers. Isn’t that fulfilling that it even brings tears to our eyes brought by the happiness? Professional Benefits             Education degrees can prepare you to work in any of the various areas inside the field of education. Whatever your interest may be, be it in early childhood education, adult education, distance learning, or anything in between, there are education degree programs out there according to your specific training needs. These educational degrees are available in all levels. There are those for associate and bachelor’s level, as well as those for the advanced degree level. They can be found in different communities around the country. Due to the increased technology nowadays, there are also existing programs online. There is now the possibility of earning valuable degree programs from anyplace of your choice, in the country, without compromising the quality of education.             For the individuals who earn education degrees, there exist a lot of opportunities for you upon graduation. Possible career paths include teaching in public and private schools, teaching adults in post-secondary settings, working as a school administrator or counselor, working in education policy, or taking a number of career paths in related fields, such as designing corporate training programs.             In choosing this career path, you can also have additional opportunities in exercising your talents. You can act as a coach or an adviser to extra-curricular activities from groups like foreign language clubs. You can also use your leadership skills to mentor other teachers, on leading curriculum design teams or pursue building and district leadership options as a principal or superintendent. They can also use their leadership talents in advocating for others through the involvement in the teachers’ union, professional associations and community organizations.             If these selections are still not enough for you, do not worry because teacher’s skills are transferable to other professions. Government, as well as the business-and-industry employers preferred hiring teachers due to their ability to work and communicate effectively with people. These abilities, together with other abilities on planning, organizing and acting as inspirations, make them even more attractive as employees. Although great teachers are badly needed to be in the classrooms, choosing this career path gives you a wide range of options aside from being in the classroom.                  The benefits stated above are considered as non-monetary. Aside from those, being in the field of teaching entitles you also to certain monetary benefits. According to the National Education Association, the national average salary of a teacher for the years 2000-2001 was ,335. You can even earn as high as ,281 (in New Jersey) or as low as ,265 (in South Dakota). Starting pay ranges from ,126 to ,601.             Aside from this, other benefits include health insurance, sick leave and dental coverage, depending on the agreement. Other contracts may even include long-term disability insurance, life insurance, emergency or personal leave and investment options. You might also receive private scholarships and federal funding for teaching programs, as well as funding for teaching supplies. There are also available retirement benefits for those who dedicated most of their time to the teaching profession. For the present teachers, there are employee assistance programs for them in cases of emergencies and times of financial crisis. Membership to some unions is also required. They also assist its members in times of difficult situations.  Conclusion             Teaching is one of the noblest professions existing in this world. We should be thinking of teaching like this. When you teach an adult, you are going to the bank of a river. Any attempt on either widening it a little or narrowing it a little, you are making a little change in the river. However, it already got the direction. When you work with little streams, a small change in direction makes a small exposure to something new. The whole course of the future river changes for good or for bad. It is exciting to work with little streams. They admit their need on learning things. They hunger for knowledge. They even got excited when they learn something new. They actually squeal when they are happy.             The teacher is the hope of the land. He must be a person that can be counted upon when others have left. He is a shoulder, a heart, and a mind rolled into one. This is what makes the difference between a teacher and a government official. To the teacher, work comes in first, last, and in between.             Teaching, like learning, requires the engagement of the whole person: hand and eye, mind and heart. It is not a job for the second-rate or the uncommitted. It is a job for high achievers. Teachers are mothers, philosophers, police officers, doctors, nurses, counselors. You have to be prepared to take on those roles, to handle them and to go about the job of teaching.             Despite these difficulties, many teachers survive; even thrive, in today’s complicated educational milieu. The key to their success, according to teachers already in the field, are professional dedication and perseverance. Another key is that good teachers enjoy transferable skills that can give them valuable career flexibility and mobility.             To be in the field of teaching requires dedication and perseverance. Therefore, teaching profession should not be taken for granted. You should always see to it that through teaching, you are sharing or imparting some of your knowledge to your students. They can apply this knowledge in their course of life. Your main reason for taking up an education degree should be because of a good, personal purpose. However, having a purpose is not enough. These purposes should serve as a guide and influence on the way of your teaching and all of your actions. Therefore, for most (effective) teachers, they value teaching not because of its benefits (monetary, etc.) to them, but simply because of their self-fulfillment in this field, the way they are able to share in the role of molding the youth, the future of the next generation.      Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Sample Essay Why Opt To Take A Degree In Teaching

Why Opt to Take a Degree in Teaching? This paper discusses why you should decide on taking a degree in teaching. An intro...

A Research Paper on Standardized Tests and Assessments for Students

ANNOTATED TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR YEAREND ASSESSMENT PORTFOLIO       INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES                 The class observed is a sixth grade English class with twenty-three students.  Among the twenty three students, nine are bilingual in Spanish and English.               The English course content comprises of different components of English learning from reading, grammar, vocabulary, and spelling.  The students are expected to participate in class discussions and recitations as well as pass writing exercises, quizzes and midterm and final examinations.  Passing the class would be determined by completion of requirements which might include additional projects or researches.  At the end of the year, the students are expected to acquire fluency in word analysis, vocabulary development, reading comprehension, literary analysis, writing applications and speaking.               The California Academic Content Standards for Grade Six stipulates that students should be able to use their knowledge of word origins, word relationships, and historical and literary context clues in order to come up with coherent, well-organized and effective written and oral presentations (California Department of Education, 2006). STANDARDIZED TESTS AND ASSESSMENTS FOR THE STUDENTS               Standardized tests are constructed to provide accurate information about students’ level of performance (Slavin as cited in Pearson Education, Inc., 2005).  Standardized tests have the following qualities: provide a systematic procedure for describing behaviors, whether in terms of numbers or categories; include specified procedures for administration and scoring; test items are derived from experience; have an established format and set of materials; present the same tasks and require the same response modes from all test takers; and provide table of norms to which scores of test takers can be compared in order to ascertain their relative standing (North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, 2006).              In California, USA, students are required to undergo certain types of standardized examinations that gauge how well students are learning academic skills.  These examinations form the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program.  The STAR Program comprises four parts: California Standards Tests, the California Achievement Test, Sixth Edition, the California Alternate Performance Assessment, and the Spanish Assessment of Basic Education, Second Edition (San Diego City Schools Fact Sheet, 2004).    The students in the class have undergone the California Standard Test, Spanish Assessment of Basic Education, Second Edition (SABE/2) and  the California English Language Development Test (CELDT) as fulfillment of the requirements in the state assessment and accountability system.    CALIFORNIA STANDARDS TESTS - California Standards Tests (CSTs) are a major component of the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program (Standardized Testing and Reporting Program Website, 2006).  The focus of the test that the students have taken were the four arithmetic operations; addition, subtraction, multiplication and division; as well as application of these operations in accurately solving whole numbers, positive fractions, positive decimals, and positive and negative integers. According to Education Data and Partnership (2006) all students in grades 2 to 7 take the same Mathematics test each year which are based on what are taught in class. For science, the Standards Tests are also based on the specific course students take. The options include earth science, biology, chemistry and physics (Education Data Partnership, 2006).  The students in the class are taking up earth science with focus on the earth’s structure, ecological systems and energy through experimentation and investigation.  The California Standard test is a form of achievement test which Slavin cited as a means to measure individual or group achievement in a variety of subject areas (as cited in Pearson Education, Inc., 2005).   SPANISH ASSESSMENT OF BASIC EDUCATION, SECOND EDITION (SABE/2) – According to California law, students who are English learners, have enrolled in California schools for up to twelve months or who are under bi-literacy program must be tested in their original language as well as the Standards test and the CAT/6.  The Spanish Assessment of Basic Education, Second Edition (SABE/2), is a nationally norm-referenced achievement test of basic skills in home language which serves as the reference percentile and compares the student or group to other Spanish-speaking students (Education Data Partnership, 2006).  The test includes Spanish reading, language, and spelling as well Mathematics tests in Spanish (California Department of Education, 2006).  The nine students in the class observed have undergone this test to measure their proficiency in their native language.  Norm-referenced achievement tests are assessments of a student’s knowledge of a particular content area, such as mathematics, reading, or Spanish (Slavin as cited in Pearson Education Inc., 2005).   CALIFORNIA ENGLISH LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT TEST –  California English Language Development Test (CELDT) is a required state test for English language proficiency since 2001 that must be given to students from kindergarten to grade twelve whose primary language is other than English (California Department of Education, 2006).  This test is a requirement for the nine Spanish students in the class in order to gauge their proficiency in English.  The five levels of the CELDT are Beginning, Early Intermediate, Intermediate, Early Advanced and Advanced (California Department of Education, 2006).  Six of the nine Spanish students are included in the Beginning level and are given more attention during the English class.  The teacher constantly gives them short exercises in spelling, word use and word meaning in order to help them improve their knowledge of basic English.  The remaining three are Early Intermediate level students.  They are more skilled than the six students in spelling though difficulty is encountered in the use and meaning of basic English words.  The three students are from Spanish and American parents and are bilingual at home.  The teacher gives them exercises on how to effectively use simple English words in sentences and phrases in order to strengthen their skills.                The teacher has a typical strategy in evaluating the learning process in the classroom.  Feedback system is utilized all the time.  The students are informed of performance results in quizzes, writing exercises, spelling, major exams and homework assignments.  Parents are also encouraged to monitor their children at home and their observations are included in PTA meetings.  There are times when the parents are invited in the school if the child is having severe difficulty which the teacher thinks is a result of both academic and personal factors. The feedback system is used by the teacher because it ensures on-time evaluation and makes it possible for the teacher and student to have face to face dialogues in discussing accomplishments and areas of improvement. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

A Research Paper on Standardized Tests and Assessments for Students

ANNOTATED TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR YEAREND ASSESSMENT PORTFOLIO INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES The class observed is a...

METHODS OF TEACHING

There are numerous methods of teaching that can be used into the curriculum of early childhood (:2001). When it comes to the field of language, literacy and fine arts, each method has an approach of providing the particular need of a learner. Learners do not attain understanding in similar ways, teachers must make an effort to show information utilizing different forms of methods, and they must work to meet the learning styles of all children. To sustain the variety of teaching methods on hand, teachers must make an effort to master the art of asking proper questions. Asking questions can facilitate teachers to make sure that the children comprehend the idea s presented, assess whether the lesson was successful in meeting the acknowledged objectives, and to take students to higher levels of thinking.     As teachers develop lessons plans, they must consider the subject, the audience, and how the material would best be presented and retained. Merely, at hand, the information is not sufficient (:2001). If a preschool teacher wants her children to recognize magnets, for example, the teacher would not only show magnets, he would also give the children a chance to experiment with them. Problem-Solving in Early Childhood Classrooms points out the three key requirements in teaching problem-solving this includes: Time, Space, Materials. Large blocks of time, adequate space, and open-ended materials all work to promote an environment where problem-solving can be developed. In Methods for Teaching: Promoting Student, teachers are persuaded to enhance an individual method of teaching. It is suggested that they execute more than one method be implemented. It would be unreasonable to believe that early childhood teachers should only use one technique of instruction just as it would be absurd to believe all children in the program will learn in the similar approach. By changing the methods utilized to present the materials, teachers can apprehend a wider base of achievement by recognizing and meeting the diverse learning needs of the children in the program.      (2001) provided a remarkably vigorous, realistic, and reader-friendly, introduction to early childhood education. He focuses on the value of play as a teaching method. Play is an assimilation of the world to their ego. Play is behavior in which the external world is completely transformed to coincide with the internal world of the child and involves no accommodation of the child to the external world. Play is the opposite of imitation, which is pure accommodation of the child to the external world.(2002) Play arises in order to reduce the tension caused by yearning which cannot be realized in the child’s world. Play, provides a cathartic function of coping with the realities and frustrations of daily life. Symbolization is the result of a sort of psychosocial accommodation.     ’s definition of play is tied to the intellectual; development of the child He strongly  discussed a child‘s development, as well as sympathetic discussions about guiding young children, working families, and multiplicity will help teachers smooth the progress of all aspects of the 0-to-8-year-old child’s physical, social/emotional, and intellectual growth.               According to  (2001), there are some basic considerations in proving quality learning environment to young children. The most basic consideration is the physical space that varies in group sizes. Compatibility with the different centers and learning areas and personal spaces and planning an indoor conducive to learning environment for young learners is a very complicated process. The teacher should separate active/quiet areas and dry/wet spaces, include areas for different sizes of groups, and evaluate the quality of the physical space.     Students with teacher guidance need to engage in a variety of kinds of thinking. Why? Situations in life demand that each person become proficient in being a good thinker (:2001). For example, all need to become proficient in problem solving since each faces minor and major problems which need to be identified and solved. Beginning with the earliest years of a child’s life then, it is imperative to stress problem solving sequentially as a way  of life.                   References       Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

METHODS OF TEACHING

There are numerous methods of teaching that can be used into the curriculum of early childhood (:2001). When it comes to the field of lan...

SMALL CLASS TEACHING

Need for Small-Class Teaching for Primary and Secondary Schools in Hong Kong             The importance of education cannot be denied as it has a great effect on the future of the people and, most particularly, the country. Indeed, education helps with the outcomes of various situations. The manner in which learning is being enforced in particular areas are thus crucial in determining the results of the education. Being one of the fact-moving areas around the world, Hong Kong also has to focus on determining the needs of the students. Many schools within the area continue to produce class sizes that are mostly considered as large, with around 40 students to one class at a time. There are several disadvantages to such method, one of which is the lack of attention that the teachers may have on each of the student and thus lessening the productivity of the students themselves. The problems that the teacher may earn may also be increased especially with the number of the students that they teach, however, a definite advantage to this is that it allows more students to be instructed, even with mere rudiments of teaching.             Indeed, small-class teaching will surely be helpful for any school. It may improve the methods of learning and the methods of teaching, and may also result to more focused and personalized teaching. It is not needed, surely, but it may be a great improvement. What the schools and the Bureau of Education should question should not, however, be on whether it will be advantageous or not, rather the question should be whether the country can afford it. Such move will require several changes within the education board, not to mention the need to ensure that there is thus also the need to determine if there are enough professionally-trained teachers who will be able to manage personalized focus on the students. In determining this, the focus on whether small-class teaching may be needed can already be studied.             Hong Kong has grown over the years, not only with the economy and the business, but also the population. In the idea of continuing the success of the province, there is the need to provide better education in a smaller time, and such will be achieved through identifying the individual ideas and abilities of the children; these may be done through small-class teaching, which allows the children and the teachers to establish a marker of their success and improvement. As was stated, however, the growth of Hong Kong’s population may render the small-class teaching method as null if there are no teachers to provide.             Instead of focusing on the need of Hong Kong to provide for small-class teaching or with continuing with the current strategy, I propose that the Bureau of Education mostly focus first in providing teachers to every province and every schools—and not merely teachers who have knowledge but the skills to teach their students according to the needs of the business and research establishments. In doing so, then we can talk about the small-class teaching needs of the community. There is the need for more skilled teachers to teach small-class teaching methods to produce the real skills of the students. In this, we will be able to establish a developing Hong Kong and also look forward to a more mature development of the Bureau of Education in the future. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

SMALL CLASS TEACHING

Need for Small-Class Teaching for Primary and Secondary Schools in Hong Kong The importance of education cannot be denied as...

TEACHING

Introduction Some 98 percent of the world’s population is learning English starting from an early age through college.  In Southeast Asia, (1998) classifies English learning students into two categories, being that of collectivism and individualism.  His research revealed that people in East Asian countries have emerged as showing a much stronger collectivist orientation than people in Western countries, therefore, East Asian students, including the Chinese, will have a strong inclination to form in groups which work towards common goals, East Asian students will be reluctant to ‘stand out’ by expressing their views or raising questions in the context of classroom setting, East Asian students will perceive the teacher as an authority figure, and that East Asian students will see knowledge as something to be transmitted by the teacher rather than discovered by the learners ( 1998). Since in the late 1970, there has been an emerging “boom” of learning English in China because of its “open door” policies. At China’s tertiary level, there is indeed a great need for qualified foreign and Chinese English teachers.  Accordingly, the number of English learning students is also increasing, wherein, a percentage of over 90 percent of college students in China are in fact taking English as a compulsory course. At first, China as being known to be strongly attached to its rich culture, showed considerable amount of resistance to the teaching of English, but with the signs indicating that China’s Open Door policy is likely to continue, the Chinese nation now exhibits hunger in the want to learn the English language.              In this paper, it would explore on how English is taught in Chinese schools, specifically in the secondary education.  The four aspects of English competence namely, reading, writing, speaking and listening, are all essential and should be incorporated one aspect at a time to ensure learning English is successful.  Moreover, this paper will discuss the current problems confronting the teachers in teaching the English language and as to how the said problems can be addressed, both for the teachers and the students.  Including a discussion of an English program, named the CLT, to better improve on the learning of English and basically the evolvement of the teaching English language in China as it is already, currently, has been a compulsory subject in the primary education.  Beforehand, in the main part, an overview of the educational reforms and the secondary education has been included to broaden and give the full picture of education in China.     Main Part   Education Reforms in China             One major political movement in China is the Cultural Revolution in 1949 which was considered by the world to be the most extreme radical politics, that has had greatly affects the China’s field of education.  After another political regime, it is evident that reformation in the education is necessary to make the field of education fit in to support both political and economic goals.  Historically, China’s education has been linked to politics, institutionally and philosophically.  In 1905, for instance, the traditional education with it imperial civil service was abolished, thus, a shift from production of scholar class to placing more emphasis to seek of bringing in social change and fostering social cohesion among Chinese.  The Confucian tradition of learning stresses the way in which it emphasizes political and social stability, is governed and guided by two key concepts, the hierarchy and obedience. Chinese children at such a tender age are taught that they are a part of hierarchical structure called family.  As the child grows, the traditional child-rearing practices among Chinese gradually mold their children to be accepting of their positions and must at all times practiced obedience to the elders, authority figures or even to the people with higher positions.  As Chinese children enter school, then came the introduction of social hierarchy, wherein they will be taught how to rightfully and appropriately behave in the society.  It is therefore, the two guiding concepts of Confucianism education spells harmony with the invaluable cultural values that de-stresses the importance of a Chinese individual.  As explained by  (1957), China’s great religion all shared this value encompassing the core of Confucianism.  Further, the ultimate goal of Confucian education, in theory, is the learning of the essential rules of social relationships and ethical codes.  Additionally, in practice, Chinese traditional education was concerned with the preparation and selection of the ruling elite. When the communists took over the power in 1949, the primary objective of education was reformed to be congruent to socialism.  The focus of education by that time is in the generation of ideologically trustworthy and technically competent Chinese to be socialist-minded.  Educational reforms were conducted to consider the complaints made by students from poor peasant and worker families that they had been discriminated against by the bourgeois-oriented educational system ( 1971) had prompted the issuance of a radical decree by Mao in 1966, which seeks the abolishment of the universities entrance examinations in order to give way and chances to the working class students and in the elimination of gaps between Chinese students who came from different background, such that the abolishment would ensure education will be made available and accessible for all.  The middle school graduates were directly suited for jobs, all of which was decided by the pertinent work institutions.  Moreover, with the reformed school curriculum in 1968, it constitutes the following features: (1) it portrayed the systematized theory of teaching and taught concepts in relation to both industrial and agricultural work; (2) the non-admiration and the absence of reward to the students academic excellence in the school; (3) it seeks the combination of field work and classroom learning; (4) the elimination of entrance examination; (5) school graduates were assigned jobs in factories or sent to work on farms, and selected from there to go to universities (Unger, 1984); (6) the cut down of the length of pre-tertiary education from 12 to 10 years (five years for elementary and five years for middle school).  With the implementation of the newly reformed curriculum, the school institution has been bothered and confronted with problems, such that teachers proved to have had a hard time getting students back to schools after the field work and basically in the adjustment of the hectic routine of school life.  In fact, the area of the profession in teaching has been surmounted with demoralization and the reading materials were filled with political jargons.  Worst, is that students were not motivated to learn since it made them feel going to school was useless.  After Mao’s death, the fall of the radical Gang of Four and the cease of the radical Cultural Revolution usher in a moderate political climate and instantly the changes affected colleges and universities. According to  (1977) reports that throughout the country, radical leaders in higher education left their posts, and more moderate administrators and teachers regained their lost positions. China after the emphasis of class struggle now seeks to focus towards economic construction. In 1978, Deng Xiaoping declared that the hastening economic and technical developments would mean rapid improvements in the field of education in terms of quality and efficiency. Similarly,  , the Minister of Education in 1979, stated his arguments saying, it goes without saying that we should earnestly study the experience of foreign countries . . . but to blindly follow the way schools in capitalist countries are run or, as some people have suggested, to let foreigners come and run the schools in our country is obviously not practical and not compatible with China’s specific conditions.  Schools are different from factories . . . In the case of a factory, the equipment and technology, which is classless in nature, can be imported. But schools are part of the superstructure and they should train students, who have a class character, to work wholeheartedly for the cause of socialism. It was in 1981, that English had reclaimed its position as the most important foreign language in China ( 1979).  The constant educational reforms in China supported the aims of breaking the old and establishing the new ones. Culture can be readily broken down into dominant and subordinate culture, as what postmodern theorists would put it.  As for Chinese reformers, their point is in the strengthening and maintaining a socialist society.  To contrast the educational reforms of China and the United States, the educational reform in China was a top-down movement whereas in the United States, it is a bottom-up movement. In conclusion, Chinese education has never been neutral but is more of ideological and political to Chinese educators because the Chinese people believes that part of education’s ideals, entails the embodiment of ideology and is a best, if not a good way to disseminate information to people. Secondary and English Education in China Secondary education is a period in which it is regarded in the world to be the most contemporary educational systems, which proceeds right after the accomplishment of a primary education.  The purpose of having a secondary education is to prepare for either higher education or vocational training. In the Republic of China, that has been heavily influenced from the Japanese system, have a comprehensive education system that has been successful since it can boast several highest test scores in the world, particularly in Math and Science, however, it has also received criticisms for putting extreme pressures to students and overly emphasizing rote memorization.   The secondary education in China has been subdivided into two, the junior high school and the senior high school.  Junior high school, as the last half of compulsory education, comprises grades 7 through 9 in which its driven by a single goal of passing and scoring high in the national senior high school exam prior to be eligible to reach the other half of secondary education which is senior high school.  Subjects that are included in junior high school are English, literature, mathematics, biology, physics, chemistry, and the like.  Consequently, intense pressure from teachers and parent are being imposed to students.  More or less, after taking the national exam for senior high school, 94.7 percent is shown to have continued their education either to be a senior high or in vocational schools.  Senior high school, on the other hand, spans grades 10 through 12, after have had reached the goal of passing in the national exam for senior high, the main goal of senior high school students, is to pass and even score highly on the national university entrance exams in preparation to have a college education.  By the end of their third year, passing the national university entrance examinations will be the ultimate test for senior high school students in the hope of pursuing school and have a shot to earn a college degree in a four-year university. As early as 1978, China has adopted the education policy of “nine-year compulsory schooling system”, which implies, according to  (1992), that all children are required to attend school for at least nine years – six years in primary school and three years in junior secondary school. The three core subjects in the curriculum include, Chinese, mathematics, and English.   Usually, Chinese children are taught to learn English when they reach Grade 3 and since then remains as a compulsory subject.  According to  and (2000), there are around 550,000 secondary teachers of English, and millions of students learning English at the secondary level in China. Figures have revealed that 55% junior secondary teachers and 80.4% senior secondary teachers hold a university degree among those in-service teachers. In 1999, confronted with the inadequate capability of English Chinese teachers, the Ministry of Education formulated an action plan called the “Gardner Project” ( 1999) to revitalize the China’s education approaching the 21st century.  Several goals are associated in the Gardner Project, among which are to increase the abilities and skills of teachers, expand the English knowledge, fostering of lifelong learning and enhancement of teacher’s overall qualifications.  Figure 1, illustrates the classroom activities of English Chinese teachers in the practice of teaching English.   Figure 1.                Source:   (1) The current practical problems about English learning and teaching in Chinese secondary schools (esp. the teaching to the tests) and the causes.             (2003) detailed that to implements to the spread of English, he argues that “if China [is] to prosper in the Globalization Age, English Education will have to reform so that learners can use the language in a more authentic way.” Particularly, the Chinese Ministry of Education’s protocol for Extensive Reading classes which instructs teachers to direct students in understanding English speaking countries’ society, culture, politics, economy, history, geography, traditions, and customs, life-styles and other such knowledge in a context detailing the failure of the system to achieve those goals ( 2003). Consequently, the Teaching English in China journal ( 2003) suggests that teachers should preside over student-centered classes rather the traditional teacher-centered class combined with the creation of an atmospheres that is harmonious and encourage students to participate more in class, which is presumably, in turn, is said to produce students who are willing and able to speak English fluently.  The English teaching in China started with the focus on grammar-translation method and the placed emphasis on the focus in English written examination scores.  Although Chinese students have learned significant amounts of grammar and memorized many English words, the problem with gauging the students in terms of how well they learn English through written examinations, seemingly does not imply that it had equipped Chinese students the wholeness of learning English but it only equipped students in the writing and reading aspect which proves to be still inadequate, such that in real life application of the English language necessitates speaking and being able to averagely converse the use of it.  As what (1978) points out, that an overemphasis on grammar would lead to prevent the learners from developing their communicative competence, inhibiting the student to be well converse in the use of English.  Additionally, (2000) involves an interactive reading process, both the top-down and bottom-up processing, should occur at the same time. Chinese students in the reading and writing aspect of English learning may not pose problems since to a great extent it is being taught rigidly.  The style of teaching the English language, in terms of reading and writing, is not considered unnecessary for both aspects are basics in English teaching, but the problem is said to arise of the fact that it stagnates the level to which English should be taught. A prominent problem in English language lies in the aspects of listening and speaking primarily because little emphasis has been placed to these aspects.  Perhaps, one of the basic reasons why Chinese are less motivated to learn and not be adaptive to English teaching is because frequently, Chinese students inability to understand what is being taught in English listening classes since they cannot grasp the spoken content of the lessons. In listening comprehension, for instance, it undergoes the process of not simply decoding the message; but it also involves the combining of the decoding of the message process with its reconstruction as meaning ( 2002).  As a result, many Chinese students are seen to exhibit lack of confidence in their oral English language capabilities and are oftentimes have self-defeating and defensive attitude towards English learning.  (1972) points out that the root of the problem, the learners’ deficiency in the ability to actually use the language lies in the approach itself.  Similarly, many aspects of language learning can take place only through natural processes, which operate when a person is involved using the language for communication and the learners’ ultimate goal is to communicate with others (1981).             The over reliance on written examination will not suffice the overall dimension of the effectiveness of English education.  Written examination can only measure the student’s English capability when it comes to written English but ignores the pivotal aspect of verbal English, which serves as the real measure of one’s English competence.  As English Chinese teachers continues to emphasize the written examination, Chinese students is likely to focus only in the writing and reading dimensions and may further ignore the importance of speaking and listening aspect of English learning.  The need to reform the method of teaching English should be dealt with to promote the English education in a holistic perspective and better equipped Chinese people to be fluent and proficient in English.   (2) The changes of the attitude about learning English in nowadays China (China’s reform and opening up) and the exploration After having been closed to international intercourse for decades and to the world, in December 1978, China adopted its Open Door policy at the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.  Since then, China is facing enormous alterations, economically, industrially, socially, educationally and politically.  By 2003, China’s school population reached a whopping 185 million. Its development rate in the above areas is phenomenal and has been quoted by experts ( 1998) as second to none in the world over the last ten years. In addition, with the set of enormous changes, China is implementing a New Curriculum in the teaching of English as it turns on its head centuries-old traditional teacher-centered methodologies and requires teachers and students to become more autonomous, creative and personally accountable for learning ( 2002).  This innovation is seen to be one of the greatest educational challenges in the last two decades  (2002) whose principal concern is to help students of English move further from competence to performance.             Prior to 2001, English has not been a compulsory subject in primary schools although English teaching has taken place, in private schools perhaps.  According to  (2001), it has been estimated that 8 million primary schools are studying English in 1998 and the number has been rapidly growing, with increase of one million every year since 1994.  Increasingly, as the new millennium approaches, the Chinese government has shown concerned to upgrade the level of English to all Chinese people.  5 years ago, in 2001, as mandated by the Chinese government, English has become a compulsory subject, starting in the cities and then to the towns and villages ( 2001).  With the move initiated by the Chinese government to include English as a compulsory subject in the primary education, automatically confirms the desire of the change in attitude of China.  China encompasses a huge number of population, with the fact that they seek economic reforms and thrive to be competent (as Chinese are always are) economically which they can use it to their advantage.  Seeing the need to be competent, especially in the business, they must come to terms in being able to learn and speak English well, since English is being considered to be the universal language.  As China continue to brace themselves to the challenges in the economic arena together with the growing number of Chinese people that are slowly getting fluent in English, it is no doubt that China will no longer be the land of the sleeping giants.   (3) Seek for the well desired English learning programs to help the students not only improve the test scores (esp. for the college entrance examination), but practically improve their abilities and skills in English use in reality. Chinese students’ English learning strategies are primarily composed of the following features: focus on reading and writing; grammar and translation; memorization of vocabulary ( 2002).  However, according to  (2002), the traditional grammar-translation method failed to develop an adequate level of communicative competence (i.e. the ability to use the target language for authentic communication. Along with China’s aim to instill economic stability and promote their capabilities in international and global business arena, it necessitates Chinese people to enhance their communicative competence so as to improve the overall ability of conversing in English.  The goal for the school and the students should not be limited only to the goal to well educate in the written language or getting higher in the examinations but the goals should also be extended in being good at speaking to be able to converse in English well clearly.  One of the English learning program that can provide help and to a great extent can be useful in the improvement of English learning in China is the communicative language teaching (CLT) since it stresses on the aspects that are not of primary focus to Chinese English teachers along with the previous focus on the reading and writing.  The CLT is an innovation and a new trend in English language teaching (ELT) that emerges in Britain in the 1970.  After two decades of introduction in Britain, CLT was introduced to China in the 1990’s, in which it met with considerable resistance ( 2003; , 2003;  2002).  Chinese English teachers, for example, are said to have tried to alter old dominant teaching procedures but quickly get frustrated, lose their initial enthusiasm, and acquiesce to tradition ( 1993).CLT with its introduction to China was viewed into two contradictory folds.  First, that the CLT is said to be not feasible because of China’s very specific conditions and second, that CLT is seen to be the solutions in the education problems that bombarded English learning and that it had suited China’s needs.  However, with the subtle and seemingly rejection of CLT, in 1992, the State Education Development Commission (SEDC), as the official authority who has the power to make educational policy and as the representative of the central government that can determine the goal, curriculum, course books, and even teaching methods in China, introduces a functional syllabus that aims in the communicative teaching of English learning.  The SEDC stated in the new syllabus that English teaching aims are: by training in listening, speaking, reading and writing, to teach students in order to gain basic knowledge of English and competence to use English for communication ( 1992).  Additionally, through the cooperation of British Longman, SEDC was able to publish a new textbook series.  According to  (1993), the highly centralized Chinese system of education subverts the development of more effective methods of teaching English in a number of ways, particularly in the ways foreign language teachers are selected and trained, materials and methods chosen, and programs and teachers are evaluated.  Central to the characteristics of CLT is that almost everything that is done with communicative intent ( 2000). CLT provides opportunities for students to communicate meaningfully in English such that the program provides language learning activities that are organized into disparate contexts and roles while at the same time students are being expected not to use Chinese language during class while the teacher deliberately lessens the giving of corrections of student’s English errors to foster risk-taking, building up of confidence and ensuring language learning. Another feature of CLT is that the activities in the Communicative Approach are carried out oftentimes by students in small groups in the process of encouraging interaction with the incorporation of the English language.  Lastly CLT is a learner-centered and experience-based teaching ( 2002) such that the teachers in CLT class along with the students acts as the managers of learning. In terms of grammar, as it has been said to de-emphasize the writing and reading aspects when adopting CLT, instead the CLT focuses on the learners to discovery of the essence of grammar rather than teachers spoon feeding the grammar learning.   (1992) forwards that while looking explicitly at grammar may not lead immediately to learning, it will facilitate learning at a later stage when the learner is ready (in some way that is not yet understood) to internalize the new information about the language.  Moving on, as the results yielded a positive mark, gradually teachers were inclined to accept the concept of CLT.  According to  (1996), there is now widespread awareness of more communicative approaches, though some eclectic compromise with Chinese approaches to language teaching is appropriate.  By embodying CLT in the English learning, teachers were then able to progressively catch up with the developments and advancements in English teaching methods and triggers a sense of realization for teachers, that teaching English does not only entails teaching only the grammar, but the true mastery of English involves communicative competence.  For students, CLT enables them to more competent in the communication aspect wherein a good level of English aids them considerably as they embark and graduate in college, acquire better jobs (especially in the courses encompassing the business world) and slowly help China to produce citizens with superior level of English language proficiency.   (4) For the teachers, how to help the students to achieve those goals mentioned above through classroom teaching (teaching management) Students learn effectively about language when they take part actively in the communication with language rather than only passively accepting what the teacher said (1996).  (1991) reveals that a language learner can, and must, and take control of his/her own language learning and assume responsibility for his/her success or failure.  First and foremost, since Chinese English teachers are still largely governed by their national ideology and their strong belief, so teachers should realize the need to change their beliefs and attitudes towards English learning.  According to  (2001), teachers have to accommodate new beliefs and see themselves in the new roles being asked of them and this can be very demanding.  The new beliefs and ideas will have to be gradually incorporated into the teachers’ own beliefs structures through continuous practice and reflections so that adjustments can be made in their own thinking ( 1995).  Secondly, granting that teachers have the accommodation of new beliefs, Chinese English teachers needs to acquire new skills and techniques in teaching and in assessment in accordance to the embodiment of fresh concepts in teaching and accordingly to the needs of the student.             In terms of teaching management, Chinese English teachers can adopt the teaching approach of listening-based learning for overall language development.  The pedagogical approach involves the combination of face-to-face teaching and encouragement of students’ autonomous learning, like the students own monitoring and control in their learning progress, choose the area of their learning content and their learning methods.  Through this way, Chinese students partakes an active part in the development and planning of classroom activities, and on one hand, Chinese English teacher task in classroom management lessens, which in turn, expanded the teacher’s role from being the sole distributor of knowledge to a multi-skilled facilitator.  Further, the listening-based learning promotes a less formal communication between the teachers and the students yet more frequent.  Nevertheless, in adopting a new teaching approach in English teaching, it provides flexibility in time arrangements, individualization, the initiative taking encouragement, and act personally for autonomy, altogether, ensures that the needs of the Chinese students are being meet accordingly and adequately can better learn English both verbally and nonverbal.     (5) For the students, how to make their study of English more interesting and efficient             It is evident that Chinese students, as revealed from a certain survey that the students preferred non-communicative activities over that of communicative ones although they liked a variety of class activities. Majority of the students preferred teachers’ grammatical explanations in English mother-tongue-avoidance strategy in class, citing the inadequacy of authentic English context and confidence in inhibiting themselves from participating in communicative activities. Contrary to the revelations of the survey,  (2002) said that Chinese students preferred a combination of communicative and non-communicative activities in class.  Of course, the student’s attitude towards English learning is correlated with how the students perceived their teacher’s attitude towards English learning.  Like if the teacher is in itself not capable of teaching English that can be comprehendible enough for the students or convey the subject matter clearly, students will lose motivation and are likely to be inadequate and incompetent just like the teacher.  It is natural that in China, learners need not urge to use English in their daily life except of course in class. With this trend continuing, English learning tends to be slow. However, Chinese students can make a way to make the study of English be interesting and efficient.  Chinese students should access a convenient and enjoyable English learning environment outside class, wherein it would significantly aid them easily in the development of their communicative competence and compromise on China’s government not able to supply the educational institutions with audio-visual laboratories intended to improve the listening capability (especially in the intonation and diction), computers, and overhead projectors or televisions in the facilitation of dynamic teaching/learning activities to focus on the speaking.  Students need to listen to different levels of English, writing, reading and especially in speaking and listening in order to be exposed themselves with the natural and real life applications of the English language.  It is said that to be able to acquire the English language or any sort of language, the exposure to the said language can equip the students with ample motivation, makes the English learning enjoyable, cultivate their listening interest and is more likely to achieve the goals of grasping the very core of English learning, which includes activities like listening to English songs or watching films with English text.     (6) Conclusions               English learning is now inevitably a part of China’s education system.  As China continually seek to improve English learning, be it through the empowerment of the teachers or the efforts of the government, it is predicted that in the future China will be able to generate English speaking Chinese individuals as it embarks the world scene.                The shift from the traditional teaching of being teacher-centered and the focus in the grammar-translation method to the curriculum now being student-centered and the enhancement of the teaching method to include the overall measure of instilling English competence, will gradually equip Chinese students to learn English the better way and the way it should be.  Moreover, the presence of other English education approaches and alternative means of learning English, particularly the involvement of outside-school English activities, will by all means make English learning more learnable, enjoyable, convenient and easy and can make Chinese people more enthusiastic in English learning.       References:   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

TEACHING

Introduction Some 98 percent of the world’s population is learning English starting from an early age through college. In Southeast Asi...

Teaching Plan Development

Introduction An ideal teaching plan is written as a starting point and statement of intent for the project. At times the planned work will change from week to week and within the workshop sessions themselves. Such changes will occur in response to the creative ideas generated by the children and the resolution of unforeseen practical problems. In order that all involved gain from the experience of working on this project the work has to take place in an environment of creative risk taking. The uncertainty that such an environment generates is reduced by the knowledge that for the duration of the project the children, teachers and artists are co-learners.   The teaching plan will work out as it can be carried out by the teacher student interaction should encourage them to: -       To record from first hand observation in the built environment -       To be aware of the starting point for their ideas and to consider the ways               Teaching Rationale The rationale for the teaching is to basically give the students basic idea of certain communicative skills through speech and to be able to explore certain feelings and themes surrounding classroom events in specific timeframe. The teaching plan is not a perfect educational material, but the plan does provide an example of how to go about structuring students communication skills through effective lesson plans and content is basic and is step by step. Thus, recognizing and application of activity demonstration within students’ mental and physical attributes such as the ability to remember phrases and sentence lines that is required to communicate actors different from themselves Teaching Objectives -       The students will explain how they use their bodies in the speech class in conveying  organized information -       The learners will have to explain when in their daily lives they are using elements of speech for daily interaction -       The students will describe how formal speech class can be utilized in order to express feelings about social happenings     Teaching Strategies and Process -       Begin the class with the students seated at desks. Begin to talk about speech elements, what forms they are familiar with and what sorts of terms are associated in communication speaking -       Ask the students to move the desks back to create working space in the center of the room and later bring them back to circle center -       Then, ask the students to take ample moment to tell the person next to them about their favorite movies or TV shows and then practice coming back together -       Explain what a warm up activity is, and how it helps an actor prepare to move around. Begin the movement activity with students walking around the room silently. -       In pairs, play quick game of mirroring. Students should decide who goes first, and the second person follows the first. After few minutes, switch roles. Finish and circle center, seated -       In the circle, talk about the types of images we might see looking at a typical moment in life. What values can we express with our bodies? What emotions? What attitudes? Working with the team teacher, possibly model some of these. What might an angry person look like? Someone in love?   -       Ask the students to find their own space and then to find a partner. In place, all pairs working simultaneously, have the students begin to form two person tableaus. When forming these, students should think about what each scene means to them -       Now ask the students to break out again and work in the same pairs. This time have one student create a tableau of their own. Their partner creates an image to match the first one, building off of it -       Have everyone relax and bring two volunteers into the center. Ask the rest of the class to mold them into a pair of people at the time of the attack. Student images should relate to the pair around them, so they are adding on to the existing scene -       Creating timeline around the central pair, form other images, some before the attacks and some after move all of the images into one composed image, and give students time to see their work -       Come back to Circle Center; finish with having a game of scenario communication           Reflection and Assessment – linking towards teaching model and its organization influence As the students create images of events the day of the attack, ask them to think of simple repetitious movement they can sustain. Have each group perform these together to create one image. Notice that in such time the students are actually given the chance to work on their own improvisational activities. The speech activity were being effective, giving the students the chance to act, to offer ideas and solutions as well as the chance to watch their classmates. The teaching model are effective tool for providing precise structure pattern of teaching properly as it implies a systematic mode of development in order for the student learners to understand clearly the teaching process being imposed and inculcated by the teacher towards them as the question can be, “Why do some students learn more than other students in classroom and school settings?” and thus, certain reasons can be classified in such categories through the table illustrated below.         Model of the Teaching/Learning Process Context All those factors outside of the classroom that might influence teaching and learning Input Those qualities or characteristics of teachers and students that they bring with them to the classroom experience Classroom Processes Teacher and student behaviors in the classroom as well as some other variables such as classroom climate and teacher/student relationships Output Measures of student learning taken apart from the normal instructional process.   Source: A TRANSACTIONAL MODEL OF THE TEACHING/LEARNING PROCESS: Summary as developed by: W. Huitt First Developed: September 1994 Last modified: May 2003     Moreover, the teaching model can be justifiably understood by the below diagram as there is enough visualization of the teaching process that must serve as the main domain of teaching strategy that work best for the students in class.     Source: A TRANSACTIONAL MODEL OF THE TEACHING/LEARNING PROCESS: Summary as developed by: W. Huitt First Developed: September 1994 Last modified: May 2003   As the important category is output because once that has been defined it impacts the importance of variables in certain categories. For example, if the desired outcome measure is score on a standardized test of basic skills, the instructional method most likely to positively impact that measure is direct or explicit instruction (Cited at, Rosenshine, 1995). However, if the desired outcome is creativity and independence, then open education may be a better alternative (Cited at, Giaconia and Hedges, 1982).   Thus, if better relationships among diverse students are the goal, the cooperative learning would appear to be the better instructional method (Cited at, Slavin, 1995). In addition, McIlrath and Huitt (1995) provide a review of previous models of the teaching/learning process and compare it to this proposed model. If prefer another model, it is certainly appropriate to use it during any discussions we have about how knowledge related to educational psychology might be organized.  Teacher behavior along with student characteristics influence student behavior, especially those associated with Academic Learning Time. Student classroom behavior then influences teacher classroom behavior in an interactive pattern. Student classroom behavior is the most direct influence on student achievement as measured by instruments influenced by state policies.  Student achievement then become student characteristics and is important for success in today’s information age.                 Source, adapted from: Huitt, W. (2003). A transactional model of the teaching/learning process. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University.           Literature Discussion Points Indeed, Rogoff, Matusov and White (Cited, 1996 p. 985) argue that ‘coherent patterns of instructional practices are based on instructional models, and instructional models are based on theoretical perspectives on learning’. Recent research indicates that teachers usually hold implicit theories about teaching and learning that inform their planning and daily decision making. Teaching and learning can help teachers develop coherent instructional model and then to converse about, and adapt better teaching in ways that hold powerful benefits for teachers and students. Knowledge is not personally constructed nor applied; Vygotsky’s notion of instruction would have teachers doing complex tasks in meaningful contexts with students helping as much as they can. Through repetitions of the task, students take on more and more of the responsibility, with the teacher helping as needed and naming the new strategies employed by the student.           Eventually students do the task on their own. The learning here is directed by a teacher who models appropriate strategies for meeting particular purposes, guides students in their use of the strategies and provides meaningful and relevant context for using the strategies. Support, in the form of explicit teaching, occurs over time until students master the new strategies, and know how and when to use them. There is clearly need for active and sustained support for improving speech through reading through high school years. The learning-centred teaching process does require Explicit Teaching.   Models of teaching and learning   One-Sided Models Sociocultural Model Curriculum-centred Student-Centred Teaching/learning Centred Skinner, Pavlov, Thorndike Piaget, Chomsky, Geselle, Rousseau Vygotsky, Rogoff, Bruner, Hillocks, Dewey: Child and Curriculum Experience and Education Behaviourism Progressivism Cognitivism Coconstructivism Socioculturalism Transmission of knowledge: Teaching is telling Acquisition of knowledge Transformation of participation Both teacher and student are passive; curriculum determines the sequence of timing of instruction. Students have biological limits that affect when and how they can learn; teachers must now ‘push’ students beyond the limits. Knowledge is a ‘natural’ product of development. All knowledge is socially and culturally constructed. What and how the student learns depends on what opportunities the teacher/parent provides. Learning is not ‘natural’ but depends on interactions with more expert others. ‘Empty vessel’ Active constructor Collaborative participant Transmit the curriculum Create the environment in which individual learner can develop in set stages-implies single and natural course Observe learners closely, as individuals and groups. Scaffold learning within the zone of proximal development, match individual and collective curricula to learners’ needs. Create inquiry environment. Teacher lectures; students memorise material for tests Student-selected reading, student-selected projects, discovery learning Teacher-guided participation in both small-and large-group work; recording and analysing individual student progress; explicit assistance to reach higher levels of competence The student: He can’t keep up with the curriculum sequence and pace of lessons or meet the demands of prescriptive school program. The student: He has a ‘developmental delay’, a disability, or is not ‘ready’ for the school’s program. Often, family or social conditions are at fault. The more capable others: They have not observed the learner closely, problem-solved the learner’s difficulty, matched instruction to the learner, made ‘informed’ decisions, or helped the learner ‘get ready’. Source, adapted from: Strategic Reading: Guiding Students to Lifelong Literacy by Jeffrey Wilhelm, Tanya Baker, and Julie Dube (2001). Published by Heinemann, division of Reed Elsevier Inc., New Hampshire, USA             Furthermore, George Hillocks maintains that teachers should and can possess specialised knowledge of students, of particular content and tasks and of how to represent and teach this knowledge. Hillocks argues that ‘teaching is a transitive verb’ and that it ‘takes both direct and an indirect object’ (Cited, 1995). In other words, when teaching,  a teacher does teach something to somebody. We need to know both our subject and student. Teachers need to know how to teach in general, and in particular situations with the particular skills called for in that situation or with that text.  Then, Shulman (Cited, 1987 p. 524) argues that there is knowledge base for teaching and that it includes the following: -       knowledge of students -       knowledge of the subject to be taught -       general knowledge of teaching processes ‘transcending subject matter’ -       ‘pedagogical content knowledge’ which includes knowledge of educational contexts and situations and knowledge of educational ends and values Students develop innovative cognitive abilities when teacher leads them through task-oriented interactions. Depending on various factors, teacher will lend various levels of assistance over various iterations of task completion. The goal is to allow the students to do as much as they can on their own and then to intervene and provide assistance when it is needed so that the task can be successfully completed. Vygotsky stressed out that students need to engage in challenging tasks that they can successfully complete with appropriate help. Happily, Vygotsky points out that teaching in such a way develops the teacher just as attentive parenting matures the parent. Students have a need to develop and exhibit competence. Teachers must assist them to develop competence as they engage in challenging tasks in which they can be successful Source, adapted from: Strategic Reading: Guiding Students to Lifelong Literacy by Jeffrey Wilhelm, Tanya Baker, and Julie Dube (2001). Published by Heinemann, division of Reed Elsevier Inc., New Hampshire, USA   Vygotsky wrote, ‘What the child can do in cooperation today he can do alone tomorrow’ (Cited, 1934) and noted that ‘instruction is good only when it proceeds ahead of development. It then awakens and rouses to life those functions which are in a state of maturing, which lie in the zone of proximal development, it is in this way that instruction plays an extremely important role in development’ (Cited, 1956). Conclusion Therefore, students learning according to different models would learn in different situations and in different ways. This would affect how they come to understand and participate with different aspects of how information is represented and used. So, every teaching model results in effective student learning within a different kind of process and the effective goal is for students to develop better repertoire of reading strategies that they can independently deploy into diversity of teaching situations within certain variation of communication texts and that, the ultimate purpose is that they use these strategies to participate democratically in their communities and cultures. The teachers then can find that applying Vygotskian learning theory to their teaching is what best helps them to meet specific education goals.     REFERENCE Works Cited Giacona, R., & Hedges, L. (1982). Identifying features of effective open education. Review of Educational Research, 52, 579-602. Hillocks, G. (1995). Teaching Writing as Reflective Practice. New York: Teachers College Press. Hillocks, G. (1999). Ways of Thinking/Ways of Teaching. New York: Teachers College Press. Huitt, W. (2003). A transactional model of the teaching/learning process. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. McIlrath, D., & Huitt, W. (1995). The teaching/learning process: A discussion of models. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Rogoff. B., Matusov, B., and White, S. (1996). Models of Teaching and Learning: Participation in a Community of Learners. In D. Olson & N. Torrance (eds.), The Handbook of Cognition and Human Development. Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 388-414. Rosenshine, B. (1995). Advances in research on instruction. The Journal of Educational Research, 88(5), 262-268. Shulman, L. (1987). Knowledge and Teaching: Foundations of the New Reform. Harvard Educational Review, 15(2), 1-22. Slavin, R. (1995). Cooperative learning and intergroup relations. In J. Banks (Ed.), Handbook of research on multicultural education. New York: Macmillan. Wilhelm, J., Baker, T. & Dube, J. (2001). Strategic Reading: Guiding Students to Lifelong Literacy by Published by Heinemann, division of Reed Elsevier Inc., New Hampshire, USA Vygotsky, L. (1934/1986). Thought and Language, trans. A. Kozulin. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Vygotsky, L. (1956). Selected Psychological Investigations. Moscow: Izdstel’sto Pedagogical Academy. Nauk: SSR Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Teaching Plan Development

Introduction An ideal teaching plan is written as a starting point and statement of intent for the project. At times the planned work...