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| EDLT 485: Content |
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In addition to the Unit Outline, there are two books of resource material, each of which contains five chaptyers. The resource material consists of a combination of material reprinted from other sources and material written by John Garner and Linley Lloyd.
The content of the chapters is briefly described below.
Please note that although the numbering of the chapters implies a preferred sequence, there is in fact no order which is more obviously logical than any other. The division into chapters is simply a useful way to compartmentalise an interconnected whole, and a way to break your leanrning up into more manageable 'chuncks'. There is a logic to the ordering but it is by no means the only defensible logic.
The first chapter tries to utilise the principle that 'good teaching starts from where the learner is', and some time is devoted to helping you to discover your already held ideas about teachers and teaching, about childern, and about learning. This inital phase, called Orientations, is important because your biography and what you currently think are both important factos influencing how you react to new ideas and for identifying areas in which you might want to cahnge.
The second chapter is intended to start you thinking about the nature of learning and its organisation in schools. It also provided a theoretical basis for the views that biography and active involvment are important in learning.
Chapter 3 is about ways in which studnets can become more effective learners through imporved self concepts and trhough the acquisition of learning strategues and techniques. The philosophy behind this chapter is that 'learning how to learn' can lead to success which will have a positive effect on students' celf concepts in turn helping them to be better learners. The role of 'emotional intelligents' is also explored.
The planning skill of programming and the teching skills of explaining and questioning are eplored in Chapter 4 along with suggestions for imporving these and other teaching activities.
Unless classrooms are oredely then little or no teaching and learning can occur and Chapter 5, therefore is concerned with the tipic of organising and managing classroom relationships and behaviours.
Chapter 6 is concerned with the effects that individual differences have on learning, and provides some suggestions for organising learning in mixed ability classes.
Chapter 7 examines the roles played by talking, listening, writing and reading in the learning process, and provides a wealth of practical ideas in these areas.
Problem solving is the topic that is introduced in Chapter 8 since, it can be argued, learning is more meaninful if it is seen as useful for solving problems.
Chapter 9 deals with assessment and ways of assessing and reporting student learning - an essentail topic if learneing is to be monitored effectively. Assessment is an area which has changed significantly in schools in recent times.
The final chapter looks forward to your first year of teaching and discusses likely experiences and ways of coping with them.
To complement the content chapters I have designed assessment tasks which are an essential ingredient of the unit. Tey are designed to help you apply some of the ideas and stategies that you will read about and so to deepen your understanding. Your role as a student of this unit is not one of learning the content (as is, 'so that you will be ready for a test') but rather one of working out which of the various ideas you think will help you to become the sort of teacher you would like to be and them examining the practical implications of your decisions. The assessment taks are intended to assist in this process. Thus you will discover that in addition to using various strategies and frameworks, you are asked to write reflectively about you developing philosopy, your changing ideas, your current theories, and you reactions to what you read or experienced. In other words, the tasks have been designed to provide a balance between (1) application of other people's ideas and strategies, and (2) reflecting and developing you own ideas, approaches and philosophy.
Those of you who undertake a practicum this year will have an opportunity to try out some of the teaching strategies you think are worthwhile, and to discovers your strengths and weaknesses in the classroom. It is intende that the 'skills' part of this unit will enable you to begin working on imporving your 'weaker' areas and bulding on your strengths.
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