WEEK+5

Week 5 Key Words:Questioning Skills, Feedback: Blooms Taxonomy: Evaluation, Socratic Circle Models of Teaching and Learning

Well, what a workshop! I was quite surprised by the reactions to some of the comments being made relating to the type of teacher strategies that we might apply to the classroom. I believe there needs to be structure and boundaries in a classroom and whole school environment. All children need to know their boundaries or they will "take", until the boundaries are set and rewound. This process is harder to achieve. Once they are in place children know where they stand, ie. expectations of the teacher, a balance of strategies can be used to include the children in decision making and negotiating where appropriate to build up relationships and cohesion amongst the group. The SOCRATIC CIRCLE that we tested/sampled today was a great way to encourage deep thinking about an issue. In order to discuss an issue you have to comprehend it and think about the ways you can talk about it in your own words. You can relate it to personal experiences and build it into your long term memory. However, brainstorming the ideas beforehand was important too, to help put people on the right track, ie. to help them comprehend/ make meaning of the question. I personally needed the extra information/ guidance on what Pete wanted us to understand the question to be about. It was also a social experience. It introduced us to new people and made us practice our speaking and listening skills. Often in a senario I know what I want to say but can't find the right words instantly. This subject of models of teaching and learning came at a perfect time, since it was only last Friday that I spent the day at the local primary school in grade 5/6. They had an assignment introduced to them that was based on Blooms Taxonomy: six thinking levels, using the grid devised by Ralph Pirozzo in 1997 and updated in 2004. [|www.pli.com.au] ralph@pli.com.au [|Grid by Pirozzo with example assignment for gr 5&6.pdf][|teaching_method.jpg][|teaching_method.jpg]

Feel free to check out the example of the assignment Anita Dinon 31/03/2009

In a changing world of fast developing chnology, it is no longer relevant to use old methods of teaching which do not account for new technology and a new way of thinking. In today’s society, it is critical for students to be computer literate, have a global understanding of the world, and take advantage of this to think critically. Many of the jobs my primary school students will be competing over have not even been invented yet, so it is not appropriate to be teaching with methods that are even out-dated at the present! I think older generations can be affraid of new technology which creates a misconception that changing technology is too difficult and is not the way to go. I completely disagree with this and believe that teachers should be pushing as hard as possible to keep up with developing computer programs and other technological resources. Otherwise it is the children that are missing out. Much research has been conducted based on education over the years, which is constantly producing new ideas and improving teaching. I think today, methods based around self directed learning, and students answering their own questions through research will be important. The use of technology, but not just the internet, will be important for a wider range and ease of resources. When i was in the classroom on my practum in grade 2/3, during class i was asked by the children how to spell words as they completed they're work. i was never a strong speller, but to my suprise, i had trouble even spelling some words of a grade 3 standard! this got me thinking, was this because everytime i need to write something i do via word document which automatically corrects my spelling mistakes. all i really need to know is a rough idea of the spelling and then the computer will fix it for me. so in the future will children really need to know how to spell perfectly? will children even use a pencil and paper in the future? i'd imagine eventually not. also is hand writting really important now? every important document i intend for others to read, i type. Regarding the tutorial, the 'socratic circle' didn't do that much for me. I understood and agreed with most of the ideas discussed and foud everyone I spoke to had essentially the same opinion so i felt bored discussing it over and over again.

Jessica Mitchell

As a classroom strategy, the Socratic circles were, I thought, an effective way to encourage deeper thinking and analysis of an issue. I really liked the way it began, again, with individual reflection time. I am coming to appreciate the value of individual thinking time more each week. We live in such a fast paced world. Time to reflect is a luxury, and so valuable for integrating ideas and developing a clearer sense of your own views before sharing in pairs. Socratic circles are a good way to keep a group on track. Because you keep moving on, each time you begin with a new partner, you are brought back to the issue. This is helpful, as I have often found in a group, there is the potential to be distracted from the original questions. This is can be a good thing as ideas develop, but I can see the benefit of this type of sharing in a classroom situation. It would also encourage the exchange of views between people that may not usually be paired or grouped together. Sonia McAlary 8/4/2009

WEEK 5 Readings

It is interesting to find some many resources and websites listed in the week 5 folder. The one that caught my interest is the cooperative learning, since I am not too familiar with the term, I then decided to have a read at the Roger and David Johnson Co-Operative Learning Website. I found out how cooperative learning links with muliti -intelligence and become a teaching strategy in classroom. Cooperative learning is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students of different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject. Each member of a team is responsible not only for learning what is taught but also for helping teammates learn, therefore creating an atmosphere of achievement. Students work through the assignment until all group members successfully understand and complete it. Cooperative efforts result in students striving for mutual benefit.

The website also shows examples of class activities that use cooperative learning, such as jigsaw, think-pair-share, three-step interview, numbered heads together...etc. They are all important resources for me to use in my future teaching life. (man man hung, christy)