Topic: Understanding principles of learning and teaching

Paper details: This writing is base on 2 sections/parts. The 1st part is on Evidence of learning & 2nd part is on Evidence of reflection. Kindly edit in APA citation too. This writing is base on the Heading Understanding principles of learning and teaching I’ve to include the evidence of learning – • Explain my personal understanding of learning & how people learn. • Identify the teaching methods and learning activities I think engage and motivate learners to learn, and explain why I think this. • Explain my understanding of the purposes of assessment. (800 words) To me, life is a learning journey that begins at birth and that all people have the capacity to learn. As the child matures,their cognitive development is in the same order of stages even though there are individual differences in the rate at which children progress through the stages*1. Having worked with children from all diversities of life for 2 years, I can state that effective teaching is achieved by procedural approaches and understanding of the learners. To teach general science in my teaching career has been of help in identifying the methods to use for effective learning to take place. Science will entail the use of an appealing approach to master the mind of learners. I use activities that are learner-centered, facilitate and scaffold their learning . It is a process of active engagement to demand an inclusive approach in learning. Thus a clear guide teaching program inclusive of objectives has to be developed considering the students level in learning. The theory of social development by Vygotsky advocates the concept of sharing ideas among the students in the classroom. Working and learning alongside other students in the class enable them to build a strong understanding that could have been difficult to build alone. More ideas have been produced by children and learners who chose to interact and engage with one another in the context of learning*2. The most challenging experience has been handling kids with specific language impairment (SLI)*3. They require special attention for them to master the language and develop. To enhance their verbal skill , I use phonics , tongue twisters etc . I adopted the VAK learning style for students to learn through visual, auditory and kinesthetic*4. I use a lot of visual aids like interactive whiteboard, flip chart, modeling and illustrated pictures to help my students in learning. Teaching kids with learning challenges requires me to involve the parents as well as ensuring that other teachers have to know the problem of the child so as to ensure they are handled and taught within their preferred intelligence. I have to exercise sensitivity and present my lesson in student-friendly language to ensure they understand. The development here precedes their understanding as one has to be completely involved both mentally and physically with the children. Understanding their preferred modes of intelligence in order to communicate the flow of information to them is more vital. There are many teaching methods used by teachers and have their own principles that have the role of ensuring the desired learning objectives for student in a classroom are achieved Multiple intelligence theory stipulates that learners have their own preferred methods of learning*5. The theory recognizes that learners may struggle with certain task in the class and may perform well if the tasks are given within their preferred intelligence. The main duty given here is for the teacher to identify the preferred intelligence of the student for effective teaching and learning. Knowledge allows understanding of the world around us, I believe the effective approach is to help students to construct their knowledge by discovering rather than being told *6. In teaching, facilitation is done by provision of information needed to help the learner to play an active role in constructing an understanding of the information. Piaget theory is identical to blooms taxonomy theory which identifies three domains of learning - cognitive, affective and psychomotor which is useful in remembering, understanding , applying, analyzing , evaluating and creating*7. Learners are their own developers when comes to learning and within the levels of learning, the different skills and knowledge can be passed on to the learner by the teacher The recent implementation of the technology in teaching and learning enables teachers to employ teaching methods that are more appealing and effective. In the theory of multimedia learning, the messages designed for the learner by the teachers are based on the concept of the working of a human mind*8. The messages to the students should be designed with a cognitive approach selecting the relevant images and words .Students learn better through animation and narration, and words accompanied by pictures rather than handling each aspect as singularly. As a private tutor, I adopted the Assessment for Learning (AfL) practices as it allows me to fulfil many aspects like increases learning independence, improve motivation, promote thinking and learning explicit; enhances teacher-student communication etc*9. AfL helps me to know what my students understand by being able to have building block and scaffold in their learning . I start them from basic level and gradually progress to a higher level till we meet the goal. The displays used help to remind me to refer back to the learning intention throughout the lesson. During lesson, I use the different forms of assessment regularly like observations , communicate with my student , more discussions with them , raise open-ended questions in order to construct and share their understandings , peer and self assessment , give and receive feedback etc. Thus , both the teacher and the students of all abilities will be successful in achieving the learning purpose. 840words Questions: 1. Is the writing relevant to the topic requirements? 2. Can I delete the part bolded in yellow box to bring down to 816 words? 3. The part bolded in green, am I quoting the correct theory? This writing is base on the same Topic : Understanding principles of learning and teaching. Info: I will observe an experienced practitioner teaching a group of 10 learners for 45 mins. I will observe the experienced practitioner’s practice, accompanied by their experienced colleague. I will discuss with the experienced colleague the key features of what makes an effective lesson. This part of the writing is Base on the Evidence of reflection and to include: • Identify and explain the key features that I think make an effective lesson by reflecting on the experienced practitioner’s lesson and subsequent discussion with my experienced colleague. • Evaluate the impact the new learning and experiences in Lesson 1 will have on my practice as I move on to prepare for Lesson 2. ( 400word limit) Effective learning is based on experience, reflection, conceptualization, and testing as established by experiential learning theory*10 . The theory introduces a cycle of learning which include concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. Each stage is supportive of the other in the cycle and all calls for different methods of teaching and learning. The theory advocates for teachers to employ activities that gives the learners the opportunity to engage themselves in the learning process in a manner that favors them. Effective lesson depends on the creativity, experience, and the knowledge of the teachers. For an effective lesson, the teacher should first know his/her students backgrounds*11. These will include their interests, abilities, experiences, attention spans, and learning preference. Second, the teacher should know the content of the subject matter to be related to the student as well as identifying with the materials to be used in the learning process. An effective lesson will involve the teacher listing the goals and the objective of the lesson to the students. The teacher should also check on the understanding of the students by asking questions. After the lesson, teachers should have a reflective session and evaluate on the learning process that they have involved in the lesson *12. Good lessons engage the students from the start in promoting their thinking, enthusiasm, and engagement. Effective lessons are outcome based enabling the learners to give main focus on the learning goals and objectives. It is evident that learning and teaching depend on a variety of theories. The theories play a fundamental role in identifying methods to use in teaching practice for an effective lesson. Although the theories have to be used either independently or combined, they depend on the class dynamics and the teacher’s preference *13. Moreover, it would be fair to conclude that successful teachers incorporate the learning theories in managing their classes. However, it is worth noting that for an effective lesson, a teacher cannot depend on one theory to plan for the lesson. The infusion of the recent technological advancement in the classroom setup has also been an added advantage in lesson planning and teaching. 354 words Citations: 1. Piaget's theory of cognitive development(1896-1980) 2. Vygotsky (Shunk,2004) Social Development Theory 3. Laurence B. Leonard (1989). Language learnability and specific language impairment children. 4. Fleming's VAK/VARK model and Kolb, David (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. 5. Gardner, 2003 Multiple intelligence 6. Jerome Bruner (e.g., 1966, 1974) form the basis of the constructivist theory of learning 7. Bloom’s Taxonomy of Cognitive Levels 8. Mayer , Multimedia Learning 9. Paul Black Assessement of Learning (AfL) 10. (McLeod, 2015). 11. (Passer & Smith, 2004). 12. Teaching Method 2015 13. (Fry, H & Kettering, S & Marshall, & S, 2008)