Pdj_of_Specific_Teaching_Session

PDJ 5 Specific teaching session 06. 05. 2010 PEL 2.2 Establish and maintain a positive learning environment TPP 2.3 Use and justify a range of inclusive activities and resources, including new and emerging technologies, to promote and maintain an inclusive learning environment Experience PEL 2.2 During this session, I used a kinaesthetic starter at the beginning of the session to make the learners aware of how distraction affects learning. I also linked this to their future profession and the learners could relate to it and discuss how inattention could affect their performance at work and they also recognised the consequences it may have. TPP 2.3 The chosen activities were interesting and fun and not too difficult. The ‘clothes line’ activity was kinaesthetic and one learner mentioned that she will never forget this part of the topic because of the fact that it was linked to real life. The PowerPoint presentation strengthened the group work and represented use of technology as creative tool and variety in my teaching. The other tactile activities were matching games which were done in pairs, tactile games with dice, playing cards to link with real life and a group activity with coloured balls. Reflection The starter I used was fun and initiated a positive learning environment. This atmosphere was maintained throughout the session which was experienced as relaxed. This activity gave the learners the opportunity to express themselves freely and even giggle because of the fun it entailed. The laughing and fun reduced anxiety and promoted freedom to participate. Even though the pace was set with the starter, the feelings of the learners were explored throughout the session and I could recognise that Maths anxiety was not a major issue during this session. The PowerPoint presentation just after the kinaesthetic activity centralised the teaching and created a group atmosphere. I used it to add variety to the teaching and as supporting document. This use of ICT in the session was also meant to allow the affective domain of the learners to be touched and create a feeling of appreciation by learners. The tactile and kinaesthetic activities which were done in pairs, trios and in the group as a whole gave all learners the opportunity to participate. There was one learner who was concerned about her lack of background knowledge for one of the activities (playing cards). Through individual support I made sure that she was included and could take part in the session. What did I learn' During this session it was evident that there was a good student-teacher and student-student relationship. Mutual respect was evident and this was shown in the rapport between individuals. The learners were relaxed and it was evident that pair work had important affective consequences, including a reduction of anxiety (Von Glasersfeld, E. (Ed.); 1991). The reduction of anxiety was esp. clear in T. who has difficulties working in pairs. According to Petty (2009), a rapport was evidently established in this group as ‘the psychological barrier’ which stops students to take part in discussions, asking questions or asking for help was non-existent. This effects students’ motivation and classroom management. He also states that all the learners want is an effective teacher who is approachable, has a genuine interest in their learning and who manages the classroom well. The combination of group work, pair work and trios with discussion, kinaesthetic and tactile activities was proof of multiple representations. Petty (2009) states that multiple representations include learners with different learning styles and help them engage in activities and allow learning to take place. He also states that exposure to many learning styles during teaching will benefit all learners, whatever style they prefer and develop different skills. It also makes the teaching varied and interesting. Tusting and Barton (2003) state that adults are able to learn how to learn and that they are able to develop a range of learning styles. They also state that people learn by engaging and that teaching can scaffold these activities, enabling learners to develop new forms of expertise. According to the social constructivist theory (Tusting and Barton, 2003), social interaction underlie the development and learning of all higher cognitive functioning including logical thinking, voluntary attention and logical memory. This would not have been possible if there was not a positive learning environment. Action planning In the future I would like to repeat this session with the combination of strategies and teaching resources used. However, in order to be more effective I will get information and read upon the issue with questions on playing cards in exams. I need to have the information whether any probability question is still linked to playing cards. Another issue is that I also need to try to minimise the emphasis on exam questions which will also result in reduced anxiety. When using a PowerPoint presentation in the future I will make sure to present it as slideshow. References: * Von Glasersfeld, E. (Ed); (1991), Radical Constructivism in Mathematics Education, Kluwer Academic Publishers * Petty, G. (2009), Teaching Today, Nelson Thornes * Tusting, K and Barton D (2003), Models of adult learning: a literature review, NRDC