Though most of the factors that Schunk mentioned to be key influences on a child's learning and development are inherently interconnected, the home environment, in my opinion, is the first major factor a child encounters. It is the child's initial environment where he first learns. In other words, the home environment is the first school for emotional learning, as Doley, D. (2018) denoted. In the home environment, children unintentionally learn to feel good or bad about themselves, how to express these feelings, and how others react to their expressions of said feelings.
A personal blog of an English language teacher, where he dares to share personal and educational scribblings for no particular reason.
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Thursday, October 22, 2020
Effects of home environment on learning
The Adolescent Brain and Neuroscience
Cerebral cortex
- Schunk, D. H. (2012). Learning theories: An educational perspective (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
- Cerebral Cortex | Education, Society, & the K-12 Learner. (2020). Retrieved 4 October 2020, from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/teachereducationx92x1/chapter/cerebral-cortex/
- Thomas, D. (2020). Don't Let Your Hippocampus Stop You From Being A Successful Investor. Retrieved 4 October 2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2018/05/10/dont-let-your-hippocampus-stop-you-from-being-a-successful-investor/#1ba34c532694
- Arizona State University. (2019). More than just memories: A new role for the hippocampus during learning: Study shows how the hippocampus provides information to other brain areas during learning. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 4, 2020 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/03/190306081704.htm
Learning Domains
Education is the process of imparting knowledge and bringing about desirable changes in the learner's behavior. Classroom instructions and activities are the gate way to the process of education. Accordingly, teachers of all subjects plan the objectives of any particular instruction, aka instructional objectives. In other words, instructional objectives refer to the goals of each instructional session. Leaning and/or teaching outcomes are usually based around instructional objectives.
The classification of Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives includes three domains: The cognitive domain which is knowledge related, the affective domain which is feelings related, and the psycho-motor domain which is action related. All three domains are interconnected and interdependent. In other words, every educational activity is supposed to address at least one of these domains. However, for the sake of brevity, will only reflect on some of the preferred instructional activities related to the cognitive domain.
At the lowest level of the cognitive domain, we find the ability to recalling knowledge followed by understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating is at the top level of the classification. Teachers know that they have to come up with instructional activities that address the exploration and stimulation of these domains.
One of the basic questions facing educators has always been “Where do we begin in seeking to improve human thinking?” (Houghton, 2004). Depending on the scope of the new knowledge whether it is factual, conceptual, procedural, or meta-cognitive, I try to utilize the adequate tools for formative assessment of my gr.12 students. In other words, I try to use the right prompts that correspond with both, the type of knowledge and the cognitive process dimension. For example, in order to check the student's ability to recall factual information I would use the prompt "list".However, if I wanted to test his memory of a conceptual knowledge I would use the prompt "describe". Similarly, if I wanted to test students understanding of a procedural knowledge I would use the prompt "predict", as opposed to the prompt "construct" if I wanted to test their meta-cognitive capabilities. I make point of having the activity challenge revolve around answering said prompts. In my experience, using the correct prompt is key to realizing learning and/or instructional objectives.
Refernces
1.
Forehand, M. . (2010) Emerging Perspectives on Learning, Teaching, and Technology, Global Text, Michael Orey. (Chapter 3). Retrieved from https://textbookequity.org/Textbooks/Orey_Emergin_Perspectives_Learning.pdf
Thursday, October 15, 2020
Barriers to Learning That Teachers May Overlook
Based on child development theory, the Association for Curriculum Development and Supervision developed five tenets which underpin every student's rights to be healthy, safe, engaged, supported and challenged Slade, S. & Griffith, D. (2013) . Though educational theories that support a "whole-child" education have been around for years, many education systems concentrate on a tiny sliver rof students cognitive abilities and development. Thus, we see emphasis on transmitting content knowledge that is usually memorized by students and called upon in the same form it was recieved. Subjects like science, math, and arts usually dominate curricula. Understandably, not all teachers take into consideration the emotional and cognitive abilities of their individual students when they start a course. However, a "whole-child" education involves more than acquiring inert knowledge in any of these subjects. A whole-child approach to learning involves the development of students physical and mental health, social and emotional development, cognitive development, identity development, and academic development, as Whole Child Approach to Education, (2018) denoted.
Based on their backgrounds and socioeconomic status, students bring different levels of skills related to attention, perception, and memory to the classroom. According to Data and Statistics About ADHD | CDC, (2016), the estimated number of children ever diagnosed with ADHD, according to a national 2016 parent survey is 6.1 million (9.4%). Many other students have ADHD, or similar disease, but have never been diagnosed. These students are more likely to have issues with behavior, academics, and overall learning. These are also the same students who need differentiation the most.
Many teachers who are bound by heavy curricula and head of department guidelines to prepare students to sit for their finals, may not have the time to pay attention to individual students needs, let alone students with special needs. These educators forget that the classroom is a major developmental context for cognitive development. Even busy teachers can promote this by structuring a cognitively stimulating learning environment that is student centered.
In conclusion, be it an undiagnosed student with special needs, a busy teacher, or otherwise, many students with special needs are not getting the cognitive attention they deserve and the ACDS announced in 2007.
References
1.
Whole Child Approach to Education. (2018). Retrieved 11 October 2020, from https://chanzuckerberg.com/blog/explore-the-whole-child-approach-to-education/
2.
Slade, S. & Griffith, D. (2013). A whole child approach to student success. KEDI Journal of Educational Policy. 21-35. From https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287320346_A_whole_child_approach_to_student_success#:~:text=A%20whole%20child%20approach%20to%20education%20is%20one%20which%20focuses,child%20to%20fulfill%20their%20potential.
3.
Data and Statistics About ADHD | CDC. (2016). Retrieved 11 October 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/data.html
443 words
Tuesday, October 13, 2020
Teaching and Technology
Teachers have many functions and play many roles in the classroom that go beyond mere teaching or intellectual abilities. Teaching requires the acquisition and development of many complementary skills that are essential to instruction but not necessarily intellectual. The role of the teacher in the 21st century has developed beyond imparting knowledge. Teachers are not subject matter experts but rather qualified facilitators who carry out the mission of implementing a curriculum effectively. Technology has evolved from subject to be studied into a tool that is used to facilitate learning and instruction. Technology has become part of the educational process, but too often it is separate and not integrated into the learning experience Starr, L. (2016, May 10).
In my opinion, neither resisting being taught to use technology on the grounds that a teacher's role is more intellectual than technical or technological, nor adopting it as a personal preference is an answer to the use of technology in the classroom. Evidently, technology has become a major part in almost every field and education is no different. Embedding technology effectively into learning and assessment activities enhances the delivery of all types of curricula Smith, R., Killen, C., & Knight, S., (2013, September 9). The use of media and online resources has become an almost integrated part of education in the 21st century and this is not expected to change anytime soon. Most teachers today have grown without depending on technology as heavily as today's students do.
Teachers who refuse to learn how to incorporate technology into their instruction are essentially falling behind and will continue to do so. Technology is in constant state of development that is sometimes overwhelming to some teachers, especially the ones with old school habits or mentality. In my opinion,the incorporation of technology in education saves the teacher and the students a lot of time and effort. Furthermore, technology has made an incredible amount of knowledge available to all via a few mouse clicks. Teachers opposing the use technology in this time and age are effectively making their own instructional process and the students learning process much harder than it is supposed to be.
In conclusion, technology has grown to be an enabling factor in the 21st century education. Technology is indeed the sign of our times.
References
1.
Starr, L. (2016, May 10). Integrating Technology in the Classroom: It Takes More Than Just Having Computers. Education World. Retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech146.shtml
2.
Smith, R., Killen, C., & Knight, S., (2013, September 9). Using technology to improve curriculum design. Retrieved from https://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/using-technology-to-improve-curriculum-design
Friday, September 25, 2020
Teaching philosophy
Upon reflecting on my, on-the-ground, approach to classroom management, lesson planning, and instructional style, I found that I was unsparingly, and unknowingly, using what is called Cognitive-Behavioral Strategies or CBS. "CBS has its roots in psychiatry and was proven to help many people get over a number of clinically proven conditions such as OCD, anxiety and social phobia Cognitive-behavioral Strategies in the Classroom", (2014) . For example, I always encourage students to use their inner-dialogue to observe, analyse, and modify their own behaviors. At the same time, I make a point of using plenty of tangible, sensory, and psychological rewards as reinforcers i.e. tokens, totems, smiley faces and star stickers, tiny sweets, genuine smile or nod, public praise of a job well-done, etc.. which is a kind of a melange between Behavioral and Cognitive theories.
- Cognitive-behavioral Strategies in the Classroom. (2014). Retrieved 17 September 2020, from https://education.ufl.edu/behavior-management-resource-guide/2014/07/14/cognitive-behavioral-strategies-in-the-classroom/
Taking Ownership of curricular innovation
"..one of the consequences of our approach to reform is that the curriculum gets narrowed as school district policies make it clear that what is to be tested is what is to be taught" Eisner, (eds.) p.299.
I teach ELA and SAT/ACT prep. in various international schools- IB, IGCSE, and American- in Cairo, Egypt. In almost all of these schools, I was specifically asked by management to focus on preparing students for their finals i.e. SAT, ACT, or APs. When a department head is available s/he usually picks the lessons that address said finals. This meant that lessons that are not relevant to the finals have, in the eyes of school management, less value in class than others. For example, in my last school, I was specifically asked to include SAT exercises in every ELA session. Consequently, the lesson plan for a literature session, for example, must include set time for said exercises, significantly reducing the time allotted for literature.
This orientation is usually communicated, directly or indirectly, to teachers and students who start to intentionally neglect all other educational aspects that do not relate to the final tests. This means that non-core subjects like, Arts and PE, become neglected as they do not contribute to the final score. On one hand, teachers start to plan their lessons and activities around "training" students on taking the finals as opposed to "preparing" them to be life long learners.
"..issues including dramatic demographic changes, policy changes, globalization, emerging technologies, and concerns surrounding refugees and immigration remain challenging for both school settings and teacher educators" (Hasan, A. et al., 2017).
This is exceptionally true in Egypt as the fees for international education have risen dramatically due to high demand from families who want the best education for their children. Consequently, this shifts the emphasis from wholesome education to mere training which, in turn, raises many questions about schooling real emphasis Smith, M. K. (2005). In the teachers' lounge, most of our conversations used to revolve around coming tests and how to prepare students for them. I should also mention here that teachers showed almost the same level worry about finals as much as the students themselves or their parents.
The reason for this, in my opinion, is multilayered: school districts emphasize only the role of common core; schools usually concentrate on students final results as an indicator to their success as an educational establishment which in turn means more applicants in the future and thus, more profit; teachers tend to follow school policy by orienting each lesson to serve the final test; students, in turn, regard all that is irrelevant to the final test as unimportant and unnecessary; parents are for the most part concerned with the graduation of their children rather than their development.
In my opinion, there is a need to make students cognitive development as important as their scores on their final tests. This should start with the policy makers. In other words, school districts should communicate, to all stakeholders, that curricular innovation alone is neither enough nor does it stop at the curriculum itself but transcends it to reflect educators own synthesization of it. Stakeholders in this situation are school management, educators, parents/guardians, and students. Said stakeholders should also strive to self educate about the underlying principles and/or theory behind curricular innovation in order to be able to see a clearer goal, each on his turf.
References
Eisner, E. What does it mean to say a school is doing well?. In Flinders, D. J., & Thornton, S. J. (Eds.), The Curriculum Studies Reader, Fourth Edition (pp.297-305). New York, NY: Routledge. Retrieved from: https://chrisdavidcampbell.files.wordpress.com/2016/12/eisener-2001.pdf
Hasan, A. et al (2017) Meeting the Challenges of Curriculum and Instruction in School Settings in the United States. Journal of Social Studies Education Research. retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1162276.pdf
Smith, M. K. (2005) ‘Elliot W. Eisner, connoisseurship, criticism and the art of education’, The encyclopedia of pedagogy and informal education, www.infed.org/thinkers/eisner.htm
Jerick T., (2015), Curriculum development curriculum issues, concerns and responses. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/JerickTeodoro1/curriculum-development-curriculum-issues-concerns-and-responses-49630682