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AssessmentOne AEG5109:ApproachestoTeachingandLearningTeachingPhilosophyandClassroomManagementPlanAspartoftheunitApproachestoTeachingandLearning,wehavespentmuchofthefirstsemesterexploringdifferingeducationalapproachesandtheresultsoftheirpracticalapplicationinschools.BasedontheobservationsthatIhaveseensofarinmyowneducation,asastudentteacher,implementedasateachingprofessionalorlearnedaboutaspartoftheMasterscourse,Iwillendeavourtoexploreanddeconstructvariouslearningtheoriesandapproachestoteachinginthedevelopmentofmypersonalteachingphilosophy.Secondly,Iwillendeavourtoapplythisfledglingoverviewtoaclassroommanagementplan.Withaone-monthblockofteachingroundscomingup,Imsurethisframeworkwillcontinuetoevolveandgrowonaccountoftheexperience.Inthefulfilmentoftheresearchparameters,Iaimtoreviewarangeofliteraturethatwillassistininformingfuturepracticeintheclassroom.Iwillthenfollowontolistsomeofmyresponsibilitiesasateacher,aswellashighlightingsomeresourcesthatwillbehelpfulinthedevelopmentofmyphilosophicalandpracticalcapabilitiesaspartofthisfutureprofession.Towrapup,Iwillpresentaplannedactivitythatcouldpotentiallyincorporatesomeoftheseapproaches,withafuturevisiontoadjustandofapplywhilstundertakingprofessionalpracticeatmyplacementschool.

PartOne:StatementofEducationalPhilosophy:Withthebenefitofafewyearsworkingwithyoungpeopleinanotforprofitcontextassocialworker,outdoorfacilitatorandteachingassistantoverthecourseofthepast5years,Ihavehadtheprivilegeofinteractingwithyoungpeopleoutsideofschool-basedsettings.Itisdebateableastowhethertheypresentmoreorlessasthemselvesinsuchcontexts,howeverIhavebeenluckytobearwitnesstoinformaleducationalapproachesthatbringyoungpeopleoutoftheirshellandallowthemtoengageinfulfillingandengagedliveswithinthecontextofsuchexternaleducation.HavingjustcompletedamonthsteachingroundsataschoolinMelbournesinnerWest,IwasluckyinthatIwasgivenalotoffreedom(aswellasresponsibility)bymymentorteacherwiththeearlyannouncementthatIwouldbeteachingtheentiretyoftheclassesforthemonth.Howeverchallenging,Icertainlywastednotime

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infindingoutexactlywhatworked(ordidnt)formyselfandformystudentsintheestablishmentofaclassroomcharter,orlayingthefoundationsforwhatishopedtorepresentmyeventualphilosophy.ItwasduringthistimethatIwasabletoatleastbeginapplyingsomeoftheselong-standing(butasofyetuntested)valuesandprinciples.AsIplayedrelativelysafeinadheringtocurricularneedsformyfirstboutofrounds,IwouldliketobeabletotakeitupanotchinSeptember;thestudentsarefartoousedtoROTElearningandcouldbenefitfromthingsbeingshakenupalittleinclass.Havingbecomefamiliarwithtime,spaceandtimetablingconstraintsthatfaceteacherseveryday,Inowunderstandhowdifficultitcanbetoprovideanintegratedcurriculuminageneralistclassroom.Despitesuchchallenges,Iwouldliketoatleastattemptcontinueincorporatingsomeinterdisciplinaryelementsintotheirlearning,aswellassometheoriesandphilosophiesoutlinedinthefollowingdiscussion.AsaPre-ServiceTeacherinthefirstyearandsemesterofaMasterscourse,itcanbedifficulttoformulateonesteachingphilosophywhenonehasnotyethadtheopportunitytoadequatelyexplore,accessandandapplythefullextentofinformationandresourcesavailableatourdisposal.Thistakestimetofullydevelop,andImsureissomethingthatisconstantlyevolvingwiththeadventofnewteachingexperiences,professionaldevelopmentandopportunitiesforfurthergrowth.Thereisnostand-aloneexampleofonetheorythatrepresentsmyoverarchingphilosophy,thusthefollowingdescriptionbrieflysummarisesrangeofapproachesandtheoriesthatIhavehavesensedanaffinitywithatthisearlypointofmyfuturecareer.

1) Humanism:Humanismplacesthechildatcentreoflearning;supportingthefacilitationofindividualgrowthandthepromotionofselfdiscovery.Thetheoryaimstoinstillinthelearnerthedesiretoexploreandworktowardsabetterworld.Childrenandyoungpeopleareconsideredasinherentlycurious,thuslearningactivitiesshouldbeapproachedfromanallencompassing,holisticperspective.Emphasisisplaceduponestablishingasafelearningenvironmentthatacknowledgesthewholeperson,connectingthelearningtothestudentsdailylivesandculturalunderstanding(Rogers,1951).Throughthisphilosophy:1) Knowledgeisconsideredasuniversallyregarded2) Studentsparticipateinalldecisionsthataffecttheirlives3) Knowledgeofrightsismadeknown4) Equalencouragementgiventoallstudents

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i) IntegratedCurriculum:

AccordingtoPigdonandWoolley(1992),integratedapproachesallowlearnerstoexplore,gather,process,refineandpresentinformationabouttopicstheywanttoinvestigatewithouttheconstraintsimposedbytraditionalsubjectbarriers.Integratedlearningworksbylinkingorcombiningthecontentandstructureofvarioussubjectsordisciplines,withoutsacrificingtheintegralcomponentsofsubjectsordisciplines.SeveralAreasofknowledgearebroughttogetheraroundathemeorinvestigationofinterest;thusprovidingacontextforlearningandconnectingstudentswitheachotherandtheircommunity.(https://vucollaborate.vu.edu.au/d2l/le/content/49121/viewContent/762061/View)AdditionalResources:Drake,S.M.,&Reid,J.(2010).Integratedcurriculum:Increasingrelevancewhilemaintainingaccountability.Whatworks,28,1-4.

ii) 8AboriginalWaysofLearning:

http://8ways.wikispaces.com/

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2) Cognitive:

i) MultipleIntelligences(Gardner,1999)

https://gradeslam.org/blog/multiple-intelligence-theory-is-it-real

Thistheorystatesthathumanintelligencecannotbesolelytermedasasinglegeneralability,butmoresoasmultimodalandmultifaceted.

ii) VARK:(Fleming,1987)

http://p138559.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/basic-learning-styles-vark-method.html

StudentsuseVARKinordertobecomeawareofthestrengthsintheirlearningstylesandapplythem

accordingly.Mostpeoplearemultimodalandusearangeofstyles.

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iii)BloomsRevisedTaxonomy(AndersonandKrathwohl,2001)

Ina2001revisionofBloomsoriginal1950smodel, Creativitybecamehighestorderthinkinglevel Nounswerechangedtoverbs:topromotemoreactivethinkingskills Sixthinkingcategoriesandfourknowledgecategoriesplacedalongsideeachother Thecategoriesbecamelessrestrictive:thinkingskillsshouldoverlapandsynthesise

3) SocialCognitive:Studentsareconsideredtobethecreatorsofknowledgeratherthanitreceivingpassively.Thisknowledgeisformedonthebasisofpriorexperience,aswellaspersonallevelsofphysical,emotionalandcognitivedevelopment.

i) CooperativeLearning:(informal)

CooperativeLearningisusedinexploringasmallconceptorissue Itisausefultoolforachievinggroupunderstandingandthesharingofideas Groupsareprovidedwithaconcept;theythenjointogetherandeachpersonsharestheir

individualunderstandingoftheconcept. Thegroupeventuallycomestoapointofgroupconsensusandmutualunderstanding,whilst

ensuringtheytheyabletoexplaintheconceptindividuallyandcandosoforothers(Johnson,Johnson,&Holubec,1994).

http://joannmajor.org/toolkit/developingObjectives.html

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ii) Negotiatingthecurriculum:Studentsareinvolvedfromtheoutset,andareinvitedtoplayvitalapartinnegotiatingwhatwillmakeupthecurriculum.Itisatwo-wayprocessbetweenteachersandstudentsthatremainswithinthestructureoftheoverarchingcurriculum.Itispossible,however,tobuildacurriculumentirelythroughprocessesofnegotiation.Itisimportanttoemphasisethesharingofpoweranddecisionmakingequallybetweenteachersandstudents.(Boomer,2005)Thenegotiationfollowsaprocessofworkingthroughfourkeyquestions:

Whatdowealreadyknow? Whatdoweneed/wanttofindout? Howwillwegoaboutfindingout? Howwillweknowandthatwehavegottenthere?

4) Constructivism

Constructivismcombinesmultiplelearningtheories.Supportersofthistheorybelieveknowledgecannotbecreatedindependentlyofmeaning(asitiscreatedbytheindividual);thecreationofwhichishighlydependentintheirpastexperienceandknowledgestructures.Constructivistlearningismosteffectivewhenlearnerscanrelatewhattheyarelearningtotheirownpreviousexperience;thuscreatinganimbalanceintheircognitivestructures.Suchdisequilibriumpusheslearnerstoreviewtheexperienceinrelationtocurrentknowledgeandthereforecreatenewunderstanding.Adaptedfrom:https://vucollaborate.vu.edu.au/d2l/le/content/44923/viewContent/807950/View

i) SpiralsOfThinkingTheinquiryintocurriculumshouldbeaspiralinwhichideasareintroducedinasimplecontextinwhichthelearnerreturnstotheideasagainandagain,eachtimewithmorecomplexityanddetail.Brunerstatedtheimportanceoftheorganizationofmaterial,theorizingthatevenyoungchildrencouldunderstandcomplexideasiftheywerepresentedinrelevantways.Iftheintroductionofnewmaterialwassupportedandscaffoldedtobecomepartofchildren'scurrentexperiencesandunderstanding,theycancontinuetobuildonthiscomprehension(Bruner,1960).AdditionalResource:BrunermakesthecaseforaSpiralCurriculum.http://infed.org/mobi/jerome-bruner-and-the-process-of-education/

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ii) ExperientialLearning:ExperientialLearningisaprocessbywhichbypeople,individuallyandinassociationwithothers,engageindirectencounterandthenpurposefullyreflectupon,validate,transform,givepersonalmeaningandseektointegratetheirdifferentwaysofknowing.Experientiallearningthereforeenablesthediscoveryofpossibilitiesthatmaynotbeevidentfromthedirectexperiencesalone(Weil,S.W.,&McGill,I.,1989).Keyfactors:

Voluntaryengagementbyparticipant Relevant,meaningfulandsafesocialcontext/environment Interdependentrelationshipsbetweenallparticipants Timeforreflectionandprocessingofthelearningexperiences Opportunitytotestnewbehavioursand/orperceptions

iii) Inquiry-basedlearningAspartofthisprocess,studentstypicallyengageininvestigatingreal-worldquestionsoftheirownchoosing,usuallybeingatopicthatisofimportancetothem.Theteacherassiststhestudentsinvestigationbyactingasguide;steppingintofacilitatedirectionandmindfulenquiringasneeded.IBLcanalsoreversethetraditionalorderoflearning;wherelearningneedsareestablished,appliedandsubsequentlyreviewedthroughapp