ELT General Supervision (2019-2020) Active Learning PDF

GUIDELINES PAMPHLET (ELT SPERVISOR) ELT GENERAL SUPERVISION (2019 – 2020) ❶ Active Learning Active learning can be described as an “umbrella” term that includes several teaching/learning strategies. All of them involve students being actively engaged in content. Active learning embraces approaches s...

GUIDELINES PAMPHLET (ELT SPERVISOR) ELT GENERAL SUPERVISION (2019 – 2020) ❶ Active Learning Active learning can be described as an “umbrella” term that includes several teaching/learning strategies. All of them involve students being actively engaged in content. Active learning embraces approaches such as collaborative and cooperative learning, problem-based learning, simulation, and experiential learning (Barkley, 2010). Active learning suggests that students make cognitive connections that foster deep learning when they are able to, “read, write, discuss, or be engaged in solving problems.” (Bonwell & Eison, 1991, p.1). Activities such as these allow students to engage in higher-order thinking by analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating the content (Bonwell & Eison, 1991), rather than simply memorizing it. Therefore, by taking an active role in the learning process, students are empowered to become "co-producers of learning" (Barr and Tagg 1995). (Allen & Tanner 2003) define active learning as an approach that aims " to model the methods and mindsets which are at the heart of scientific inquiry, and to provide opportunities for students to connect abstract ideas to their real world applications and acquire useful skills, and in so doing gain knowledge that persists beyond the course experience in which it was acquired.” Active Learning is comprised of a student centered environment which raises student’s motivational level to stimulate thinking and go beyond facts and details (Brody 2009). The Main Features of Active Learning:            Active cognitive attitude of students. The student is a discoverer & researcher. The teacher is a facilitator. Dialogic nature of learning: collaboration of students and teachers, joint problem solving, group interaction feedback. Inquiry-based learning, problem solving, cooperative learning. Support for different types of thinking (logical, critical, creative). Stimulation of autonomy and independence of thought. Creative application of knowledge for the achievement of life goals. Respectful and trusting style of relationship between students and teacher. The variety of techniques and methods, types of activities and sources of information. Use the effective methods of organization and evaluation of learning activities. Cooperative Learning Structures help teachers to meet the highest three layers. Discussion: no one student can dominate and no student can sit back and have a ‘free-ride’. Practice Doing: a higher percentage of the class is active at one time. Teach Others: because of the Positive Interdependence principle the students will often coach and tutor each other. Table of Contents 3 GUIDELINES PAMPHLET (ELT SPERVISOR) ELT GENERAL SUPERVISION (2019 – 2020) How Teachers Teach In Active Classroom  Teachers create environments wherein children are actively invited to seek knowledge through exploration and play.  Children have an active voice in initiating learning needs. teachers respond to these needs by planning learning experiences that are:  Enjoyable  Challenging, intellectually interesting  Allow the learner freedom to make choices, self-direct learning, and collaborate with the teacher in the active construction of knowledge. 4 *(ELTGeneralSupervision Document) In Active Learning, Students Learn Best When              Student motivation is generated and maintained, fostering sustained learning. A supportive learning environment is created. Learning is developmental i.e. learning experiences are age-appropriate, Students' skills and interests are identified and stimulated. The transfer of knowledge, values, and attitudes is encouraged. Reflective thought and action are promoted. The relevance of new learning is enhanced. Encouraged to make connections to prior learning and experiences. Learning is relevant and situated within a meaningful context. Make connections between different subjects. Understanding rather than rote learning is fostered. Control their own learning. Metacognitive strategies are properly implemented. *(ELT General Supervision Document) Table of Contents GUIDELINES PAMPHLET (ELT SPERVISOR) ELT GENERAL SUPERVISION (2019 – 2020) Think-Pair-Share The most well-known active learning method is think-pair-share. First, the teacher asks a question that will challenge students, and then gets them to think for two to three minutes Active Learning Techniques by themselves. Then, pairs them in twos or threes to discuss their conclusions for no more than five minutes. After that, groups are called on to share those conclusions, or ask for volunteers. This technique can help to recapture enthusiasm and remind students that their learning is not taking place in isolation. (Preville 2018) 1. Minute Papers During the reflection stage, students, either alone or in pairs, are asked to answer a question in writing. The submitted responses from this active learning construct can be used to gauge student learning and student comprehension of the material. The minute paper wraps up the formal class period by asking two questions:  What was the most important thing you learned today?  What question still remains in your mind? The first question requires students to remember something from class and articulate it in their own words, as well as making sure they do some quick thinking. Students have to reflect on their learning experience, and decide on the main point of that day’s class. The second question encourages them to consider what they haven’t truly understood. Most of us are infected by what learning theorists sometimes call “illusions of fluency,” which means that we believe we have obtained mastery over something when we truly have not. To answer the second question, students have to decide where confusion or weaknesses remain in their own comprehension. (Preville 2018) 2. Quick Quizzes Teachers can administer this technique either at the outset of class or during a pause. It is used to assess comprehension, not meant to be graded. One way to make this a meaningful exercise, and to scale it across a large classroom, is to use technology to ask a multiple-choice question. You can do this at the beginning of class to challenge or to check an assumption before a class begins, and then ask the same question at the end. You can then compare and pair the results of the two questions and get instant feedback about the effectiveness of your lesson. (Preville 2018) 3. Debates This technique both helps students to defend different opinions and to structure class discussion. It also ensures that even passive learners have the chance to get engaged. In his active learning-enabled classes, Tony Crider assigns his students roles of historical characters. One of his classes is called the “Pluto Debates,” wherein leading lights of the astronomy world argue over whether or not Pluto should be considered a planet. Every student has a character sheet, with his or her secret victory conditions, i.e., “You’ll win if the vote turns out this way, or that way.” For Crider, the key was getting his students invested in how astronomers make sense of objects, how they classify them and how they make decisions together. In fact, the simulation aspect of this approach really draws students in, to the point where they’ll often prepare more for Crider’s class than others. (Preville 2018) 4. Case Studies and Problem Solving In this active learning technique, students work in groups, applying knowledge gained from reading materials to a given situation. This is more spontaneous than setting your students multi-week formal group projects. Christopher Bone states that Active learning is an important part of his pedagogy because it encourages students to apply knowledge, rather than recite it back to the class. “I used to tell students, ‘click here, click there, do this, do that’ so they became good at following instructions,” he says. “I think that’s an analogy of how we approach education. We’re producing students who are good at doing what they’re told to do, but they’re not good at solving problems on the fly, which is what they’ll be expected to do as soon as they enter the job market.” (Preville 2018) Table of Contents 5 GUIDELINES PAMPHLET (ELT SPERVISOR) ELT GENERAL SUPERVISION (2019 – 2020) It is designed to discover whether a student has a talent or basic ability for learning a new language or not. )Ramadan, 2014) 5. Peer Instruction With the help of the teacher, students prepare and present course material to the class. This encourages interaction and trust-building between students, which can be an underappreciated factor in student success. Thomas Hayden, a professor at Stanford University, explains: “As an introductory assignment, I have the students teach each other about the things they know best. Hayden bans his students from using PowerPoint slides. This forces them to think creatively about how they communicate what they know to an unfamiliar audience. The result is a class primed to learn outside of their field—with those important peer-to-peer relationships already seeded. (Preville 2018) 6. Flipped Classrooms Through the use of readings, videos, individual or cooperative activities, students' first exposure to content are shifted outside of the classroom. Then during class, a significant portion of the time is used for practice, application exercises, discussion-based activities, team-based learning, or other active learning techniques. Some preliminary assessment, such as an online quiz or brief assignment, may be used to gauge student understanding and tailor instructional plans prior to class. (Preville 2018) & & 6 *(ELTGeneralSupervision Document) Stages of Active Learning Lesson Stage Result 1) Motivation - present a problem-issue, generate the several A research question and several specific suggestions(hypotheses); formulation of a research question and specific suggestions. suggestion(hypotheses) 2) Carrying out research - find facts to check assumptions and answer the Research work, new facts and findings. research question 3) Sharing information - present the new informational and results of the New information for discussion. independent research Table of Contents GUIDELINES PAMPHLET (ELT SPERVISOR) ELT GENERAL SUPERVISION (2019 – 2020) 4) Discussion and organizing of information – discussion of information , Systemized information. finding connections between facts , systemize new knowledge 5) Generalization and conclusion - summary of results, comparison of New knowledge (conclusion). result with the initial suggestions, answer to the research question 6) Creative application - using the knowledge in a new context or using Experiencing and understanding the use of the the theory in practice new knowledge and skills 7) Evaluation and reflection – self-evaluation and reflection of own Self-evaluation skills, learning how to learn, activity, can be conducted at any stage understanding of the learning process. Lesson Stage 1: Motivation, Formulation of the Research Question  To begin the research, the first need is to address the problem. The real problem always is challenging and generates a number of assumptions (hypotheses) based on which the research question will be formulated.  This stage is called the motivation stage because it induces the beginning of any activity.  During an active lesson, the problem and the need for its resolution act as motivation that initiates the process of thinking and activates cognitive activity of students. (ELT General Supervision Document,2017) Lesson Stage 2: Carrying out Research (Inquiry)  A variety of learning assignments, including the new information and new questions, will contribute to this and lead the students purposefully to the problem solving.  Finding the new facts and answers to these questions represent the basis for analyzing and discovery of new knowledge.  Research could be conducted in various ways: with the whole class, in small groups, in pairs or individually. (ELT General Supervision Document) Lesson Stage 3: Sharing the Information  At this stage, the students share their findings, new information which was obtained during the inquiry.  The need to find an answer to the question encourages all students to listen actively to the presentation of research findings of others.  A new need appears-to put in order and systematize this knowledge, to find the main idea, to draw the conclusion and to answer the research question. (ELT General Supervision Document,2017) Lesson Stage 4: Discussion and Organizing the Information  This step is the most difficult, requiring the mobilization of all the thinking skills related to the different types: logical, critical and creative.  The teacher facilitates a focused discussion on the facts gained during the research and manages the information structure.  Organizing information is aimed at identifying the relationship between all the facts and their systematization. As a result, the answer to the research question starts to be recognized. (ELT General Supervision Document) Lesson Stage 5: Generalization and Conclusion  Students need not only to generalize the knowledge, but also to relate their conclusion with a research question and hypotheses. Table of Contents 7 GUIDELINES PAMPHLET (ELT SPERVISOR) ELT GENERAL SUPERVISION (2019 – 2020)  The culmination of the lesson is the joy of discovery and students’ satisfaction that they discovered the new knowledge. It is important at this stage that the teacher should refrain from drawing the conclusion of the lesson. (ELT General Supervision Document) Lesson Stage 6: Creative Application  The main criterion of the knowledge assimilation is represented by its creative application. Creative application consolidates the knowledge and opens up its practical sense to a child.  It is desirable to provide students with the opportunity for the creative application of their knowledge because, in this case, the knowledge becomes the property of their consciousness forever. This stage is not strictly bound by time to one academic lesson. (ELT General Supervision Document) Lesson Stage 7: Evaluation and Reflection  One of the most important features of active learning is the ability to self-learning skills (learning to learn) and self-development.  Evaluation is a mechanism to ensure the improvement of any process. In order to improve, students need time to find their weaknesses and their dignity, to determine what prevents and helps in achieving that success.  Assessment and reflection can be incorporated throughout the various stages of the lesson that can also contribute to improving the learning process. (ELT General Supervision Document, 2017) Reflection  Reflection on the process of learning is one of the main mechanisms to analyze and deeper understand all stages of learning acquisition.  In order to start the process of reflection on the learning process (how to learn) it is enough to ask a few questions that lead to the discovery of new knowledge.  How did we come to and what do we do in order to further explore the idea?  What has helped you in solving the problem? (ELT General Supervision Document, 2017) Questions for Reflective Discussion           What happened? How did you feel when...? Did anyone feel differently? What did you notice in relation to...? How do you feel about the experience...? Does anyone in the group feel the same in relation to...? Do you agree / disagree with what the others said? Why? Does anyone want to add something? What? Did that surprise you? Why? Would you share with us how you understood...? (ELT General Supervision Document,2017) Table of Contents 8