General Pedagogy Trainees’ Module PDF

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Ministry of Education Special Capacity Building Training Program for Secondary School Teachers General Pedagogy Trainees’ Module June, 2024 Ministry of Education Addis Ababa Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Ministry of Education Special Capacity Building Training Program for Secondary School Teachers General Pedagogy Trainees’ Module Writer: Tadesse Melesse (Professor), Bahir Dar University Reviewer: Adula Bekele (Ph.D, Asso. Professor), Kotebe Education University June, 2024 Ministry of Education Addis Ababa i Contents page 1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Background......................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Purpose of the Module................................................................................................................. 4 1.3. Module Competencies................................................................................................................. 5 1.4. Pedagogical Approaches.............................................................................................................. 6 1.5. Assessment Recommendations.................................................................................................... 9 2. STRUCTURE OF THE MODULE.................................................................................................... 10 Unit 1: The Concept of Curriculum and the New Curriculum Reform (5 hrs.).......................................... 12 Session 1.1: Concepts of curriculum and components of curriculum materials..................................... 13 Session1. 2: Major reforms in the new curriculum and reasons for the reform...................................... 18 Session 1.3: Competency-based curriculum and instruction.................................................................. 21 Unit Two: Teaching, Learning, and Quality Teachers (8 hrs.).................................................................. 27 Session 2.1: Quality teachers and their professional attributes............................................................... 28 Session 2.2: Teaching, learning, and teacher quality.............................................................................. 34 Session 2.3: Active Learning Strategies................................................................................................. 37 Session 3.4: Experiential learning and inclusion of indigenous knowledge........................................... 48 Unit 3: Differentiated Instruction (5 hrs.)................................................................................................... 54 Session 3.1: Learners’ diversity in classrooms and accommodating their learning................................ 55 Session 3. 2: Creating a gender-responsive and inclusive classroom environment................................ 59 Session 3.3: Learning styles and multiple intelligences of learners and Instructional media usage...... 63 Session 3.4: Conducive classroom management and managing large class size.................................... 69 Unit Four: Assessment and feedback practices for students’ learning (3 hrs.)........................................... 72 Session 4.1: Concepts, purposes, and characteristics of continuous assessment.................................... 73 Session 4.2: Tools of assessment and techniques of providing constructive feedback........................... 76 Unit Five: Creating and Implementing Constructively Aligned Instructional Plans (3 hrs.)...................... 80 Session 5.1: Concepts of instructional planning and its components..................................................... 81 Session 5.2: Developing annual plan and lesson plans........................................................................... 84 Unit Six: Mental Health and Psycho-social Support for Teachers and School Leaders (3 hrs.)................. 89 Session 6.1: Assessment/Identification of Students with Psychosocial Problems in schools/Classrooms................................................................................................................................................................ 89 Session 6.2: Supporting Students with Mental Health and Psychosocial Problems............................... 92 Session 6.3: Integrating MPHSS in to the Teaching – Learning process............................................... 96 ii 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Over the past decades, Ethiopia has been undertaking inexorable efforts to improve access, equity, and quality in education. For this, a series of education sector development programs (ESDPs I- VI) has been implemented. The government has also introduced various initiatives to boost the quality of education within the existing national circumstances. Among such initiatives is the general education quality improvement package (GEQIP), a five-year round initiative introduced during the early 2000s with the sixth round in operation now. Through this and other interventions over the last two decades, teachers’ qualifications have improved from certificate to diploma, from diploma to bachelor’s degree, and so on; the supply and distribution of books have substantially upgraded; a series of curriculum reforms made; and a shift from teacher-centered to learner- centered methods of curriculum delivery have been promoted. However, despite such efforts, learning outcomes remain outrageous. Results of the different time regional and national learning assessments have been very low and also teacher competency tests were minimal (e.g., only 24.4% in the 2019/20 academic year). To overcome the lingering challenges, a national study was conducted in 2018 that came up with an education and training roadmap. Following the roadmap study and other related studies, Ethiopia has recently undertaken a thorough reform of the general education curriculum to respond to prevailing needs: updating in response to the changing state of knowledge and technology, improving relevance, fine-tuning the methodological shapes and, in general, to align with the prevailing developments in educational or instructional technologies. These new reforms were because the previous curriculum was theory-oriented, not competence- based, had too many subjects and content-focused, excluded indigenous knowledge, lacked link with productivity and the world of work, lacked provision of moral education, failed to include the 21st-century competencies and lack of provision for the gifted and the talented. Based on the reforms of the general education curriculum, new teaching-learning materials have been developed that started to be implemented since September 2023. However, due to the colossal nature of the system and organizational setup, many teachers are interpreting the teaching-learning 1 materials in their capacity and delivering the contents or learning areas alike for lack of a well- organized induction program to the curriculum implementation. This presumes variations that would have reverberating stands acclaiming learning is taking place in schools, while assessment result shows negative prosecution and this would entail critical concern on attaining intentions of the curriculum reform. Accordingly, curriculum implementation has to be preceded by an appropriate induction program for teachers to promote informed entry. It is, therefore, a key undertaking to organize a special capacity-building training program for teachers to support them in understanding the intents and contents of the reformed curriculum and the anticipated position for instructional approaches of each subject. As teachers are the key agents for students' learning and play extraordinary roles in improving students’ learning outcomes, the necessary support would be provided for the teachers to be knowledgeable about their subjects, competent enough in their pedagogy, and have professional ethics that inform their actions. Whenever a new curriculum is introduced, the fundamental shifts introduced in the current curriculum reform should be introduced to teachers on what the curriculum constitutes and how it should be implemented. Evidence obtained during the pilot study of the reformed curriculum and the conducted need assessment survey on the implementation of the new curricula attests to the need to intensively train the teachers in general pedagogy, subject matter, and technological applications, which scholars also called ‘Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge’(TPACK). The major reasons to carefully design and develop a general pedagogy training manual for this special teacher training package as part of the big teacher development program (TDP) are due to: (1) the introduction of the new curriculum reforms; (2) a large number of teachers who joined the teaching profession are from the applied field; (3) the fact that the previous postgraduate diploma in teaching (PgDT) program has not been effectively implemented in the teacher training institutions; and (4) the need assessment results reported low teachers’ pedagogical competencies. Hence, the MoE has decided to conduct an institutionalized face-to-face special capacity-building training for all teachers involved in the general education sector for an effective 20 days (120 hours) on general 2 pedagogy and selected subject matters. Out of this time, 20% (24 hrs.) of the total training is allotted for the General Pedagogy training. Without knowing and understanding the intents and contents of the reformed curriculum it is difficult to capture the foundations of better preparation and delivery in schools. Thus, teachers need to have grounded knowledge and understanding of the learning areas in the subjects they teach and rethink the instructional approaches and modalities useful to teach the content for diverse students in the classroom. Therefore, this trainer guide of General Pedagogy is prepared for the trainers to consistently guide the training of teachers on general pedagogical concepts across the regions, grade levels, and subjects. Since General Pedagogy is about the art, science, or profession of teaching, it will also assist trainers in being exposed to the introduction of curriculum concepts and its components, the major nuances and tenets of the curriculum reform, competence-based instruction, the major pedagogical (active learning) principles, differentiated instruction strategies, creating safe and conducive classroom environments, continuous assessment practices and designing instructional plans. Yet, the detailed areas of the reforms of each subject matter will be addressed in the subject area training modules. Although pedagogy itself is a contested term, it involves activities that evoke changes in the learner. Pedagogy comprises teachers’ ideas, contextually based beliefs, attitudes, knowledge, and understanding about the curriculum, the teaching-learning process, and their students which impact their ‘teaching practices’ in the classroom. The ultimate goal of this General Pedagogy is to create a platform for trainees to discuss and share their experiences, to trigger and motivate them to be inquirers of knowledge, skills, and values; to link their training with the school-based continuous professional development (CPD) and ultimately to further develop the creative, emotional, and social learning of their students. The design of this module was based on the following principles or assumptions that guide the training program: i. It is anchored in the new curriculum; ii. It is rooted in the lived experiences of the teachers and the learners; 3 iii. It applies both the pedagogy of investigation and the pedagogy of enactment; iv. It involves inclusiveness and diversity in instruction; v. It ensures teacher learning as lifelong learning (teacher learning continuum); vi. It promotes continuous collaborative engagement among teachers; vii. It connects to or utilization of local socio-cultural and environmental assets to facilitate relevant learning; and viii. It promotes differentiation and learner support. Hence, the training will also be dictated in line with these principles and assumptions. 1.2. Purpose of the Module All human beings are born to learn continuously to survive, live, and thrive. Across our lifespans, learning takes place through institutionalized, intentional, and planned education in formal and non-formal settings, as well as informally in families, communities, and other spaces. To ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning in schools, empowering teachers’ professional knowledge, professional practice, and professional engagement as their major professional attributes is decisive. Due to this fact, the current Ethiopian general education framework also encompasses the following major capabilities that teachers are expected to develop as their professional attributes: learning to learn, knowledge of the subject matter, critical thinking and problem-solving, innovation and creativity, communication skills, teamwork and collaboration, leadership and decision making, research skills, indigenization, social responsibility, inclusiveness, socio-emotional skills, digital literacy and maintaining a professional appearance. Consequently, the main purpose of this module of General Pedagogy is to provide inquiry-based thoughts on the new curriculum reform and the general teaching-learning processes. Specifically, as part of the reform, this General Pedagogy module for trainees is aimed at: Introducing the major curriculum concepts and their components and major curriculum reforms of the new general education curriculum. Providing precise information to trainees about the qualities and knowledge areas of effective or ideal teachers. 4 Providing them with opportunities to explore their students’ differences and the mechanisms of accommodating the student differences in their classroom teaching through applying differentiated instruction. Exposing them to the application of gender-responsive and inclusive classroom environments. Highlighting them with the different active learning strategies that help students acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, and values. Providing the different concepts of classroom management and gadgets to create a conducive classroom environment for learners and managing large class sizes. Aware of the concepts, purposes, and tools of continuous assessment strategies to be applied before, during, and after instruction. Assisting them gain the necessary insight into instructional planning components, objective formulation, and the skills required to develop annual and lesson plans. 1.3. Module Competencies After completing the training of this module, trainees are expected to attain the following competencies. Equip trainees with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of the new curriculum reforms appropriate for developing competency-based curriculum. Solidify the trainees’ conceptual and practical understanding of learning and teaching with Ethiopia’s new competency-based curriculum Equip with the necessary knowledge and skills to identify diverse student characteristics, how they learn and know the contents, and accommodating these diversities through applying differentiated instruction in their classroom teaching. Develop professional knowledge, professional practice, and professional engagement of trainees both individually and in groups. Equip them with practice-based, context-based, and learner-centered training methods that they will use to deliver in their classroom teaching. Acquaint trainees with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of applying the various active learning strategies in their classroom teaching practices. 5 The desire to and conviction towards facilitation of learning as espoused in the reformed curriculum and creating and maintaining supportive and safe learning environments. Develop the capacity to assess, run follow-up or monitoring, provide feedback, and report on students’ progress towards the desired level of competence using carefully designed tools. Equip trainees with the capability of developing lesson plans to implement effective teaching and learning. 1.4. Pedagogical Approaches As a pedagogical approach, active and participatory teaching-learning approaches are employed throughout the module. Activities are mainly experiential in nature, and trainees are required to actively engage as participants in all of the lessons. Although there are various pedagogical approaches and principles, the following five pedagogical approaches are cornerstones to this training of fundamentals of pedagogy. Each of these approaches is usually placed on a spectrum from teacher-focused to learner-focused pedagogy which is centered around learners’ playing an active role in the learning processes. The 5 major Pedagogical approaches involve the following: 6 1 The Constructivist Approach The constructivist approach is based on the idea that people actively construct or make their own knowledge, and that reality is determined by your experiences as a learner. As people experience the world and reflect upon those experiences, they build their own representations and incorporate new information into their pre-existing knowledge (schemas). Basically, learners use their previous knowledge as a foundation and build on it with new things that they learn. Learners create their understanding of the world around them based on experience through their everyday lives as they grow. Using specific experiences, people transform the information they’ve accumulated into knowledge and understanding. Constructionist learning involves students drawing their own conclusions through creative experimentation and the making of social objects. This approach is handy for allowing learners to take a more active role in the learning process, as it encourages them to use their previous knowledge for understanding new concepts. The constructionist teacher takes on a meditational role rather than adopting an instructional role. 2 Collaborative Approach The collaborative/cooperative approach involves trainees working together on activities or learning tasks in a small group. Trainees in the group may work on separate tasks or work together on a shared task to solve problems, complete chores, or learn new concepts. This approach puts a big emphasis on collaborative learning to gain a greater understanding of the information they’ve been presented with. The strength of this approach is that trainees can capitalise on each other’s understanding of the information, and even their unique skills and resources. The approach actively engages trainees to process and synthesize information, develop higher-level thinking, oral communication, self-management, and leadership skills, promote student-faculty interaction, and increase in student retention, self-esteem, and responsibility. This process allows learners to create an environment where people can interact with each other by sharing experiences and knowledge through exchanging ideas and information, and even evaluating or monitoring somebody else’s work. 7 3 The Reflective Approach Reflective Practice is a method of assessing our thoughts and actions for personal learning and development. It focuses primarily on analyzing what the teacher and learners are doing in the classroom and encourage thinking about teaching practices and figuring out ways to improve them in an attempt to make learning processes more effective for a class of learners. This can be done through self-evaluation and self-reflection as ways to essentially learn more about your practice, improve a certain practice, or focus on problems learners are having. The reflective pedagogical approach involves teachers continually thinking about and reflecting on their teaching. The goal is for teachers to learn more about their practices and make improvements going forward. Reflective teaching is a process that involves three distinct styles of reflective practice: reflection-in- action (thinking on your feet/reflection amid action), reflection-on-action (retrospective thinking /thinking back), and reflection-for-action Reflection-in-action takes place in the classroom. The process of reflection is as follows. 4 Integrative Learning Approach Integrative learning is a teaching pedagogy that helps trainees connect concepts they’re learning to real-world experiences (bridge the gap between the classroom and workplace), adapt to the needs of a rapidly changing workplace, and help learners develop the transferable skills needed and develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for their subject area. It often involves three steps including integrative inquiry (asking meaningful questions), application and transfer (applying skills to new situations) and reflection (making personal and professional plans based on self-reflection). 8 Integrated teaching and learning approaches, combine guided play and learning, adult-led learning, and child-directed play and learning. This approach can help trainees in the synthesis and integration of knowledge, acquire the ability to solve problems, and encourage their critical, creative, and unconventional thinking. As it can help learners gain a broader understanding of the world around them by linking together bits of related information, this kind of approach can help learners stay engaged on the topics they’re learning about. 5 Inquiry-Based Approach The inquiry-based approach encourages learners to engage in exploration, investigation, research, and study. It begins with presenting questions, scenarios, or problems that require critical thinking to solve, which is vastly different from other approaches where facts are presented simply. This approach requires more than just simply giving the correct answers to questions and encourages more thoughtful and engaged participation from learners in the entire cycle of inquiry (5E’s i.e., engaging, exploring, explaining, extending/ experimenting & interpreting, evaluating & communicating results). Inquiry-based learning is not about using new tasks or practical experiments rather it is the perspective on learning that creates a new learning culture in the classroom. 1.5. Assessment Recommendations To confirm that the trainees have acquired the relevant knowledge, skills, and attitudes, both formative and summative assessment techniques will be employed. During the training process, continuous-based assessment will be conducted mainly for learning and feedback purposes. Moreover, this ongoing assessment will also be carried out to identify achievements and shortcomings in the delivery of the module and appraise the overall execution of the pedagogy and areas for improving it and its delivery. Finally, end of course assessment will be administered to gain a summative appraisal of the module. 9 Moreover, after trainees have completed the training and its impact on their actual school practices, a follow-up evaluation will be conducted. This follow-up evaluation will be useful to identify the strengths of trainees’ actual classroom teaching practices as per their training and also to investigate additional gaps for further improvement of the training. The follow-up may be conducted using a questionnaire, interview, portfolio review, or classroom observation. 2. STRUCTURE OF THE MODULE This module consists of five units and the units are divided into different sessions, each session dealing with one main topic. The sessions are designed in such a way that trainees will become active participants in the training process. Generally, introductions of the module, general objectives, activities, key ideas, and some implications are addressed. Units of the module include the following. 1. Unit One: The Concepts of Curriculum and the New Curriculum Reform (5 hrs.) Session 1.1: Components of a curriculum Session 1.2: Major shifts in the new curriculum and reasons for change Session 1.3: Competence-based Curriculum and Instruction 2. Unit Two: Teaching-Learning and Quality Teachers (8 hrs.) Session 2.1: Knowledge areas of quality teachers Session 2.2: Teaching, learning, and teacher quality Session 2.3: Active learning strategies Session 3.4: Experiential learning and inclusion of indigenous knowledge 3. Unit Three: Differentiated Instruction (5 hrs.) Session 3.1: Recognizing learners’ diversity in classrooms and accommodating their diversity in learning Session 3.2: Creating a gender-responsive and inclusive and classroom environment Session 3.3: Instructional media usage versus students’ learning styles and multiple intelligences Session 3.4. Conducive classroom management and managing large class size 4. Unit Four: Assessment and feedback practices for students’ learning (3 hrs.) Session 4.1: Concepts and purposes of continuous assessment 10 Session 4.2: Components/ tools of assessment and techniques of providing constructive feedback 5. Unit Five: Creating and Implementing Constructively Aligned Instructional Plans (3 hrs.) Session 5.1: Concepts of instructional planning and formulation of objectives Session 5.2: Developing annual and lesson plans. 11 Unit 1: The Concept of Curriculum and the New Curriculum Reform (5 hrs.) Unit Introduction This first unit highlights trainees about the concepts of curriculum and the major components of curriculum materials that are expected to be used by teachers in their classroom teaching. The unit also edifies on the new Ethiopian general education curriculum reforms, reasons for curriculum change, and the focus areas of the new curriculum reform. Moreover, this unit enlightens the concepts of competence-based curriculum and instruction. Unit Objectives After completing this unit, trainees will be able to: Comprehend the concepts of curriculum. Identify the components of curriculum materials teachers are expected to use in their teaching-learning. Use appropriately the different curriculum materials in their classroom teaching. Recognize the major reform areas and reasons for the reform in the general education curriculum of Ethiopia. Apply properly the major curriculum reforms in their classroom teaching. Appreciate the new curriculum reforms and major shifts made in the curriculum. Integrate horizontally and vertically the various lessons they are teaching. Analyze the concepts of competence-based curriculum and instruction. Deliver competency-based instruction in their classroom teaching. Key Topics Session 1.1: Concepts of curriculum and components of curriculum materials Session 1.2: Major reforms in the new curriculum and reasons of reform Session 1. 3: Competence based curriculum and instruction 12 Session 1.1: Concepts of curriculum and components of curriculum materials Session Introduction Although the concept of curriculum is elusive and multidimensional, this session tries to elucidate the concepts of curriculum (planned and unplanned) since what students learn in school extends beyond the planned (formal or explicit) curriculum. The planned curriculum translates the school’s goals into the subjects that students are expected to learn, the measured objectives of the courses and lessons, and the subject’s assigned readings. However, a school also transmits an unplanned (informal) curriculum, one that is not intended or stated. Hence, the different conceptions of curriculum and the components of curriculum (teaching-learning) materials are highlighted hereunder. Session Objectives After completing this session, trainees will be able to: Recognize the different concepts of curriculum. Identify the planned and unplanned curriculum and their purposes. Create awareness of the relevance of the informal, hidden, and null curriculum. Understand the different components of the curriculum (teaching-learning) materials. Apply both the planned and unplanned curriculum for students’ learning. Use the different curriculum (teaching-learning) materials jointly in their classroom teaching. Activities Activity 1: Dear trainer, try to facilitate trainees to: 1. 1st individually define what curriculum is and what is not curriculum based on their understanding. 2nd arrange them in pairs and exchange their definitions. Then order the pair groups to choose an appropriate definition of what curriculum is based on their understanding. 13 3rd create different groups that consist of 5-6 members and motivate the group members to give their agreed 2 or 3 definitions of curriculum. 4th. Reflecting on the dynamics of curriculum, ask the group members, “What do you think are some of the challenges in defining it?” After they complete their definitions, the trainer can highlight the different perspectives of the curriculum and reach a consensus with trainees. Then, proceed to the next activity. Activity 2: Dear trainer, create different groups that consists 4-5 members and try to facilitate the group members to discuss and reflect on the following questions Based on your prior teaching experience in schools: - 1. Every school has a planned, formal and written curriculum, but it also has an unplanned, informal and hidden one that must be considered. What is your suggestion in it? How can you address the informal, hidden or null curriculum? 2. In your opinion, what makes subject matter/education program the most worthwhile in our country’s labor market context? Why? Activity 3 Dear Trainer, within the formulated groups, give a few minutes to individual trainees to read and rehearse alone on the following questions and after that trigger them to discuss in groups and reflect on the group’s idea in the stage. Based on your current teaching experience in schools: 1. What major curriculum materials do you have at hand? Which curriculum material is not available for you? 2. What are the major components of the curriculum materials (teaching-learning materials) the teacher needs to have for his/her teaching? 3. Are you familiar with a flowchart and the syllabus? 4. What is the use of the syllabus? What major components are included in the syllabus? 14 5. What is the appropriate link between the student textbooks and teacher’s guides for the different subjects teachers are teaching? 6. Do you have the chance to evaluate the newly prepared curriculum materials? If so, what new components are included in the contents of each subject you are teaching? Activity 4: Home-take activities Based on the newly developed curriculum framework, syllabus and textbook, and teachers’ guide of your subject: 1. Analyze the vertical integration and continuity of contents of different grade levels of your subject. 2. How is the continuity of the contents arranged? Ok! For what purpose is the flow chart used? 3. Analyze the consistency of the major objectives and contents mentioned in the different curriculum materials (flowchart, syllabus, student textbook, and teachers’ guide) of your subject. 4. How do you judge the relevance and appropriateness of these materials to the different grade level students? 5. How can the learning experiences of students be integrated into the curriculum? 6. How the curriculum contents are best organized and integrated horizontally? Key Ideas Curriculum, as a dynamic field of study, has been characterized as elusive, fragmentary, and confusing. Given the plethora of books, articles, and essays on curriculum, many people in the field feel confused about its definitions. However, the field of curriculum is intended not to provide precise answers, but to increase our understanding of its complexities. Whether we consider curriculum narrowly, as subjects taught in schools, or broadly, as experiences that individuals require for full participation in society, there is no denying that curriculum affects educators, students, and other members of society. Curriculum is the vehicle through which a country empowers its citizens with the necessary knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values that enable them to be socially and economically engaged 15 and empowered, for personal and national development. The curriculum should, therefore, meet the needs of the individual citizens and the nation. Format of a syllabus Subject: _________________ Grade level___________ General Objectives/ General Competencies: After completing these units students should: a)_______________________________________________________________________________ b) ______________________________________________________________________________ c) _______________________________________________________________________________ Specific Objectives Contents (units Teaching- Time Instructional Assessment & sub-units) learning given materials techniques Remark methods After completing this unit students will be Unit 1: _______ able to: _______ 1.1________ ________ _________ ________ 1.2________ ________ ___________ 1.3._______ After completing this Unit 2: _______ ________ unit students will be 2.1________ ________ able to: 2.2________ ________ ___________ 2.3._______ ___________ ___________ Implications to teaching Since it is difficult to exhaustively mention everything in the formal curriculum, this training will assist trainees in not sticking only to the planned and official curriculum. It will help them to equally consider the hidden, null, informal, and extramural curriculum in their student's learning since scholars believe that “the hidden curriculum is as equally important as the formal curriculum.” In their classroom teaching, trainees will also consider the different components of the curriculum (flow chart, syllabus, textbooks, teachers’ guide, and other related policy documents). 16 Self-assessment activities After t this training is completed, trainees try to check themselves about their understanding of the following concepts by putting a “√” mark. N Items Yes No 1 I know the different concepts of the curriculum. 2 Identify the planned and unplanned curriculum and their purposes. 3 I am aware of the relevance of the informal, hidden, and null curriculum. 4 The different curriculum materials (flowchart, syllabus, textbooks, and teacher’s guide) of my subject are available in my hands. 5 I use different curriculum materials (flowcharts, syllabi, textbooks, teacher's guides) in their classroom teaching. 6 I am familiar with flowcharts, its components, and their purpose 7 I am familiar with the syllabus, its components, and their purpose 8 I understand the appropriate link between the student textbooks and teacher’s guides for the different subjects I am teaching 9 I have the chance to evaluate the newly prepared curriculum materials 10 I have identified the new components included in the contents of each subject they are teaching 11 I checked the consistency of the major objectives and contents mentioned in the different curriculum materials (flowchart, syllabus, student textbook, and teachers’ guide) or are there disparities 12 I judge the relevance and appropriateness of these materials to the different grade level students. 13 I am familiar with the integration of the learning experiences of students into the curriculum. 14 I understand the vertical and horizontal integration of curriculum contents 15 The suggested implications above meet my implications Takeaway resources Ornstein, A.C. & Hunkins, F.P. ( 2019). Curriculum Foundations, Principles and Issues (7th ed.). Pearson Education Limited, Edinburgh Gate: Harlow. Kelly, A.V. (2004 ). The Curriculum: Theory and Practice (5th ed.). Sage Publications Limited, London. 17 Session1. 2: Major reforms in the new curriculum and reasons for the reform Session Introduction For the effective execution of any curriculum reform, teachers, the actual implementers of the curriculum, should be aware of the planned reforms designed by the Ministry of Education. Hence, this session provides introductory remarks for trainees about the major curriculum reforms in Ethiopia and the reasons for the reform. It is believed that most education textbooks in general and curriculum texts in particular were more theoretical than practical. Despite their claims, curriculum developers seem unable to leap from theory to practice, from the textbook and college course to the classroom and school. Accordingly, this session further highlights the general education learners’ profiles and general education learning areas learners are expected to take at different grade levels. Session Objectives After completing this session, trainees will be able to: Understand the major reforms made in the general education curriculum Analyze the reasons for changing the old curriculum. Apply the major curriculum reforms in their classroom teaching Appreciate the new reforms made in the education structures and curriculum contents of each subject matter. Identify the general education learners’ profiles and general education learning areas learners are expected to take at different grade levels Activities Activity 1 1. Do you know the previous reforms of TESO and PgDT in our teacher education programs? What were their strengths and weaknesses? 18 TESO PgDT Strengths ________________ _________________ _________________ __________________ Weaknesses ___________________ _____________________ ____________________ _____________________ 2. Currently also a new education reform was made. Why do you think is a curriculum change (reform) needed in our education system in general and in the general education curriculum in particular? Mention the critical problems of the previous general education curriculum of Ethiopia. Activity 2: Home-take activities Dear trainees, using the old and the new general education framework, syllabus of your respective subject and textbook, perform the following tasks in a group of 4-6 members. 1. Differentiate the new curriculum reforms from the old. 2. Articulate aims, goals, and focus areas of the new general education curriculum 3. Criticize the new curriculum reform with suggestion for improvement. 4. Present profiles learners are expected to demonstrate after undergoing 14 years of education, learning areas, and the readiness of the teacher in this regard. 5. Synthesize reforms integrated into general education curriculum and subject(s) you are teaching. Key Ideas The new general education curriculum is designed as competency-based, indigenous knowledge- focused, involving 21st-century skills, linking the curricula with the world of work, involving moral education, vocationalization of education, and digitalizing the curriculum as tenets of the reform. For this purpose, the general education learning areas (focus areas) include language, mathematics, natural science, social science, performing and visual arts, moral and citizenship education, health and physical education, information communication technology, and career and technical education. 19 The education structure of general education is also categorized into pre-primary, primary (Grades 1-6), middle level (Grades 7-8), and secondary education (Grades 9-12). Different learning competencies are designed across grade levels and to achieve these competencies various subjects are designed and presented in Table 1 below. Table 1: List of subjects students are expected to learn at different grade levels Pre-primary Primary Middle Level Secondary Grades Career & Technical 9 &10 Subjects (Grades11 &12) First language First language First Language Common Natural Science Subjects Environmental Federal language A Federal English Common Subjects Science Language English Personal & English English Mathematics Mathematics Social- Mathematics Mathematics Information Physics Emotional Environmental General Science Technology Chemistry Development Science Social Studies Biology Performing & Moral Education Citizenship Physics Information Technology Visual Arts Performing & Education Biology Agriculture Visual Arts Citizenship Chemistry Area based Subjects Mathematics Education Geography Manufacturing History Construction Health & Health & Performing & Citizenship Information Technology Physical Physical Visual Arts Education Health Education Education Economics Agriculture Health & Physical First Language Social Science Education Health & Common Subjects Information Physical English Technology Education Mathematics Geography Career & Optional History Technology Subjects Economics Education A Federal Information Technology Language Area based subjects Performing & Language & Social Visual Arts Science Business Performing & Visual Arts 20 Implications to teaching Understanding the intentions of the major reforms made in the general education curriculum will help teachers to properly analyze the reforms and execute them in their classroom teaching. By understanding the general education learners’ profiles and general education learning areas learners are expected to take at different grade levels, this training has also implications for trainees to act accordingly in their specified subject areas. Self-assessment activities 1. What are the major reforms integrated into general education curriculum and subject(s) you are teaching? 2. What are the weaknesses of the old curriculum and the reasons for changing it into the new curriculum? 3. Criticize the new curriculum reform with suggestion for improvement. 4. What are the general education learners’ profiles and general education learning areas learners are expected to meet after 14 years of learning? 5. What is the implication of learning about the reforms of the new general curriculum? Takeaway resources MoE (2024). Special teacher training program package for general education. Ministry of Education. MoE (2023).The new general education curriculum framework. Ministry of Education. MoE.(2003).Teacher Education System Overall (TESO)Handbook. Ministry of Education, Addis Ababa. Session 1.3: Competency-based curriculum and instruction Session Introduction This session informs trainees about the concepts of competency-based curriculum and instruction, the focus areas of competency-based curriculum, and how to integrate and apply contextually appropriate knowledge, skills, and values about their learning experiences using competence- based instruction. 21 Session Objectives After completing this session, trainees will be able to: define concepts of competency-based curriculum and instruction identify the focus areas of competency-based curriculum and instruction design competency-based instruction in their classroom teaching. integrate and apply experience-based and contextually appropriate knowledge, skills, and values using competency-based instruction. Activities Activity 1: Based on your past experiences, try to do the following activities individually, in pairs and small groups. 1. What is a competency-based curriculum? What are the focus areas of a competency- based curriculum? 2. What makes competency-based curriculum different from the previous curriculum? 3. What core competencies (academic, practical & personal competence) can students learn from the formal curriculum of your subject and from the “real world”? 22 Activity 2: 1. What is holistic competence? 2. How can trainees gain holistic competence? 3. What do we want students to learn from your subjects academically, practically and personally? 4. Does this discussion of holistic learning & competencies align with your understanding of the aims of Ethiopia’s new Competency-Based Curriculum? 5. How is the students’ ability of creating, evaluating, analysing and synthesizing look like in every lesson you have delivered? What about teachers’ competence to do these? Key Ideas Education is the key to cultivating the knowledge & competencies to manage these challenges & capture the opportunities! Competence is the ability to integrate and apply contextually appropriate knowledge, skills, and psychosocial factors (e.g., beliefs, attitudes, values, and motivations) to consistently perform successfully within a specified domain. Competency-based education is a system in which trainees are empowered daily to make important decisions about their learning experiences, how they will create and apply knowledge, and how they will demonstrate their learning. A competency- based curriculum is an educational framework that focuses on the specific skills and abilities students need to acquire in order to demonstrate mastery of a subject or area of study. This approach priorities the outcomes and skills of learning – what students able to do. 23 Competency-based learning focuses on the demonstration of desired learning outcomes. It is concerned chiefly with a learner’s progression at their own pace &depth. It is similar to mastery-based learning, with the primary difference being a focus on observable skills while mastery learning may be academic, seeing concepts as skills. In this case, a kind of assessment conducted should be a meaningful, positive, empowering learning experience for students that yields timely, relevant, and actionable evidence and students receive timely, differentiated support based on their individual learning needs. Contents as KNOWLEDGE Goals of competence-based curriculum in SKILLS to use Ethiopia PERSONAL knowledge SKILLS to do and practically & effectively to keep learning CBE shifts the focus from traditional time-based learning to a more mastery-oriented model. It is an educational approach focused on what students can do with the knowledge they acquire. Hence, in CBE, the major competencies students have to learn are academic competence, practical competence and personal competence. In simple terms, it’s more about the ‘show me’ than the ‘tell me’ in learning. 24 Aspect Competency based education Traditional Learning Mastery of specific skills and Time spent learning and course Focus competencies. completion. Pace of Self-paced; students’ progress upon Structured around semesters or terms. Learning mastering topics. is based on demonstrating proficiency in Often based on tests, homework, and Assessment each subject. attendance. Students advance after achieving Students advance with their cohort by Progression mastery. age or grade level. Flexible and personalized learning to Standardized and uniform for all Curriculum meet student needs. students. Learning Accommodates individual learning Generally, one-size-fits-all approach. Style styles and needs. Developing real-world skills and End Goal Completing the prescribed curriculum. knowledge. Role of Facilitators of learning, adapting to Often deliverers of content in a set Instructors student needs. format. Principles of competency-based education Competency-Based Education (CBE) is built on six foundational principles that guide its implementation and effectiveness. 25 Implications to teaching Applying competence based education will help trainees to develop the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitudes from their learning experiences. It will empower trainees to make important decisions about their learning experiences, how they will create and apply knowledge, and how they will demonstrate their learning. This session also aware of trainees on the assessment practices to be conducted should be a meaningful, positive, empowering learning experience for students that yields timely, relevant, and actionable evidence and differentiated support based on their individual learning needs. It will also assist students to develop core academic, practical and personal competencies. Self-assessment activities 1. What is competence based curriculum? What about competence based instruction? 2. What are the focus areas of competence based curriculum and instruction? 3. What are the core competences students are expected to develop in competence based instruction? Takeaway resources Levine, E. & Partic, S. (2019). What Is Competency Based Education? An Updated Definition. Vienna, VA: Aurora Institute. Content in this report is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. 26 Unit Two: Teaching, Learning, and Quality Teachers (8 hrs.) Unit Introduction The unit deals with reconnoitering the concepts of teaching, learning, the qualities of effective teaching-learning, the foremost knowledge areas of teachers, and the qualities of ideal or exemplary teachers. Moreover, the unit describes the major active learning strategies and teachers’ practices and misconceptions of active learning. As teachers are the cornerstones of students’ learning, this unit also highlights the roles of the teachers and students in the active learning processes. Creating cognizance to trainees on applying indigenous knowledge in schools based on students’ learning experiences (using experiential learning), linking indigenous knowledge practices with modern education, specifically with the 21st century skills as well as indigenizing the modern is also the intention of the unit. Key Topics Session 2.1: Quality teachers and professional attributes Session 2.2. Teaching, learning and qualities of ideal teachers Session 2.3: Active learning strategies Session 2.4: The roles of the teacher and students in active learning Session 2.5: Experiential learning and inclusion of indigenous knowledge Unit Objectives After completing this unit, trainees will be able to: Understand the qualities of ideal or effective teachers Analyses the different professional attributes and standards of general education teachers Recognizes the TPACK of teachers and other knowledge areas Understand the different active learning strategies to address learning diversity. Apply the various active learning strategies in their classroom teaching. Differentiate the roles of students and teachers in active learning 27 Integrate experiential learning and inclusion of indigenous knowledge in the curriculum Appreciate the values of indigenous knowledge for students’ learning. Session 2.1: Quality teachers and their professional attributes Session Introduction This session introduces trainees to the characteristics of quality teachers and the major professional attributes or knowledge areas of quality teachers. Furthermore, trainees will be acquainted with the different knowledge areas: subject content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, technological knowledge and the technological-pedagogical-content knowledge (TPACK), knowledge of the curriculum, knowledge of learners, and knowledge of assessment. Session Objectives After completing this session, trainees will be able to: Understand the characteristics of quality teachers Identify the major professional attributes or knowledge areas of quality teachers Apply a variety of content and pedagogical knowledge in their teaching. Apply technological pedagogical content knowledge in their teaching lessons. Use technology to facilitate learning Activities Activity1. Based on your past experiences, try to do the following activities individually, in pairs, and small groups. 1. As a teacher, try to independently identify one model school teacher and one ineffective teacher you have knowing so far. Then, list at least four unique characteristic of the effective teacher that made effective and the ineffective teachers that made ineffective. 28 Characteristics of an effective teacher Characteristics of ineffective teacher _________________ _________________ __________________ _________________ __________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ 2. Together with your peer, try to list the major qualities you both peer members mentioned. After doing this, dear trainer, group the trainees into five and allow them to discuss and list exhaustively their qualities in a flip chart and post it over the wall. Other groups have to do the same. 3. Using brainstorming, list the characteristics of quality teachers all trainees mentioned and agreed upon. 4. Finally, try to give chances for a few individual trainees, to evaluate which qualities they have and which qualities they are missing. After concluding this activity, try to proceed to the next activity. Activity 2 On the other hand, quality teachers are expected to have different professional attributes. Thus, dear trainer, try to form a group of three trainees and guide them to list their answers to the following two questions and reflect on other groups. 1. Do you know about the Ethiopian teachers professional standards and/or the professional attributes of teachers? 2. What are the major professional knowledge, professional practice, and professional engagement areas an ideal teacher should have? 3. Assess yourself and teachers in your school from those attributes using the following table. 29 1. Professional knowledge areas: __________________ Professional __________________ Knowledge areas __________________ ?? 2. Professional practice areas: __________________ __________________ Professional Professional __________________ Eangagement Practice areas areas 3. Professional engagement areas: ?? __________________ ?? __________________ __________________ 4. Prepare action points that can lead you and teachers in your school toward professional standards/attributes set by the Ethiopian Ministry of Education. Activity 3 Dear trainer, try to facilitate trainees to reflect on their practices individually for the following questions. 1. Before starting a lesson, do you know your students properly? What readiness, interest, learning profiles, behaviors, strengths, and weaknesses do they have? 2. How do you know whether students have prior knowledge about the lesson you are teaching or not and what new lesson are you planning to teach them? 3. How good are you in your subject matter knowledge? What about your pedagogical and technological knowledge to teach your subject? 4. Figure 3 below is about the TPACK of teachers and other knowledge areas. So, in a group of four, try to discuss their knowledge areas of the TPACK model and their gaps. Based on the group representative, they have to report which knowledge areas they have, what gaps they have, and what should be done to fill their gaps. Ask also trainees what other knowledge areas they have other than TPACK. 30 Figure3. Teachers’ TPACK and other knowledge areas Teachers’ TPACK: Knowledge of the subject matter Pedagogical knowledge Technological knowledge Pedagogical content knowledge Technological pedagogical knowledge Technological content knowledge Technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) Other knowledge areas: Knowledge of learners Knowledge of learning Knowledge of curriculum & subject matter knowledge of assessment Adaptive, reflective, inquiry & curriculum design skills, etc. Activity 4 Dear trainer, 1. Devise three or four questions to learn about your trainees on their professional practice and professional engagement. You may include questions about the following: How good are teachers in developing and using lesson plans? The needs or expectations they bring to the class Their knowledge of assessment Their attitudes about creating a safe and conducive classroom environment for students. Their knowledge of their students and experiences students have had relevant to the subject matter. Their professional engagement individually and in groups (their practice in CPD). 31 2. Divide trainees into trios or quartets. Give each trainee one of each of the assessment questions you have created. Ask him or her to interview the other trainees in the group and obtain answers to his or her assigned question. 3. Convene in subgroups all the trainees who have been assigned the same question. For example, if there are 18 trainees, arranged in triads, 6 of them will have been assigned the same question. 4. Ask each subgroup to pull their data and summarize it. Then ask each subgroup to report to the entire class what they have learned about one another. After concluding these activities, try to proceed to the next session. Key Ideas As mentioned in the introduction part, the draft General Education Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education in Ethiopia (MoE, 2023) provided a list of fourteen competencies to be developed by Ethiopian school teachers. Besides, the Framework provides a list of seven teachers’ professional standards categorized under three domains (professional attributes) of teaching: professional knowledge, professional practice, and professional engagement. Domains of Standards Teaching Professional ▪ Know students and how they learn Knowledge ▪ Know the content and how to teach it ▪ Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning Professional ▪ Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments Practice ▪ Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning ▪ Integrate ICT to support the teaching and learning Professional ▪ Engage in professional learning Engagement ▪ Engage professionally with colleagues, parents/care givers and the community The whole purpose of the present short-term training is, therefore, to contribute towards teachers’ authentic achievement of these standards so that they would be in a position to effectively implement the reformed curriculum. 32 On the other hand, for the effective teaching learning process, teachers’ integrated pedagogical, content and technological knowledge also called ‘Technological- Pedagogical-Content- Knowledge (TPACK) is vital. Implications to teaching Recognizing the characteristics of quality teachers, major professional attributes (professional knowledge, professional practice and professional engagement) of quality teachers will help trainees to apply such quality attributes in their classroom teaching. This training will also assist trainees to apply technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) in their future teaching. Self-assessment activities After receiving this training, trainees are expected to examine themselves about the characteristics of quality teachers. They should also ask themselves about the major professional attributes or knowledge areas of quality teachers and judge which knowledge area is missing. They also check how they are applying the TPACK in their classroom teachings and analyze their identified gaps. Takeaway resources Koehler, M. J., & Mishra, P. (2008). Introducing TPCK In J. A. Colbert, K. E. Boyd, K. A. Clark, S. Guan, J. B. Harris, M. A. Kelly & A. D. Thompson (Eds.), Handbook of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) for Educators (pp. 3-30). New York: Routledge. Koh, J., Chai, C., & Tsai, C. (2010). Examining the Technology Pedagogical Content Knowledge of Singapore Pre-service Teachers with a large-scale survey. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 26(6), 563-573. The Federal Democratic Republic Ministry of Education, General Education Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education, August 2023, Addis Ababa. 33 Silberman, M. (1996). Active Learning: 101Strategies to Teach any Subject. Temple University. Allyn & Bacon. MoE(2012). National Professional standard for Ethiopian school teachers Old). Addis Ababa. MoE (2023) The |New General Education Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education, August 2023, Addis Ababa. Session 2.2: Teaching, learning, and teacher quality Session Introduction As new standards for student learning have been introduced across the globe, greater attention has been given to the effective teaching-learning processes and the role that teacher quality plays. Evidence suggests that better-qualified teachers may make a difference in student learning at the classroom, school, and district levels. Consequently, this session helps trainees acquire the concepts of teaching, learning, teaching characteristics and principles, and effective teaching- learning processes. Moreover, trainees will be exposed to the qualities of ideal teachers and how they will act as ideal teachers. Session Objectives After completing this session, trainees will be able to: Define what teaching is properly Realize the concepts of learning based on different theories Identify the characteristics and principles of teaching Make aware of the qualities of ideal teachers that are appreciated by their students and the community. Demonstrate the major characteristics of ideal teachers in their classroom teaching. 34 Activities Activity 1: In an adult-based active training process, trainees should have been also in a searching mode rather than a reactive one. That is, they are looking for answers to questions either posed to them or posed by them. Thus, based on your teaching experiences, you are expected to answer the following questions. 1. What is teaching based on the behaviorist, cognitivist, and constructivist views? 2. What is learning based on the behaviorist, cognitivist, and constructivist views? 3. Based on the above questions of #1 &2, which definitions of teaching and learning works best? Justify also why. 4. In theory we are preaching the constructivists’ thoughts but our classroom practice teaching (planning, teaching, and assessment) is still highly behaviorist. Argue on this issue and reflect on your views. 5. When do you think you effectively taught your students and students are better learned? 6. What is effective teaching? What are the characteristics and principles of effective teaching? 7. When you were a primary, secondary, or tertiary level student, you had teachers whom you liked or disliked most. What were the likes of your previous teachers? Also, what were the dislikes? 8. Could you mention the qualities of ideal and exemplary teachers? Based on those exhaustively mentioned qualities by individual teachers/ group members, try to evaluate yourself and reflect on the group which qualities you have most and which qualities you are missing. Key Ideas Although different theories view knowledge, teaching, learning, and education differently, education at all levels is about acquiring knowledge, skills, and attitudes. 35 Cognitive learning (knowledge) includes the gaining of information and concepts. It deals not only with comprehending the subject matter but also creating, analyzing, synthesizing, and applying it to new situations. Behavioral learning (skills) includes the development of competence in students’ ability to perform tasks, solve problems, and express themselves. Affective learning (attitudes) involves the examination and clarification of feelings and preferences. Trainees are involved in assessing themselves and their relationship to the subject matter. How knowledge, skills, and attitudes are acquired makes all the difference in the world. In sum, teaching in behaviorists is focused on modifying or shaping student behavior through reinforcement and repetition/practice. So, drills, practice exercises and the use of rewards and consequences are often included. Similarly, teaching on the cognitivists focuses on understanding how learners process, store and retrieve information. Emphasis is given on mental processes (thinking, memory, knowing, & problem solving), active learning, scaffolding, use of prior knowledge, metacognition, & organized instruction, assessment and feedback. Teaching by the constructivists is a process of facilitating active construction of their own understanding ad knowledge. On the other hand, learning by behaviorists is viewed as a relatively permanent change in behavior. This perspective emphasizes the role of external stimuli rather than internal mental states. Conditioning (classical & operant), observational learning are key principles. Cognitive learning theory also focuses on the internal mental processes involved in learning rather than observable behaviors. It focuses how people understand, process, and store information. Learning by constructivists centers around the idea that learners actively construct their own knowledge and understanding through experiences and interactions with the world (knowledge is not passively received). Implications to teaching 36 Understanding the views of different theorists(behaviorists, cognitivists, and constructivists) properly will help trainees devise the directions of teaching and their students’ learning accordingly and design intervention mechanisms. After gaining lessons about the effective teaching-learning processes and the qualities of ideal teachers, they will try to evaluate themselves and act as ideal teachers in their careers. Self-assessment activities After receiving this training, trainees will evaluate themselves on how they conceptualize teaching and learning based on the behaviorists, cognitivists, and constructivists' views and justify which definitions are working for the current teaching-learning process. They also ask themselves what effective teaching is, its characteristics, principles, and major categories of effective teaching. Identify the likes of ideal and exemplary teachers and evaluate themselves in line with those parameters. Takeaway resources Darling-Hammond, L. (2000). Teacher Quality and Student Achievement: A Review of State Policy Evidence. The Education Policy Analysis Archives, 8(1),1-44. Schleicher, A. (2016). Teaching excellence through professional learning and policy reform: lessons from around the world, international summit on the teaching profession, OECD Publishing, Paris. doi: org/10.1787/9789264252059-en Silberman, M. (1996). Active Learning: 101Strategies to Teach any Subject. Temple University. Allyn & Bacon. Session 2.3: Active Learning Strategies Session Introduction This part of the session deals with the conceptions and misconceptions of active learning. It also refers to the identification as well as application of the various active learning strategies in their classroom teaching and creating safe and favorable conditions for the active involvement of students in the lesson. 37 Moreover, trainees are required to conduct micro-teaching in a certain less of their subject area using active learning strategies. The session also highlights the roles of students and teachers during the active learning process. Session Objectives After completing this session, trainees will be able to: Compare and contrast the teacher-centered approaches with student-centered (active learning) Define the term active learning Identify the different active learning strategies Analyze the different case scenarios. Understand the misconceptions of active learning Use the various active learning strategies in their classroom teaching Create favorable conditions for the active involvement of students in the lesson Appreciate the active engagement of students and teachers in the active learning process Conduct microteaching using different active learning strategies. Identify the roles of students and teachers during the active learning process. Activities Dear trainer, given are the following activities. To brainstorm information about the conceptions and misconceptions of active learning, guide trainees to do the following activities individually and in groups. Activity 1: Dear trainer, an ice-breaker activity, before you discuss the direct concepts of active learning, try to convey the following proverbs to trainees and ask for their reflections about it. 38 Ice breaker activity 1. What do you understand There is a proverb by the Chinese, which says: from the proverbs given? “I hear, I forget; State the information in I hear and see, I remember a little; your own words What I hear, see, and ask questions about or discuss with Give examples of it. someone else, I begin to Make use of it in various ways understand; Foresee some of its What I hear, see, discuss and do, I acquire knowledge &skill; consequences. What I teach to another, I master.” State its opposite or converse. Activity 2: Dear Trainer, after you brainstormed the reflections of trainees based on the above proverbs, group trainees into four and facilitate them to discuss the following questions. 1. What makes teacher-centered teaching different from the learner-centered approach? Photo A Photo B 2. What do you understand from the above pictures about teacher-centered and student - centered approaches to instruction? Why do differences in Photo A and Photo B happen? And what kind of impact it has on the life and learning of a student? 3. What is active learning? What makes learning “active”? How do teachers prepare students active from the start? Why is it necessary to make learning active? How do they help students acquire knowledge, skills, and attitudes... actively? And how do they make learning unforgivable? 39 4. Does your reflection on the above question #3 ensure that we don’t need teacher teacher- centered approach? Why? Or why not? 5. When do you think students are actively engaged in their learning? Just try to show trainees the following figure and try them to argue in favor or against the figure based on their prior experience. Brainstorming questions: When do you think are students actively engaged in their learning? How much do they acquire the knowledge and skills when they engage in reading only, hearing only, hearing and looking, saying and writing, and doing it practically? How can you relate the issues of this figure with your instructional media usage? What do you understand in general from the picture? 6. In active learning, who is active – students or teachers? What are the roles of students and teachers in active learning? Activity 3. Case-based contrasting scenarios. Described in the table below are the following two lessons (Mr. Shaw’s Lesson & Mr. Hammond’s Lesson). Dear Trainer, try to group trainees and motivate them to read the two lessons and after that, they have to compare the two and answer questions 1-6 given below. 40 Two contrasting lessons of a pendulum by two teachers Mr. Shaw’s Lesson Mr. Hammond’s Lesson Mr Shaw enters the Mr. Hammond enters the classroom and shows students some photographs of old pendulum clocks. He asks, ‘Have classroom and ‘Today’ he you ever seen clocks like these?’ and, ‘What do you know announces, ‘we are going about them?’ Then, he demonstrates two pendulums made to study the pendulum.’ out of string. ‘Watch these carefully. Write down anything He begins by showing the you notice and any questions that occur to you.’ class a pendulum and First come the observations: ‘One is longer’. ‘The longer one swings more slowly’, ‘They are slowing down. ‘Then, demonstrating that the the questions start flowing: ‘Can we make a clock?’ ‘How time for one swing long does it take to swing once? ’Can we make a timer?’ depends on its length. He They spend some time discussing these and other questions. says: ‘Look, if I increase They try to be more specific about what the questions mean: ‘What exactly does one swing mean?’ the length, it swings more Mr. Hammond then asks the class to try to construct a slowly’. He then gives pendulum with a back-and-forth swing time of exactly one each pair of students a second. He asks the class to collect any equipment they may length of string, a weight, need from a supply at the back of the room that includes a stopwatch, and some string, drawing pens, stopwatches, rulers, pencils and 2mm graph paper. graph paper. ‘One person The students begin using trial and error; adjusting the length is to swing the pendulum, and timing again and so on. Mr. Hammond allows this to the other is to time 20 continue for a few minutes. Kevin claims to have completed swings. One swing means the task, but when two other students check his work, they find it is not very accurate; it swings nearly 11 times every going forward and back. ten seconds. They claim that it is too short. Open your textbook and ‘Can you think of a better way, a more accurate way of turn to page 43. Copy out making the pendulum?’ Colin answers, ‘If you make a long and complete the table and pendulum and time it to see how long it takes to swing, then follow the instructions if it takes, say, two seconds, you could measure the length of it and divide by two to get the length you need.’ Mr. carefully.’ Hammond agrees that this sounds like a good idea and Students notice that this invites Colin to try it. page shows a diagram of Colin makes a pendulum one meter long and times it over the pendulum and ten swings to find out how long one swing would take. He finds that it takes almost 20 seconds, so he says that one underneath, a table with swing must take two seconds. He halves the length of his spaces for them to enter pendulum and tries again. To his surprise he finds that it their data. The top row is takes about 15 seconds, so one swing takes 1.5 seconds. He labeled ‘length of the is puzzled, ‘This doesn’t seem logical.’ pendulum in centimeters’, ‘So what do we do now?’ asked Mr. Hammond. ‘How can we find out how the length affects the swing time? ‘There and the second row: is is a long pause. Perhaps prompted by the availability of the ‘time for 20 swings in graph paper, one student suggests using a graph of swing seconds’.Below this is time against length. Others agree. The students then get to some blank graph paper, work. They decide for themselves what scales to use. ‘We’ll need to get some more results because it won’t be a straight with axes drawn showing 41 ‘length in centimeters’ line,’ says Susan. ‘How do you know?’ asks another. ‘Because the 50 cm one would have swung once every labeled zero to 125 on the second, but it was 1.5 seconds’, answers Susan. horizontal axis and ‘time The students construct further pendulums of different lengths for 20 swings in seconds’ and draw graphs. They produce curves and from this, they labeled zero to 50 on the interpolate to find that for a one-second pendulum, the length vertical axis. Below the of the string should be about 25 cm. They check this by making the pendulum & are happy to find it works. graph are a series of The teacher concludes the lesson by asking students to instructions and questions: present their reasoning to the whole class. ‘Plot a graph of your data for lengths 50 cm, 75 cm, 100 cm, & 125 cm. Use your graph to find the length of a pendulum that takes one second to swing back and forth.’ The students work diligently through the activity. Rarely, does a student raise their hand and ask such things as, ‘Is this right? Should this line be straight?’ The teacher tells students to check their work by repeating the experiment three times for each length and plotting the average of their results. Towards the end of the lesson, the teacher explains what the graph should look like and checks that students have arrived at the correct answer for the one-second pendulum. Some have, and they are congratulated. Source: PRIMAS 2013 42 Questions: 1. What are some of the differences between the two lessons described in the table below? Mr Shaw’s Lesson Mr Hammond’s lesson ________________________ _________________________ ________________________ _________________________ _______________________ _________________________ _______________________ ________________________ 2. Which lesson do you think is more powerful? Why? 3. What are the strong and weak sides of Mr Shaw and Mr Hammond? 4. What type of teaching methods were the two teachers employing? 5. What is inquiry-based learning? 6. Why inquiry-based learning needed? Activity 4 Dear trainer, try to facilitate trainees to do the following questions. 1. List individually at least ten of the major active learning strategies you know and apply frequently in your classroom teaching in your notebook. 2. Group the trainees into four and try to exhaustively mention in a flip chart those active learning strategies group members know and let them post on the wall. Let other groups do the same. 3. After all the flipcharts are posted, try to create a gallery walk for all groups, and as a bus stop method, try to add using a Parker the missing active learning strategies in the other group members’ flipcharts. Finally, order the group members to identify the added active learning strategies. 4. After you check that various active learning strategies are listed, ask them also to discuss in groups how each active learning strategy is used or applied for a given lesson and also identify the nuts and bolts of each active learning strategy to be used. 43 ? ? ? ? ? Active Learning ? ? strategies ? ? ? ? ? Activity 5: Active learning strategies and how they work Group the trainees into 4 and assign them randomly to the four groups and motivate them to discuss how the different active learning strategies mentioned in each group work, their purposes, and procedures. Finally, select randomly one trainee from every group member and allow him/her to present the results to the wider class. Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Jigsaw discussion Hot seating Discovery learning Gallery walk Brainstorming Balloon gaming Spider diagrams Action research Inquiry-based learning Future wheel method Diamond ranking Matching exercise Classification Mind mapping Debate Picture analysis Demonstration Crossover grouping Gapped lecture Project method Storytelling Problem-solving Field visit Goldfish bowl Cooperative learning Flipped classroom Activity 6: Micro teaching. Dear trainer, to check the practical applications of active learning strategies for the given lesson, trainees need to conduct micro-teaching based on activity 6 below. 44 Activity 6: Microteaching Select one topic or lesson in your subject area (English, mathematics, physics, chemistry, or others) design a lesson plan for 10-15 minutes of micro-teaching, and conduct micro-teaching using active learning strategies following TPACK model. Here, after the micro-teaching, ask trainees what strong sides and areas of improvement they observed in the lesson plan development and micro-teaching they conducted. Key Ideas  Active learning is any approach to instruction in which all students are asked to engage in the learning process. Teachers should demonstrate reflective practices in front of the class and students are required to participate in meaningful learning activities and think about the things they are engaged in.  Although it is time-consuming, active learning is superior to “traditional” lectures for the following reasons: (i) improves knowledge retention, (ii) achieves deeper understanding, and (iii) encourages self-directed learning.  Active learning refers to the active involvement of BOTH the learner and the teacher on different learning tasks. Active learning refers to a broad range of teaching strategies which engage students as active participants in their learning during class time with their teacher. Typically, these strategies involve some number of students working together during class, but may also involve individual work and/or reflection. These teaching approaches range from short, simple activities like minute writing, pair discussions, to longer, involved activities or pedagogical frameworks like experiential learning, inquiry learning, jigsaw discussion, role plays, etc. 45 A variety of active learning strategies that can be applied to teach different lessons depending on the own contexts include the following: o Action research o Gallery walk o Quiz o Active listening o Gapped lecture o Ranking tasks o Balloon gaming o Goldfish bowl (including o Brainstorming o Hot seating diamond ranking) o Bus stop o Ice breaker/ starter activity/ o Reflection o Buzz group warm-up o Research o CAF (Consider All o Independent work o Roleplay Factors) o Interviews o Scenario analysis o Case studies o Investigation o Self-assessment o Competitions o ICT use o Small group o Comprehension activities o Inquiry method discussion o Cooperative learning o Jigsaw groups o Spider diagram o Creative writing o Making models and (similar to mind o Crossover groups resources map, can be used o Debate o Mastery learning – ‘practice to record results o Demonstration makes perfect’ of brainstorming) (formal/informal) o Matching exercises o Stimulus material o Drama o Microteaching o Storytelling o Drawing pictures, maps, o Mind map (sometimes o Target setting graphs called concept map) o Thought bubbles o Discovery learning o Newspaper or radio o Visits, etc. reporting 46 o Evaluation of o Pair discussion lesson/program o Peer assessment o Experiment o Picture analysis o Fieldwork o Portfolio development o Flashcards o Presentation o Future Wheel (also called o Problem-solving consequence

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