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13489 results in Education, history, theory

Page 258 of 675

  • Chapter 14 - Product descriptors and rubrics

  • Diana Whitton, University of Western Sydney
  • Book:
    Teaching and Learning Strategies
    Published online:
    14 September 2019
    Print publication:
    29 June 2015, pp 183-196

  • Summary

    A product descriptor gives details of all the attributes of a product that need to be accounted for in the creation of the product. Rubrics assist in the evaluation of the depth, breadth, creativity and conceptual framework of products. Product descriptors and rubrics are usually considered to be the domain of the teacher, as they determine what is to be created and how it will be assessed. However, students also need to understand both the construction of a product descriptor and rubrics not only so that they know how to create them, but also to help them create different products.

    Product descriptors

    Before a product is created and sold to consumers, the design team considers what attributes it has and how it will appeal to the market. Being able to identify the particular attributes of each product is imperative, as they are the facets that can be altered to enhance the final product. A product descriptor gives clear details of the product that the students are to create, ensuring they are familiar with each facet of the product. Product knowledge is essential, and it is a good idea to create the product yourself to have a better understanding of the resources needed, the challenges involved and timing required to create the item.

  • Chapter 7 - Application

  • Diana Whitton, University of Western Sydney
  • Book:
    Teaching and Learning Strategies
    Published online:
    14 September 2019
    Print publication:
    29 June 2015, pp 89-96

  • Summary

    Application is using skills and knowledge learned through discussion, explanation, observation and demonstration to undertake a particular activity. It is usually the replication of something that has been demonstrated, following instructions or drawing together pieces of knowledge and skills, to show the students’ level of comprehension. The transfer of knowledge, on the other hand, is using the skills and knowledge in a new and novel situation, which demonstrates the understanding of what has been learned.

    Often we can replicate what we have seen, but to use that skill or knowledge in a new way or an alternative situation is challenging, so it is through the application and transfer of the skills and knowledge that true learning will be demonstrated.

    Replicating, complementing and supplementing knowledge

    There are three types of application: replication, complementing and supplementing. These assist in the setting up of the learning and enable evaluation of the students’ understanding.

    Replication involves students recreating what has been demonstrated to them, following the process that was undertaken in the same fashion as the demonstrator. They mirror the actions with the same resources in a similar timeframe.

    To complement is to combine a new process/product with an existing product, therefore making another product that will enhance the original product. The thought process concerns the second, complementary, product and how to improve the existing product.

  • Chapter 1 - Observation

  • Diana Whitton, University of Western Sydney
  • Book:
    Teaching and Learning Strategies
    Published online:
    14 September 2019
    Print publication:
    29 June 2015, pp 7-21

  • Summary

    We are a visual community, and we rely on the use of sight to inform us in many ways. Walk down any street and you see amazing images, both in nature and created by humans. Some are there to help us stay safe – for example, traffic lights and signs to tell us when it is safe to cross a road. Some are in buildings, on billboards or in gardens. Then there are the actions of people around you and their behaviours with each other. Being able to observe is crucial, and should be regarded as the first learning strategy developed by both the teacher and their students. However, students need to be taught how to observe and how to use this skill in their learning.

    How to observe

    Observation is second nature to most of us, but in a teaching and learning situation both the teacher and students should develop a strategy of observation. The process of undertaking effective observation needs to be taught, and requires some preliminary knowledge from the observer. First, they need to know the purpose of the observation and what attributes are to be examined – something that requires prior knowledge. Students observing will then need to have some way of recording the information that they acquire.

  • Chapter 9 - Discovery learning

  • Diana Whitton, University of Western Sydney
  • Book:
    Teaching and Learning Strategies
    Published online:
    14 September 2019
    Print publication:
    29 June 2015, pp 109-120

  • Summary

    Learning takes place when students are asked to derive their own meanings and understandings from the experiences that are presented to them. The concept of discovery learning is challenging to many teachers, as it requires handing the content over to the students so they can independently investigate and understand the information. The teacher then becomes a facilitator of learning, and only mentors the students in their learning. Relinquishing the role of teacher as instructor can be a challenge for students as well as teachers, as it requires the students to be ready to take the lead and become more accountable in their own learning.

    Like all popular terms in education, discovery learning has taken on a range of meanings, but it most commonly refers to a form of pedagogy in which students are exposed to particular questions and experiences that enable them to ‘discover’ for themselves the intended concepts (Hammer 1997). The learning is an inductive form, moving away from the teacher as the centre of learning to a student-centred approach.

    Teachers and students have a set of stimuli, beyond which the students need to go to form concepts and relationships. The students can add to the stimulus material or rearrange it so it is more meaningful to them.

  • Chapter 8 - Experiments

  • Diana Whitton, University of Western Sydney
  • Book:
    Teaching and Learning Strategies
    Published online:
    14 September 2019
    Print publication:
    29 June 2015, pp 97-108

  • Summary

    An experiment provides two ways to investigate information. The first is a formal procedure that is followed in order to learn about the effects of different things. The second involves experimenting to see how something works and how successful it is. The aim of an experiment is to validate a hypothesis.

    Experiments give students the opportunity to take the leadership in the learning and to demonstrate their knowledge and understandings. They can utilise their skills to prove that they have an understanding of different concepts.

    An experiment is asking, ‘What would happen if . . . ?’ and it is through the manipulation of variables that different results are obtained. It is the challenge of creating a situation, and varying or controlling the variables, that makes undertaking an experiment so rewarding for the students. In an experiment, the students are first-hand researchers of particular phenomena, and they undertake the task in order to gain the data to prove their work. An experiment is an alternative way to answer a question and to determine why certain phenomena happen in certain ways.

    The role of the teacher is very important in organising experiments. The teacher becomes a facilitator by setting up stimuli to be used, and challenges the students to go beyond what they have been given to form concepts and relationships. Experiments combine a range of processes that are undertaken in learning, and may be part of any curriculum area.

  • Chapter 4 - Explanation

  • Diana Whitton, University of Western Sydney
  • Book:
    Teaching and Learning Strategies
    Published online:
    14 September 2019
    Print publication:
    29 June 2015, pp 49-58

  • Summary

    Explanation is the development of a narration and the sharing of information with students, encouraging them to think logically, aesthetically and morally.

    Increasing numbers of magazines and shows are offering instructions on how to make or create something. From creating a new look in your house to cooking tonight’s family dinner, new ways to exercise or techniques to take better photographs, we are amply informed on how to undertake tasks through visual, written and oral explanations.

    Think of the radio commentary on a Rugby Union, football or cricket match. The commentators have the ability to create the visual images of the game for listeners. They explain the moves and the momentum of the sport, and provide a description of the intensity of the action. The success of the experience for the listener comes from the commentators’ in-depth knowledge of the game, the players and the expectations of the audience. Various nuances of the spoken word are required to lead to a good understanding by the listeners.

    Although explanations are often considered to be one of the easiest learning strategies, they really require thorough preparation and planning. The examples of the novelist, the sports commentators and the journalists writing about cooking or home maintenance all demonstrate the importance of the knowledge of the field in which they work – so an explanation is always embedded in a particular context.

  • Chapter 3 - Discussion

  • Diana Whitton, University of Western Sydney
  • Book:
    Teaching and Learning Strategies
    Published online:
    14 September 2019
    Print publication:
    29 June 2015, pp 36-48

  • Summary

    Discussions examine the pros and cons of a particular issue or idea through conversation or debate. We engage in discussions with friends and family every day, but in the classroom context they are a way to develop students’ knowledge on a topic or to assist them to learn more about what they already understand. Any discussion therefore needs to be carefully planned in advance, with consideration given to the roles of the teacher and students, as well as the content that needs to be covered.

    The following topics will be explored in this chapter:

  • when to have a discussion in a lesson

  • why have discussions

  • planning a discussion

  • ground rules for discussions

  • preparing students for a discussion

  • grouping

  • classroom layout for discussions

  • concluding a discussion

  • the Socratic method

  • leading a discussion

  • assessing discussions, and

  • the language of discussions.

    • When should I have a discussion in a lesson?

    It may seem obvious, but we should begin by understanding when to have a discussion in a lesson. This is an important consideration, as a well-placed discussion can help generate better learning outcomes. Answer a few short questions to determine whether it is necessary to have a discussion in a particular lesson. Will the discussion:

  • generate new ideas

  • indicate the level of the students’ knowledge and ability

  • have a maximum number of students participating

  • prompt more than one answer

  • maintain the students’ interest?

  • Chapter 5 - Questioning

  • Diana Whitton, University of Western Sydney
  • Book:
    Teaching and Learning Strategies
    Published online:
    14 September 2019
    Print publication:
    29 June 2015, pp 59-75

  • Summary

    Every day, we use questions to gain different forms of information. Essentially, we are living and teaching with questioning in every aspect of our lives. Questioning is a natural part of our conversations and teaching. Yet in order for students to learn how to use questioning, they need to learn about questioning. This chapter explores questioning to assist in your own development and then the students’ understanding of questions. Finally, we will look at ways of teaching for questioning, covering how students can develop their questioning skills for research and investigation.

    Many researchers and educators identify the different types of questions that will be covered in this chapter. The skill of questioning is paramount in teaching and learning, and this chapter aims to help you understand the impact it has on learning, as well as how you can use the strategy to its best advantage.

    Activity 5.1 Asking Questions

  • Think through why and when a teacher would use questions in the classroom.

  • Now reflect on why students ask questions.

  • Are there any similarities in the reasons why teachers and students may ask questions? If so, what are they?

    • What is a question?

    A question is a collection of words structured in such a way that they will elicit information from someone (a person) or something (for example, a database). Therefore, it is important to consider the language used and the structure of the question.

  • Chapter 12 - Grouping

  • Diana Whitton, University of Western Sydney
  • Book:
    Teaching and Learning Strategies
    Published online:
    14 September 2019
    Print publication:
    29 June 2015, pp 154-171

  • Summary

    How students are grouped in learning activities can affect the variation in the teaching environment and the dynamics of the learning process. Careful planning is required to ensure students benefit from the groups in which they work. Group work also introduces more unpredictability in teaching, since groups may approach tasks and solve problems in novel, interesting ways. This can be refreshing for instructors (Carnegie Mellon n.d.).

    This chapter looks at types of groups, the advantages of groups, the benefits of different ways of grouping and how to divide the class into groups and then bring the class back together again.

    The success of any group work in a class is based on the formation of groups based upon a comprehensive knowledge of each student in the class - their academic ability, social skills, and likes and dislikes.

    Types of groups

    There are many types of groups that can be used in teaching and learning. Each form has benefits for the students and the teacher, and the reasons for using one type of group over another must be considered carefully. Having a clear understanding of the different advantages and disadvantages of groups should ensure that students work in the most productive way with their classmates.

  • Chapter 10 - Feedback

  • Diana Whitton, University of Western Sydney
  • Book:
    Teaching and Learning Strategies
    Published online:
    14 September 2019
    Print publication:
    29 June 2015, pp 121-135

  • Summary

    Have you been online lately and bought something – through eBay or another source? One of the things you may look for is the feedback given about the person or establishment selling the item or providing the service. The rating may influence your choices. When you try on clothes in a shop, you immediately ask your friend or the shop assistant ‘How do I look? Does it suit me?’ Whatever the question, you are seeking information about how you look – and maybe an excuse to buy the item. In the workforce, employees are required to have an annual performance review, which involves giving and receiving feedback. Feedback is present in all facets of our life: work, social and home life.

    We all need and want feedback to know how we are going and how we should improve. In teaching, for each learning activity you need to decide what you want the students to achieve so you can give feedback to support that learning. Each lesson you plan and write is based upon an objective that directs the teaching and learning and the feedback you give should relate to this.

    What is feedback?

    Feedback is information about reactions to a product, a person’s performance of a task and so on, which is used as a basis for improvement. It is different from evaluation. Many researchers have examined feedback, and this chapter brings together a range of ideas that will inform you about ways to work with individual students as well as the whole class.

Page 258 of 675