TEACHING IN THE LIFELONG LEARNING SECTOR

Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector

Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector

Task 1

The ability to put your planning decisions on paper and describe them to others is fast becoming a prerequisite to entrance to the teaching profession. In short, you will be asked to plan and execute lessons and justify your decisions to college professors and supervisors, directing teachers during internship, and administrators supervising you during your first years on the job. The increased emphasis on accountability in education requires that beginning teachers be able to demonstrate their ability to make professional decisions. Effective lesson planning is an important part of professional decision making.

Cooperative learning is an instructional technique designed to promote the academic and social development of students. Over the last 2 decades, cooperative learning has achieved broad- based support from researchers and classroom teachers. In addition to academic achievement, cooperative learning has been associated with positive social relations and social development. Davenport and Prusak (1998 56-105) have provided suggestions for reducing this problem, such as making each student responsible for a unique aspect of the task or rotating primary responsibility among group members.

With inexperience all the details are important to think through and write down. Task analysis is essential.

Although many noncooperative instructional approaches are available to teachers, research continues to support the use of cooperative learning as a means to promote academic and social growth. The lesson from research on assessment is that students and teachers need to be involved in the process. Students are very much involved when they fill out mid-semester (formative) and end-of-semester (summative) evaluations. These evaluations not only provide statistical data but qualitative data that can be useful. Other useful types of evaluation include the Small Group Instructional Diagnosis process and quality circles used by many business schools to promote continuous collaboration in the learning process.

Good questions in class stimulate learning because they allow the students to clarify and the teacher to probe.

Easterby-Smith Crossan Nicolini (2000 783-96) have described questioning or inquiry in the following way: "Inquiry at the most fundamental level can be viewed as a process for answering questions and solving problems based on facts and observations". Inquiry as a learning method requires active participation both by students and by the teacher. The work of the sociologist (Freidson 2006 30-64) provides insight into the concepts and context of inquiry. Although Briggs focuses on asking questions in social scientific research, the categories he outlines are relevant to other types of inquiry.

Developing the ability to observe yourself as you teach does not have to result in a loss of self-confidence. Neither you nor your students evaluate every move or word, but if you recognize the barriers and the motivators to learning, you will learn what works. Physical barriers include non-deliberate movement. Being animated is important, but wandering and using non-supportive gestures distract students from listening--and learning. Intellectual barriers hinder learning as much as the physical barriers. Poor organization of a class: with too many digressions, too few summaries ...