Activity 1 Teacher's Knowledge on Content and Pedagogy
Pedagogical content knowledge is a type of knowledge that is unique to teachers, and is based on the manner in which teachers relate their pedagogical knowledge (what they know about teaching) to their subject matter knowledge (what they know about what they teach). It is the integration or the synthesis of teachers' pedagogical knowledge and their subject matter knowledge that comprises pedagogical content knowledge.
In addition to teachers' subject matter (content) knowledge and their general knowledge of instructional methods (pedagogical knowledge), pedagogical content knowledge was originally suggested as a third major component of teaching expertise, by Lee Shulman (1986; 1987) and his colleagues and students (e.g. Carlsen, 1987; Grossman, Wilson, & Shulman, 1989; Gudmundsdottir, 1987a, 1987b; Gudmundsdottir & Shulman, 1987; Marks, 1990). This idea represents a new, broader perspective in our understanding of teaching and learning, and a special issue of the Journal of Teacher Education (Ashton, 1990) was devoted to this topic.
Other studies have shown that new teachers have incomplete or superficial levels of pedagogical content knowledge (Carpenter, Fennema, Petersen, & Carey, 1988; Feiman-Nemser & Parker, 1990; Gudmundsdottir & Shulman, 1987; Shulman, 1987). A novice teacher tends to rely on unmodified subject matter knowledge (most often directly extracted from the curriculum) and may not have a coherent framework or perspective from which to present the information. The novice also tends to make broad pedagogical decisions without assessing students' prior knowledge, ability levels, or learning strategies (Carpenter, et al., 1988). In addition, preservice teachers have been shown to find it difficult to articulate the relationships between pedagogical ideas and subject matter concepts (Gess – Newsome & Lederman, 1993); and low levels of pedagogical content knowledge have been found to be related to frequent use of factual and simple recall questions (Carlsen, 1987). These studies also indicate that new teachers have major concerns about pedagogical content knowledge, and they struggle with how to transform and represent the concepts and ideas in ways that make sense to the specific students they are teaching (Wilson, Shulman, & Richert,1987).
These and other studies show that pedagogical content knowledge is highly specific to the concepts being taught, is much more than just subject matter knowledge alone, and develops over time as a result of teaching experience. What is unique about the teaching process is that it requires teachers to "transform" their subject matter knowledge for the purpose of teaching (Shulman, 1986). This transformation occurs as the teacher critically reflects on and interprets the subject matter; finds multiple ways to represent the information as analogies, metaphors, examples, problems, demonstrations, and/or classroom activities; adapts the material to students' developmental levels and abilities, gender, prior knowledge, and misconceptions; and finally tailors the material to those specific individual or groups of students to whom the information will be taught. Gudmundsdottir (1987a, b) describes this transformation process as a continual restructuring of subject matter knowledge for the purpose of teaching; and Buchmann (1984) discusses the importance of science teachers maintaining a fluid control or "flexible understanding" (p. 21) of their subject knowledge, i.e. be able to see a specific set of concepts from a variety of viewpoints and at a variety of levels, depending on the needs and abilities of the students.
In this particular activity entitled “Teacher’s Knowledge on Content and Pedagogy” which is the first activity of this course, we are able to observe and categorize classroom communication strategies employed by a teacher. Upon observing a class, we realized that various teaching strategies can help students maximize their involvement and it is a tool for greater accomplishment. It also helps in promoting numeracy, literacy and higher order thinking skills. Therefore, a teacher must be resourceful in making his/her instruction engaging. Resourceful in the sense that he/she can design or utilize not only one but a variety of strategies to cater the needs of the learners. We also reflect on the different principles of learning which is also a part of this activity. “Learning is an active process” is one of it.
The students should actively participate in the teaching and learning process. The teacher is not a sage on stage, he/she is a facilitator of learning. Less talk on the teacher and more talk on the students. Teaching should adhere to the axiom “What I see, I forget, What I hear, I remember, What I do, I understand”.
Reference:
https://bit.ly/31zCvHv
Activity 2 My Ideal Learning Environment
An ideal school environment embraces the idea that ALL students can learn. an ideal school environment works to build safe learning spaces for students. The environment plays a vital role in the learning of the students. Using different approach and building classroom environment that will make every student feel like they belong and accepted is very important because it may become a source of motivation for them to work on their full potential and will eventually contribute to their academic progress.
Since students may learn in various settings, such as outside-of-school locations and outdoor environments, the term is often used as a more accurate or preferred alternative to the classroom, which has more limited and traditional connotations a room with rows of desks and a chalkboard, for example. The term also encompasses the culture of a school or class its presiding ethos and characteristics, including how individuals interact with and treat one another as well as how teachers may organize an educational setting to facilitate learning.
The ideal classroom is a positive place where a student can come to work toward specific goals set before them in the class objectives. The teacher is to be positive, organized, outgoing, confident, and compassionate. The classroom community gives the students the opportunity to get to know their fellow students.
In order to provide an exceptional education to students, school buildings have to be purposefully built in such a way as to inspire creativity, independence, and a love of learning. Good facilities in schools should be designed to nurture the intellectual, physical, social, and emotional development of students. Schools should also continually improve their campuses in response to student need and the latest research.
Creating a classroom community and culture remain another necessary aspect when fostering a safe learning environment. We believe the most important aspect in a safe and positive learning environment is the rapport between a teacher and his or her students. When the students understand that their teacher cares about them and wants them to do well, students feel comfortable asking questions, making mistakes and taking risks in order to learn something new. To build these kinds of relationships, the teacher should take interest in each student's strengths and interests, as well as their struggles and frustrations. In this worksheet/ activity we observed and assess various classroom management strategies that enhances learning, distinguish the features of a school environment that is safe, secure and conducive for learning and design a school environment that is safe, secure and supportive to learning. We make a flashback of our previous school environment and how will it contribute to the students’ learning and development. All of the school facilities are useful, important and serve a specific purpose in the
learning process or development of students, thereby improving the quality of the learning environment. At the end of the activity we learned that a facility contributes to the learners' learning or makes the teaching and learning process more meaningful and interactive.
https://earlymilestones.org/project/ideal-learning/
https://edtechreview.in/dictionary/4776-what-is-an-ideal-learning-environment
Activity 3 Distinctness of a Learner in a Diverse Classroom
America’s public school system was founded upon the premise that all people, regardless of their cultures or special circumstances, are entitled to a free, quality education so that they can become productive, contributing citizens in our society. Modern-day educators have extended that vision to create global citizens. Education is, in a sense, a “golden door” of opportunity that enables people to transcend social, physical, economic, or cultural barriers to pursue their dreams. Increasingly diverse classrooms provide a venue for children to learn to embrace cultural differences and eliminate the barriers of racism, sexism, and prejudice. If we want all students to enter this golden door of educational opportunity, teachers must be sensitive to their students’ cultural and academic differences. They need to create culturally sensitive learning communities, develop positive teacher– student–parent relationships, design lessons that motivate all students to learn, and implement those lessons using differentiated instructional strategies to maximize student learning.
Designing educational programs and curricula involves developing understandings of the learner and instructional environment characteristics that could impact learning success. While there may be some commonalities among learners, it is important for designers to recognize that there will likely be a great diversity of learning preferences, abilities, and experiences that learners will bring to a course or other learning experience. Rose (2015) remarked that the notion of an “average” learner is a misnomer, and learner diversity (rather than uniformity) is actually the norm. When learner variability is not addressed in a design, it is inevitable that many learners will experience obstacles to their learning, limiting the effectiveness of the learning experience for them and inducing additional costs in time and resources to make adjustments and accommodations (Brinck, 2005). Planning for learner variability from the outset is therefore a valuable step in the design process that can lead to more robust, accessible, and impactful designs. Being able to plan for diverse learners begins with developing empathetic understandings of the characteristics in which learners will vary.
In this activity we learned that as a teacher we should know the background of our students. We also expanded our knowledge in describing the characteristics, needs and interests of learners in a diverse classroom. As a teacher we need to be fair and open ears to our students. valuing the importance learner’s diversity.
In short, everything you do in your future classroom will be focused on fulfilling the various needs of your students. As a result, you must learn about each learner's academic, emotional, and cultural diversity in order to assist them in their academic and life endeavours. You must create and implement lessons that address all learners’ academic demands, learning styles, and various intelligences in order to promote a culturally sensitive learning community.
References:
https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/39272_2.pdf
https://edtechbooks.org/id/designing_for_diverse_learners
Activity 4 The Teaching-Learning Resources, ICT, and the Curriculum
Curriculum encompasses a wide variety of potential educational and instructional practices, educators often have a very precise, technical meaning in mind when they use the term. Most teachers spend a lot of time thinking about, studying, discussing, and analyzing curriculum, and many educators have acquired a specialist’s expertise in curriculum development. Since curriculum is one of the foundational elements of effective schooling and teaching, it is often the object of reforms, most of which are broadly intended to either mandate or encourage greater curricular standardization and consistency across states, schools, grade levels, subject areas, and courses.
This activity, tackles The Teaching-Learning Resources, ICT, and the Curriculum. To do the indicated tasks we have to:
· Download, review and analyze a sample k-12 Basic education curriculum.
· Review the elements/components of curriculum design.
· Follow the minimum health protocol at all times.
· Observe etiquette and netiquette during online class observation and collaboration with others.
In the first part of the activity, we identified the type of curriculum that exist in DEPED Schools/Laboratory Integrated Schools
We all know that curriculum is one of the foundational elements of effective schooling and teaching so probably curriculum is the DEPED schools/Laboratory school is mandated. Also, we have noticed that different schools across the region has the same lesson to be learned by the learners.
We also compared a downloaded lesson plan and note our observation on how the design was implemented or translated into a daily lesson. Using the borrowed/downloaded lesson plan, we tried to dissect parts and identified what resources including ICT were utilized to facilitate teaching-learning process. From the lesson plan that we have downloaded, resources are more likely to be efficient and effective for the learners because the teacher can assess and facilitate them in real time. In contrast, a virtual learning environment is quite difficult to facilitate, and learners seem to be dependent on their parents.
Based on online discussion that we have observed, the flow is well-organized and straightforward. The teacher made certain that the power point presentation was given at the same time. The power point presentation's content corresponds to the desired learning goals, and the learners are gently participating during the class discussion.
Reference:
https://www.edglossary.org/curriculum/
Activity 5 Assessing Learning Outcomes and Reporting Feedbacks
Assessing learning outcomes is a form of program and curriculum evaluation with the goal of continous program improvement. Describe what students should be able to demonstrate, represent or produce upon completion of a program of study (Maki, 2010).
Learning outcomes are similar to navigational tool like GPS. Once the driver's destination is entered into the GPS, the device will assist him or her during the journey, ensuring that the driver arrives at the specified location without getting lost. Even if the driver takes the wrong path, the GPS will guide him and assist him in rejoining the route that goes to the desired location. Learning objectives, on the other hand, are guiding tools that direct students to the desired outcomes of the planned course. They also display and assist teachers in charting the course to be followed, as well as inform students about what they will be able to do at the end of the course. They also assist teachers and students in determining the best route to take.
Feedback is an important part of the assessment process. It has a significant effect on student learning and has been described as “the most powerful single moderator that enhances achievement” (Hattie, 1999). Providing feedbacks means giving an honest criticism both negative and positive. Feedbacks means is intended to evaluate a learner's degree of comprehension and skill development so that the next steps towards accomplishing the learning objectives or goals that is planned. Involving parents and families in the learning process by giving them with more frequent feedback on their child's learning progress and tactics they can use to help their child improve has a positive impact on student accomplishment.
Assessing learning outcomes and reporting feedbacks plays an important role for the learning development of the learners and teacher. We learned a lot from this activity, that in every assessment we need to record to measure the capabilities of a learners. As future teachers, assessing learning outcomes and reporting feedbacks plays an important role for the learning development of the learners and teacher. Because, we believe that learning outcomes is very important to us because we can easily identify what outcomes are met by the students in particular assessment and where they need to grow in there learning process. We also believe that every teacher ensures that there are learning outcomes that the students will meet in every lesson, as well as feedbacks to test the students' performance in terms of assessments and performance tasks, as well as to assess the students' learning by providing feedbacks, because we believe that everyone has room for improvement.
All in all, we believe that assessing learning outcomes and reporting feedbacks has an important part for the learners and teachers. We can help the students for them to bring out the best of them and to improve the learning development.
References:
https://assessment.provost.wisc.edu/student-learning-outcomes/
Activity 6 Teachers' Skills and Connection to Community
Teachers are unquestionably the backbone of civilization. They serve as role models for learners, providing advice and dedication as well as empowering young people through education. Teachers enable countries to progress socially and economically. By engaging in community-responsive practices, teachers play a key role in creating school cultures that support and sustain effective community partnerships. To be effective as agents of community responsiveness in schools, teachers require professional development (Epstein & Sanders, 2006).
Family and community involvement may help to improve the quality of guidance programs in schools as well as students' attitudes and behavior. When educators, students, and families are properly connected, school counseling and support services are stronger and better able to serve students.
This was the final activity in our field study 1, and it was a fantastic experience because we were fortunate enough to conduct interviews with professional teachers from the Department of Education and LIS of PSU Bayambang. Following the interview, we gained insights from their experience that we may apply in the field. Learning from their experiences and advice can help us in becoming professional teachers in the future. Finally, the most important aspect of being a teacher is to become enthusiastic about what we do and to choose self-fulfillment over seeking awards, validations, and recognitions from others.
Reference:
https://llc.umbc.edu/files/2014/05/2014_Sanders-Galindo1.pdf