5 Effective Teaching Practices
5 Effective Teaching Practices
By: Ms
Kashfia Latafat
1. Assessment for learning (AFL)
is an approach to teaching and learning that
creates feedback which is then used to improve students’ performance. Students
become more involved in the learning process and from this gain confidence in
what they are expected to learn and to what standard. One way of thinking about
AFL is that it aims to ‘close the gap’ between a learner’s current situation
and where they want to be in their learning and achievement. I usually plan
tasks which help learners to do this. AFL involves students becoming more
active in their learning and starting to ‘think like a teacher’. They think
more actively about where they are now, where they are going and how to get
there.
What are the benefits of AFL?
AFL improves learner outcomes: Research
shows that effective formative assessment is one of the most important
contributors to success in summative assessment. This is because learners have
a clear idea of what good work looks like and what they need to do to reach
this standard.
AFL increases confidence:
AFL helps create a sense of self-efficacy (a learner’s confidence in their
ability to reach targets through hard work and determination). This is an
essential quality for learners to develop. Self-efficacy will help them succeed
throughout their life, both professionally and personally. A student who
receives a poor grade for a test may withdraw from learning, preferring to be
thought ‘lazy’ rather than ‘stupid’. With an AFL approach, teachers give
learners task-specific feedback that focuses on the work rather than
ego-specific feedback that focuses on personal qualities of the learner. This
encourages every learner to feel that they can improve.
AFL techniques, such as peer feedback, can help more able learners to reinforce their learning by explaining ideas to less able classmates. Furthermore, peer feedback helps learners to develop diplomacy and communication skills that will be essential in many aspects of later life.
AFL increases independence:
AFL enables learners to become less passive in the classroom, especially when
combined with other methods that promote this type of approach, such as active
learning techniques. Students will develop the ability to assess themselves and
to take responsibility for their own learning.
AFL also helps teachers:
When students are taking a more active role in their learning, teachers have
more time to talk to them individually. In addition, teachers have more time to
reflect on what is going well in their lesson and what can be improved.
AFL changes the culture of the
classroom: Carol Dweck argues that high-achieving learners
avoid taking risks because they are afraid of making mistakes. This reduces the
amount they can learn. An AFL approach helps to create a supportive and
cooperative classroom. In this environment, everyone, including the teacher,
should feel able to try new things without worrying that they might fail. If
the teacher presents mistakes as an opportunity for learning, this will help
every student to reach their full potential. Students will start to see that by
learning from failure, they can improve outcomes in the future.
2.
Cooperative Learning:
Cooperation is working
together to accomplish shared goals.
Within cooperative situations, individuals seek outcomes that are
beneficial to themselves and beneficial to all other group members. Cooperative
learning is the instructional use of small groups so that students work
together to maximize their own and each other’s learning. It may be contrasted with competitive
(students work against each other to achieve an academic goal such as a grade
of “A” that only one or a few students can attain) and individualistic
(students work by themselves to accomplish learning goals unrelated to those of
the other students) learning.
Benefits of
Cooperative Learning
·
When students are working toward a
common goal, academic work becomes an activity valued by peers.
·
Students are motivated to help one
another learn.
·
Students are able to translate the
teacher's language into "student language" for one another.
·
Students who explain to one another
strengthen their own learning.
·
When students need to organize their
thoughts in order to explain them to teammates, they must engage in thinking
that builds on other ideas (cognitive elaboration) which greatly enhances their
own understanding.
·
Teammates can provide individual
attention and assistance to one another.
·
Regular and constructive collaborative
study groups can assist you with mastery of material, exam preparation, and
better performance on tests.
3. Inquiry-based instruction:
Inquiry-based learning is an
approach to learning that emphasizes the student’s role in the learning
process. Rather than the teacher telling students what they need to know,
students are encouraged to explore the material, ask questions, and share
ideas. Inquiry-based learning uses different approaches to learning, including
small-group discussion and guided learning. Instead of memorizing facts and material,
students learn by doing. This allows them to build knowledge through
exploration, experience, and discussion. Just like experiential learning, inquiry-based learning actively
engages students in the learning process. Students aren’t just hearing or
writing what they are learning. Instead, students get the chance to explore a
topic more deeply and learn from their own first-hand experiences. We retain
75% of what we do compared to 5% of what we hear and 10% of what we read. Inquiry-based
learning allows students to better understand and recall material by actively
engaging with it and making their own connections.
The
benefits of inquiry-based learning
·
Enhances learning
experiences for children
·
Sitting in
a classroom taking notes isn’t always the most effective (or fun) way to learn.
Rather than memorizing facts from the teacher, inquiry-based learning enhances
the learning process by letting students explore topics themselves.
·
Teaches skills needed for
all areas of learning
·
As they
explore a topic, students build critical thinking and communication skills. The
cognitive skills that students develop can be used to improve comprehension in
every subject, as well as in day-to-day life.
·
Fosters curiosity in
students
·
An inquiry-based learning approach lets students
share their own ideas and questions about a topic. This helps foster more
curiosity about the material and teaches skills students can use to continue
exploring topics they are interested in.
·
Deepens students’
understanding of topics
·
Rather
than simply memorizing facts, students make their own connections about what
they are learning. This allows them to gain a better understanding of a topic
than they would get by just memorizing and recalling facts.
·
Allows students to take
ownership of their learning
·
Students
have the opportunity to explore a topic, giving them more of a sense of
ownership over their learning. Instead of the teacher telling them what they
should know, students are able to learn in a way that works for them.
·
Increases engagement with
the material
·
As a form
of active learning, this approach encourages students to fully engage in the
learning process. By allowing students to explore topics, make their own
connections, and ask questions, they are able to learn more effectively.
·
Creates a love of
learning
·
Inquiry-based
learning is designed to teach students a love of learning. When students are
able to engage with the material in their own way, not only are they able to
gain a deeper understanding—they are able to develop a passion for exploration
and learning.
4 Differentiation:
Differentiate your teaching by allocating tasks based on students’
abilities, to ensure no one gets left behind. Assigning classroom activities
according to students’ unique learning needs means individuals with higher
academic capabilities are stretched and those who are struggling get the
appropriate support. This can involve handing out worksheets that vary in complexity to
different groups of students, or setting
up a range of work stations around the classroom which contain an
assortment of tasks for students to choose from. Moreover, using an educational
tool such as Quizalize can
save you hours of time because it automatically groups your students for you,
so you can easily identify individual and whole class learning gaps With
differentiation in the classroom, instructors can manage what students learn,
how students learn, and how students are assessed. With its flexibility,
differentiated instruction allows teachers to maximize individual growth in the
course content. With differentiation in the
classroom, instructors can manage what students learn, how students learn, and
how students are assessed. With its flexibility, differentiated instruction
allows teachers to maximize individual growth in the course content.
5. Behaviour management:
Implementing an effective behaviour management strategy is crucial to
gain your students respect and ensure students have an equal chance of reaching
their full potential. Noisy, disruptive classrooms do no encourage a productive
learning environment, therefore developing an atmosphere of mutual respect
through a combination of discipline and reward can be beneficial for both you
and your students. Examples include fun and interactive reward
charts for younger students, where individuals move up or down
based on behaviour with the top student receiving a prize at the end of the
week. ‘Golden time’ can also work for students of all
ages, with a choice of various activities such as games or no homework in
reward for their hard work.
Reference
by:
https://gradepowerlearning.com/
http://tutorials.istudy.psu.edu/
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