Current Theories Of Teaching And Learning

Over the years, I feel I have been guided by God to pursue Elementary Education, which narrows my focus to the kindergarten classroom. I will clearly define the most helpful theories that may be implemented throughout the kindergarten learning environment. Effective teacher characteristics will be identified and why they are imperative for this particular age group. Young children have different learning characteristics and it is important for teachers to recognize and accommodate to the needs of their students. Throughout this course, I have discovered certain characteristics about myself and I will elaborate on my unique learning styles.

“Why should schooling change at every state border?”, was written by the Deputy Principal of Narrenwood Secondary College, Stephen Buckle, in response to the proposal for a national curriculum. Using a well judged tone, Buckle argues that Australia needs to have a “common curriculum” in order to achieve unity across the country as Australians are “one people”. Opposing this proposal an anonymous writer of, “A single curriculum is not the answer” published in The Age contends in a dubious tone that a “Canberra-controlled curriculum” does not support independence. A cartoon by Job also responds to the issue of whether Australia should have a single national school curriculum and is condemning of the idea. Throughout the three different articles there is a range of different tones used in order to create different perspectives on the issue according to the audience of the pieces which is aimed commonly at people involved in the education system as well the parents of the children mentioned.

The planning for Year 3 Literacy follows the National Primary Literacy Framework. Within my setting I have prior discussions with the class teachers on what the planned activity is and how I am going to support the children to achieve the learning objective. All support staff are given plans for the day/week on certain curriculum subjects that they will be supporting. This will contain the aim outline what the lesson, or series of lessons, hopes to achieve. Prior knowledge points to relevant knowledge pupils may already have and also to knowledge which may be necessary in order to support them in accessing this new topic.

Brady and Kennedy (2010) define the term curriculum as ‘the means by which young people and adults gain the essential knowledge, skills and attributes they need to be productive and informed citizens in a democratic society.’ However the term has many varied definitions, it can be described as being the subject matter, the overall plan for teaching or the outcome of what is taught (Wiles, 2005). Marsh and Willis (cited in Marsh, 2009, p. 3) break curriculum down into three individual areas of ‘planned curriculum’, the objectives and aims, ‘enacted curriculum’, how the objectives are

Education system in England is divided into three stages: Pre-compulsory, compulsory and post-compulsory. Compulsory education is broken down into 4 phases known as ‘key stages’. All teaching during the key stages is based on the National Curriculum; however schools in the independent sector may choose whether or not to follow this. (Tutorial, Laser Learning Ltd 2010, 17/01/2012, http://stonebridge.laserlearning.org/TCC_Template_1.aspx?ur=100429&ln=TDA32-1.1)

Education both influences and reflects the values and aspirations of a society. It is therefore important to recognise a set of common aims, values and purposes that underpin a school curriculum and the work of schools in a range of countries (DfE, 2008). This comparative study will explore the curricula of England and Finland - discussing the history, structure and contents; and consider which of the above are more useful in preparing young adults for life in the modern society. With reference to the modern society, it is important to understand that what makes a society modern is entirely a subjective ideology. This takes into consideration that the views and expectations of one modern society may differ from the views and expectations

Comprehension as a process is an intriguing phenomenon. The ability to understand a particular student is affected by inevitable factors such as age and intelligence of that individual. The method employed during teaching is a constant factor. The intelligence quotient varies between various individuals. It is, therefore, paramount to always employ an effective means of teaching. This entrusts a feeling of equity ascertaining that all students acquire a minimum preset level of comprehension of the subjected lesson. The forged policies and pedagogy is a by all means a basis of universal teaching that can encompass a qualitative learning process. This can be achieved by several factors such as learning some characteristics of

Teachers have an important task of translating learning theories into practice. Knowledge about learning theories allows teachers to consider different approaches and apply various techniques and valuable strategies in specific contexts and with specific learners to promote learning. This essay will provide an insight into three well-known theories of how children learn. It will examine Behaviourism, Social Constructivism and Humanism and how these learning theories underpin a range of pedagogical approaches to teaching and learning and promote inclusive practice.

Schools also have a hidden curriculum in which values and norms of behaviour are transmitted. For example, wearing a school uniform and keeping to a set timetable can all be seen as activities that encourage particular standards of behaviour which could be viewed as producing disciplined future workers. Therefore the hidden curriculum implies that pupils not only learn formal subjects such as English or physics but also receive hidden messages about their class, ethnicity and gender from their experience of schooling. Through the choice of teaching strategies and characteristics chosen to be employed by educational institutions it indirectly conveys to students the norms, values and expectations. This is what we refer to as the hidden curriculum. As we will later explore there are many that argue the hidden curriculum and processes within schools help to produce inequalities between children of different social classes. Whitty and Young (1976) view the

The Vallance Journal by Elizabeth Vallance is about the hidden curriculum of public schooling and how it has grown to what it is today and how it was created throughout the centuries. Schooling was initially created as a form of social control and a place to teach family values. The initial goals of the hidden curriculum are identified as the inculcation of values, political socialization, training in obedience and docility. Schooling would soon replace family and tradition. Education was considered a “remedy”. Also an important aspect is “the hidden curriculum became hidden only when school people were satisfied that it was working” (pg 78). Hidden Curriculum can be known as student teacher interaction unit, classroom socialization, maintenance of class structure.

The first part of this assignment will focus on the English Curriculum for primary education. England has not always had a National Curriculum. Even after the Education Act of 1944, which introduced a tripartite system of free schooling for all children, there were no statutory requirements for schools other than the inclusion of religious education. In 1953, the first non-selective school opened and changes began to be made with the intention of modernising the primary and secondary school curricula (Arthur and Cremin, p.284). The Plowden Report of 1967 argued for a primary school curriculum that would allow children to live “happily and usefully”, stressing the importance of “other skills besides those of reading, writing and arithmetic” (Plowden, p186).

During the 19th century, didactic literacy pedagogy was the first pedagogy to become prominent subsequent to the mass obligatory, institutionalised education (Kalantzis et al., 2016, p.84). This approach was widely seen during the Victorian era where education was seen to be teacher centered; according to Watkins (1999), this approach can also be seen in Australian education during the 1970s and 1980s. During this time this pedagogy was

Throughout this paper, I will be comparing this approach to a number of more traditional approaches to educational policy analysis such as the rational comprehensive model, politically rational model (Bacchi, 1999), Critical Discourse Analysis (Thomas, 2004) and the effects of globalization through common world education culture and the globally structured agenda for education (Dale, 2000). Examining the strengths and weakness of these approaches as compared to the less traditional “what’s the problem?” approach, can help gain a clearer understanding of educational policy and therefore help us to be (hopefully) informed members of the policy making and implementation process.

This essay will compare and contrast three key theories of learning; Behaviourism, Cognitive Learning Theory and Constructivism.

The ways in which children learn is variable, learning practices and singular theories cannot explain by themselves the very process of learning but gives some idea when these theories are viewed simultaneously; working through the limitations and expressing the benefits held across the theoretical principles. This assignment will analyse and critically evaluate behaviourist and cognitivist theories in terms of learning and education; reflecting back on application to a classroom environment. This assignment delves into areas of behaviourism developed by Skinner, Bandura, and Pavlov to name a few; which mainly works on the principle expedited by Pavlov, taking the name ‘Classical Conditioning’ of learning; which can be linked back into classroom practice; for children need to feel that they are in a positive, inductive centre of learning where they associate the positive environment with the educational situation they are placed within (Alan Pritchard, (2009)). The other side of the coin however delves into the constructivist or cognitivist theories developed by such theorists as Piaget, Vygotsky and Bruner. Cognitivist theory mainly focuses on learning as a social principle, in which the learning is the responsibility of the students, who receive and organise their information, with the teacher acting as a facilitator who scaffolds the learning process. This can be linked to classroom practice in terms of ‘Active learning’ and ‘Social transmission’, in which the children