Module 1 Activity 11 - Encouraging Learners to ask Questions

This is the most enjoyable activity I have done for this module so far.  It was shocking to see the students' responses.  This lesson evoked a lot of feelings within the students.  They could not believe that our capital once looked like it did in picture A.  This prompted them to ask questions and participate actively in the lesson.  It was really a lesson where students showed enthusiasm and eagerness to participate.

This was the best lesson for the week so far and I could go as far as to say for the term.  I would be comparing and contrasting as long the the topic lends itself to it.  I want to see this kind of reaction  and the level of discussion from my students again. It was refreshing!

Module 1  Activity 10 - Promoting Discussion

For this activity I did a class discussion.   We discussed the Jackal and the Camel.  The story was an enjoyable one but more-so was the discussion.  The students said the jackal should not have howled after he finished eating but the camel was even more despicable because he should have left him on the island and maybe the villagers would have killed him.  To treat him that way was low-down and dirty.  The students developed respect for each others ideas and their listening skills were being developed as they listened to each other. They  also became problem solvers.    

Module 1 Activity 9 - What Questions do I ask and Why

When asking questions in our classes we should always be prepared to ask all different types of questions to stimulate the children, to test their memory, to test their understanding, to encourage them to share their feelings and ideas or to encourage them to think.  As a teacher we should always be prepare to rephrase the questions to allow students to answer.  We might not always get the answer we are looking for so the onus is on us to phrase our questions in such a way  to encourage whole class participation as some students do shy away from answering questions.  We must not only ask closed questions but we should also ask open ended questions and be wary not to criticize students' responses.

Module 1 Activity 8 - Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development

Reading Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development took me back to the beginning of Teachers' College. This was the first theory I learnt in Education Psychology.  It was a very good reminder of how students think and learn.  This theory has a lot of implications for teaching and learning.  It explains how students organize or adapt to new information.   We should always take the students level of development when we plan and deliver our lessons and try to teach with as much real life examples as possible.

Module 1 Activity 7 - Collaborative Learning

Students learn quicker and better when they learn from each other.  Co-operative learning fosters this and when integrated with ICT it works even better because students love to manipulate technology. They become involved in their own learning and this makes for a good classroom environment.  While the teacher becomes a guide on the side the teacher also has to plan for these lesson very carefully.  There should also be constant monitoring of  the groups as some students can easily be distracted and lead astray.  For the most part though, there are more advantages than disadvantages when using collaborative learning and this should be done in all classrooms for all subjects at one point or the other.

Vygotsky's Understanding of Cognitive Development

Module 1 Activity 6  

Vygotsky's Understanding of Cognitive Development

It was very interesting to see the many ideas that my colleagues put forth in the group activity.  While I thought of some of the ideas that were on the page some of them never came to my mind.  These activities will be very  useful in the classroom.  All students  - those who are shy and not good writers would  benefit from these activities.  The reading was a reminder how to group students.