Before I started this university course I had no idea how hard it is to be a teacher. I thought teaching was about imparting knowledge of the syllabus to students. I now see the tremendous amount of work teachers put in everyday, going far beyond just curriculum content. It takes a very dedicated lifelong learner who is passionate about making a difference in the lives of children to become a teacher. Teaching presents many challenges and complexities. To ensure students receive high quality education they deserve, Teachers must meet the National Standards and requirements and constantly reflect upon their practice to improve. Schools in the 21st Century have a large diversity of students with different background and status. As professionals, …show more content…
The importance of pedagogy is asserted by Anderson (2005) through “Pedagogy affects students’ lives and expectations… Defines us as professionals”. (p53) A complexity about pedagogy is there is no one pedagogy, everyone can chose their own based on a number of influences. Context has a large influence of the pedagogy of a primary school teacher as geographical setting of the school, the cultural background of the students, the past experiences of the teacher and their own pedagogical content knowledge all affect the way they teach their classroom. Another layer of complexity to pedagogy is the number of different pedagogical practices teachers have knowledge of that can question their pedagogy. Technological pedagogies, productive pedagogies, instructional pedagogies and theories such as Piaget’s ‘Stages of Development’ theory are just a few of the many pedagogical approaches that teachers can consider (Godinho, 2013). Nadine Slingsby, a primary school teacher mentions that her pedagogy is “Evolving as I learn more and continue to learn”. Society is changing; traditional teaching methods are becoming more obsolete with technology and proactive and game based lesson planning approaches being incorporated into teaching. While Nadine embraces her new learning and its impact on her pedagogy, I could see how this …show more content…
I find it to be the hardest concept to understand in terms of complexity as Grundy (1987, 1998) states it is can be considered as both an object and an action. This becomes more complex when it is considered a cultural construction with the values and beliefs of the creators underpinned through the content they want students to learn, whether this is explicit or part of the hidden curriculum. Furthermore, curriculum can be seen as praxis, it is about relationships between students, teachers and subject matter and these connections increase learning. With the various models of curriculum such as Inquiry based and outcome – focused curriculum it can challenging for teachers to make decisions around the curriculum when lesson planning at both micro and macro levels. I had never thought of curriculum as more than the syllabus documents until this unit of work. I now strongly believe that successful learning is facilitated through teachers planning and pedagogical approach as curriculum
The Australian curriculum has been designed for children in their schooling years from foundation to year twelve. Currently the curriculum has covered four learning areas (English, Mathematics, Science and History) from kindergarten to year ten. “The Australian Curriculum describes knowledge, skills and understanding organised by learning areas.” (ACARA, 2010 d). Each learning area contains a: rationale – describing the nature of learning, aims – the intended result of learning from the curriculum, year level description, strands – interrelated broad organisers for the content in each learning area, content descriptions – describe what teachers are expected to teach, content elaborations – content description sup...
Definitions for curriculum are many and varied. Broad sweeping statements claim that curriculum is what is taught in various subjects and the amount of time given to each. While a more specific view is that curriculum are performance objectives for students that focus on specific skills or knowledge (Marsh, 2010). Marsh (2010, p. 93) defines curriculum as “an interrelated set of plans and experiences” that are completed at school. The curriculum used in education can have various interpretations, it may refer to the curriculum as a plan that encompasses all the learning that is planned and directed by the school. Cu...
Different theories present own opinion of the most effective way through curriculum models. ‘Curriculum models are approaches or procedures for implementing a curriculum’. (Wilson, 2009: 522) Commonly curriculum are described as product, process and praxis. While curriculum as a product depends on the objectives as the learning goals and the measured means, a process model focuses on learning and relationship between learner and teacher. Chosen curriculum model depends on teaching and assessment strategies in some cases determinate by awarding bodies, organisational constrains, funding body and political initiatives. The dominant modes of describing and managing education are today couched in the productive form. Objectives are set, a plan drawn up, then applied, and the outcomes (products) measured. It is a way of thinking about education that has grown in influence in the United Kingdom since the late 1970s with the rise of ‘vocationalism’ and the concern of competencies. In the late 1980s and the 1990s many of the debates about the National Curriculum for schools did not so much concern how the curriculum was thought about as to what its objectives and content might be. (Wilson, 2009)
As the time approached, my attitude toward student-teaching was one of confidence and in some ways overconfidence. I believed that I was equipped with all of the tools necessary to be a superior teacher. Little did I know what truly goes on behind the scenes of a teacher. Between grading papers, attending meetings, and preparing lessons, I would often feel overwhelmed. Still, student teaching would prove to be much more valuable than I anticipated. It would teach me to appreciate the wisdom of mentors and experienced teachers, value or being organized and prepared, and lastly the resilience of students.
Blomfield, A., Roughton, L., Scott, A. (1997) Becoming a Secondary School Teacher. London: Hodder Arnold
Presents the results of a study on the effectiveness of computer-based integrated learning system (ILS) in schools in the United States. Subjects in which ILS is used; ILS' ability to track students' progress on learning activities; ILS' effectiveness in improving student learning; Underutilization of ILS in American schools; Potential of ILS to transform the classroom.
Posner, G. (1998) ‘Models of curriculum planning’. In Beyer, L. and Apple, M. (eds) The Curriculum. Problems, Politics and Possibilities (2nd edn). New York: State University of New York Press.
According to Glatthorn, Boschee and Whitehead (2006, p.74), a curriculum theory is a set of related educational concepts that affords a systematic and illuminating perspective on curricular phenomena. In a simpler term, a curriculum theory is an academic discipline devoted to examining and shaping educational curricula (Wikipedia, curriculum theory). One that would be a proponent of a structured-oriented curriculum would be concerned primarily with analyzing the components of the curriculum and their interrelationships. They will tend to be descriptive and explanatory in intent whereas, one that is a proponent of a value-oriented curriculum would be concerned primarily with analyzing the values and assumptions of curriculum makers and their
As an education major at State College, I’ve decided to become a teacher for several reasons. As I progressed through elementary, middle, and high school, many of my teachers were great role models for me. This has inspired me to become a role model for someone in the near future. My love for science and math has also influenced my desire to teach and make a difference in a child’s life. I want to teach students the subjects that I love so much. I want the feeling that I helped a child accomplish or learn something they couldn’t understand. One of the main reasons I want to become an educator is because I feel education has really lost teachers who truly love teaching and those who truly love teaching and those who have the desire to make a difference. I feel I can really help make a difference in the education world and bring back the love to teach.
Pedagogy is a term widely used in education set up with different wording and sometimes varied meanings. At times it is confused with “teaching”, however, there is a remarkable difference between the two. Hall and Murphy (2008) stress that while teaching is an act, pedagogy encompasses teaching and other key aspects like the environment, learners’ thinking, resources, policies, beliefs and so on.
...emphasized process as well as product, elevated the teacher as an important agent of curriculum development and change and highlighted the importance of seeing the curriculum in action. Stenhouse’s focus on process and action make it an interesting model for those who are interested in task-based curriculum proposals. David Nunan draws distinction between the curriculum as plan, the curriculum as action and the curriculum as outcome. Curriculum as plan refers to the processes and products. This includes plans and syllabus text book and the resources, as well as assessment instruments. The curriculum as action refers to moment by moment realities of the class room. The curriculum as outcome relates to students learning as the result of instructional process. However, Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) makes the syllabus design and methodology difficult to sustain.
Being a teacher is not an easy task as many people could think. To be a teacher does not only imply to know the subject to be taught, it also includes being willing to constantly improve oneself integrally, as much as updating the resources and materials one uses in teaching. Reflecting and analyzing over and over again the best way to teach to learn and how to make students to extend what has been learned. The many hours spend in the classroom will never be enough to plan lessons, prepare materials, review pupils tasks and exams, as well, all the administrative requirements one has to cover for whatever institution we work. Besides all this a good teacher, a professional one, will have to find the time to keep preparing to improve oneself.
A curriculum is a compilation of study materials that are used at all grade levels, classroom and homework assignments and a set of teacher guides. It could also include a list of prescribed methodology and guidelines of teaching and some material for the parents etc. It is generally determined by an external governing body. However, there are some cases where it may be developed by the schools and teachers themselves.
This age is dedicated to more of learning age. It is said that even the teachers are the learner. This is the age of knowledge gradually shifted towards the age of communication. Thought and ideas are playing a crucial role in the present 21st century. The period when the denial and ignorance was the answer to the learner’s inquisitiveness has no solution. The answer to these questions is the technology which has solved problem to very much extend. People call such kind of change where teachers are supported with the technological tools to prove their worth. It does not say that previous centuries teachers were not efficient or they do not have that kind of knowledge. In the present time, the knowledge has got the support of the technology to explore. The learners are satisfying their requirements to the larger extend. The technological tool such as internet has shown great difference. The use of videos and photographs, 3D picture support, animations and documentaries and use of computers especially has changed the whole scenario. The most advanced version we have seen are the mobiles and the various applications which are loaded in mobile has taken the world in strong fist. The laptops are converting into the interactive machines which are loaded with n number of facilitation.
ICT have become commonplace entities in all aspects of life. Across the past twenty years the use of ICT has fundamentally transformed the practices and procedures of nearly all forms of exertion within business and governance. Education is a very socially focused activity and quality education has traditionally been connected with strong teachers having high degrees of personal contact with learners. The use of ICT in education lends itself to more student-centred learning settings. But with the world moving swiftly into digital media and information, the role of ICT in education is becoming more and more essential and this importance will continue to grow and develop in the 21st century.