David's+den



11/05/09

I hope I can upload a powerpoint sumary of reading 31. //It worked! 11/5 Well done David! I am having trouble reading between the graphics on your powerpoint-can you fix this? Kathriona

11/05// I have softened the graphics I hope this helps. D

26/07/09 Effective Pedagogy 1. The principles and methods carried out by the profession of teaching that is capable of advancing the vision, principles, values and key competencies set out in the New Zealand Curriculum. 2. I put a lot of effort into creating a warm, caring and inclusive environment in the classroom as I feel that this is crucial to being receptive to new concepts/knowledge. I put considerable effort into being interested in every student as an individual and always listen to what they have to say. The classroom culture I try to create is one that all students feel that they belong and want to be there. The feedback I am getting is that I have come a long way towards achieving this goal although it requires continual monitoring and review. It is often hard to allow enough time for students to able to reflect on issues do to the amount of ground that is needed to be covered but I am actively addressing this issue by making sure there are times when the classroom is quite, as well as allowing time for students to answer questions whether asked by me or another student. Learning to reflect is difficult in today’s culture of instant gratification but one I consider to be very important. I am still in the process of developing methods to encourage reflection but suspect the schools culture/philosophy will play a significant role in this area. I go to considerable lengths to explain to students why they are about to learn particular concepts but this is always going to be a difficult area as many concepts especially at the beginning of learning in an area such as chemistry are not instantly useful or easy to relate directly to the life of a teenager. In my mind shared learning comes about almost automatically if the learning environment is supportive and warm. Making connections to prior learning will be much easier when teaching full time as I envisage having much more information on each student. That being said I always like to assess prior learning at the beginning of each section of work. As I teach very much in the constructivist model an understanding of prior knowledge is fundamental to learning. I think it is an ongoing challenge to create or find new and different methods or means of presenting information or learning and I am constantly trying and evaluating new methods. I think it is important to balance new methods with those that work most of the time so that students are maximizing their learning and are not merely guinea pigs. Inquiry into teaching methodology is one of the drivers for me to be a teacher so this area will be ongoing. Reflection and discussion on and around pedagogy to my mind is one of the joys of teaching and I hope never to lose this fascination about what and why methods work (or not). In short I think I am using all the above pedagogies to some degree. 3. I think I am creating a supportive environment in my classrooms relatively easily in part due to my personality/disposition. I also feel that the area of teaching as inquiry comes easily to me due in part to my nature and my exposure and fascination with research. 4. I think all areas of pedagogy are a challenge that requires constant vigilance. In saying that the areas that do not come quite so naturally to me and require more constant attention include encouraging reflective thought, enhancing the relevance of new learning, facilitating shared learning, making connections to prior learning, providing sufficient opportunities to learn and e-learning. 5. I am often concerned e-learning is carried in part only to say you are doing it! I think e-learning certainly has its place but should only be used as a tool when it is a more efficient tool than others. It is obviously very good for distance learning and communicating but can also be a great time waster. I have lost count of the number of times I have witnessed wasted time getting a power point presentation to work when a white board or overhead projector would have done the job just as well!