Contextual Teaching and Learning (CTL) helps us relate subject matter content to real world situations and motivate students to make connections between knowledge and its applications to their lives as family members, citizens, and workers and engage in the hard work that learning requires. Contextual teaching and learning strategies:
[1] Problem-based.
[2] Using multiple contexts.
[3] Drawing upon student diversity.
[4] Supporting self-regulated learning.
[5] Using interdependent learning groups.
[6] Employing authentic assessment.
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Jumat, 23 Mei 2008
Inquiry Based Lerning
"Inquiry" is defined as "a seeking for truth, information, or knowledge -- seeking information by questioning." Individuals carry on the process of inquiry from the time they are born until they die. This is true even though they might not reflect upon the process. Infants begin to make sense of the world by inquiring. From birth, babies observe faces that come near, they grasp objects, they put things in their mouths, and they turn toward voices. The process of inquiring begins with gathering information and data through applying the human senses -- seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling.
A Context for Inquiry
Unfortunately, our traditional educational system has worked in a way that discourages the natural process of inquiry. Students become less prone to ask questions as they move through the grade levels. In traditional schools, students learn not to ask too many questions, instead to listen and repeat the expected answers.
Some of the discouragement of our natural inquiry process may come from a lack of understanding about the deeper nature of inquiry-based learning. There is even a tendency to view it as "fluff" learning. Effective inquiry is more than just asking questions. A complex process is involved when individuals attempt to convert information and data into useful knowledge. Useful application of inquiry learning involves several factors: a context for questions, a framework for questions, a focus for questions, and different levels of questions. Well-designed inquiry learning produces knowledge formation that can be widely applied.
A Context for Inquiry
Unfortunately, our traditional educational system has worked in a way that discourages the natural process of inquiry. Students become less prone to ask questions as they move through the grade levels. In traditional schools, students learn not to ask too many questions, instead to listen and repeat the expected answers.
Some of the discouragement of our natural inquiry process may come from a lack of understanding about the deeper nature of inquiry-based learning. There is even a tendency to view it as "fluff" learning. Effective inquiry is more than just asking questions. A complex process is involved when individuals attempt to convert information and data into useful knowledge. Useful application of inquiry learning involves several factors: a context for questions, a framework for questions, a focus for questions, and different levels of questions. Well-designed inquiry learning produces knowledge formation that can be widely applied.
Problem Based Learning
Problem-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered instructional strategy in which students collaboratively solve problems and reflect on their experiences. It was pioneered and used extensively at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Characteristics of PBL are:
[1] Learning is driven by challenging, open-ended problems.
[2] Students work in small collaborative groups.
[3] Teachers take on the role as "facilitators" of learning.
Accordingly, students are encouraged to take responsibility for their group and organize and direct the learning process with support from a tutor or instructor. Advocates of PBL claim it can be used to enhance content knowledge and foster the development of communication, problem-solving, and self-directed learning skill.
[1] Learning is driven by challenging, open-ended problems.
[2] Students work in small collaborative groups.
[3] Teachers take on the role as "facilitators" of learning.
Accordingly, students are encouraged to take responsibility for their group and organize and direct the learning process with support from a tutor or instructor. Advocates of PBL claim it can be used to enhance content knowledge and foster the development of communication, problem-solving, and self-directed learning skill.
Team Game Tournament Instructions
This learning activity appeals to many different types of learner including the cooperative and the competitive learner.
Step1 Divide the class into teams of four or five. A class of 29 would have 5 teams of 5 and one team of 4.
Step 2 Distribute the Practice version of the test to each student and instruct them to answer the questions cooperatively as a team, ensuring that all team members understand how each answer was obtained. The intention is to lift the overall team performance.
Step 3 Display a copy of the answers on the OHP or data projector and get each team to check their answers and resolve any issues with their answers.
Step 4 Ask the students to sort there team on the basis of their understanding of the topic from very good understanding (A students) to poor understanding (E students). The team of 4 students will only have A to D students.
Step 5 Regroup and seat all of the A students in one area of the room, B students in another area etc.
Step 6 Give out the Test version questions to each student and instruct them to individually answer the questions under formal test conditions.
Step 7 Display a copy of the answers on the OHP or data projector and get each student to mark their answers and then to rank themselves amongst the group of students the y are grouped with. That is, the A students will rank themselves from best to worst score. The student with the best score is given a score of 5` points while the student with the lowest score is given a score of 1 point. Students with equal scores receive the same number of points (e.g. the points distribution could be 5, 4, 4, 4, 1 if three students have the same score). If there are only four students in a group, the scores will range from 5 to 2 points.
Step 8 The students recombine into their original teams and total their scores with the largest score winning. Any team with less than 5 students adds the average grade for the team to their score.
Step1 Divide the class into teams of four or five. A class of 29 would have 5 teams of 5 and one team of 4.
Step 2 Distribute the Practice version of the test to each student and instruct them to answer the questions cooperatively as a team, ensuring that all team members understand how each answer was obtained. The intention is to lift the overall team performance.
Step 3 Display a copy of the answers on the OHP or data projector and get each team to check their answers and resolve any issues with their answers.
Step 4 Ask the students to sort there team on the basis of their understanding of the topic from very good understanding (A students) to poor understanding (E students). The team of 4 students will only have A to D students.
Step 5 Regroup and seat all of the A students in one area of the room, B students in another area etc.
Step 6 Give out the Test version questions to each student and instruct them to individually answer the questions under formal test conditions.
Step 7 Display a copy of the answers on the OHP or data projector and get each student to mark their answers and then to rank themselves amongst the group of students the y are grouped with. That is, the A students will rank themselves from best to worst score. The student with the best score is given a score of 5` points while the student with the lowest score is given a score of 1 point. Students with equal scores receive the same number of points (e.g. the points distribution could be 5, 4, 4, 4, 1 if three students have the same score). If there are only four students in a group, the scores will range from 5 to 2 points.
Step 8 The students recombine into their original teams and total their scores with the largest score winning. Any team with less than 5 students adds the average grade for the team to their score.
Jigsaw in 10 Easy Steps
The jigsaw classrom is very simple to use. If you're a teacher, just follow these steps:
[1] Divide students into 5- or 6-person jigsaw groups. The groups should be diverse in terms of gender, ethnicity, race, and ability.
[2] Appoint one student from each group as the leader. Initially, this person should be the most mature student in the group.
[3] Divide the day's lesson into 5-6 segments. For example, if you want history students to learn about Eleanor Roosevelt, you might divide a short biography of her into stand-alone segments on: (1) Her childhood, (2) Her family life with Franklin and their children, (3) Her life after Franklin contracted polio, (4) Her work in the White House as First Lady, and (5) Her life and work after Franklin's death.
[4] Assign each student to learn one segment, making sure students have direct access only to their own segment.
[5] Give students time to read over their segment at least twice and become familiar with it. There is no need for them to memorize it.
[6] Form temporary "expert groups" by having one student from each jigsaw group join other students assigned to the same segment. Give students in these expert groups time to discuss the main points of their segment and to rehearse the presentations they will make to their jigsaw group.
[7] Bring the students back into their jigsaw groups.
[8] Ask each student to present her or his segment to the group. Encourage others in the group to ask questions for clarification.
[8] Float from group to group, observing the process. If any group is having trouble (e.g., a member is dominating or disruptive), make an appropriate intervention. Eventually, it's best for the group leader to handle this task. Leaders can be trained by whispering an instruction on how to intervene, until the leader gets the hang of it.
[10] At the end of the session, give a quiz on the material so that students quickly come to realize that these sessions are not just fun and games but really count.
[1] Divide students into 5- or 6-person jigsaw groups. The groups should be diverse in terms of gender, ethnicity, race, and ability.
[2] Appoint one student from each group as the leader. Initially, this person should be the most mature student in the group.
[3] Divide the day's lesson into 5-6 segments. For example, if you want history students to learn about Eleanor Roosevelt, you might divide a short biography of her into stand-alone segments on: (1) Her childhood, (2) Her family life with Franklin and their children, (3) Her life after Franklin contracted polio, (4) Her work in the White House as First Lady, and (5) Her life and work after Franklin's death.
[4] Assign each student to learn one segment, making sure students have direct access only to their own segment.
[5] Give students time to read over their segment at least twice and become familiar with it. There is no need for them to memorize it.
[6] Form temporary "expert groups" by having one student from each jigsaw group join other students assigned to the same segment. Give students in these expert groups time to discuss the main points of their segment and to rehearse the presentations they will make to their jigsaw group.
[7] Bring the students back into their jigsaw groups.
[8] Ask each student to present her or his segment to the group. Encourage others in the group to ask questions for clarification.
[8] Float from group to group, observing the process. If any group is having trouble (e.g., a member is dominating or disruptive), make an appropriate intervention. Eventually, it's best for the group leader to handle this task. Leaders can be trained by whispering an instruction on how to intervene, until the leader gets the hang of it.
[10] At the end of the session, give a quiz on the material so that students quickly come to realize that these sessions are not just fun and games but really count.
RME
Realistic Mathematics Education, or RME, is the Dutch answer to the world-wide felt need to reform the teaching and learning of mathematics. The roots of the Dutch reform movement go back to the early seventies when the first ideas for RME were conceptualized. It was a reaction to both the American "New Math" movement that was likely to flood our country in those days, and to the then prevailing Dutch approach to mathematics education, which often is labeled as "mechanistic mathematics education."
Since the early days of RME much development work connected to developmental research has been carried out. If anything is to be learned from the Dutch history of the reform of mathematics education, it is that such a reform takes time. This sounds like a superfluous statement, but it is not. Again and again, too optimistic thoughts are heard about educational innovations. The following statement indicates how we think about this: The development of RME is thirty years old now, and we still consider it as "work under construction."
That we see it in this way, however, has not only to do with the fact that until now the struggle against the mechanistic approach to mathematics education has not been completely conquered— especially in classroom practice much work still has to be done in this respect. More determining for the continuing development of RME is its own character. It is inherent to RME, with its founding idea of mathematics as a human activity, that it can never be considered a fixed and finished theory of mathematics education.
Since the early days of RME much development work connected to developmental research has been carried out. If anything is to be learned from the Dutch history of the reform of mathematics education, it is that such a reform takes time. This sounds like a superfluous statement, but it is not. Again and again, too optimistic thoughts are heard about educational innovations. The following statement indicates how we think about this: The development of RME is thirty years old now, and we still consider it as "work under construction."
That we see it in this way, however, has not only to do with the fact that until now the struggle against the mechanistic approach to mathematics education has not been completely conquered— especially in classroom practice much work still has to be done in this respect. More determining for the continuing development of RME is its own character. It is inherent to RME, with its founding idea of mathematics as a human activity, that it can never be considered a fixed and finished theory of mathematics education.
Criteria for PBL
According to the Autodesk Foundation, "PBL is at the heart of good instruction because it brings together intellectual inquiry, rigorous real-world standards, and student engagement in relevant and meaningful work." Well-crafted projects:
• Engage and build on student interests and passions,
• Provide a meaningful and authentic context for learning,
• Immerse students in complex, real-world problems/investigations without a edetermined solution,
• Allow students to take the lead, making critical choices and decisions,
• Connect students with community resources and experts,
• Require students to develop and demonstrate essential skills and knowledge,
• Draw on multiple disciplines to solve problems and deepen understanding,
• Build in opportunities for reflection and self-assessment,
• Result in useful products that demonstrate what students have learned, and
• Culminate in exhibitions or presentations to an authentic audience.
• Engage and build on student interests and passions,
• Provide a meaningful and authentic context for learning,
• Immerse students in complex, real-world problems/investigations without a edetermined solution,
• Allow students to take the lead, making critical choices and decisions,
• Connect students with community resources and experts,
• Require students to develop and demonstrate essential skills and knowledge,
• Draw on multiple disciplines to solve problems and deepen understanding,
• Build in opportunities for reflection and self-assessment,
• Result in useful products that demonstrate what students have learned, and
• Culminate in exhibitions or presentations to an authentic audience.
Project Based Learning
Project-based learning (PBL) is a model that organizes learning around projects.According to the definitions found in PBL handbooks for teachers, projects are complex tasks,based on challenging questions or problems, that involve students in design, problem-solving, decision making, or investigative activities; give students the opportunity to work relatively autonomously over extended periods of time; and culminate in realistic products or presentations (Jones, Rasmussen, & Moffitt, 1997; Thomas, Mergendoller, & Michaelson, 1999). Other defining features found in the literature include authentic content, authentic assessment, teacher facilitation but not direction, explicit educational goals, (Moursund, 1999), cooperative learning, reflection, and incorporation of adult skills (Diehl, Grobe, Lopez, & Cabral, 1999). To these features, particular models of PBL add a number of unique features. Definitions of "project-based instruction" include features relating to the use of an authentic ("driving") question, a community of inquiry, and the use of cognitive (technology-based) tools (Krajcik, Blumenfeld, Marx, & Soloway, 1994; Marx, Blumenfeld, Krajcik, Blunk, Crawford, Kelly, & Meyer, 1994 ); and "Expeditionary Learning" adds features of comprehensive school improvement, community service, and multidisciplinary themes (Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound, 1999a).
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