introduction to linking theory into practice

LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE TSL3110

“Educational theory comprises concepts, frameworks, ideas, and principles that may be used to interpret, explain, or judge intentions, actions, and experiences in educational or educational-related settings” (Eraut, 1994a, p. 70). Theory with capital T is conceptual knowledge, generalized over many situations, theory with a

small t is perceptual knowledge, personally relevant and closely linked to concrete contexts. (See

Kessels & Korthagen, 1996, or Korthagen et al., 2001, chapter 2, for a more thorough discussion of

these concepts).

The concept of practice can perhaps be best translated as ‘professional situation.’ It is a (learning) environment – with materials, tools and actors – in which a profession is practiced.

What is teacher knowledge? Teacher knowledge - “a body of professional knowledge that encompasses both knowledge of general pedagogical principles and skills and knowledge of the subject matter to be taught” (Grossmand & Richart, 1988, p. 54).

An overview of domains and categories of teacher knowledge (Shulman, 1987). - content knowledge; - general pedagogical knowledge, with special reference to those broad principles and strategies of classroom management and organization that appear to transcend subject matter; - curriculum knowledge, with a particular grasp of the materials and programs that serve as ‘tools of the trades’ for teachers; - pedagogical content knowledge, that special amalgam of content and pedagogy that is uniquely the province of teachers, their own special form of professional understanding; - knowledge of learners and their characteristics; - knowledge of educational contexts, ranging from the workings of the group or classroom, the governance and financing of school districts, to the character of communities and cultures; - knowledge of educational ends, purposes and values, and their philosophical and historical grounds. (Shulman, 1987, p. 8).

English language teaching to young learners requires knowledge about child developmental theories, specific classroom management techniques, selection and use of specific teaching techniques, materials and activities appropriate for child learners. ITE provides professional knowledge and also its application to classroom settings.

Who is the young learner? Slatterly and Willis (2001) define the young learners as those between 7–12 years old while very young learners are defined as under 7 years of age. Scott and Ytreberg (2001) distinguish between two groups of young learners, one between 5-7 and another 8-11, considering mainly their ability to perceive the abstract and concrete. MOE definition of young learners ??? young learners‟ as the children from the first year of formal schooling (6 years old, in our case) to 12 years of age. How would you describe young learners? Write down on a piece of paper all the adjectives you can think of that describe the characteristics of young learners. Now read through the adjectives you wrote and categorise them into the T-chart.

HOW CHILDREN LEARN

Folom High School Behaviorism Blues.mp4

Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development Free Human Growth and Development Video.mp4

Children are active learners and thinkers. (Piaget, 1970)

Children construct knowledge from actively interacting with the physical environment in developmental stages. They learn through their own individual actions and exploration.

Children learn through social interaction. (Vygotsky, 1962)

Children construct knowledge through other people, through interaction with adults. Adults/teachers work actively with children in the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD).

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) =

difference between the child's capacity to solve problems on his own and his capacity to solve them with assistance

Children learn effectively through scaffolding by adults. (Bruner, 1983)

The adult’s role is very important in a child’s learning process. Like Vygotsky, Bruner focused on the importance of language in a child’s cognitive development. He shows how the adult uses “scaffolding” to guide a child’s language learning through finely-tuned talk. (Cameron, 2001)

HOW DO YOUNG LEARNERS LEARN?

Concrete Operational Stage (from 7 - 11 years) in which children begin to

conceptualize and do some abstract problem solving, though they still learn best by

doing.

Piaget believed that children went through the stages above and that they could

only move onto the next stage when they had completed the stage before and were

ready to do so.

Another expert, Vygotsky (1978, cited in Hughes, 2009) believed that language was

central to the cognitive development of children, that it was instruction provided by

an adult that helped children learn and develop.

Overview of Learning Theories and Teaching Implications

Learning theory

Origination Definitions and instructional implications

Behaviorist

US c. 1914; influenced by European empiricism TO PRESENT

Learning as a response to environmental stimuli and can be manipulated, observed, and described (Watson; 1919, Skinner, 1938). Teaching thus is through practice, repetition, and rewards.

Cognitive

1950s to present

Learning can be explained as deep, complex psychological phenomena such as motivation, schemas, and processes for learning (Bruner, 1996; Piaget, 1974). Teaching occurs in phases with gradual complexity

Sociocultural

1970s to present

Learning is influenced by social, cultural, and historical factors. Learning takes place within social interactions (Vygotsky, 1978; Wertsch, 1991). Teaching occurs through meaningful interactions between experts and novices.

Implications for teaching practice of some key ideas from learning theories

1. Learning is a process of

active construction.

Learning is the interaction

between what students know,

the new information they

encounter, and the activities

they engage in as they learn.

Students construct their own

understanding through

experience, interactions with

content and others, and

reflection.

Teaching Implication

Provide opportunities for students to

connect with your content in a variety of

meaningful ways by using cooperative

learning, interactive lectures, engaging

assignments, hands-on lab/field

experiences, and other active learning

strategies.

2. Students’ prior

knowledge is an

important determinant of

what they will learn.

Students do not come to your

class as a blank slate. They use

what they already know about

a topic to interpret new

information. When students

cannot relate new material to

what they already know, they

tend to memorize—learning

for the test—rather than

developing any real

understanding of the content.


Learn about your students’ experiences,

preconceptions, or misconceptions by

using pre-tests, background knowledge

probes, and written or oral activities

designed to reveal students’ thinking

about the topic.

3. Organizing information

into a conceptual

framework helps

students remember and

use knowledge.

Students must learn factual

information, understand these

facts and ideas in the context of

a conceptual framework, and

organize knowledge in ways

that facilitate retrieval and

application in order to develop

competence in a new topic.


Support students by using concept maps,

flowcharts, outlines, comparison tables,

etc., to make the structure of the

knowledge clear.

4. Learning is a social

phenomenon.

Students learn with greater

understanding when they share

ideas through conversation,

debate, and negotiation.

Explaining a concept to one’s

peers puts knowledge to a public

test where it can be examined,

reshaped, and clarified.


Use Cooperative learning strategies, long-term

group projects, class discussions, and group

activities to support the social side of learning.

5. Learning is context-specific.

It is often difficult for students to

use what they learn in class in new

contexts (i.e., other classes, the

workplace, or their personal lives).


Use problem-based learning, simulations or

cases, and service learning to create learning

environments similar to the real world.

6. Students’ metacognitive

skills (thinking about

thinking) are important

to their learning.

Many students utilize few

learning strategies and have a

limited awareness of their

thinking processes.


Help students become more

metacognitively aware by modeling your

thinking as you solve a problem, develop

an argument, or analyze written work in

front of the class. Teach metacognitive

strategies, such as setting goals, making

predictions, and checking for consistency.

Focus attention on metacognition by

having students write in a learning journal

or develop explanations of their problem-

solving processes.

Language Theories and Second Language Learning

Overview of Language Theories

Language theory Definition Structural Language is equated with its linguistic forms.

Cognitive Language is a biologically predetermined mental

ability Functional/ communicative

Language learning is a tool that is used to accomplish things or for certain purposes (i.e., communication).

Interactional

Language is a means through which exchanges, performances, and human relationships are created and maintained.

The Six Stages of Second-Language Acquisition

Pre-production This is also called "the silent period," when the student takes in the new language but does not speak it. This period often lasts six weeks or longer, depending on the individual.

Early production

The individual begins to speak using short words and sentences, but the emphasis is still on listening and absorbing the new language. There will be many errors in the early production stage.

Speech Emergent

Speech becomes more frequent, words and sentences are longer, but the individual still relies heavily on context clues and familiar topics. Vocabulary continues to increase and errors begin to decrease, especially in common or repeated interactions.

Beginning Fluency

Speech is fairly fluent in social situations with minimal errors. New contexts and academic language are challenging and the individual will struggle to express themselves due to gaps in vocabulary and appropriate phrases.

Intermediate Fluency

Communicating in the second language is fluent, especially in social language situations. The individual is able to speak almost fluently in new situations or in academic areas, but there will be gaps in vocabulary knowledge and some unknown expressions. There are very few errors, and the individual is able to demonstrate higher order thinking skills in the second language such as offering an opinion or analyzing a problem.

Advanced Fluency

The individual communicates fluently in all contexts and can maneuver successfully in new contexts and when exposed to new academic information. At this stage, the individual may still have an accent and use idiomatic expressions incorrectly at times, but the individual is essentially fluent and comfortable communicating in the second language

Instructional Strategies

If you have ELL students in your classroom, it is more than likely there will be students at a variety of stages in the language acquisition process. What can teachers do to differentiate instruction according to language level?

With a partner, list five methods according to which you think English Language

is taught in the Malaysian primary classroom.

Which particular method has predominated in your own experience as a

student?

Did it work for you? Why? Why not?

Are there good teachers or good methods? Are there good learners or good

methods?

The Development and The Choice Dilemma

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• Introduction• ELT is a field that has gone through considerable changes and

developments. The trends to ELT have always been renewed according to the new emerging needs of every era.

• The abundance of the literature on ELT methodology has become problematic to many practitioners who no longer know what to choose.

• Innovative approaches have been thought of as new solutions to the inadequacies of the previous methods and approaches.

• Eclecticism; a solution or a “Frankenstein monster”?

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Method: A generalized set of classroom specifications for accomplishing linguistic objectives.

Methodology:The study of pedagogical practices in general (including theoretical underpinnings and related research).

Technique: Theoretical positions and beliefs about the nature of language, the nature of language learning, and the applicability of both to pedagogical settings.

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• What is the best method?Bad news:

There is no such thing as the best method.

Good news:No method is totally useless.

Methods and approaches to ELT are also tied by the pros and cons maxims.

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• Implications• Being up-to-date is a must.

• Reflective teaching is key to successful teaching.

• Eclecticism should be considered.

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• Definitionᶲ According to Gerard (1986:11-12), the eclectic T aims

to achieve

The maximum benefit from all the methods andtechniques at his or her disposal according to thespecial needs and resources of his/her pupils at anygiven time.

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• Anything goes?ᶲ What to use? I use the most popular methodology.

« novelties are propagated which sometimes show a remarkable similarity to sales stunts in commerce »

I use the most modern methodology.

«modern» does not necessarily mean «better». Modern can also be interpreted as ‘not thoroughly tested yet’

I use the methodology advocated by the experts.

ELT experts disagree.

I use an eclectic methodology.

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My own methodology

Practices and principles Methods

Everyday spoken language Direct method.

Communicative competence CLT

Use of music Desuggestopedia

Use of commands TPR

Subordinating teaching to learning(low TTT, making it about Ss’ learningrather than the T’s teaching)

Silent way

Variety of activities appealing todifferent intelligences (learn how tolearn=metacognition)

MI theory

Contextualization, ICT, real life tasks,problem solving.

Innovative approaches

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THE CHOICE DILEMMA

Our task is to extract the key components of the various methods and work on what our

learners need and what we should offer them.

Affect – Ls learn better when they are engaged with what is happening. Their feelings

and attitudes matter both in relation to their encounters with the language and the

learning experience.

Input – Input is received in the form of reading, listening, or the way the teacher talks to

the Ls. Comprehensible input is meaningful only if there is some language study

(grammar) , opportunity for noticing or consciousness-raising.

Output – Ls need chances to activate their language knowledge through meaning-

focused tasks.

Cognitive effort – Ls should be encouraged to think about language as they work with it

since, this aids retention..

Grammar and lexis – Showing how words combine together and behave both

semantically and grammatically is an important part of any language learning programme

TUTORIAL TASK

TSL 3110 Tutorial task 3.1.2014

1. In groups, view the video clips and use the chart below to analyse the lesson.

2. Write YES or NO for each item.

3. If you marked YES, briefly describe which part of the lesson reflects that item.

4. If you marked NO, provide suggestions to make the lesson more effective and dynamic for the YLs.

Features Yes / No Describe lesson

Characteristics of YLs a. fun b. active (learn by doing) c. others

Interactions a. individual work b. ss to ss in pairs c. ss to ss in groups d. T to ss, one on one e. T to ss whole class

Learning styles a. spatial-visual b. audio-visual c. musical d. bodily-kinesthetic e. logical-mathematical f. linguistic g. interpersonal h. intrapersonal i. naturalistic j. others

Meaningful/relevant contexts a. use authentic contexts/situations b. use realia c. encourage personalization d. others

Delivery a. give plenty of comprehensible input b. use techniques to make input comprehensible (i.e.

visuals, realia, gestures, repetition, rephrasing) c. break down long or difficult tasks into

manageable/achievable tasks d. model tasks and clarify expectations e. others

ELT methods a. GTM b. direct c. ALM d. suggestopedia e. TPR f. CLT g. others

I find four great classes of students: The dumb who stay dumb. The dumb who become wise. The wise who go dumb. The

wise who remain wise.

--Martin H. Fischer