Scaffolding

Vygotsky defined scaffolding instruction as the “role of teachers and others in supporting the learner’s development and providing support structures to get to that next stage or level”

In scaffolding a more knowledgeable person helps individual learners by providing them with the support they would need to move forward to  complete a task. The role of the expert is that of a guide who shows the path  to take the learners to the final destination. Some of the key elements of scaffolded instruction should be :

• to have common goal
• ongoing diagnosis and support
• dialogues nad interactions
• fading and transfering of responsibility.

Scaffolding helps to motivate or enlist the child's intert related to the task. It helps in breaking and making the task more manageable and achievable for the learners. providing them instructions and reducing the pressure and frustration.

One of the key features of scaffolding is that it is temporary and fades away when the task is achieved.

Differentiation: Past and Future

Differentiation is understanding that every learner a differnt background of knowledge and experience, interest and readiness, and reacts differently. some students display gifted characteristics and have unique learning style.
While the content to be taught remains the same, the approaches to it differ and vary according to the learners' need.
I have been using various strategies for differentiation in the classroom. Word limit, listing the key words instead of a writing a paragraph,  drawing mind maps, being the expert, teaching the whole class, effective questioning,worksheets etc, etc......
I would like to try more active learning strategies such as group work, pair work and tiered assignments.
These may differ as per the learners need and interest. Reserach and mini presentations might also help the gifted learners.

One of the beauties of life is that it always moves forward….

However, if it ever gave me a chance to go back and change something………………..….Ah! my list would have gone on and on and on, but  for now as the question demands and I would go off the purpose if I don’t say this, I would like to  change something in module 1 of CICT’s tasks and activities,

 I would change and take up effective questioning task again as I feel it is a very effective tool for active learning and ensures the participation of all levels of learners and being pressed against time I wasn’t able to take it up efficaciously.

 The training sessions conducted by Mr. Rohan Roberts have brought about a paradigm shift in everyone’s thinking process and has led each one of us to retrospect and analyse how much and how effectively are we drawing from the immense wealth of knowledge which we were all oblivious too.

Furthermore, it has helped us enhance our teaching processes and value the effective learning tools that we took quite lightly.




    What Would I like to do in Future Training Sessions?

As far as  the question of what would I like to do in the future training sessions us concerned, I think that the interactive sessions conducted are something that all of us look forward to, hence I would like to continue with the same momentum and grow personally and professionally.

The various teaching and learning tools learned during the training session are very effective and when used during the classes prove to be very strong motivators in active learning. I would like to learn more such active learning practical tools and use them in my teaching. Also, I would like to focus on various ICT tools which will enable me to get more and more students involved in the learning process and make learning fun.

How did your students respond to your plenary activity?

I took up a ‘Mini debate’ as a plenary to consolidate students’ analysis of Macbeth’s character, which would have otherwise been a boring topic.

Students responded well and presented strong arguments, which consolidated their learning and helped them critically analyse the character further.

 They were very excited to refute each other’s arguments and prove their analytical prowess. It was quite a pleasure to see the interest generated through a wonderful tool.

Was your lesson more exciting because you used a new starter activity?

Though I was using the starters and plenaries, but it is only after joining the CICT that realized their actual worth.

After a tiring Thursday when we all look forward to rushing home, a few of us look forward to staying back because of the immense excitement, enthusiasm and positive energy  generated during our CICT Training. I never thought training would be so much fun, but thanks to our Professional Development Head Mr.Rohan Roberts, learning has taken a paradigm shift.

The ice breakers, starters and plenaries used during our training charges every single soul attending them. It was then that I realized how much important these tools are in making a lesson more effective and interesting.

I had planned to take up 'Get In the Character' as a starter activity to get the students involved in the lesson, however the plan underwent a slight modification when I saw a student dressed as king and Ms.Nirmal in a dress for the Humanities Fashion Parade. Luckily we could get a soldier as well.

 A little briefing to the characters and a wonderful modified starter was ready with characters coming straight from Elizabethan Era.

Who can doubt the acting skills of Ms.Nirmal...... The king and the soldier acted well too. Later the students were asked to analyse the dialogues and the scene, discuss in their groups and express their views. Higher order critical thinking questions were used to help them generate more ideas.

 The starter was a success.

Questioning Techniques???????

                                  'All great ideas start with a question. What if ?'
 Questioning is a very important tool in the hands of a teacher. All teachers use this tool on and off. Effective questioning yields very different and positive results than simple closed questioning and this was proven true during my last lesson.
 I used a few techniques during my lesson with year 10 students. No hands questioning, Call the expert, phone a friend to be specific. The students enjoyed being the expert and coming up to explain the rest of the class. Phone a friend was also very effective as the students got an opportunity to feel confident enough to answer if they had a doubt.

                                                    How I plan to question differently?

I plan to use these active learning techniques in all my lessons as I can feel the difference both in   the outcome and in the students’ involvement and interest levels.I would choose from the various new questioning strategies mentioned such as bounce questions, phone a friend, think/share/pair and many many more, to ensure that I provide students with higher order questioning and to make them think a step further.

Evaluation and Feedback

      What are the different ways of obtaining feedback from learner?

Feedback is a very effective tool to check if active learning has taken place. It enables the shy learners to voice their thoughts, reassures the teachers about the effectiveness of the activities, creates a bond between the teacher and the learner, gives teachers a tool for reflection and helps the teacher make changes for further improvement. There are various ways of obtaining feedback from the learners:

v  Quizzes

v  Role Plays (students act as teacher and summarize the lesson)

v  Questioning

v  Written and Verbal Assessments

v  Educational Games

v  Formal and Informal Discussions with the learners

v  Indirect feedback from parents/guardians/family

   What are the different ways of evaluating your own teaching practice?

Evaluation forms an important tool to gauge how far one has been successful in imparting what he/she had planned. It also provides opportunities to identify the loopholes and formulate strategies for further improvement.

Teaching process could be evaluated by a number of ways:

Ø  Learners’ feedback

Ø  Self-evaluation

Ø  Peer Observation

Ø  Formal lesson Observations

Ø  Informal Observations

Ø  Observing Body Language

Ø  Plenaries