21st Century Pedagogy

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1568480,00.html

Governments are structuring frameworks designed to provide holistic education with the hopes of equipping learners with the relevant 21^st century skills generally marked by critical thinking skills, creativity in problem solving, digital literacy, and career and life skills[1]. The SPN21 or the 21^st Century National Curriculum framework and model recently implemented by Brunei Darussalam is intended to provide students with content within the context of the 21^st century skills[2]. In a press release last year dated March 9^th, the Ministry of Education in Singapore also commented on the implementation of a new framework to enhance the development of 21^st century competencies in their students[3].

The pedagogical approaches stipulated in the Curriculum Framework for SPN21 calls for teachers to take on an integrated/thematic/topical/inclusion/context-based/specialized approach. This may seem rather broad and lacking in clear direction, and while most of the schools in Brunei still lack the resources and facilities required to achieve the Ministry's mission, teachers must strive to minimise this gap by equipping themselves with the knowledge and skills needed to be effective in developing 21st century skills in our learners.

Jor’s (1999:25) quote of Clifford’s prophecy at a TESOL conference: ‘Computers will never replace teachers... But teachers who use computers will replace those who don’t’ (McGrath, 2002, p. 132) paints an inevitable truth; one which we must take seriously in order to remain relevant and effective in this profession.

‘If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow.”

~John Dewey

References:

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[1] Referring to Trilling, B. and Fadel, C. http://www.21stcenturyskillsbook.com/excerpts.php

[2] Extracted from http://www.vnseameo.org/downloads/MALAYSIA.pdf

[3] Extracted from http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/press/2010/03/moe-to-enhance-learning-of-21s.php

McGrath, I. (2002). Materials Evaluation and Design fro Language Teaching. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Valuable Feedback

A letter prepared by my Mentor from Mentiri Secondary School.

The Students' Voice

Teachers should recognize and value students' feedback and use it to reflect on the effectiveness of their teaching.

The practice of getting students to evaluate my teaching is quite new to me. I only started it last year after my Learning Area Tutor suggested it. Ideally, it would be best to carry out an evaluation after the completion of a series of connected tasks. For instance, after a writing task, students can evaluate the teaching based on all the lessons leading up to it which could include pre-writing activities and so forth. Students may also be asked to demonstrate what they have learnt at the end compared to what they knew when they started.

The responses I have received has been encouraging and helps me to identify what has worked for my students as well as areas I should improve on.

STUDENT FEEDBACK FORM

(1 = Never; 7 = Frequently)

The teacher:

1	Indicates where the class is going	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
2	Explains material clearly	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
3	Indicates important points to remember	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
4	Shows genuine interest in students	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
5	Effectively directs and stimulates discussion	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
6	Provides helpful comments on work done	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
7	Is tolerant of different opinions expressed in class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	Is available outside of class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
9	Explains thinking behind statements	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
10	Effectively encourages students to ask questions and give answers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
11	Adjusts pace of class to the students' level of understanding	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
12	Seems well-prepared	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
13	Stimulates interest in material	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
14	Treats students with respect	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
15	Is effective, overall, in helping me learn	1	2	3	4	5	6	7

• Statement 8 received the lowest score of 3.
  
• More than half of the respondents gave the highest score of 7 for statements 2,3,4,5,10,11,12,15.
  

What do you think is this teacher's greatest strength?

• ‘Her class interactional /group activity help us to progress and (make) an improvement (in) our grades’
• ‘Her drive to push students to their limits’
• 'Her ability to show connections and relevance’
• 'Her way of interacting with students is very sweet and kind'
• 'How she can explain topics in detail. Also how she gives comments no matter how blunt'
• 'Her ability to show connections and relevance'
• 'Getting us on the road to understanding the concept of the lesson'
  

What suggestions would you give to improve this teacher’s teaching?

• ‘Use different colours on the whiteboard to stimulate our right brain which loves to see colour’
• ‘Be less aggressive (lol)’
• ‘Nothing much. Maybe experience (which every teacher needs)’

Approximately how many classes have you attended with this teacher so far?

• Ranges between 7-15 classes (A student was on MC for about a week)
  

Has there been any particular lesson that stood out for you? If so, please briefly explain why.

• ‘A lesson whereby my group of friends and I had to give opinions on ‘Childhood’, a poem’
• ‘The first time we studied poetry and did poetry devices. Because it made me more aware of the devices present in the poems’
• ‘When we discussed about Streetcar Named Desire. The discussion opened my eyes more.’
• ‘The use of P.E.E. (Point, Evidence, Explain) framework. It really helps out a lot when it comes to writing essays.’
• 'Her teaching on how to interpret advance way.'
• 'I’d say the class where we were given task and discuss to compare between two poems. Gave me insight about comparing two poems of the same theme. Before that particular lesson, it would’ve been almost impossible to compare poems for me.'

(Note: Out of 13 students in the class, only 6 returned the form)

Reflective Teachers

Two main questions come to mind as I think about this practice: why is it necessary, and how do we reflect critically?

A lesson plan usually includes a section for lesson evaluation at the end. From day one, I have been told that this section MUST be filled for a number of reasons: to please the Inspectorate, as a form of a checklist for what went as planned and otherwise, and to form reminders for the teacher to follow-up on in the next lesson. When I tried looking at examples completed by my colleagues, they simply included statements such as ‘Completed the task successfully’ and ‘Did corrections’. That was the influence on my approach towards completing the evaluation section. I also often used the space to evaluate my students’ performance in class.

In my practicum last semester, I carried on in this manner not facing any problems previously. My Learning Area Tutor, however, commented that the evaluation should assess my teaching and serve as a form of self-reflection. This was rather profound for me and made a lot more sense than what I had originally been (mis)informed. With a shift in my understanding, I spent more time looking at the learning objectives of my lessons and seriously considering whether I had achieved them through my teaching. Additionally, I also thought about how I could improve on certain areas and what other strategies I should try in the lessons that followed. This also included redesigning group activities or rephrasing questions in the tasks I assign, and even clarifying assumptions. The time spent reflecting, pondering on the lesson that had passed made way for even more thinking and identifying my own professional needs.

Apart from reflecting on personal lessons and peer observations, I have also learnt to consider my students’ feedback. In my final week, I distributed feedback forms to my students and asked them to complete the forms. The responses were very encouraging and served to support my teaching approach. It also helped to point out what helped and worked for the students.

Wong and Chai (2008, p.291) believe that being able to reflect is more than just a skill but a habit of mind intended to make our teaching experience meaningful and rewarding. It allows the teacher to improvise, redesign, and develop a sense of self-understanding. Furthermore, it promotes intentional lifelong learning. Unfortunately, as personally experienced, lesson evaluation has become a tedious, pointless and under-utilised aspect of the teaching experience.

If teachers recognized the benefits of meaningful reflection and make it a habit, they may become more observant, innovative and curious. They may also be more inquisitive and keen to find out ways to improve the quality of their teaching by reading up relevant resources and collaborating with fellow teachers.

When I first started teaching, I was unaware of the impact of self-reflection. Over the years, I have identified other sources that teachers can look to for further reflection and learning such as, fellow colleagues and our very own students. Nurturing this habit has led me to reflect before, after and during my lessons. It has also helped me to seek out and take into account feedback from fellow teachers. Personally, I feel it creates opportunities for me to try new things and to rectify any misconceptions of students’ learning and teaching practices.

A reflective teacher constantly asks how she could be a better teacher and a better colleague (ibid, p.290). Learning to reflect and making it a habit is integral to a teacher’s personal and professional development.

Reference:

Wong, B. and Chai, C.S. (2008). Teachers as Expert Learners and Reflective Practitioners. In Engaging and Managing Learners: Practitioner's Perspectives (pp. 282-293). Singapore: Prentice Hall.

Peer Evaluation

Because I could not stop for Death
by Emily Dickinson
Because I could not stop for Death – He kindly stopped for me – The Carriage held but just Ourselves – And Immortality. We slowly drove – He knew no haste And I had put away My labor and my leisure too, For His Civility – We passed the School, where Children strove At Recess – in the Ring – We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain – We passed the Setting Sun – Or rather – He passed us – The Dews drew quivering and chill – For only Gossamer, my Gown – My Tippet – only Tulle – We paused before a House that seemed A Swelling of the Ground – The Roof was scarcely visible – The Cornice – in the Ground – Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet Feels shorter than the Day I first surmised the Horses' Heads Were toward Eternity –

The students were asked to write a paragraph describing Emily Dickinson's views on death based on her poem 'Because I Could Not Stop for Death' and to identify techniques used to support or emphasize them.

After completing the task, the students were to pass their work around the class for peer evaluation. The students were given freedom to make comments that should help their peers improve.

The final step was for the students to read through and consider the comments and suggestions made by their peers. Then they are to revise and rewrite their paragraphs.

Example 1

Original Paragraph.






Corrections and Comments by Peers.

















Revised Version.























Example 2

Original Paragraph.







Corrections and Comments by peers.










Revised Version.




Overall, I felt that this was a useful exercise and to an extent produced good results. In addition to developing their critical skills, the students were also able to learn something new as they read their peer's interpretations.

However, there were also some ineffective comments such as nice handwriting, neat, and so on. I think to improve on this activity I should have provided some sort of guideline or checklist so that students can have a clear focus as they evaluate their peers' work. Definitely something I would continue to look into.

Attempt to Assess

The GCE A/AS Level assessment objectives look at how well a candidate demonstrates the following:

Knowledge
Understanding
Personal Response
Communication
Opinion

(For more details, refer to the image above)

To provide a fair assessment of the students progress in meeting these requirements, my Mentor designed this feedback form. As a guide, we referred to the assessment criteria.

Prior to that, I also examined the sample answers provided by CIE.

The answers are intended to give an idea of the range of response and the requirements at the top, middle and bottom of the mark range. CIE stressed that the examples are not necessarily ideal or model answers, but are chosen as being representative answers on model texts.

Below is an example of a Grade A paper.

Example 1

With reference to two poems, discuss the ways the poets make universal comments out of their personal reflections and experiences.
In the two poems ‘Ozymandias’ by Percy Byshe Shelley and ‘Upon finding a small fly Crushed in a Book’ by Charles Tennyson Turner the poets take these reflections and experiences to make a universal comment on how man’s time on this earth will effect the marks we leave behind us, by taking seemingly menial observations and elevating them to contemplate deeper issues.
The title of the sonnet by Turner immediately suggests it will not be a typical ode to love however his archaic and elegiac form helps to take it from the demise of a fly to mournful poem not only for the fly. ‘Upon Finding a Small Fly Crushed in a Book’ does not only deal with uncommon subject matter but does not fit typical sonnet form, it is a mixture of both a Petrarchan style and Shakespearean, emphasising how Turner has used and twisted the sonnet to suit his purposes. The archaic language throughout the poem ‘thou’ ‘thine’ adds a more serious tone to the otherwise slightly comical topic matter. By creating the poem as an elegy, a mournful poem lamenting the dead the reader genuinely feels sorrow for the insects death and the continued mournful tone also creates a sense that he mourns for the short time on earth we all have and what we shall do with it.
By the use of Turner’s descriptive language and imager of the fly and the extended metaphor at the end of the sonnet Turner makes a comment on the time all man has to leave a mark on this world. Turner begins by claiming ‘Some had never meant to do thee harm’ by saying that this death was an accident and therefore unexpected begins to create a link to humanity through their shared mortality. He then goes on to say though dead the fly has left his own ‘fair monument’ as his ‘wings gleam out’ across the page. Despite the tone of death Turner uses words such as fair and gleam to create positive connotations relating to the mark left behind.
It is at the sestet that the poem turns to humanity by use of the interjection after ‘Oh’ a device used to formalise poems Turner creates a sense of envy and mournfulness as he wishes that ‘survive us here’ on earth had has much an impact as these tiny wings have on him. By use of the word memories Turner suggests at something intangible as though what people leave may not be what they leave to be seen but how it is that people remember them. It appears that these ‘Pure relics’ have forced Turner to contemplate his ‘doom’ and impending death, as he uses the fly and book as an extended metaphor for humanity and death.
He claims the ‘peril’ that found this fly is also with man and as the fly did they may one day decide to ‘soar/Upon the summer airs’ by this he means that man may come to a moment where life is beginning in a new positive direction and as they find their freedom and soar the ‘Book of death may close’. Their death may come unexpected and no longer will their book of life continue to write its story. However upon man’s death we may ‘leave no lustre on our page of death’ by using the plural ‘our’ Turner is including all of mankind in his contemplation and fears that too long of a wait before beginning to truly live may result in not leaving a mark on the world when life is cut short.
‘Ozymandias’ by Percy Byshe Shelley also deals with the idea of leaving a mark on the world. However Shelley feels that no matter how large and mighty this mark may appear it is insignificant in relation to time and nature. Shelley shows this comment through relating to the reader and experience in which the narrator heard a tale from a traveller. ‘The traveller from an antique land’ told a tale of an ancient statue of ‘Ozymandias: King of Kings’ an arrogant ruler who believed his works would stand the test of time however only ‘two vast and trunkless legs of stone’ are left in the middle of the desert. Though Ozymandias had ‘stamped’ on a pedestal ‘Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair’ there is irony in this comment as though there may be despair it is for the ‘colossal wreck’ as ‘Nothing beside remains’ Shelley leaves this ambiguous as it could mean that there is no longer anything around or what is left is only the remains of what may have once been a mighty entrance. Not only this but it is left ‘boundless and bare/As the lone and level sands stretch far away.’ It is completely deserted as the alliteration creates a continuous effect emphasising the pure emptiness.
Both Shelley and Turner have experiences leaving them concerned with the marks left behind after death though Shelley feels more that those left won’t last and Turner worries none will be left at all.
(Grade A)

Below is an example of a paper I had marked.
The topic: Discuss ways in which poets explore family relationships, referring to two poems from your selection.

I tend to make a lot of comments when I mark.
They are intended to show my students what I thought was done well, and to correct certain errors. I also tend to pose questions to get them to further explore matters beyond their finished piece of work.

In a separate lesson, I had highlighted repetitive words used in a piece of writing and only wrote 'Do you see what I see?' I followed up on this and the student recognized instantly what I was referring to. She was amused and shared that she had never noticed it till then.

The second part of the marking took a lot of time. I think the form is useful and helps me to focus and identify my students' strengths and weaknesses. Similarly, the students are also able to work on improving in specific areas.

Personally, as a teacher, I am still learning to be more effective in the feedback I provide as I feel that effective feedback can help the students to have a clear understanding of what they need to progress.

As I am new to teaching at this level and have had little time familiarizing with the syllabus and assessment objectives, I must admit that I struggled marking my students' work and was unsure about the grades I had awarded. Therefore, I asked for feedback from my Mentor regarding the matter to make sure that the marks given were a fair representation of the students' abilities based on the criteria set. After some discussion over a few papers, I was able to make the necessary amendments and gained confidence in the way I was assessing the work. I believe with more practice and further exposure I can improve in this area.

Giving Learners What They Need.

Examiners Report on poetry question, 2009

As usual, there were some individual, sophisticated answers this session. Candidates produced some

precise, thoughtful and thought-provoking work, demonstrating detailed knowledge, mature understanding

and appreciation of literary effects, expressed with cogency. It is very satisfying when questions on the

paper stimulate such responses.

Overall, candidates showed good knowledge – there were very few answers where the candidates did not seem to have carefully read or revised the texts. In some cases, though, this knowledge was restricted to plot, character and events, rather than writers’ techniques, language or structure. This was sometimes evident even in response to the passage-based (b) questions, which focus on language use and style.

On the other hand, it was sometimes evident that candidates were approaching these questions as ‘unseen’ material, particularly on poetry, as their lack of knowledge of terms and references in the extracts suggested a lack of study.

Other candidates were able to blend skilfully a detailed analysis of the extract with an informed knowledge of wider concerns.

In a number of answers, Examiners saw a return of the first paragraph being dominated by a biography of

the author, irrespective of the question. Such material earns no marks unless it is made directly relevant to the argument.

Based on the points highlighted in the report, I decided to refresh the learners awareness and understanding of poetic devices focusing more on the techniques used. I chose to use the video clip below to start it off. I felt that the audio-visual effects would help them to better recognize the devices.

In the following lesson, we analyzed this poem looking at poetic devices and their significance on the poem as a whole.

Praise Song for My Mother

You were

water to me

deep and bold and fathoming

You were

moon’s eye to me

pull and grained and mantling

You were

sunrise to me

rise and warm and streaming

You were

the fishes red gill to me

the flame trees spread to me

the crab’s leg/the fried plantain smell

replenishing replenishing

Go to your wide futures, you said

GRACE NICHOLS

----------------------

I adapted this worksheet I found online from AQA (Assessment and Qualifications Alliance) and distributed them to my students.

It shows features of style and form present in the poem.

The task: Which of these features of language do you think are most important in this poem? Choose from the poetic techniques above and find examples in the poem. What is the effect of each?

To help the learners with their analysis and writing, I also adapted this Study Guide and used the P.E.E. framework to assist them with their structure. As this was rather new to them, I provided an example as seen below.

One of the students liked the Study Guide so much, she made extra copies for her personal use.

POETRY STUDY GUIDE

____________________________________________________

Poem Title

________________________________

Author

What is this poem about? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How does it make you feel? Explain why.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How is this effect achieved? (Textual Analysis)

POINT (Make a Point)	EVIDENCE (Include a quote that relates to the point you made)	EXPLAIN the quote, what it means, how it works and how it backs up the point you made originally
Grace Nichols regards her mother as a significant person in her life. This is conveyed through her use of metaphor as she describes her mother.	In the fourth stanza, Nichols compares her mother to ‘the fishes gill’, ‘the flames trees’, ‘the crab’s leg’ and ‘the fried plaintain’s smell’.	The ‘flame trees’ seem to present her mother as her protector and perhaps, someone who provided her comfort in times of need. Nichols further extends her mother’s role to one who was her sustenance describing her as the ‘crab’s leg’ and the ‘fried plaintain’s smell’. This portrayal of her mother who meets her very basic needs as protector and source of nourishment clearly indicates the significant role her mother had played in her life.

P.E.E. when writing about a text

Feedback from the learners on the lessons that stood out:

‘The first time we studied poetry and did poetry devices. Because it made me more aware of the devices present in the poems’

‘The use of P.E.E. (Point, Evidence, Explain) framework. It really helps out a lot when it comes to writing essays.’