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INTRODUCTION
iNTRODUCTION TO PEDAGOGYPedagogy has its origin from the Greek language ‘paidagogos’; ‘paid’ for child ‘agogos’ for leader. This simply means ‘slave who took child to school’. Valerie O ’Loughlin & Grand Summarizer from INDIANA UNIVERSITY BLOOMINGTON define pedagogy as the art, science or profession of teaching they also define it as the exploration of effective teaching and learning strategies.
Chris Watkins and Peter Mortimore sees the origin of the term 'pedagogy' from a different perspective but more of the same as what Valerie O ’Loughlin’s & Grand Summarizer’s definition. They also argue, "we recognize that, as with other complex ideas, pedagogy will be difficult to define - even in the formal literature on the subject. The boundaries of the concept may seem unclear, but the ways in which different writers have drawn them may itself be instructive." Pedagogy is neither science nor art: pedagogy is a craft, an approach suggested by writers who recognize uncertainty and the limits of predictability (McDonald, 1 992; Marland, 1 993). DEFINITION OF PEDAGOGY
DEFINITION OF PEDAGOGYPedagogy itself is a contested term, but involves activities that evoke changes in the learner: Watkins and Mortimore define pedagogy as ‘any conscious activity by one person designed to enhance learning in another’ (1999, p.3). According to Bernstein, pedagogy ‘is a sustained process whereby somebody(s) acquires new forms or develops existing forms of conduct, knowledge, practice and criteria from somebody(s) or something deemed to be an appropriate provider and evaluator’ (Bernstein, 2000, p.78). Bernstein contrasts two models of pedagogy that focus on the teacher’s organisation, management, discourse and response to the students and which provide a useful theoretical framework with which to understand different pedagogical approaches: Performance model: visible pedagogies where the teacher explicitly spells out to the students what and how they are to learn, with a recognisable strong framing or lesson structure, collective ways of behaving and standardised outcomes; Competence model: invisible pedagogies with weaker framing that result in an ostensibly more informal approach where the teacher responds to individual children’s needs, with hidden or unfocused learning outcomes (Bernstein, 1990). This review found Alexander’s definition of pedagogy was most helpful, wherein teaching ‘is an act while pedagogy is both act and discourse’ (Alexander 2001, p.540). Pedagogy comprises teachers’ ideas, beliefs, attitudes, knowledge and understanding about the curriculum, the teaching and learning process and their students, and which impact on their ‘teaching practices’, that is, what teachers actually think, do and say in the classroom. Teacher beliefs are contextually based, and Alexander’s definition also encompasses social, cultural and political aspects. Child Australia defines pedagogy as an encompassing term concerned with what a teacher does to influence learning in others. 'The function or work of teaching: the art or science of teaching, education instructional methods.’ (Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR), 2009a, p.42) ‘... the instructional techniques and strategies that allow learning to take place. It refers to the interactive process between teacher/practitioner and learner and it is also applied to include the provision of some aspects of the learning environment (including the concrete learning environment, and the actions of the family and community)’ (Siraj-Blatchford, Sylva, Muttock, Gilden & Bell, 2002, p.10) ‘Pedagogy is about learning, teaching and development influenced by the cultural, social and political values we have for children…in Scotland, and underpinned by a strong theoretical and practical base.’ (Education Scotland, 2005, p.9) Aims, goals, content, objectives, methods and educational practices employed by society to inculcate certain values aspired by that society (OSABWA WYCLIFFE, 2016, p.18) CONCLUSION
There are no acceptable or unacceptable definitive words that can define pedagogy because scholars are skeptic on its description. However, they tend to agree that ‘pedagogy comprises what teachers do in the classroom, but also their ideas, knowledge and attitudes in relation to the learners, the teaching and learning process and the curriculum. Pedagogy can therefore be said to a set of strategies, resources, activities and skills used by one person to enhance learning of another person. KCPE PAST PAPERS
KCSE PAST PAPERS
KNEC PAST PAPERS FOR COLLEGE
works cited
Works Cited Australia, C. (n.d.). Retrieved from Child Australia: https://childaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/CA-Statement-Pedagogy.pdf Dr Jo Westbrook, D. N. (2013, December). Education Rigorous Literature Review. Retrieved from University of Sussex: http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/cms/Portals/0/PDF%20reviews%20and%20summaries/Pedagogy%202013%20Westbrook%20report.pdf?ver=2014-04-24-121331-867 Mortimore, C. W. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.chriswatkins.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Watkins-99-Pedagogy-what-mean.pdf Summarizer, V. O. (n.d.). Retrieved from INDIANA UNIVERSITY BLOOMINGTON: http://medsci.indiana.edu/m620/ppt/pec_lrn_styl.pdf WYCLIFFE, O. (2016, May). Bitstream. Retrieved from Kenyatta University: http://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/bitstream/handle/123456789/15084/An%20analysis%20of%20the%20pedagogical%20approaches%20to%20character........pdf?sequence=1
There are a number of factors that can distinguish between the performance of one school from another. One of the fundamental aspects of this is entry behavior i.e. a teacher handling a class of 50 'A' students will not experience the same way as a teacher handling a class of 50 'D' students. The technique, pedagogy and approach that can be used to address the two classes can differ for various reasons. Due to this, the MOEST - The Kenyan Ministry of Education Science and Technology has deviced a better way of appraising teachers than the traditional ranking of schools methods. The MOEST has found it fit to look at VAP rather than astronomical grades.
Value Added Progress means that a teacher should better the grade of a student or at worse maintain it from his/her initial grades we call entry behavior.
Putting this into considerations, this article is not about making and 'E' student to 'A' student rather to improve the grades of your subjects as a teacher. The pedagogical strategies listed below have been used by many schools and proved to be efficient and productive.
1. Cover the syllabus at least 3 months before KCSE/KCPE Examinations
After your students report in form 1, make a plan to cover the syllabus for form 1- form 4 in four and half years so that you can save some time to revisit areas that your students failed to understand and practice extensive revision. Mathematics and Chemistry tend to have a wide burdening syllabus and if you are handling low grade students, the experience to cover the syllabus in time will be a daunting task but with an early plan, it is possible to clear the syllabus by mid of June of every fourth year.
Majority of teachers are reluctant in the first two years only to realise later that they had a task at hand to clear the syllabus, later they all scramble to the form four class. This overworks candidates and any academic content they may be absorbing will be minimal to make any difference. Therefore teachers, syllabus coverage starts as early as form one to create room for soft landing later in form four. Timely syllabus coverage is the key to the beginning of achieving good grades. 2. Embrace Extensive revision
This factor is dependent on syllabus coverage, this is why syllabus coverage is the key to better grades. There are a number of strategies one can employ to deliver an excellent revision exercise. they include:-
3. Test your students with standard examinations
Quality examinations has the following characteristics:-
4. Encourage your students
Use a lot of encouragement on your students. This motivates and gives your students a psychological headstart that is key in building confidence. Other strategies to apply is reinforcement and empathy.
Most students who are exposed to a lot of talk through counselling and guidance and a good teacher-student relationship tend to realise their weaknesses earlier enough to correct them. Engage your students in dialogue and constructive criticism. 5. Self Sacrifice
The time provided by the ministry is not enough to put your things in order. This calls for self sacrifice. This is an ethical issue. If you let your students understand that you are sacrificing for them, they may change attitude and cooperate more thus, achieving your goals will be easier and quicker.
6. Use diverse textbooks and teaching tools and aids
Use of different books in teaching as a source of reference and other teaching aids is crucial in expansion and clarification of knowledge. This is because students learn better in different methods used, language phrase or expressions used. Diversity can bring a positive impact however if not used well, can also be misleading. It is therefore your work as a teacher to decide and advice which books your students need to acquire.
7. Invite an examiner to talk to your students
Examiners are trained on how examinations are marked. Therefore, they are rich in knowledge of the same. Invite them earlier enough to create room to eliminate errors before D-day.
One can also invite subject elites in the society and technocrats to share their experience with students. Introduction
Enhancing group dynamics in a classroom situation is a powerful tool towards the teaching and learning process. This gives the learner an opportunity to interact with other learners which is instrumental in the acquiring of cognitive, affective and psychomotor aspects of personality.
Advantages of enhancing group dynamics in a classroom situation
Follow @atikaschool 100% of 'A' students Acknowledge the use of revision papers as a way of bettering their grades. You too can; your time is now!Don't have Credit/Debit Card? Click here for more choices About Guidance
Nasibi (2003) defines guidance as all the activities rendered by educational institutions which are primarily concerned with assisting individual students understand themselves, that is, their characteristics and potentials.
About Counselling
Nasibi (2003) describes counselling as offering, advising and cautioning students who may have gone astray or are out of control.
According to Nasibi (2003, p. 46), guidance and Counselling is an organized service established as an integral part of the school environment designed to promote the development of the students and assist them towards the realization of sound wholesome adjustment and maximum accomplishments commensurate with their potential. Through these services, an individual achieves greater awareness of his or her potential. Nasibi (2003, p. 52) points out that the role of the counsellor in the school setting is that of a coordinator as they coordinate the resources available in the school and the community to help a child with either psychological or health problems. The counsellor also makes, coordinates, and maintains liaison relationships with referral services. Guidance and Counselling department should also act as a liaison, representative and mediator to help create an effective learning environment. According to Nasibi (2003, p.111), the activities and content of a guidance and counselling programme should cover some of the areas like career talks. She adds that competent professionals should regularly be invited to talk to students in schools on career opportunities, university education requirements for careers, prevailing socio-economic conditions and their effect on career opportunities.
Six categories of learners with special needs
Theory
Different scholars have different definitions about the meaning of theory but they tend to agree on one common front. Here are examples:-
Counselle
A counselle is a subject in counselling sessions and this is a person who is being counselled by the counsellor
Counselling
Counselling can be termed as the purposeful understanding of a person so as to provide self-understanding in that person. This translates to listening to people about their problems and offering suggestions that can offer solutions. The main aim of counselling is to make life more interesting.
Counselling may be more concerned with coping 'with crises', working through feelings and inner conflicts or improving relationships with others. BAC-British Association of Counselling defines corruption as: "Counselling is the skilled and principled use of relationship to facilitate self- knowledge, emotional acceptance and growth and the optimal development of personal resources" -BAC (1986) ​ ​Counselling can also be described as the process in which the therapist guides the client towards personal growth and positive change through self understanding. Counsellor
This is a person whose role is to enhance the work values, personal resources and capacity for self determination of the person being counselled [counselle].
References
Introduction:
The basic school system in Japan is composed of the following levels
​Structure
Pre-primary Education
Organization
Education Finance
Curriculum
Outline features of Japan education that Kenya can borrow
APA Reference
History Notes Form 1 to 4
A student sitting for this year's KCSE examinations has nothing to worry about '2017 leakages' because the rumors going around the social media could be a hoax. There are a number of reasons why the mathematics paper spread among whatsapp users could not be real. The social media went viral this morning with people posting what looked like an evidence of the paper purported to have leaked. One blogger Robert Alai Onyango appended this message on his facebook wall
and yet Ndungu nyoro had this to say
But what about jokers
For others, it was prime time to spread hate speech
However I tend to think that the papers going rounds on the social media could be fake and here are some reasons why
The CS for education DR. Fred Matiang'i changed the term dates for Kenyan Primary and secondary schools a move whose objective was to curb examinations cheating that was witnessed in the year 2015. The new term dates puts term two as the longest term with 15 weeks, followed by term 1 with 14 weeks leaving term three as the shortest with nine weeks
I can categorically say that I have taught in the last 10 years. This puts me in a situation that am able to assess some of the mistakes that most teachers do including myself that makes us regret after retirement or harshly judged by the community. They are common though but if you are a young teacher, please avoid these mistakes if you can. 1. Investing in liabilities rather than assetsMost teachers, including commerce and Business studies teachers have a problem when it comes to investing. In most cases, teachers invest on liabilities which they call assets but eventually makes them poorer in long run. Robert Kiyosaki author of "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" defines an asset as anything that you acquire that puts money into your pocket. Assets are what the rich use to generate wealth over time. A good house, A car, a microwave, expensive phones and an idle plot are not assets unless they are used to bring an extra coin into your pocket. Young teachers should therefore learn to invest on assets rather than liabilities. You won't find this definition in a business classroom. 2. Not keen on students homeworkMathematics subject is one of the under performed subjects in KCSE Examinations [read here], there are a number of issues that can lead to poor performance in mathematics with bad attitude and lack of determination to blame as chief causes, however, the following twelve theories can improve mathematics grades and pull a miracle unexpectedly. These theories have worked in other areas I know and researched that is why I compiled them in order to share with you.
Mathematics as a subject is one of the subjects that performs poorly in the KCSE KNEC examinations. Consider the progress of mathematics in the table below since the year 2009 to 2013. The fifth column with the mean score is a clear evidence that mathematics has been performing poorly in over a decade and the results are even getting poorer with the best mean ever achieved as 29.46; this trend is worrying especially for a country aspiring to be a first world in the year 2030. Industrialization comes with science courses like engineering and we can't mold good engineers and doctors who are not doing fine in mathematics.
These are the basic principles of effective learning. These principles are derived from research in a number of disciplines. They include: 1. Teacher's knowledge on the subject matter is essential to the implementation of important teaching tasks Teachers who know their subject matter thoroughly can be more effective and efficient at organizing the subject matter, connecting and subject with the students previous knowledge, finding useful analogies and examples, presenting current thinking on the subject and establish appropriate emphasis
Most students and scholars in general tend to have common goals/objectives and these objectives are nothing far other than academic success. People dream of scoring a distinction in all subjects, some wish this would happen but cannot trace the formula for doing it.
Attitude, laziness, absenteeism, lack of proper planning, psychological effects and other factor are the reasons why most students fail. Due this enormous number of factors that contribute to poor performance, its in good faith scholars to first understand their weaknesses before attempting to apply any solutions. I have been a teacher for over a decade now in a girls school, I will use my observation and experience to draw solutions for rampant weaknesses that most scholars tend to suffer on. In this article I will assume that each student has the same educational environment both at home and at school, however psychology takes the lion's share on success or failure of any student. Most students who are settled and courageous to face challenges head-on, tend to out perform cowards, shy, mouthy and attention seekers. The following factors do not focus on personality types but mere factors which can be used as an ideology for great academic prowess. In order to perform; Are geniuses made or born? Valerie Strauss wrote something on the Washington Post that defines what a genius is:
World’s most successful people in terms of Academia and any other areas coveted by humans as a field of success have had almost the same characteristics. They have used the same formula over and over again – this is what makes them successful and this is the difference between you and them. A close look at case study, I will conclude by illustrating the following factors that you can use to rise up to the glorious moments of your true self. |
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