Category Archives: 3.1 Teaching & Learning

I HATE MATHEM… Oh actually it’s not that bad!

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Primary 5… some dreary day in mid-November. Maths test. The dread I felt when the teacher uttered the words the moment we came back into the classroom from morning break have never left me. I would not say I ‘fear’ mat1110express-student-fearshs however, it genuinely makes me feel uneasy. I think the main reason for this was this specific maths test. It was mental maths. 20 questions. And we had 10 minutes to answer as much as we could (no working allowed – including the use of fingers!!) It’s safe to say I never done very well, 7 out of 20. Although, at first, I was rather pleased with myself for getting that much correct, until my teacher stated that ‘you can only be good at either English or maths; you cannot be good at both.’ So from that moment, I had always considered myself rubbish at maths so really… Why try?! Eastaway and Askey state that people’s mathematics anxiety can develop from a parent or teacher but mainly it is not the fear of maths itself but the fear of being shamed. (Eastaway and Askey, 2013, p15.) Personally, for me, I feel that, this point in my education was one of the main factors as to why I feel anxious about mathematics.

As I have grown the idea that my primary 5 teacher had fixed in my head that you can only be good at maths or English slowly but surely started to vanish. I do not believe that if you are good at English, you cannot be good at maths, or vice versa. I have seen first-hand, many people that have the natural ability to be good at both.

You may prefer one subject to the other, therefore may shine in that said subject but this does not mean that you cannot then excel at the other if you put the work in for it. Eastaway and Askew tell us that, ‘there is no such thing as a maths gene’ (Eastaway and Askew, 2013, p14.)

According to these men, today’s society is much more sophisticated in maths compared to those in medieval times. Showing that over time we have adapted to the different concepts and ways to understand math that categorically there cannot be a gene that has programmed us to ‘be good at maths’ (Eastaway and Askey, 2013, p15.)

One of the main reasons for choosing ‘discovering maths’ was to get over this anxiety I had surrounding maths. I can already categorically say that I am so glad I choose the elective I did.

Our first lecture, ‘What is maths? Why teach it’ was an eye opener for me. I went in to this lecture a little apprehensive and left with a new excitement surrounding mathematics that I had not felt before. This was due to the lecture being made fun and relatable. The main task set to us was to work out how many snaps it would take to break up a bar of chocolate that had 64 squares. By working together in groups for this task with actual physical props we were able to explore maths in a way I don’t think I ever had. It brought out discussion, conversation, sharing language and most importantly, play.

As a learner, being able to relate my maths to real life was very important to me and I feel helped me understand clearer and ultimately enjoy what I was doing. As a teacher working with children that may feel anxious and withdrawn for maths, I will strive to ensure that I will relate it to real-life as much as I possibly can. By doing this and adding in the ‘fun factor’ I feel children will not had this fear of mathematics that most do today. This will hopefully give the children an insight as to why they need maths and I hope that they will never be asking themselves ‘when will I use this again?’

Eastaway, R., Askew, M. (2013) Maths for Mums and Dads. Square Peg. London.

Scientific Literacy

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Group One

Lucy Allen, Corrie Donaldson, Eildih Lamont and Skye McLauchlan

Assessment criteria:

  • AC1 – Explanation of the concept of scientific literacy – Skye McLauchlan
  • AC2 – Analysis of an example where a lack of scientific literacy has led to inaccurate media reporting.
  • AC3 – Discussion of how teaching fair testing in school science links to scientific literacy.
  • AC4 – A carefully researched and referenced paper on scientific literacy.

Oxford University Press describes being literate as, “the ability to read and write” (Oxford University Press, 2016). Without the ability of reading and writing we would lead a very sheltered life where the most basic of tasks are problematic for us to carry out.

Therefore, scientific literacy could be broken down and be said that it is simply having the ability to understand different concepts and ideas in order to succeed within science.

Scientific literacy is also be the ability to use your knowledge of science in order to identify questions and to have the ability to come to your own conclusions through the use of looking at different sources of evidence. (OECD, 2003)

Scientific literacy is slowly but surely becoming the focused and primary goal for primary school science. (Millar. R, 2007). However this by no means, is saying that all children learning from the science curriculum are going to become scientific geniuses. In light, it is giving the children the chance to fulfil an “enlightened role” (European Commission, 1995) in being able to make and inform their own choices and ideas throughout their learning within science.

A lack of scientific literacy can lead to inaccurate media reporting’s and false belief from the public. For example, the outrage caused when it was, apparently, scientifically proven that the MMR vaccine caused Autism in babies. This belief has managed to frighten mothers into not allowing their babies to be given the vaccine. However, the evidence for the connection between the MMR vaccine and autism was based on a girl, Hannah Poling, in the USA who experienced a reaction to the vaccine. The author of the study claims that Poling was then diagnosed with autism but this is not true. Poling had a very rare mitochondrial disorder, due to her genetics not the MMR vaccine, which was made worse due to her bad reaction with the MMR which led to the occurrence of a few autism like symptoms, but not an autism disorder. Although this report made about MMR and Autism was not necessarily true, it still managed to make an impact on the public as there has been a revival of diseases such as measles and whooping cough, which could be avoided if a child is given the MMR Vaccine.

Having an understanding of fair testing is pivotal to scientific literacy because without it a child will be unable to effectively draw evidence-based conclusions or fully understand and facilitate scientific knowledge- both equally important aspects to science literacy. Understanding what can be changed and what cannot be changed in an experiment to make it fair is massively important to ensuring the results are accurate. For example, if one is comparing and testing the fuel efficiency of cars and one is driven by an experienced professional driver and the other by a newly qualified driver, this would not be a fair test as there are too many variables between the drivers. In order for a test to be fair, there must only be one variable that is changed. For example, if one is testing the absorption rate of paper, then only the type of paper used should be changed but the liquid should remain the same. If both the variables were altered (the type of paper and the amount/density of liquid used) then the experiment would not produce accurate results and therefore would become pointless. Learning to become conscious of the importance of such variables is central to a child’s scientific literacy and therefore vitally important to teach. As scientific literacy is becoming the number one goal in primary schools for science, teaching the concept and rules of fair testing is consequently a vitally important aspect of what we want our pupils to know and understand by the time they leave primary school.

European Commission, (1995) White Paper on Education and Training

http://theconversation.com/muddied-waters-setting-the-record-straight-about-mmr-vaccinations-and-autism-3391

Millar. R, (2007) Scientific literacy; Can the School Science Curriculum Deliver? Communicating European Research 2005, Pages 145-150.

OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development](2003) The PISA 2003 Assessment Framework – Mathematics, Reading, Science and Problem Solving Knowledge and Skills. Paris: OECD

Oxford University Press, (2016) Literate – definition of literate in English from the Oxford dictionary [online]. Oxforddictionaries.com Available at: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/English/literate [assessed 9 Feb 2016]

Earn it

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College was the first time I had heard of B.F. Skinner and his theory of operant conditioning. Straight away I took an instant interest in it and decided that I would work around his theory of positive reinforcements to complete my graded unit.

My graded unit consisted of me investigating an area of my choice within the classroom and reporting back on my findings in detail in a form of a report.

Straight away, the idea of reinforcements for behaviour got me thinking about children and one 052child in particular that I worked one-on-one with. This specific child, lost his golden time almost every week. He had different behaviour management strategies in place however told me that he did not find the need to behave as he always lost golden time anyway. After having this conversation, I researched low self esteem in schools and the highest trigger for children with low self esteem was due to the children constantly getting in trouble. So, I discussed in depth with my teacher the idea of changing golden time from the norm of losing it, to every child starting with none and earning it for a week.

At first, the teacher felt that the children would not like the Golden Time changed however, after I discussed with the children what would be happening, I allowed them to vote independently wither or not to try the new Golden Time procedure so that it was the children’s decision and not mine. The results came back and the majority of the class voted to changing Golden Time to earning. The teacher was very surprised with this but was also excited to see my results after the week.

As I based my project on the theories of, Skinner, Rodgers, Maslow and Erik Erikson I learnt a great deal on children’s behaviour overall. I agree with Skinner in a lot that he says about positive reinforcements and my investigation reiterates that what he was saying actually has a major factor of truth.

After everything was researched and the ‘Golden Rules’ that the children came up with collectively as a class was put in place, I allowed the children to then earn their golden time over a week. After the week was over, I gained feedback through a carousel method and found 051that the children found earning golden time a better method to use as they could work as a team and it made them feel better knowing their positive behaviour had gained a reward.

I would love to have done this with the child that gave me the inspiration to put this investigation into place. I feel that it allowed children who may feel discouraged to improve their behaviour due negative reinforcements to have a clean slate and try to turn their behaviour around by working together with their peers. By also physically seeing the rewards for their good behaviour by receiving golden time the children’s self-esteem will also hopefully increase overtime.

The Road to Becoming an Enquiring Practitioner

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Are you someone who is proactive? Are you responsible for maintaining and enhancing your own professional skills? Do you do this to enhance your own pedagogical development? If so you may just be on your way to becoming a very good enquiring practitioner.

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An enquiring practitioner goes beyond the norm of personal enquiry and reflection. They have the ability to share and discuss their own knowledge with others and also to listen and retain information that others share with them. From doing this, as a professional, you will then be able to continuously develop on your own learning.

 

Professor John Hattie stated; “The biggest effects on student learning occur when teachers become learners of their own teaching”.

A teacher who is constantly learning and can be seen as an enquiring practitioner may research topics such as teaching techniques and adapt their own ways of teaching to facilitate the best learning possible for the children within their classroom.

There are numerous benefits that come with practicing to be an enquiring practitioner. Not only does it allow us, as teachers to monitor our own practice it also allows us to critically analysis our practice and challenge ourselves to become better and more professional practitioners.

By being an enquiring practitioner, we allow ourselves to continuously develop and enhance on our own learning and teaching abilities. By doing this, we are in control of setting out the best learning environment we can to teach our children in.

Being an enquiring practitioner also means that we can work together, collaboratively, with not only our colleagues but also the pupils within our classrooms. By working closely with these people, we can see what does and doesn’t work with others practice and also know that there is a safety net if you feel that advice or guidance on specific areas may be needed.

By working together, teachers can make sure that they are all working towards the same standards and guidelines to ensure that they are working towards the Curriculum for Excellence.

Alongside the benefits; we are also faced with numerous challenges when practicing to be an enquiring practitioner. For teachers who may have been in the profession for many years, or teachers who have a lower self-esteem, the thought of changing their ways to become an enquiring practitioner may cause problems due to anxiety’s and or a fear of a change. Due to this, it may be difficult for these teachers to open up and share their own experiences and knowledge with others which then hinders them from becoming the best practitioner they can.

Although there are challenges that face practitioners becoming an enquiring practitioner; the benefits outweigh them. Due to this, every teacher should try their hardest to overcome their fears of becoming an enquiring practitioner as there are so many positive outcomes that can be gained by not only yourself but also your colleagues and your pupils within your class.

As a student teacher, we have a responsibility to also practice as an enquiring practitioner. Whilst on placement as a professional, we will be put in new situations which we may not feel comfortable with but having the ability to adapt our teaching styles and work closely with other staff members we should have the ability to therefore overcome our anxiety’s to these new situations.

Practitioner enquiry impacts on us all both as students and fully qualified teachers. We need to have the ability to have higher expectations of ourselves; have the ability to be able to adapt to new situations and surroundings and be aware of ways to improve our own learning and utilise this within our practice in the classroom.

The Virtues of Teaching

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Teachers need to have the ability to display a variety of different virtues and ethics all the time within their professional career.

I have chosen to focus on five main traits, which I have went into more detail about below. However, I am not saying that these are any more important than other traits. It all primarily depends on the individual circumstances at the time and how you as a teacher feel would be the best way to handle that situation.

Patience;

Patience, I feel is one of the most desirable traits for any individual however, for teachers I feel it is essential. This trait is most definitely vital while working in a classroom setting. As a patient teacher, I feel you should have the ability to adapt and try new learning styles and approaches when children aren’t responding or grasping certain things you are teaching. Not every child will be able to understand and learn the same way which then results in you as a teacher being able to remain patient and calm whilst finding another method that the child or children can understand.

Patience is also very important when it comes to a child’s behaviour. I feel as soon as you lose your patience with a child due to their behaviour then you have lost control of the classroom and everything you have learnt in how to teach. I fully believe that every type of behaviour displayed by every child can be chipped away down to the root cause of why this child is behaving in the way. However, to find the root cause requires patience on the teacher’s behalf. Without patience, you may find that you just write the particular child off as a ‘trouble maker’ when in reality there is a deeper cause and meaning for the behaviour being displayed.

Respect;

I feel that, respect is one the most important traits for a teacher to possess. Without respect present within the classroom both towards the teacher and the children then it is not an environment in which anyone is going to benefit from learning. If a teacher is respected by his or her class, it will create a learning environment where everyone feels comfortable to be and to learn in.

To gain respect, one must show respect; I feel that this is very important within the classroom and that some teachers need to realise that children should not just respect you because you are the teacher, the children should respect you because you respect them. Respect is a two way relationship and I feel that if it is met by both parties then everyone will benefit.

Empathy;

In order to be the best teacher you can, you have to have the ability to display empathy towards your students when necessary. By being able to do this, you will be able to make an almighty difference in the learning of the pupils’. By being able to bring yourself down to a child’s level and fully show that you understand and empathise with what the child is going through, that child can then see that you are a trustworthy and important character in their life, that they will feel comfortable to approach. Without empathy within the classroom, pupils may not feel safe or happy. There may be a lack of confidence in the teacher from the children and they also may feel that they cannot trust them.

The key to being empathetic is to be realistic and realise that every individual is different, with completely different circumstances both within school and outside. To be able to empathise with the different circumstances that you may be approached with you have to be able to be aware of what is going on around you and also to be an approachable figure to every one of your pupils’.

Fairness;

Preconceptions and expectations should be left at the door when you as a teacher enter your classroom. Fairness within the classroom is essential for every child to be able to learn within the classroom at the best of their abilities. Without fairness, teachers may dwell on matters such as: class, gender, race, family etc. which could result in you as a teacher not being able to look at that pupil and see their actual qualities, abilities and potential.

Teachers should also not show or have any favouritism towards pupils within their classroom. Every child should be encouraged and taught to the best of their abilities to achieve their potentials.

It should only be fair that within a classroom, the teacher should make sure that every child has the same opportunities to progress and blossom throughout their education to then reach the best of their abilities later on in the future.

Compassion;

As a teacher, you have to have the ability to be compassionate. The reasoning for this is due to the vast variety of different children from different backgrounds that you will be working with. I believe that due to this, compassion is very appropriate to show the pupils that not only are you human but that you are a means of support and an approachable individual in that child’s life for when they may need it.