Improving Quality of Teaching and Learning - Assignment Example

Improving Quality of Teaching and Learning -A Needs Assessment Survey Executive Summary This paper contains the findings from the survey of 15 primary school teachers in X. The survey was conducted with the aim of understanding the perceptions of teachers regarding five aspects of teaching, namely, lesson planning, questioning, explaining, assessments and group activities. The survey also aimed to understand the challenges faced by teachers in these areas of teaching and to develop any recommendations that can help the schools improve the quality of their teaching. The survey was conducted using a research questionnaire that contained both close-ended and open-ended questions. The findings are presented using descriptive statistics as well as charts and graphs. The discussion of the findings was undertaken using the background literature reading. It was found that the teachers are understand the importance of lesson planning, questioning, explaining, assessments and group activities and are enthusiastic about using them. However, they face problems like lack of direction and clarity on objectives of teaching, lack of resources and lack of training. It is expected that by improving the training and knowledge skills of teachers and by developing structural and resource infrastructure, the schools can further enhance their quality of teaching. Table of Contents 1. Introduction--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4 1.1 Background and Overview of Research ------------------------------------------------------4 1.2 Research Objectives -----------------------------------------------------------------------------6 1.3 Research Participants ---------------------------------------------------------------------------7 1.4 Method of Data Collection----------------------------------------------------------------------7 2. Results and Discussions------------------------------------------------------------------------7 2.1 Lesson Planning-----------------------------------------------------------------------------7 2.2 Questioning---------------------------------------------------------------------------------10 2.3 Explaining-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------13 2.4 Assessment----------------------------------------------------------------------------------15 2.5 Group Activity-----------------------------------------------------------------------------17 3. Conclusions--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------20 List of Figures and Tables Figure 1: Benefits of Using Lesson Plans--------------------------------------------------------------8 Figure 2: Success of Lesson Plans----------------------------------------------------------------------8 Figure 3: Difficulties Faced in Lesson Plans----------------------------------------------------------9 Figure 4: Frequency of Teachers Asking Questions------------------------------------------------10 Figure 5: Teachers’ Strategies to Cope with Students Who Cannot Answer--------------------11 Figure 6: Techniques Used for Explaining-----------------------------------------------------------13 Figure: 7 Difficulties Encountered in Explaining --------------------------------------------------14 Figure 8: Mode of Student Feedback on Assesment-----------------------------------------------16 Figure 9: Frequency of Using Group Activities-----------------------------------------------------17 Figure 11: Challenges Faced with Group Activities Table 1: Frequency of Conducting Assessments----------------------------------------------------15 List of Appendices Appendix A: Research Questionnaire ----------------------------------------------------------------20 References-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------21 1. Introduction 1.1 Background and Overview of Research Quality of education is determined by the quality and scope of the curriculum, quality of the teachers and the quality of the methods of teaching. It is expected that our schools impart good quality education using a broad and balanced curriculum and well defined route for student excellence. However, it is found that not all schools may be able to impart the expected quality of education, owing to diverse reasons. The current paper is aimed to assess the quality of teaching and the challenges faced by teachers in several schools across X (city name). The research aims to gauge the perception of teachers on the quality of teaching and the difficulties faced by them. The quality of teaching is assessed by the current study using five areas like – Lesson Planning Lesson Planning as an essential aspect of a successful class the lesson plans provide the teacher with a clear and objective target for each class (Wolfe, 2006) and help them to include all the essential points of the topic (Salsbury and Schoenfeldt, 2008). An objective or a well-defined target for each lesson is found to lead to better learning outcomes for students (Thompson, 2006). This is because the teachers have a clear conception of the end objective of each point that they cover in their class, and equipped with this knowledge, the teachers can facilitate the students to acquire the knowledge appropriately. A lesson plan also works best when it is well thought out and is based on the curriculum but takes into account the level of the students in the class (Serdyukov and Ryan, 2008). Questioning Effective questioning can help the teachers instill curiosity and a thirst to learn in students (Pagliaro, 2011). By asking questions and letting their students’ formulate and develop their answers, the teachers can help the students to develop their critical thinking and analytical skills. On the other hand, questioning also helps the teachers to assess the thought process and learning abilities of their students (Walsh and Sattes, 2011). This in turn helps the teachers in formulating effective strategies to encourage and motivate the specific students. Explaining Delivering a lecture in the class as guided by the lesson plan needs to be accompanied by the teacher’s inputs and explanations. Explaining is a crucial part of the teaching activity as it is through explaining teachers are able to elucidate the lessons and keep the discussion within the boundaries of the subject (Trevor, 1998). Explaining involves teachers communications’ skills, knowledge and delivery style, which can lead to a better understanding of the subject by the students (Wolfe, 2006). In addition, additional resources like charts, graphs, graphics, videos and other audio-visual aids can help the teachers in explaining better (Overall, 2001) Assessments Assessment is the evaluation of the student’s progress over a period of time and is undertaken in order to understand his or her specific needs and problem areas (Ahrenfelt and Watkin, 2006). Assessment helps the teachers keep track of the student’s development and in formulating student specific strategies to help them improve (Skowron, 2006). However, assessment need to be undertaken in an objective and unbiased manner, and feedback delivered in a way that it does not demotivate the students (Ahrenfelt and Watkin, 2006). Group Activities There has been an increased focus on using group activities for encouraging the students to actively participate in the learning process (Race, 2000) and to acquire skills like leadership, decision making, interpersonal interaction and communication (Jaques, 2000). However, researchers have found that the success of group activities depend on factors like facilitation by the teachers, presence of adequate resources (Brookfield and Preskill, 1999) and overall careful planning and monitoring of the activity (Race, 2000). In case the above factors are missing, the group activity can have a detrimental impact on the children and lead them to frustration or imbibe fear in them. It is expected that the current research will provide insights and knowledge that can be used for improving the professional development plan of the schools under survey. 1.2 Research Objectives The aim of this research is: - To assess the perception of primary schools teachers on lesson planning, questioning, explaining, assessments and group activity -To assess the challenges faced by teachers in these five areas of lesson planning, questioning, explaining, assessments and group activity -To make recommendations for the improvement of the schools so that the teachers are more effective in their lesson planning, questioning, explaining, assessments and group activities. 1.3 Research Participants The teachers were selected from five primary schools of very experienced teachers with tenures of 20, 15, 10, 13, 9, 5 and 4 years. From each school 3 or 4 teachers were selected. The researcher contacted the school for permission to conduct the survey, and then on the recommendation of the teachers’ names from the office, contacted the specified teachers. The prospective candidates were informed about the research and their consent was obtained. 1.4 Method of Data Collection The data was collected using a questionnaire that had both open ended and close-ended multiple choice questions. The questionnaire was developed using the insights gained from reading on the five selected subject areas related to lesson planning, questioning, explaining, assessment and group activities. 2. Results and Discussions The research used five areas of teaching to assess the quality of education at the five selected schools. The findings from the empirical research are discussed below: 2.1 Lesson Planning Frequency of Using Lesson Plans The research found that all the teachers made lesson plans. However, 9 out of 15 teachers prepared lesson plans daily while 6 teachers prepared them weekly. Importance of Lesson Plans Figure 1: Benefits of Using Lesson Plans Success of Lesson Plans The chart below shows that 9 teachers believed that using lesson plan was successful strategy for quality education while 6 stated that it may not be contributing as much Figure 2: Success of Lesson Plans . Difficulties Faced in Delivering As Per Lesson Plans The teachers also revealed that they did face some difficulties in the development and use of a lesson plan. The following figure indicates that 5 out of 15 or 33% of the teachers had faced difficulties in using lesson plans. Figure 3: Difficulties Faced in Lesson Plans The difficulties faced were due to the complexity of the format that they were using in their schools. The format was confusing as it did not give the target of the lesson and some teachers also found it difficult to deploy for students who are at different academic levels. In addition, the teachers also complained of the lack of resources to implement the lesson plan in their classes. The findings indicate that while the teachers are enthusiastic about the use of the lesson planning and they also try their best to use lesson plans to aid their teaching as best as they can, there are several hindrances that prevent the effective utilization of lesson plans. As the review of the available literature on lesson planning has highlighted, it is important that the lesson plans be developed in a clear, comprehensive manner (Thompson, 2006) and should have a well-defined objective for each lesson (Serdyukov and Ryan, 2008). In the current research, it was found that a prominent problem faced by the teachers was that the format for the lesson plan that they had to work with was confusing and there was no end objective determined for the lesson. It is therefore recommended that the schools need to revisit their framework for developing the lesson plans and develop a format that is easy to use by the teachers and which provides the teacher with the benefit of saving their time and keeping them focused on the key objectives of the plan. 2.2 Questioning Teachers’ Ask Questions Regularly The research findings indicate that all the 15 teachers asked questions regularly in their class. See figure below: Figure 4: Frequency of Teachers Asking Questions In addition to the above finding, it was also revealed that at least one of the teachers’ asked questions related to the previous lessons. This was done in order to assess if the students remembered the previous lesson and if they were prepared to imbibe new learning. Steps Taken when the Student is Unable to Answer a Question Figure 5: Teachers’ Strategies to Cope with Students Who Cannot Answer The research asked the teachers about the steps that they take in case the student is unable to provide an answer to their questions. As can be seen from the figure above, the majority of the teachers stated that they proceed to explain the topic to the class/student again and then help the student to arrive at the answer himself. In the case of two teachers, it was found that they went on to ask the same question to the other students in case the first student was unable to answer. Teachers also provided a rationale for their specific strategies to deal with the class in case the students’ are unable to answer the questions. According to one of the teachers, ‘giving key points to the class once again helped the student to grasp the answer easily’. Another teacher stated that ‘by providing a summary of the topic to the whole class and by rephrasing the question’, he was able to get the students to answer correctly. According to a very senior teacher (with experience over 20 years), it is important to engage all the students in class through questions. Some students learn slower than others and they need more time to understand the concepts and hence, by focusing on questions that encourage such students to think, a teacher can help them better. Importance of Questioning According to all the 15 teachers, asking question makes the students more attentive and vigilant in class and it helps them listen to other student’s answers and ideas. It also encourages the students to prepare in advance for the class by going through the previous lecture. In addition, it was revealed that the teachers can get a regular assessment of the students’ memory and learning abilities by asking frequent questions. This, in turn enables the teachers in understanding the needs of their students better. The above findings underline the fact that all teachers agree to the importance of questioning and used questions regularly. However, there appears to be a lack of understanding on how questioning helps the students. While the surveyed teachers stated that they believed the students remain alert and involved in the class as a result of questioning, there is much more that can be gauged from questioning. For example, according to Overall (2011), teachers can use questioning to encourage the students to critically think and use analytical skills. In order to be able to do this, the teachers themselves have to be educated and trained on the art of effective questioning and the school authorities need to spend time and funds in imparting the adequate insights and trainings to the teachers. 2.3 Explaining Techniques Used for Explaining Figure 6: Techniques Used for Explaining The above chart shows that the most popular technique among the teachers are using activities and student interaction. Teachers also use lectures, story-telling and concept mapping to aid explaining in class. A majority of the teachers, 11 out of 15, stated that they use a mix of several techniques, while one of the teacher said that he uses single technique or a multiple one depending on the type of the topic. Techniques Used or Slow-Learners The teachers stated that they used game activities, story-telling and concept mapping as the preferred activities for children who are weak. Difficulties in Explaining Figure: 7 Difficulties Encountered in Explaining The teachers stated that they overcame the difficulties through planning well in advance, breaking a larger topic into sub-topics, and providing several sources for developing the concept. One of the teachers also stated that they showed videos to the students while another said that he also used power point slides to explain better. All the teachers stated that they tried to use different techniques in combination so that the student is able to better grasp the subject. The research has highlighted the fact that the teachers make use of diverse aids and techniques for explaining and these are expected to improve the understanding of the students. Explaining effectiveness can however be improved by ensuring that the teachers’ own knowledge is wide and that they have a clear structural understanding of the lessons so that they can keep their explaining within the boundaries of the subject at hand (Pagliaro, 2011). 2.4 Assessment Importance of Regular Assessment All the teachers stated that they agreed that assessment was important for the development of the students. The teachers also revealed that taking regular assessment helped them understand their students’ progress better. The following table gives the regularity with which the teachers make the assessment in their classes Table 1: Frequency of Conducting Assessments As soon as end of every unit – 2 teachers After each topic/lesson – 1 After every 3 or more topics – 6 Weekly ----------6 Twice in a month---------3 Monthly --------1 Sometimes -----------------1 Feedback to the Students Figure 8: Mode of Student Feedback on Assesment Difficulties in Maintaining Giving Feedback The teachers provided several problems that they face in making the feedback to the students. A prominent issue that was found related to the amount of time that the teachers have to give in assessment and feedback – which took away the limited time that they had to cover their curriculums. In addition, most of the teachers stated that they found it difficult to assess and give feedback to students who were at a lower level in the class. Another issue that was highlighted was that some students were reported to get aggressive when given a negative feedback. Teachers also revealed that in certain cases, the feedback led to the demotivation of the students and his disengagement from the class. Some students also felt shy and scared of the feedback. The above findings indicate that the teachers are aware of the importance of regular feedback and of delivering the feedback in an objective and sensitive manner to the students. The available literature too has highlighted that assessment is an essential tool for the teachers to understand the progress of their teaching and to provide customized inputs to help the students improve (Ahrenfelt and Watkin, 2006). However, in the case of the current research, two prominent problems that were faced by the teachers regarding feedback were that they were not able to manage student response to feedback well, and that they were not able to develop assessment questions or strategies for the weak students. These are the areas that need to be improved using better teacher training and workshops where the teachers can learn the art of delivering effective and constructive feedback to all students. 2.5 Group Activity Frequency of Using Group Activities The following table depicts the frequency with which the surveyed teachers used group activities in their teaching: Figure 10: Frequency of Using Group Activities The above figure depicts the findings from the teachers and it indicates that a majority of the teachers 5 out of 15 or 34%, used group activities depending on the need of the topic. Several teachers also stated that they used some form of group activity on a daily basis and for every lesson plan. Making Group Activities a Success The teachers stated that group activities encouraged the students to adopt various roles within the group, which leads them to learn interaction and coordination and working in teams. By assigning different activities and roles to different students, they are able to learn to work together and in complementary ways. Group activities also help students develop their leadership skills and organizational skills. Students learn to share and to work in groups, which helps them develop their social skills. The teachers also stated that they took several steps to ensure that all students participated in the group activity. The teachers asked questions, encouraged students to mingle with others and facilitated when there were arguments or problems among the student. Challenges during Group Activities The teachers stated that they found arranging group activities for students who were at different activity and academic level difficult. Another problem faced by the teachers was the large size of the class that made monitoring of the group activities difficult and time consuming. In addition the teachers also stated that they suffered from lack of adequate resources that can facilitate group activities. These included not having additional staff to help facilitate the group activities and to monitor the students; and not having adequate material and physical aids that can encourage innovative role playing or other group activities. Figure 11: Challenges Faced with Group Activities The findings have highlighted that the teachers like to encourage group activities as a regular part of their lessons, but there are several barriers to this. The prominent challenge faced by the teachers is the inability to formulate activities that can encourage students from all levels to work together. The available literature on group activities as a part of learning indicates that teachers need to have well-structured and planned framework for group activities – which are grounded in research on child psychology – and then implement this framework rigorously (Jaques, 2000). Teachers therefore need to be trained and educated on how to develop interesting group activities that can inspire participation from the entire class. Another challenge related to the lack of resources and large class size. These challenges however cannot be met without the support and understanding of the school administration and hence the schools are recommended to invest in developing infrastructure that can facilitate better management of students’ learning. 3. Conclusions The survey has revealed that the primary teachers in the participating schools are aware of the importance of lesson planning, questioning, explaining, assessments and group activities. The teachers understand that these are essential aspects of quality teaching and impact on the students’ outcomes. However, the survey revealed that there are several challenges that are needed to be overcome if quality of teaching is to be improved in these schools. The challenges relate to the lack of resources that are at the disposal of the teachers, the lack of adequate training and development of the teachers, and the lack of leadership and guidance from the school administration. It is therefore recommended that the school authorities need to develop a better infrastructure for quality education that should include teachers’ training, facilitation of resources and teaching aids and increased focus on students’ wholistic development. Appendix A: Survey Questionnaire Name: Class: Lesson Planning: Q-1: Do you make lesson plans? If yes then how often? Q-2. why do you think lesson plan is important? Q-3. Are you able to carry out the classes as per the lesson plan on a regular basis? Q-4. Do you face any difficulties while planning the lessons? If yes, please mention them Questioning: Q-1. Do you make it a point to ask questions to the students on a regular basis? Q-2. What steps do you take if a student is not able to answer the question? a) Give the student a second chance. b) Explain it again and let her to answer. c) Give another student that chance. Q-3. Do you feel that asking questions in class can stimulate the students to improve their attention in the classroom? Explaining: Q-1. What are some of the techniques that you use in class to explain? a) lecture. 4 people tick b) activities. 8 people tick c) interaction. 8 people tick d) story-telling. 4 people tick e) concept mapping. 3 people tick f) All of the above. 6 people tick Q-2. Do you find that any particular technique is more useful than others? Especially with children who are slow learners or weak in academics? Q-3. Do you feel any difficulties while explaining difficult topics? If yes, how do you tackle them? Assessment: Q-1. Do you think continuous assessment is important? How often do you carry the assessment for the students? Q-2. How do you provide feedback to the students on the assessment? Q-3. What are some difficulties that you face while giving honest assessment and feedback and maintaining morale and motivation of the students? Group Activity: Q-1. How often do you carry out group activities in the class? Q-2. How do you ensure that activities encourage team spirit and sharing? References Ahrenfelt, J. and Watkin, N. (2006).100 Ideas for Essential Teaching Skills (Continuum One Hundred). Retrived from http://www.amazon.co.uk/Essential-Teaching-Skills-Continuum-Hundreds/dp/0826491561#reader_0826491561 Brookfield, S.D., and Preskill, S. (1999). Discussion as a Way of Teaching: Tools and Techniques for Democratic Classrooms. Retrieved from: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Discussion-Way-Teaching-Techniques-Jossey- Bass/dp/0787944580/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349084332&sr=1- 1#reader_0787944580 Jaques, D. (2000). Learning in Groups: A Handbook for Improving Group Work. Retrieved from: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Learning-Groups-Face---Face- Environments/dp/0415365260/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349084391&sr=1-1#reader_0415365260 Overall, L. 2001. Teaching in Primary Schools. NY: Continuum International Publishing Group. Pagliaro, M. (2011). Exemplary Classroom Questioning: Practices To Promote Thinking and Learning. Retrieved from: http://books.google.co.in/books?id=siGjE97DtRQC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_g e_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false Race, P. (2000). 500 Tips on Group Learning. Retrieved from: http://books.google.co.in/books?id=j-TNlEtGF6AC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Race,+P.+%282000%29.+500+Tips+on+Group+Learning.+London:+Kogan+Page.&source=bl&ots=vXHhmWlYIw&sig=vxhuUPheZi_Xt1GhSHgKvmwNn_o&hl=en&sa=X&ei=-WVpUO2xPITXrQeM2oCwAw&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false Salsbury, D. E., and Schoenfeldt, M. (2008). Lesson Planning: A Research-Based Model for K- 12 Classrooms. Alexandria, VA: Prentice Hall Serdyukov, P., and Ryan, M. (2008) Writing Effective Lesson Plans: The 5-Star Approach. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Skowron, J.(2006). Powerful Lesson Planning: Every Teachers Guide to Effective Instruction. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. 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