Effective Learning Environments: Becoming a Teacher - Report Example

Effective Learning Environments: Becoming a Teacher Author’s Name: Professor’s Name: Course Details: Institutional Affiliation: Date of Submission: Effective Learning Environments: Becoming a Teacher Established in 1998, Al Manara College is an independent new co-educational school situated in Sydney, Australia offering equal learning opportunities for boys and girls from Kindergarten to the 12th grade. This report mainly discuses class one purple (1P) being handled by Miss Ayyubi, a teacher whose prowess in this distinguished profession has created an effective learning environment in this particular classroom. Through her professional believes about teaching, she has engendered the students own perspectives thereby creating a stimulating, engaging and most importantly a comfortable and supportive atmosphere by introducing democracy in her class effectively putting the students in control of the learning processes. All she does is to monitor the progresses after raising the expectations and inculcating the positive most required stimulating learning. Miss Ayyubi has shifted the power of choice to the students as a motivational tool regarding the learning processes in all her lessons. It is evident from the interview that she is passionate in operationalizing the democratic principles in her classroom. The results from the model instituted by Miss Ayyubi are tremendous. Indeed, she has succeeded in creating an effective learning atmosphere for her class using the power of choice. Through her guidance, the students effectively came up with rules that were binding to all members of One Purple. At least four rules governing the conduct of everyone were established and ranked in order of importance. Adherence was thus cultivated through a participative approach where all were responsible for whatever their actions as well as positive counsels towards one another. A constant and wide-ranging exposure to new techniques embedded in one main central rule encourages deeper learning (Dexter, Anderson, and Ronnkvist, 2002, p.292), and Miss Ayyubi has exactly followed one of the core tenets of professionalism in a classroom-teaching career. Whitton et al. (2004) suggest that a teacher may wish to have one central rule to control class activities. As their key rule, class 1P did commit “to respect one another as well as respecting each other’s property” (Miss Ayyubi Interview, 2006, p.12). The democratic way of life incorporated in the class functioning was extended to the classroom layout. At the time of the interview, the rules were only 3 terms old, yet Miss Ayyubi was already satisfied with the students handling the task of planning the classroom layout by themselves. She gave them a free hand in devising classroom plan that suited them most. She seemed quite happy with the students’ suggestions, which she says provided her with adequate floor space that did not exist previously. Originally, the class had cooperative learning groups, majority of which carried out their learning activities on much of the floor. The outcome was thus a shift and a relief from the past haphazard arrangement (Miss Ayyubi Interview, 2006, pg 10). Another encouraging aspect of the new classroom outlook was the fact that the students were not only becoming perfect in choosing the layout of the tables by themselves, but no individual had a voice of deciding on where or whom to sit next to. A new sitting arrangement was no longer based on friendships, but on what the entire students fraternity felt would be a better mix. Wherever the student’s tables were moved then was therefore the final sitting arrangement. Miss Ayyubi permitted the students to decide on which of the lifecycles they wished to do as their class assignments (Miss Ayyubi Interview, 2006, p.3). In addition to the foregoing freedom of choices in her lessons, Miss Ayyubi did ask the students’ consent on putting books on the bookrack (Miss Ayyubi Interview, 2006, p. 7). She never failed even one bit in consulting the students on issues that clearly involved their input. To her opinions of the students mattered a lot. She even went asking the students opinions on certain displays set up around the classroom. For instance, concerning the transport display, Miss Ayyubi gave the students freedom of choice in sorting the transport vehicles into groups for land, air, and water. Indeed, Miss Ayyubi’s style of teaching was a pointer to philosophical learning at work in which students supposedly bore the most responsibility in their learning. The students had a free hand in choosing a life cycle unit for science and technology. In this way, the students got more control of what they were responsible for a contributory factor to the success of the unit. In a sense, the students’ involvements in deciding the activities or tasks increase their determination to accomplish such assignments. The picture created by Miss Ayyubi’s inculcates a communal learning environment where knowledge is shared through active cooperation (Marks, and Louis, 1999, p.743). The provision of choice has the effect of empowering the students towards a knowledge based learning process. Although the students do not decide on what and how they learn, as these falls primarily under a teacher’s docket, the limited role concerning classroom rules, table arrangements, Life cycle unit, as well as books collection creates a sense of belonging with a motivational effect. The rules not only inculcate a sense of responsibility in the students’ undertakings but also guides to them in monitoring their own behaviors. A classroom where students decide on the prevailing class rules reflects a self-inflicted authoritative approach to leaning as the teacher do not dictate rules to be followed in class. Under these circumstances, the students feel proud guarding the rules as opposed to a teacher’s dictatorial rules susceptible to stiff opposition from the students (Bransford, Brown, and Cocking, 1999, par 6). The effect of shifting the power of choice to the students empowers them by creating a feeling of involvement. The teaching approach adopted by Miss Ayyubi has a high chance of approval among the students. Apparently, their involvement in the creation of the rules translates into personal affiliation thereby encouraging greater understanding of the rules hence their following. The rules have effectively opened up space for greater freedom as students monitor one another. She has turned control and responsibility, outlined out her expectations, limited her powers in the decision-making in her class functioning and finally used her professionalism prowess to create only four rules successfully managing to get students’ attention (Miss Ayyubi Interview, 2006, p.12). Teacher attitude is one critical element towards an effective learning environment (Shulman, 1986, p.7). The interview reveals Miss Ayyubi’s attitude not only as a cunning character capable of achieving her goals indirectly through none coercive means but also as a smart person with deep psychological understanding. She is getting the students to exploit their full potential quietly by having them display completed tasks or units is clearly an extrinsic motivational tool that does expose them to competition for better results in a way. Her preference to the provision of choice, the subsequent meeting, and even surpassing expectations only points to the authoritative nature of the style she has adopted in her teaching career. Even Miss Ayyubi admits that the life cycle unit done by the class in the preceding term was indeed a “very, very successful unit” (Miss Ayyubi Interview, 2006, p.3). Miss Ayyubi’s believes that goals can be met however high they are by her students. She has very high expectations of them and constantly does challenges and motivates them. Her use of language usually introduced in year 2 to students in year 1 confirms what she wants for her students. She feels quite satisfied with some of students’ early understanding of the use of similes and metaphors and ability to apply examples of what they have learnt in her lessons. However much opposition she received from other staff members, she kept on and the results are marvelous and “Great.” Inspiringly, she acknowledges that 100% leaning was not possible and that those who missed certain language elements in the first year had a chance in Year 2. By stating that “they learn similes in year 1 – great, and if they don’t they will learn it in Year 2, it’s no big problem” clearly depicts her confidence in the method she uses (Miss Ayyubi Interview, 2006, pg 12). This exploratory teaching method exposes students to new materials, raises their curiosity, and inclines them to further research. Miss Ayyubi has very high expectations of her students in almost all aspects of learning in her class except one area-the use of computers, yet this is also a fundamental feature in modern learning. Only recently, the class received a desktop in the classroom yet the does not find it important to incorporate in her teaching style. This is a traditional approach to information technology as described by Ramsey G (Ramsey, 2000, p.7), allowing her students to type up their expositions afresh after they have written them manually. The foregoing facts seems to suggest correctly that Miss Ayyubi has very high opinion of computer efficacy in her teaching method, instead concentrating in a traditional approach in her pedagogy which in itself is a catalyst to compromising the creation of an ideal environment for leaning (Aldridge and Fraser, 1999, pg 120). The method employed by her, however successful, is soon faced out the world over. She should consider incorporating information technology to modernize her methods (Ehman, and Glenn, 1991, p.517). Her expectations of the students in other areas have created a classroom full of confidence, where students do not feel intimidated and compete to gather knowledge. Having a times table, which is a little bit advance for level one signals her experimentation strategy which open doors for further learning by the students. Generally, her high expectations of the students has aroused the students drive to learn, expecting more from themselves and achieving targets which in itself a motivational factor even to the teacher herself (Miss Ayyubi Interview, 2006, p.12). She reveals that one or two students are competent enough to read the times table, while those still not proficient are encouraged to ask questions and learn. Such a strategy is very effective as a teaching tool, and when used in conjunction with enthusiasm employed by Miss Ayyubi in her classroom set up, the effect to the students will be remarkable. The displays around the classroom, is another learning strategy capable of drawing the students closer to knowledge. Given that the displays were on the recently done units or other general information applicable throughout the year, the teacher better positioned the students to learn even after the completion of a unit. Seeing the previously done work displays motivates the students even more by encouraging them that they can also do the same. Miss Ayyubi did utilize table points as another unique motivational and classroom management, which again corroborates her dependence on extrinsic motivation in her teaching strategies. She informs us that the use of sticker charts left some students out of the learning processes, and the decision to bring in table points were to mainly to fill in the gaps provided by sticker charts (Miss Ayyubi Interview, 2006, p.1). Using timetables links performance to goals in relation to the students class work. Indeed, some students are motivated using table points and so engage in the learning process than previously the case. By using cooperative learning experiences, discussions in class and the power of democratic engagement between the teacher and the students, Miss Ayyubi is employing a mastery-goal learning approach, which is ideal for students (Whitton et al., 2004, p.21). Just to expound, a mastery goal refers to a situation where students attribute their successes to efforts. The purpose for learning is to attain knowledge, and development of skills applicable in real situations. From the scrutiny of class, One Purple functions and the interview with Miss Ayyubi, good teaching strategies requires positive attitudes, foresight coupled with commitments to create an effective learning environment. Getting the students signature in class management may be the most challenging issue in opening up doors to greater success. Miss Ayyubi has created a learning environment of achievers through motivation, enthusiasm and raised expectations, thereby allowing students to feel at home, as she dispenses knowledge. References Aldridge, J., & Fraser, B. (2000). A Cross-cultural study of classroom learning environments in Australia and Taiwan. Learning Environments Research 3, 101- 134. Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (1999). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning with additional material from the Committee on Learning Research and Educational Practice, National Research Council. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Retrieved from http://www.nap.edu/html/howpeople1/ Clark, C. M. & Yinger, R. J. (1977). Research on teacher thinking. Curriculum Inquiry, 7(4), 279- 304. Dexter, S., Anderson, R. E., & Ronnkvist, A. (2002). Quality technology support: What is it? Who has it? and What difference does it make? Journal of Educational Computing Research, 26 (3), 287-307. Ehman, L. E., & Glenn, A. D. (1991). Interactive technology in social studies. In J.P. Shaver (ed.) Handbook of research on social studies teaching and learning. New York: Macmillan. pp. 513 – 522. Marks, H. M., & Louis, K. S. (1999). Teacher empowerment and the capacity for organizational learning. Educational Administration Quarterly, 5, 707-750. Miss Ayyubi Interview, 2006, Al Manara College, Multimedia CD. Ramsey, G., (2000). Quality Matters. New South Wales Department of Education and Training. Shulman, L. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher, 15, 4-15. Whitton, D., Sinclair, C., Barker, K., Nanlohy, P., & Nosworth, M., (2004). Learning for Teaching: Teaching for learning, Thomson Social Science Press, VIC. Read More