Critical Discussion Papers 6088 - Dissertation Example

Second, this type of learning approach is also modifiable, as it can be augmented by both sophisticated (photonic wands) and simple (drawings and pictures) communicative supports, allowing a differentiated learning experience based on the initial individual abilities of the students. In addition, this approach is apt for heterogeneous classes, which is usually the case, because they provide high quantity and quality communicative interactions. In the study of Arthur-Kelly et al. (2008) observing classes with disabled students, spontaneous interactive communication in heterogeneous classes occurred 17% of the time, as opposed to 4% in special classes composed of disabled students only.

It was likewise observed that communication among disabled students and peers without disability is the best social forum for simple communication tasks such as turn-taking, greeting and requesting. However, as Arthur-Kelly et al. (2010) as well as Maheady and Gard (2010) suggested, the downside of cooperative learning and peer tutoring is that it relies heavily on the response of the students on the interactive set-up of learning. In teaching disabled students, for example, the partner without disabilities should be sensitive to the needs of their more-challenged counterpart.

The understanding and acceptance of what is given communicatively is central to the effectiveness of the teaching approach. Thus, cooperative learning and peer tutoring, as they are currently used, are impossible to standardize. Students may thus receive different levels of information, depending on how much they can process. In the future, studies may look into means of standardizing the information received by all the students. One way this can be done is alternating between big class discussions and small group or paired discussions so that the information shared in between partners are also shared to the whole class.

Developing teacher intuition, reflection and responsiveness may be one of the ways by which standardization can be achieved. In addition, The extensive use of augmentative and alternative communication resources may also be looked into for the improvement of the quantity of knowledge and skills built up through this learning approach. Title: The Impractical Research-Based Teaching Practices There are reasons already recognized why implementation of research practices in real-life setting cannot be done over long periods of time (Mastropieri and Scroogs, 1998).

One of the most common causes pointed at is that the methods used by research studies do not reflect the true classroom setting. In addition, researchers use curriculum-based measurements to draw their conclusions regarding the effectiveness of their approach, when in fact teachers observe attitudinal and behavioral changes in students to assess the effectiveness of their teaching method. Previous studies have also suggested that teacher individualism is compromised by these research-based practices.

As such, teachers are reluctant in adapting them for effective teaching. In addition, researchers do not properly train the teachers of the methods they deem beneficial for teaching. They also fail to communicate with the teachers in developing novel teaching approaches. Thus, problems such as the narrow or overly broad scope of some of the most common research-based teaching approache