Dttls Assignment Essay

Unit 4 Theories and principles for planning and enabling larn In modern day instruct, the onus is shifting boost and further give a guidance from appriseer dictated methods of educational legal transfer, to methods that ensure the prentice is placed at the heart of doctrine, and every(prenominal) individual inside the classroom is considered and catered for. Advances in engineering science available to teachers has contri excepted to a broadening of teaching styles, save this has mainly answer nigh by means of the requisite to diametriciate teaching more than(prenominal) in effect and break d ingest the barriers that exist between teacher and student.Engaging every learner is a difficult line and requires the teacher to gather in a plethora of sack outledge of teaching methods and theories. Learners whitethorn differ in harm of age, gender, ability level, communication skills, confidence, acquire styles and many other factors. The job of the teacher is to en sure these factors do not hinder individual accomplishment and that supremacy and achievement within the group is widespread and at a spicy level. Planning and implementing acquirement is paramount to this process.To effectively plan and give birth to assorted and varied groups of students, teachers can draw upon a number of teaching theories and principles edit forward by educational academics. Theories of teaching and demeanor atomic number 18 themselves, in general, varied and versatile in the way they approach the dissemination of learning and the bringing some(a) of in demand(p) responses. Similarly, different theories of communication give up been endue forward that document methods through which we as teachers can effectively discuss with our students.All of these theories can provide a vital insight or tool for teachers to improve their practice and at last promote inclusive learning for either(prenominal) students. Many examples of different teaching theor ies are bare crosswise academic literature. Examples of these include definitive and operative learn, Kolbs learning cycle, Gagnes 9 events of instruction, Maslows hierarchy of Needs and Knowles Pedagogical and Andragogical approaches. An example of a communication surmise is Bernes (1970) transactional analysis. It is concerned with ensuring that control and take ining turn overs through ommunication between groups or individuals. Berne believes that transactional analysis represents a scheme of neighborly intercourse and put ond it to help people take care and improve their deportment towards others (Huddleston & Unwin, 1997, p115). This theory also suggests that communicating effectively will directly dissemble on success, motivation work rate and behaviour through increase understanding of the temper and demands of a task or the content of the inwardness itself that is being communicated. If we also also consider the effectiveness of communication in the classro om and relating theoretical concepts, i. e. ehaviourist and humanistic theories, these have some distinct deviations which venture greatly the approaches and techniques buy outed by teachers. Behaviourist theories suggest all(a) behaviour is learned or that these theories bring about a recognisable tilt in behaviour (Armitage, 2003). Examples of Behavioural theorists include Pavlov (Classical conditioning), Thorndike (Operant conditioning), muleteer and in term of early behaviouristic studies, Watson. These theorists along with others have over the past coulomb geezerhood put forward a number of different behaviourist theories that are concerned with changing or conditioning behaviour.Classical conditioning was pi starered by Pavlov who looked at learning by association. His famous content confused the use of dogs as a ordinary to relieve associative learning. Pavlov rang a bell every duration a dog was to receive food, the battlefront of food elicited a saliva respo nse from the dog, which over time it associated with the expectant of the bell. After a period of time, the stimulus of food was no longer produced, but the dog continued to salivate at the sound of a bell, as it now associated this behaviour with the onset of a meal.Classical conditioning essentially elicits a reflex and an association is formed (Artmitage, 2003 www. learning-theories. com). Operant conditioning is a theory put forward by Thorndike. This theory waits for a want behaviour to occur and then rewards it. It builds somewhat on the work do by Watson regarding trial and error learning. Perhaps the around prominent or influential behaviourist work is that done by Skinner. Skinner adopted an operant approach to behaviourism and famously conducted examine using rats in specially designed boxes.Skinners ideas revolved around the presence of a reinforcer to cause a desired behaviour to be repeated. This could be in the form of a ancient reinforcer (a basic extremity lik e food) or a subsidiary reinforcer ( much(prenominal) as money or praise). In the case of his rats, Skinner effectively trained them to pull genuine levers to release food. Initially, the release was unintended but after a while, the rats learned to associate the arrival of food with the pressing of a lever. Skinners work revolved heavily around the need for reinforcement, reward, penalty and feedback.The scheduling and delivery of these things was also important to Skinner who suggested the quantify of something like a reward was paramount to its success at brining about long term transposes in behaviour. Similarly, he suggested giving punishment should occur immediately after the event in question and in a consistent manner. Also, it was skinner who introduced the concept of successive approximations small steps towards a desired behaviour (Artmitage, 2003 www. learning-theories. com). Humanistic theories of learning are much more concerned with the individual themselves th an the behaviour.Maslow identified a Hierarchy of Needs which he believed outlined the basic requirements of all individuals Figure 1 Maslows Hierarchy of Needs (www. talkingtails. files. wordpress. com) Both humanistic and behaviourist theories have a coarse application in the delivery of teaching and learning. In the curriculum bailiwick of Public serve, evidence of the use of both theories is ap elevate across different subject areas. Operant conditioning is embedded widely across mankind service lessons. This occurs on many occasions where praise is used within a fitness session to reinforce good performance.Primary reinforcers are also often used, for example, excellence certificates sometimes act as a tangible reward for students who perform well in strenuous task such as fitness testing. When coaching exercise techniques in the gym, mere conditioning is used to unfold the desired response of good form. For example, when learning to perform a squat, the learner must ben d their knees to a 90 degree angle. This is taught by putting a bench under the learner so that when they feel their posterior touch the surface of the bench they make out to begin the upward phase of the lift.At the point of touch, they will be encouraged to reverse the process. Over time, the bench is removed from the lift but the learner still remembers the motion. Punishment is often used to discourage certain behaviour. For example, at South Devon College if a student is rude in a lesson they are given a set amount of press ups to do. Whilst punishment is deemed less effective than a positive reinforcement strategy, the section have a consistent and department wide policy towards distributing press ups which contributes to do this a more effective way to manipulate behaviour.Humanistic approaches such as Maslows Hierarchy of Needs are also evident within the curriculum, looking at development individuals through agendas such as Every Child Matters and through the departmenta l tutorial process. The teamwork and overall nature of the course is also a particularly effective medium for learners to forward motion through the top two stages (esteem and self actualisation) of the hierarchy. Inclusive practice is something that all teachers are ultimately striving for. Within the curriculum, inclusive practice is intricate by the both theoretical and practical element of the subject area.A teacher must look to facilitate learning for those who are academically able, practically gifted and also attempt to integrate the study of theory and practical to enhance learning as a whole. Computer ground learning, for example, is common place on all courses, and although often difficult to facilitate in all subjects, such as outdoor activities, the needs of the learner and future employer is paramount. The Uniformed Public Services today use computer systems, including email, online study, and specific service systems such as Wotan, on a unfluctuating basis and so it is vital that learners are prepared for this.This also helps out those learners who may struggle with putting pen to paper. Much of what the Public Services do is very practical and so as much as possible I try to embed a practical way of delivering the course specification. For example, team building activities using equipment outdoors. This enables some learners to shine as they are more practically minded. However, an indoor table top scenario does the identical job, but gives learners with different learning styles chance to shine. Linking theory to practice is link up to another teaching theory put forward by Kolb (1984). Kolbs Learning TheoryKolbs theory is based on the assumption that people learn best by doing things then thinking about how they have done them, considering both the thoughts, feelings and perceptions which emerged during the experience (Harkin et al. 200, p42). This makes the process of learning more efficient, relevant and enjoyable. It also promotes i nclusive practice with all three learning styles (Visual, Auditory and Kinaesthetic) being catered for effectively. The nature of our learners has a significant influence on the techniques and theories we implement in the preparation and delivery of lessons.In my ingest teaching practice, I have exposure to both adult and child groups. This difference in age groups has a big impact in how I teach and communicate with these groups. This is linked to Knowles (1970) theory of Pedagogy and Andragogy. These two states affect to the differences associated with teaching these varying groups. Effective communication is required throughout all levels of teaching. Transactional analysis is strongly linked to communicating and giving feedback and reflects the way we use our voice (in harm of tone, pitch, volume and content) to relay information to our students.The way this is done will affect whether a student understands a task and understands the nature and direction of the feedback. With in pastoral support mechanisms, teachers often undertake one on one tutorial discussions with students. Depending on the situation and the learner, the teacher may adopt one of the 3 self-importance states (Parent, Adult, and Child) in order to around effectively converse with the student. The ego state may also change over the course of the tutorial process as the teacher gets to know the learner more.Within the classroom, communicating with learners in the form of feedback allow them to understand if they are being successful or not achieving and what they can do to improve. As teachers, it is essential we have the ability to adopt the correct ego status for the situation but also to consciously manipulate the fundamental interaction of ego states between teacher and learner. Doing this involves manipulating our own tone of voice and delivery of information and also encouraging certain behaviours and attitudes amongst our students to allow them to best understand what is being s aid to them.In Public Services, when feeding back to a student on their performance in a practical session, a teacher may look to switch between the adult and parent ego states to best deliver positive and negative comments to a learner. currently I teach a subject that is well within my sympathizer zone, particularly as a serving member of Her Majestys Forces, where I can relate much of my teaching to my current role. However, I am acutely aware of the need to teach and develop my own core skills in literacy, numeracy, spoken language and ICT.To progress in a life history in the Public services, it is vital that these core skills are maximised. As mentioned previously, the ICT is developing in all sentiments of our lives and as a teacher, I feel this is an aspect where I maximise my potential. My own literacy and language is adequate for the subject number that I teach, but would be limited I believe if I were to teach another core subject. My use of voice and body language o vercomes many of my shortfalls when addressing learners but may not be appropriate in other subjects.Numeracy is my weakest area and as such my teaching reflects this. As a teaching group we play to our individual strengths and so the subjects that I teach have limited numeracy base. However, this is an area that I am conscious of and it does need to be addressed. As a teacher, I teach across a range of courses from Level 1 to Level 5 and with groups ranging from 15 years old to adult learners. This necessitates that I employ a range of teaching strategies and adopt a range of learning theories to best accommodate for all my students.I feel one of my particular strengths is my adaptability to work effectively with these diverse groups and adopt different ego states through which to control these groups and facilitate their learning. milling machinery consciously, I feel for a long time I have been utilising many of the learning theories discussed in this assignment, however through recent further study I now feel much more surefooted and able to take what I perceive to be the most advantageous parts of these learning theories and implement them in my classroom.I believe a further strength of mine is to bring about certain behaviours or encourage those that are most appropriate within the classroom. Using operant conditioning ideology, I am quick to recognise and praise desired behaviour but am careful how and how often I deliver this reinforcement. Although I understand the limitations of punishment, I believe it has a place in the classroom and feel I am fairly competent at being consistent and fair with punishments/press ups. Feedback from learners is clearly an essential medium to assess one own teaching.With my adult learners I widely adopt a andragogical approach, allowing them a lot of emancipation to learn in their own way. This is effective but often leads to a lack of feedback from learners in terms of how they are progressing and learning. I feel I could improve by embedding some more formative assessment methods into my andragogical style of teaching to allow for freedom within learning, but also actually more feedback for me from learners. This will ultimately help me see how they are doing, and also how I am doing in terms of teaching.For future development, I believe it is essential for me to continue to develop my use of Kolbs ideas integrating theory into practice. This is something I believe to be essential, especially given the more practical/kinaesthetic orientation of the learners who study upon the course on which I teach. I also feel that I could benefit from more in depth investigation into the Skinners schedule of reinforcement linked to operant conditioning. I feel I am good at giving constructive praise but could improve by really analysing how I give feedback, especially in terms of frequency.