Week+5

**__ Week Five: __ Models of Teaching and Learning March 30, 2009** Amber is purple Luke is **__BLUE__** Nicole is PINK Mathew is GREEN 

This week we were talking about Models of teaching and what is relevant in the 21st Century. The kinds of models discussed were:

-Social Model (negotiation) -Metacognition (learning how to learn) -Use of Technology - global peers -The 5 E's - Engage, explore, explain, elaborate, evaluate -Creating Alliances -Child Centre learning -Integrated Curriculum-Inquirty Based Learning

When I discussed with my partner (who just happened to be Mathew) we spoke about the fact that people have been using these for years, they just haven't been given names. And that as teachers, we would use a variety of these models all the time. Mathew also brought up a good point; that he feels, and I agree (and correct me if I'm telling this wrong Mat!) that we demonise the past saying that teachers taught in bad ways etc. but we turned out alright! It's from these past teachings that we have learnt and come to where we are today, and we are still progressing. Who knows what they'll be saying about us in uni's 50 years from now! Amber  Luke and I looked at the social based model during the tutorial. If students are teaching each other in the classroom this would create an inclusive environment and aid in the development of social skills of the student. Relationships are important to develop now and in the future for students. This model also means the teacher is learning with the students; learning is an inclusive process between the students and the teachere therefore creating a relationship. It also means there is ownership of learning by the students again further developing their own personal attributes and they consolidate the information better because it is up to them.

The models of teaching can be adapted to teach in various ways, in various situations. I think it is important to experiement and find what works best for us and our students to make the learning experience valuable. Nicole

You are completely right Nicole. We do not know what teaching style will suit us let alone our classroom. I do like the idea of the social model of teaching. I like how not only are we building the knowledge of students, we are building social relationships and social skills in the process. I think it is very important to have great communication not only between teacher to student, but student to student. School days are not only meant for your book learning but also developing social skills and forming friendships. Using the social model does this.

Right Amber, I do feel that there is a bit of a demonisation of 'our past' in terms of teaching styles and the curriculum that were taught. My attitude is that 'we stand upon the shoulders of giants' - what I mean by this is that however far we have come in the field of teaching and education, it is only a result of all of the work, experiences and experiments conducted by those within the field that came before us. We own our progress to them. Also, I do feel that many of the things that are being advocated today are things that teachers have been doing for a long time, albeit, under different names (or perhaps without even giving it a name!).

However, all that aside, there is value in keeping up to date with discussions in teaching and learning models. As a teacher, learning about learning and teaching should be something that we are constantly engaged in. We should always be seeking to be the best teachers (and learners! possible).

Below is a link to a site entitled: Enhancing Education. It looks at a number of the ideas that were presented in the lecutre/tutorials today. I am particularly interested in the five E's as a tool for developing thinking in the classroom as well as offering an effective tool for planning. Check it out - some very good ideas... [] Another link, this time to the 'Primary Connections' site. 'Primary Connections' links the teaching of science with literacy with the aim to empower teachers and help them to become more confident teachers of science. The site has number of units planned for the primary curriculum and they are based off the 5 Es approach. The site offers guidance for using the 5 Es for planning and also contains an empty 5 E based planning tool. [] Mathew

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