Teaching Approach and Pedagogy
Introducing students to the concept of ‘capacity’, as the lesson objective demonstrates alignment with the Australian Curriculum Achievement Standards for Year 1.
Active and Inquiry Based approach has been demonstrated through the instructions. For example, asking students to give thumbs up and thumbs down to show which object can hold something.
This pedagogical approach is appropriate for the Year 1 students learning math because it allows them to involve actively in the learning rather than just listening and observing the teacher.
Asking students to compare containers such as glass, showing them p/p slide images of capacity and asking questions about the size variations bring out the literacy and numeracy abilities of the students.
Coherency between the lesson plans is demonstrated in the lesson objective where students are expected to demonstrate knowledge of capacity by comparing containers.
The fourth instruction in this lesson plan demonstrates the pedagogical practice of creating the conditions for group work and planning activities that have clear learning goals
The underlying perspective here is to encourage peer-to-peer interaction and collaboration to let students value and respect each other’s work
The numeracy learning abilities of the students are explored by making them measure spoon/cup of sand and their literacy learning needs are addressed by asking the students to record their measurements in the sheet of paper
Use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is demonstrated in the lesson plan where students are shown video clips demonstrating capacity. ICT tools help improve traditional pedagogical approaches and incorporate a ‘learner-centric’ learning environment.
The lesson plans aligns with the Australian Curriculum Year 1 content descriptions for Measurement and Geometry where students’ ability to measure and compare the capacities are explored.
The lesson plan incorporates peer-to-peer collaboration and instructional learning which is evident from the assessment or differentiated learning considerations.
The literacy and numeracy learning needs of the students are met in the lesson plan by asking them to keep count of the number of cubes needed to fill a container with unifix cubes.
Throughout the first lesson plan, I have made use of real life objects like different containers and vessels to let them understand the concept of capacity. The active and inquiry based learning requires students to engage in learning process by actively participating and not just listening. I would have explained clearly the instructions in clearly demarcating the ‘capacity’ from other terms.
The second lesson plan that I have developed incorporates the assessment and feedback approach of teaching where I will be observing the students when they carry out the activities. However, I would have changed the approach of treating a misbehaving child in the classroom and incorporate another approach which values the contribution of each student equally. As Gregory et al, (2016) points out, teachers must understand and value each aspect of the student and then take an action. Misbehaving students must be treated equally, which would make them feel that they too have an important contribution in the class. In addition, I would have added the instruction to ask the students about the concept of ‘space’ or ‘volume’, which is a necessary element in capacity.
Alignment with Australian Curriculum and Early Years Learning Framework
While preparing the third lesson, I have followed Bloom’s Taxonomy o f higher thinking where I have incorporated a section where the students are required to revisit the reasoning behind the different activities undertaken in the previous lesson. According to Bloom’s Taxonomy, students are allowed to remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate and create new knowledge learned in each activity.
I have prepared the lesson plans as per the needs of the students studying in Grade 1, keeping in mind their cognitive and physical capability. However, I have also aligned the lesson plans with the Early Years Learning Framework (ELYF) Learning Outcomes 4 and 5. The Learning Outcome 4 states, “Children are confident and involved learners”, while the Learning Outcome 5 states, “Children are effective communicators (Education.gov.au, 2018). As it can be seen, the lesson plans I have developed allow the children to solve complex problems, research, investigate, and communicate effectively with their teachers and peers. In addition, I must have included learning plans that would have ensured a safe learning environment for students coming from diverse backgrounds.
The lesson plans that I have chosen for reviewing are based on the mathematical learning for students of Grade 1. All the three lesson plans are sequenced according to the needs and capacity of the students these lesson plans mainly focus on measurement part of mathematics where students are taught the concept of ‘capacity’. In the entire three lessons planning, I have tried to incorporate the numerous learning and teaching approaches. Some of these include assessment and feedback, facilitating group or tea-based learning and active and inquiry based learning. I have used these approaches because I believe that teaching mathematics at Grade 1 level should not be confined only to academic teaching; it must include active and interactive learning.
In the world of teaching, many scholars and professors have made immense contribution and I feel fortunate that I had the opportunity to read their works. While preparing the lesson plans, I have taken care of the fact that teaching mathematics to the students of Grade 1 should involve interaction and technology collaboration. O’Flaherty and Phillips (2015) have found in their study on students with limited cognitive ability that the interactive teaching practice yields the best results. Students in a Grad 1 classroom must be given different tasks that expose their skills. Tasks such as the ones mentioned in the lesson plans I have prepared, give them the opportunity to learn and grow while having fun. Powers et al. (2016) have further found that teachers, who review the works of their colleagues in terms of preparing lesson plans, help them pin point the effective strategies for the math classroom. I too have analyzed the works of my colleagues prior to making the lesson plans that have helped me cover the most important parts of the subject. Nonetheless, I must say that the reviewing I had done was limited and hence certain loopholes have been found. In case of the learning and teaching approaches, Ottmar et al. (2015) have found Responsive Classroom Approach as an effective way to teach mathematics to Grade 1 students. According to the author, teachers who use this approach of teaching have yielded better results and student improvements. Pedaste et al. (2015) however are of the view that active learning improves students’ performance not only in mathematics but also in other related subjects such as science. On the other hand, Freeman et al. (2014) talk about the importance of feedback as an essential element for improving students’ performance especially in mathematics. The authors view that continuous feedback from the teachers at every stage of the lesson would allow the students to rectify their mistakes at the instance. Therefore, the approach that I have employed for the students to teach mathematics has the efficiency to produce better results.
The comments or annotations that I have given to my lesson plans reveal that certain aspects of mathematical pedagogy for Grade 1 students should have been included. The review of literature has given me the opportunity to learn in depth about the effective pedagogical strategies in math classroom, which I shall implement in the future if given another opportunity. I shall end with the satisfaction that I have been able to produce quality works with minimum flaws and have encompassed almost all the elements of the Australian Curriculum.
References:
Education.gov.au. (2018). Early Years Learning Framework | Department of Education and Training. Retrieved from https://www.education.gov.au/early-years-learning-framework-0
Freeman, S., Eddy, S. L., McDonough, M., Smith, M. K., Okoroafor, N., Jordt, H., & Wenderoth, M. P. (2014). Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(23), 8410-8415.
Gregory, A., Clawson, K., Davis, A., & Gerewitz, J. (2016). The promise of restorative practices to transform teacher-student relationships and achieve equity in school discipline. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 26(4), 325-353.
O’Flaherty, J., & Phillips, C. (2015). The use of flipped classrooms in higher education: A scoping review. The internet and higher education, 25, 85-95.
Ottmar, E. R., Rimm-Kaufman, S. E., Larsen, R. A., & Berry, R. Q. (2015). Mathematical knowledge for teaching, standards-based mathematics teaching practices, and student achievement in the context of the responsive classroom approach. American Educational Research Journal, 52(4), 787-821.
Pedaste, M., Mäeots, M., Siiman, L. A., De Jong, T., Van Riesen, S. A., Kamp, E. T., … & Tsourlidaki, E. (2015). Phases of inquiry-based learning: Definitions and the inquiry cycle. Educational research review, 14, 47-61.
Powers, S., Kaniuka, T., Phillips, B., & Cain, B. (2016). The impact of teacher-lead professional development programs on the self-efficacy of veteran teachers. Journal of Research Initiatives, 2(1), 16.
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