IPTL Ice Task 2
Van Rheede Eric
ST10469040
Module Code: 6111
1. Identify three key skills
needed to become an effective teacher and
explain how each skill contributes to
quality teaching.
1) Communication Skills
Effective communication of lessons is vital to student engagement.
Teachers must convey concepts in a way that students easily comprehend
and are inclined to participate actively.
2) Classroom Management
Secure classroom management guarantees a stimulating learning
atmosphere by reducing interruptions and sustaining order. This enables
pupils to concentrate on their studies, while mentors can efficiently put
their tactics into play.
3) Adaptability and Problem-Solving
Educators frequently face various learning preferences, hurdles, and
unanticipated concerns. Adapting lessons, modifying teaching methods,
and tending to the myriad of student needs is absolutely essential. The
nimbleness guarantees that every student no matter the obstacle of
distance, time or circumstance
2. Describe two
characteristics of quality learning and
provide an example of how a teacher can
foster each characteristic in the classroom
1. Active Engagement: Quality learning requires students to actively participate in their
learning process rather than being passive recipients of information. This means
students are encouraged to think critically, ask questions, collaborate, and apply their
knowledge to real-world scenarios.
• A teacher can stimulate active engagement by utilizing the following: 1. Hammers. 2.
Hands-on activities. 3. Group discussions. 4. Problem-solving tasks. For example, a
science teacher might have students carry out an experiment and note their
observations with the aid of a hammer.
2. Personalized Learning: Quality learning also involves tailoring the learning
experience to meet the diverse needs, interests, and abilities of each student. This
ensures that all students can engage with the content at a level appropriate for them,
increasing motivation and success.
• Instance: A mentor can encourage personalized learning by promoting projects
and readings that match his or her students' interests and levels. For instance, in
a reading seminar, a mentor might ask students to read selections from texts that
differ not only in form and genre but also in difficulty, providing a much greater
range of text from which to preselect, alas, too few selection opportunities, for the
first assignment of the seminar. And that is not even including the possibilities of
solo or group projects, of which seminar participants are notified in ample time to
collect their thoughts and to clear their busy schedules.
3. Differentiate between cognitive and social
constructivism in teaching and learning.
Provide an example of how each approach
can be applied in an Intermediate Phase
classroom
Cognitive Constructivism
• Definition: Cognitive constructivism, which derives mainly from the work of Jean
Piaget, centers on how learners come to know; in contrast, with behaviorism, which tells
us what learners should do, and with information processing theory, which describes
how learners manipulate symbols and codes.
Cognitive constructivism directs our attentions to the nature of the knowledge being
constructed. Piaget's and Vygotsky's work helps us understand that knowledge is not
simply absorbed by a learner; it is constructed inside the learner's head and, as
Vygotsky pointed out, often in a social context.
• Important Characteristics:
• Each person learns in their own way.
• Learning is not a competitive process.
• Learning happens most effectively when it is self-paced.
• Learning happens best when it occurs in a comfortable physical and psychological
environment.
• Learning happens best when a learner feels secure and safe.
• Focus on developing thinking skills and brainpower.
• Special emphasis on problem-solving and creative solutions.
• Knowledge is constructed by learners who interpret and reinterpret experiences. •
Learners must be given opportunities to engage with and explore ideas and materials.
• Knowledge is built by learners through conversation, and by using oral and written
language.
• Stages of cognitive development are progressed through by learners.
Instance in a Middle Phase Class: Example: Perform a short improv with four to six
characters of your choice. What is the Situation? What is the Space? What is the Time?
Do you have an Action? And what is your Relationship to the other characters?
In a math class dealing with fractions, the teacher would ask the students to solve
problems that had to do with fractions, using not just paper and pencil but also
manipulatives (like fraction strips) and visual representations.The teacher’s requests are
pretty typical in a constructivist mathematics classroom.
Social Constructivism
• Definition: Social constructivism highlights the importance of social interactions,
cultural contexts, and collaborative learning in knowledge construction. Per this theory,
understandings are gained by learners through their interactions with others—
particularly, through dialogue and collaborative activities.
Main Elements:
• A social process, learning is.
• Focus on working together, with colleagues and others, and using language.
• Emphasis on collaboration with others and on using language.
• Collaboration around language.
• Use language together and with others.
• Co-constructing knowledge takes place by means of social interaction and cultural
tools (e.g., language) when humans are in the presence of each other.
• Co-enacting knowledge is our first step toward a better life in society, and it is a
necessary step. Without this step, there is no path toward community knowledge.
• In this part of the learning process, the learner and a more knowledgeable other (e.g.,
peer, teacher) work together to achieve a shared understanding. The learner might then
move to a situation where they have more independent work to do.
• An example in an intermediate phase classroom:
In an ecosystems lesson, the science teacher may group students and ask them to
create a food chain using pictures and models. As they work, the teacher moves among
the groups, offering help and asking questions to stimulate their thinking. The students
share their ideas, question each other, and argue different points of view as they work
together to figure out just what is going on with all those organisms that make up an
ecosystem. By the end of the lesson, not only have the students learned some of the
key content, but also they have rehearsed for the big performance back in the real world
of articulating their understandings and responding to others.
4. Apply a constructivist approach to a short
learning activity for teaching a concept of
your choice. Explain how it supports
effective learning
Learning Activity: Understanding Photosynthesis through Concept Mapping
The concept of photosynthesis is a vast one that encompasses several components
within it. At its most basic, photosynthesis is the process wherein light energy is
transformed into chemical energy and, in particular, into carbohydrates. This process is
so fundamental and so widespread that it is safe to say that most of the light energy that
reaches the Earth is either used directly by plants or is converted and stored by them in
the form of chemical energy, which then may be burned Six ingredients are required for
photosynthesis: 1. Light energy. 2. Chlorophyll, the green pigment in plants (or a
suitable substitute). 3. Carbon dioxide, which makes up about 0.038% of the
atmosphere (and which is also dissolved in water). 4. Water, which is taken up by plants
in large amounts. 5. An appropriate temperature (such as occurs within most of the
biosphere). 6. A suitable time (during the day; the process does not occur at night in
most forms).
Aim: Pupils will comprehend the methods by which light energy is transformed into
chemical energy in plants.
1. Constructivist Approach Breakdown
Constructivism stresses the importance of active learning. It is when students
emphasize prior knowledge and, through experience, reflection, and interaction with
others, go about constructing a new understanding. For this activity, students will
engage with the concept of photosynthesis and create a concept map for it.
2. Activity Design
• Step 1: Activating Prior Knowledge
• Start by inquiring into the students' prior knowledge about plants and their
growth. This might involve asking them questions such as, "How do you suppose
plants obtain their nourishment?" and "What are the essentials for a plant's
survival?"
• This aids in activating preknowledge, which is crucial in constructivism,
empowering learners to join new pieces of information with what they
comprehensively understand.
• Step 2: Concept Mapping
• Give students a term list connected to photosynthesis (e.g., light, chloroplasts,
chlorophyll, carbon dioxide, water, glucose, oxygen).
• Request that they produce a concept map demonstrating their understanding of
the interrelations of these terms and the workings of photosynthesis.
• Students will link and explain the connections between terms (e.g., "chlorophyll
takes in light," "water divides to set free oxygen").
• Step 3: Collective Introspection and Instruction from Colleagues
• Once students finish their personal concept maps, they will collaborate in small
groups to evaluate their maps and converse about the logic they used to make
the connections within their maps.
• Students will group themselves to take on the teacher's role to alternate with
the teacher in the direct imparting of instruction. They will move between pairs
and groups to take on different teaching and learning roles as needed in order to
help them understand and clarify the material.
• Step 4: Teacher-Led Conversation
• The teacher will then conduct a class-wide discussion where the different
groups' concept maps are shared and refined. The teacher will ensure that the
students include all the key scientific concepts (like the chemical equation for
photosynthesis) in their maps.
• This step addresses misconceptions and helps ensure students grasp important
concepts. It allows students to still discover the answers on their own but nudges
them in the right direction.
• Step 5: Concluding Thoughts
•To end the activity, students will modify their initial concept maps to incorporate
any fresh understandings they have acquired from the group discussions and the
instructor-led session. This promotes thinking about the not-so-distant past and
how their brains have restructured what they know.
3. Support for Effective Learning
• Active Engagement: Students are constructing their understanding of photosynthesis
by linking concepts together. This hands-on approach is helping them deepen their
learning in this area.
• Social Talk: Having students engage in talk with one another in a group context allows
them to not only reach a more advanced understanding of the content but also very
often allows them to achieve a more advanced understanding of the sociocultural
dynamics of their group.
• Scaffolding: The activity is conducted with a distinctly controlled dynamic between
teacher and student. Teacher guidance throughout the activity is provisionally
diminished as student independence increases; by the end of the activity, teachers are
mostly silent while students a
• Reflection: Students engage in reflective thinking when they revise their concept maps
at the end of the activity. This self-regulation supports not just deep learning but also
better applications of the concept of photosynthesis in varied situations.
Conclusion
Using a constructivist approach in this activity allows the students not just to learn the
concept of photosynthesis but also to actively contrive, refine, and apply their
understanding of the topic. This creates a situation in which deeper learning is forced,
and it also fosters the emergence of critical thinkers who, in turn, are able to transfer the
knowledge they've gained to new settings.
