Tuesday, 5 March 2013

Science deals with student learning idiosyncrasies


The simulation program ensured that all the learners were completely involved in the lesson. They could work at their own pace and go back to parts that they were not sure of. The learning preferences of students were also illustrated as you could see who preferred to learn auditory or visually.
What have we learned?
Important to cater for different learning styles and also to allow learners to work at their own pace and to go back to parts that they did not get the first time. How often should we check for understanding ? What do we do if they do not understand? Do you go back and re-teach? Learner self – assessment is not always reliable as a CFU.

Special teaching strategies need to be implemented for learners who are very teacher-dependent in their learning or who need to continuously confirm their knowledge verbally to the teacher. Possible strategies include: allowing them a limited number of questions per period, giving them a checklist to go through before they ask a question or let them write down the questions and then answer it after the lesson. Loretta Giorcelli suggests teachers create a routine, reinforced by a visual prompt (classroom poster) that reminds the students to "1-2-3 before you ask me...":  
1 – Ask a friend
2 – Look around you (your book, the room, the board)
3 – Think about it... only then ask the teacher.


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