Process
Process
[edit]Curriculum
Main articles: Curriculum and List of academic disciplines
An academic discipline is a branch of knowledge which is formally taught, either at the university, or via some other such method. Each discipline usually has several sub-disciplines or branches, and distinguishing lines are often both arbitrary and ambiguous. Examples of broad areas of academic disciplines include the natural sciences, mathematics, computer science, social sciences, humanities and applied sciences.[6]
[edit]Learning modalities
There has been work on learning styles over the last two decades. Dunn and Dunn[7] focused on identifying relevant stimuli that may influence learning and manipulating the school environment, at about the same time as Joseph Renzulli[8] recommended varying teaching strategies. Howard Gardner[9] identified individual talents or aptitudes in his Multiple Intelligences theories. Based on the works of Jung, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Keirsey Temperament Sorter[10] focused on understanding how people's personality affects the way they interact personally, and how this affects the way individuals respond to each other within the learning environment. The work of David Kolb and Anthony Gregorc's Type Delineator[11] follows a similar but more simplified approach.
It is currently fashionable to divide education into different learning "modes". The learning modalities[12] are probably the most common:[13]
Visual: learning based on observation and seeing what is being learned.
Auditory: learning based on listening to instructions/information.
Kinesthetic: learning based on hands-on work and engaging in activities.
It is claimed that, depending on their preferred learning modality, different teaching techniques have different levels of effectiveness.[14] A consequence of this theory is that effective teaching should present a variety of teaching methods which cover all three learning modalities so that different students have equal opportunities to learn in a way that is effective for them.[15] Guy Claxton has questioned the extent that learning styles such as VAK are helpful, particularly as they can have a tendency to label children and therefore restrict learning.[16]
[edit]Teaching
Teachers need to understand a subject enough to convey its essence to students. While traditionally this has involved lecturing on the part of the teacher, new instructional strategies such as team-based learning put the teacher more into the role of course designer, discussion facilitator, and coach and the student more into the role of active learner, discovering the subject of the course. In any case, the goal is to establish a sound knowledge base and skill set on which students will be able to build as they are exposed to different life experiences. Good teachers can translate information, good judgment, experience and wisdom into relevant knowledge that a student can understand, retain and pass to others. Studies from the US suggest that the quality of teachers is the single most important factor affecting student performance, and that countries which score highly on international tests have multiple policies in place to ensure that the teachers they employ are as effective as possible.[17] With the passing of NCLB in the United States (No Child Left Behind), teachers must be highly qualified. In Pennsylvania, this means the teacher must hold a bachelor's degree, be licensed in their subject area by having a valid PA teaching certificate, and demonstrate competency of the subject in their core content area.
[edit]Curriculum
Main articles: Curriculum and List of academic disciplines
An academic discipline is a branch of knowledge which is formally taught, either at the university, or via some other such method. Each discipline usually has several sub-disciplines or branches, and distinguishing lines are often both arbitrary and ambiguous. Examples of broad areas of academic disciplines include the natural sciences, mathematics, computer science, social sciences, humanities and applied sciences.[6]
[edit]Learning modalities
There has been work on learning styles over the last two decades. Dunn and Dunn[7] focused on identifying relevant stimuli that may influence learning and manipulating the school environment, at about the same time as Joseph Renzulli[8] recommended varying teaching strategies. Howard Gardner[9] identified individual talents or aptitudes in his Multiple Intelligences theories. Based on the works of Jung, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Keirsey Temperament Sorter[10] focused on understanding how people's personality affects the way they interact personally, and how this affects the way individuals respond to each other within the learning environment. The work of David Kolb and Anthony Gregorc's Type Delineator[11] follows a similar but more simplified approach.
It is currently fashionable to divide education into different learning "modes". The learning modalities[12] are probably the most common:[13]
Visual: learning based on observation and seeing what is being learned.
Auditory: learning based on listening to instructions/information.
Kinesthetic: learning based on hands-on work and engaging in activities.
It is claimed that, depending on their preferred learning modality, different teaching techniques have different levels of effectiveness.[14] A consequence of this theory is that effective teaching should present a variety of teaching methods which cover all three learning modalities so that different students have equal opportunities to learn in a way that is effective for them.[15] Guy Claxton has questioned the extent that learning styles such as VAK are helpful, particularly as they can have a tendency to label children and therefore restrict learning.[16]
[edit]Teaching
Teachers need to understand a subject enough to convey its essence to students. While traditionally this has involved lecturing on the part of the teacher, new instructional strategies such as team-based learning put the teacher more into the role of course designer, discussion facilitator, and coach and the student more into the role of active learner, discovering the subject of the course. In any case, the goal is to establish a sound knowledge base and skill set on which students will be able to build as they are exposed to different life experiences. Good teachers can translate information, good judgment, experience and wisdom into relevant knowledge that a student can understand, retain and pass to others. Studies from the US suggest that the quality of teachers is the single most important factor affecting student performance, and that countries which score highly on international tests have multiple policies in place to ensure that the teachers they employ are as effective as possible.[17] With the passing of NCLB in the United States (No Child Left Behind), teachers must be highly qualified. In Pennsylvania, this means the teacher must hold a bachelor's degree, be licensed in their subject area by having a valid PA teaching certificate, and demonstrate competency of the subject in their core content area.
