TEFL Flashcards
10 characteristics of good teaching
- Clear structure of learning and teaching processes
- High proportion of time-on-task
- Constructive alignment of goals, content, methods
- Variety of methods
- Smart practice
- Individual suüpport
- Classroom atmosphere conductive to learning
- Meaningful communication
- Student feedback on teaching
- Clear expectation and professional assessment of student achievement
- Clear structure of learning and teaching processes
- transparent, logical, plausible
- Goals, structure, processes and expected products/outcomes (the students know at any time what they are meant to do)
- Instructions: 1. Rituals, routines
2. Classroom language
3. body language, gestures,
props - Agreement in rules, do
s and don
ts: shared responsibility/learner autonomy
- Clear structure of learning and teaching processes - example
visual aids on blackboard - structure of day
- High proportion of time-on-task
- Students are actively working on their task
- Reduction of time spent on aspects other than learning -> rules (less disruptive behaviour)
- Time used for / invested in learning
-> time spent exclusively on activity
-> Punctuality, clear time frames (students know how much time they have and are able to plan accordingly) - Smart classroom & Time management
-> (clear structure) saves time
-> invest time wisely (established rituals save time (teaching aids))
- High proportion of time-on-task - example
set specific and clear time frame (e.g. timer), use rituals/procedures more often
-> once the students know the ritual, it saves time to use this specific one instead of learning new rituals all the time
- Constructive alignment of goals, assessment, contents, methods
- Teaching is goal-driven learning
-> Goals (point of departure)
-> How goals can be assessed (lesson
planning)
-> How to achieve goals (topics/contents,
processes, methods,
products/outcomes) - “backwards planning” or “constructive alignment”
- Teachers goals = Students goals
Goal, assessment, content, method need to fit together and should all contribute to the overall goal
- Constructive alignment of goals, assessment, contents, methods - example
goal is maximize student talking time -> implement pair/group work
- Variety of (instructional/teaching) methods
- Different methods for different learning goals, content and students
- Variety of learners need a variety of methods
- most promising: mix of…
-> social settings (group/pair work)
-> student-centred phases
-> teacher-centred phases
- Variety of (instructional/teaching) methods - example
think - pair - share, group puzzle
- Smart Practice
- Repetition leads to automation
- the method used is suitable for the individual students
- similar structures content should not be introduced parallel or successively
- the subject is authentic -> coneccted to / also happens in the real world
-> involves positive emotions/affects (if possible)
- Smart practice - example
mind maps
- Individual support
- Support learners to develop in their individual, best possible way
- Individual support does not equal “one-size-fits-all”
- emotional and cognitive support
- foster learner autonomy
-> support the student but dont take away their own effort
- Individual support - example
a student is overwhelmed with the task, give them easier tasks or help in understanding
- Classroom atmosphere - conducive to learning
- Comfortable learning enviroment
-> students are at ease , dare to make
errors
-> rewards, praise & empowerment
rather than punishment - positive feedback culture
- students have a say
- clear structures
- mutual respect, politeness
- equality, openness, tolerance, justice
- change of perspective: “how do my students feel?”
- Classroom atmosphere - conducive to learning - example
regular feedback rounds, (e.g. how ist the teacher doing? how are the students doing?), focus on the positive things
- meaningful classroom communication
- meaningful exchanges of information with clear goal
- age-appropriate and authentic topics, methods, materials, activities
- maximize student talking time (“language learning is language use”)
- avoid IRE-pattern (initiation, response, evaluation)
- meaningful classroom communication - example
variety of methods to avoid IRE / same talking patterns all the time
- Student feedback on teaching
- teacher invites feedback -> adjusts teaching
- students feel responsible -> taken serioulsy (feeling of competence/positive self-concept)
- positive feedback culture
- students learn to give feedback (clear, specific, positive -> change of perspective)
- Student feedback on teaching - example
online tools, box for feedback cards, etc.
- Clear expectations, professional assessment of student achievement, continuous feedback
- clarity of learning goals -> students know what is expected
- assessment needs to be valid, reliable, objective
- continuous feedback/assessment for learning
- Clear expectations, professional assessment of student achievement, continous feedback - example
talk to your students at the beginning of the session/year: what is the goal? -> make a checklist, so you can keep an eye on the goals together
Refelctive Practitioner
- current professional teacher model
- knowledge
- practice + experience
- refelction/drive to improve
-> trough effort and hard work (no talent or special personality needed)
basic dimensions of teaching quality
- strukturierte Klassenführung
- kognitive Aktivierung
- konstruktive Unterstützung
Strukturierte Klassenführung
- Which characteristics support the basic dimension?
- as little disruption as possible
- all students involved
- teaching time used effectively
Characteristics:
1, 2, 3, 7, 10
kognitive Aktivierug
- Which characteristics support the basic dimension?
- To what extent are learners encouraged to actively engage with what they are learning?
Characteristics: 2, 4, 5, 8
Konstruktive Unterstützung
- Which characteristics support the basic dimension?
- In what way does the teacher help the learners?
- meta cognitive, cognitive, emotional/social/motivational
Characteristics: 6, 7, 9
Faciliating good teaching: Competence of good teachers
Me/Myself as a teacher and a person:
- Context: social, school-related, regional
- Learners: positive atmosphere & connection, individual support, advanced knowledge regarding child/adolescence development
- Content: expert subject, continuous development (language, lingistics, literature, etc.)
Pedagogy: expert learning, curricula
input - orientation
- what teachers have done
- “Klassenbuch” topics, what did we do? / we covered that yesterday
> result of PISA-shock
output- orientation
- What did the students learn? What did the learning process enable them to do?
-> empowerment / can-do-approach
-> students learning = goal-driven curriculum
-> primary responsibility of teacher
Learning -definition
“The process by which relatively permant changes ocurr in behavioural potential as a result of experience”
Learning -neurobiological perspective
- brain saves information in neurons (data points)
- access to info trough synapses (connections) between neurons
Learning= formation/restructuring of neuronal network -> i.e. changes in brain structures
- new information saved in neurons
- improvement of synapses: new/strengthen & refine/rewire old
- no synapses = forgotten
Cognitive activation
active processing of sensory information
Distinguishing learning processes according to (lack of) consciousness
- explicit -> conscious: with focus/attention/awareness
- implicit -> subconcious: without focus/attention/awareness
Distinguishing learning processes according to (lack of) intentionality
- intended -> planned: predominant at school, with clear focus/goal
- incidental -> non-intentional: additional, on the side, by chance
Mental Lexicon
- How vocab knowledge is stored:
> Meaning
> Use
> Form