Thursday, October 31, 2013

85. How shall we make them learn?


[Kerala University English Teacher Educator’s Forum - KUETEF]

Helping our  students learn  English...develop  the necessary competency to communicate effectively  are  matters that concern  committed teachers of  English.

Recently I came across two articles... Given below are extracts from both:

Three factors  could be identified as contributing to the failure of English Language Education in India. They are:

i) the misconception of the nature of language by those involved in policy making and which in turn penetrated down to the level of syllabus designers, text book writers, teacher-trainers and in the end, teachers;

ii) the deep-rooted conviction about  the theories of learning in general and  language /second language learning in particular; and

iii) inadequate, ineffective and  wrongly implemented pre-service teacher training programmes.

One may notice that  the learner appears no where in the  topographies outlined above; he has only been dragged into the wrongly conceived and badly implemented  programme called Indian second language instruction.

[Source: P.15  Guest Article entitled  ‘What  has been ailing  English Language  Teaching- A Reflection by P. Bhaskaran Nair in Research and Pedagogic  Interventions: Peer-reviewed Research Journal in Education (Jan 2012) Vol (1) 13-23 ISSN  2177-3991

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Ramakrishna Rao conducted a study entitled  'Competency-based English Language Teaching at Primary Level'. The study found  that:

i) Competency-based English Language Teaching is superior in effectiveness to conventional method of teaching.

ii) Competency-based English Language Teaching  has a positive  and significant effect on students’ achievement in English  and it helps  in improving LSRW among  primary school students.

[Source : K. Ramakrishna Rao, “Effectiveness of Competency-based English Language Teaching at Primary Level in Edutracks  Vol  12  No. 10 June  2013

* * ** * * **** ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * *

The  first extract is  from a Guest Article and   is based on the author’s own  reflection.  The  second extract is based on a study conducted  on a small sample. Interestingly, Ms.Janet Orr,  a couple of months ago,  in an interview   to an Indian English Daily, spoke about  a research  which she did at the University of Atlanta.  According to her, life experiences  make a lot  of difference in  learning. When students  from rural background  come to  study  in a University located in a city they perform better compared  to secondary school  because  of the exposure  they get from  activities  they were deprived earlier. The fundamental idea is to give the students a lot of opportunities...


Well... does any other idea come to  your mind?  Do share ...


Dr. C. Praveen
Secretary, KUETEF



Sunday, October 27, 2013

84. New BEd. Curriculum- Changes and Concerns


[Kerala University English Teacher Educator’s Forum - KUETEF]


A Workshop  on  ‘Effective Implementation of Revised BEd. Curriculum’ (English Optional) was organized at Karmela Rani 
Training College, Kollam on 26 October 2013.  The  following is an extract from the handout focussing on Curriculum vision, Objectives, Regulations, Course  Framework and Structure prepared by Dr. C. Praveen  who served as Convenor  for English in the BEd. Curriculum Revision Committee.

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
                                                            
A close reading of the new BEd syllabus (English) available for download from the Kerala University Website,  will reveal that specific  instruction/guideline for assessing some of the changes mentioned below is not given. Perhaps  during  Optional-wise meetings, we would be able to identify  appropriate  instructional strategies and assessment indicators through consensus.
Sl.No.
Page No.
 Changes  to be noted  in the New Curriculum
Concerns – need  for consensus
1
Preface
educating a teacher for the global learner must be the main focus of
teacher education.
What are the areas  that we should focus on?
What kind of learning experience is to be  provided?
What kind of products should trainees prepare?
2
Preface
Teachers must be able to support learning communities that enable their students to collaborate, share best practices, and integrate skills into the classroom practices.
Teachers should also be able to provide access to quality learning tools, technologies and resources, expanding the learning environment to community and international settings, both face-to-face as well as online
*What kind of collaborative  work can be given  as part of   the two papers for  first and Second Semester?
*How can we  familiarize trainees with best practices in teaching and learning?
*What kind of  activity can be given  to  make them integrate skills- Solving problems-Data gathering, analyzing, drawing conclusion, writing and reporting  findings. 
3
Preface
the present revision introduces a credit based semester approach
* How can  the teacher educator ensure that even if all the trainees in the class acquire the necessary credit,  it is  still  possible to  clearly  distinguish between  those securing A Grade and  Grades below A ?
4
Preface
thrust given for Evidence Based Continuous Assessment as per Competency- Based Performance Indicators.
Elsewhere mention is made, where teacher educators have to develop Rubrics for assessment.  Is it available for free download? Would such Rubrics help us clearly identify  the different competencies of learners.
5
Preface
Grid format of presentation of the syllabus
Through group work during the Workshop better transactional strategies can be evolved and useful sources  can be identified.
6
Preface
Introduction of Pedagogic Content Knowledge Analysis (PCKA) in a Techno-Pedagogic Era in lieu of the traditional Pedagogic Analysis.
How can we  sensitize teacher educators to the nuances  of techno-pedagogy?
7
Preface
equipping the next cohort of teachers to meet the challenges of the techno-savvy era…. incorporates new content and embraces new approaches and methodologies
How  can we  transact the new content effectively?
Where can  we get  suitable  explanatory/ illustrative   materials on the new content?
8
1
prime objective was to reify the Curriculum to equip the prospective teachers with the knowledge, skills, attitude, competence and commitment to face the challenges of 21st C.
The 21st Century skills include:
*Information and Communication Skills-media literacy skills
*Thinking and problem solving skills- Critical thinking, Creative thinking, Problem identification, formulation and solution
*Interpersonal and self-directional skills-Collaborative skills, accountability and adaptability, social responsibility
-What are the challenges ?
 -What  kind of learning experience can be given to acquire  knowledge, skills and competence?
-How to ensure that they develop the right attitude and commitment?
9
3
based on Credit and Semester System with Grading
How can we  prevent   the tendency  to boost the  performance of the trainee by awarding   A Grade to all the  trainees ?
10
3
Attendance will be noted in letter grades in the mark list.
-What about  women trainees who  get married  or  enter the family way half way during the course?
 -Should we be strict with them too?
11
4
The total number of lessons practiced by each student-teacher during the course is 70, which include Discussion, Demonstration, Criticism lessons, Observation of Video Lessons, ICT enabled lessons, Observation of peer lessons, Video Lessons, lessons prepared during the initial phase of the school visit (i.e. Initiatory School experiences) and Practice Teaching.
*Should practice be given in  preparing Behaviourist   (4 column)  Constructivist   or both along with Models of teaching?
* Should we guide trainees to prepare lessons for  teaching Prose, Poetry, One- Act Play, Grammar, Language skills and  Communication Skills?
* What models should we prescribe? Direct Instruction Model, Concept  Attainment Model, Advance Organizer Model, Role Play Model, Synectics Model?
* Do we have model Lesson Plans? Should we develop model lesson plans?

12
4
For course betterment, candidates have to appear for both the semesters in one go, ie., in one session and higher marks of the two ie., marks before betterment and after betterment whichever is higher is considered.
Should assistance be provided  by  teacher educators  to those students of the college who attempt   a betterment of marks (Can boost  college profile during NAAC inspection!)
13
5
Credit is a unit of input measured in terms of 'Study Hours'. It represents the number of 'Study  Hours' in a particular period of time devoted to various aspects of the teaching-learning process such as attending classes, engaging in assignments, projects, community activities and other Practical Courses required for the course. Here, one credit for the B.Ed. programme is considered equivalent to 12 Study Hours and the mark equivalent to one credit is 10.
How can we keep track of  individual students accruing credit for performance  in different activities?
14
5
Seven Point Scale is suggested for the grading purpose and Indirect Grading shall be used. In Indirect Grading the students are assessed using conventional marking mode and the marks awarded are converted into letter grades as per the weightage assigned.
What course of action will be taken if  all students are rated high,  but,  during Practical Examination  the performance turns out to be average?
15
5
The means of grades obtained on a number of subjects/tasks for a specified period is the GPA. GPA is calculated by dividing the sum of the weighted grade points obtained by a student in various subjects in a semester by the total number of credits taken by him/her in the semester. The value shall be rounded off to two decimal places.
Should this be done manually  for each student by the teacher educators  or will some software be made available  for use by the colleges?
16
6
Reflective Journal : A student-teacher generated locally standardized daily log book maintained under the supervision of the mentors-Analysis and comments on the theory-practical integration, the nature and extend of support-system utilization,
process analysis of success and failure management, inference and projection of future course of correction and developmental actions etc. can function as elements in the design of the Reflective Journal.
Since the trainees are  unfamiliar with  making entry in RJ, should we not supply or make available  model entry in RJ for use by trainees?
17
6
Practical 3. Community based
What kind of specific tasks can be given  for  language optional trainees   as part of Community- based  work?
18
8
EDU 05.2 Pedagogic Content Knowledge Analysis -English
*During  the Second Semester 36 days are set aside for Practice Teaching but  the Credit for  the Optional Papers in both semester is same?
- Will  we find sufficient time to transact all the content during the second semester?
19
9
EDU 10.2 Techno-Pedagogic Content Knowledge Analysis-English
*As  the title and content is new,  how well can we prepare for transaction before the commencement of  the Second Semester  through  periodic  meetings of English teacher educators?
20
10
Internal Evaluation – Internal Test 2 Nos.     Seminar/Presentation  1 No
One Practicum in each subject
-Should  the  Internal tests be  Surprise tests?
- Should we ask descriptive type questions?
- Can it be in the Quiz mode?
-Can we have   the current  Open Book format ?
-What  topics in the  Optional papers can be set aside for Seminar?
-If it is a presentation how are we going to assess? (ie; for  the PPt  if used, the ability to explain and illustrate etc.)
- Shouldn’t we develop Scoring indicators for  both Seminar and Presentation?
-What  kind of Practicum can be given ? (Problem based, Survey type etc.)
-Should we identify a list of Practicums that can be given?
-Should each trainee choose a different Practicum?
-If the  Practicum involves data collection from school, how is it feasible to collect data during the 4 day  Initiatory school  experience?

21
11,12
Practical work:  Observation of model Video lessons & Reporting (2  Nos.  Teacher monitored)- Two Video Lessons of teacher educators/experts have to be observed by student-teachers individually or in small groups and their observation notes have to be prepared.
Micro Teaching- One skill practiced by each student- Under Microteaching, each student-teacher has to practice at least one skill with video recording and lesson notes. 
Computer/ICT enabled lesson preparation ( Total 1 as Group work)
- One computer/ICT enabled lesson has to be prepared and video recorded as Group Work (3 to 4 students).
Development of Script for video lesson & video recording   (Total 1 – As Group work)- Script for one video lesson has to be prepared as a Group Work (3 to 4 students).
*Shouldn’t we develop an Observation Schedule for   trainees when they view  Video lessons?
* Should  we not identify the Micro Teaching Skills?
* Should we not include new Micro Teaching Skills for Constructivist classrooms, technology-based lessons?
*Should we not develop Observation Schedule for Micro Teaching based on  the skills for trainees who will be providing peer feedback?
* Should we not develop  a lesson Plan format for Micro teaching?
* What is the nature of a Computer-based lesson?
* How will we assess   the  ICT-enabled  lesson  which is expected to be video recorded?
* Who will teach how to prepare  a video script?
* Should we develop model video scripts ?
* How should we assess a  video script?
22
11,12
Initiatory School Experiences (school visit and reporting)- School induction for 4 days with 3 periods Teaching/Shared Practice.     - Each student-teacher has to engage 3 lessons individually or as Shared Practice. In Shared Practice, student-teachers will be in small groups of three members. The lessons will be divided into three parts and each student teacher will practice one of the parts by rotation in the natural classroom situation. Lesson plans need not be written with the rigidity employed for Practice Teaching lesson.
* Suppose only two students are accommodated in  a Practice Teaching school,  how would  the shared practice  lesson be handled?
23
13
Records/reports/products related to CE and Practical courses have to be prepared and maintained and have to be made available for assessment, if demanded.
* What kind of report? Of individual performance?  *Demanded by the Practical Board or other examiners nominated by  the  University for  assessing work done  in each college during  the first semester?
24
14
* Practical work- Each student teacher has to upload in her/his blog a self-designed innovative lesson segment on a single concept in the optional subject concerned.
* Prepare and upload a Power Point on a single concept with minimum of five slides
*What kind of work can be uploaded  in  the Blog?
* Should all the  trainees have  a similar blog address for ease in  assessing?
* How should  the  assessment be done? (For content only, or layout, ability to draw audience etc)
* What kind of materials can be uploaded using PowerPoint?
* Should it be uploaded in sites like SlideShare?
* Wouldn’t it be good if  such work are commonly pooled and uploaded  in  the institution’s own Web site?
25
14
Presentation of an innovative work in the Optional Subject- 10 Marks
*What exactly is an innovative work?
* Why do our trainees miserably fail to produce a truly innovative work?
*What kind of learning experience can be provided to ensure that the trainees do produce a   good innovative aid/ product for ELT?
* How should we assess ? (The previous  syllabus had set aside 05 marks only)
*Should we make available for  trainees specimen  innovative work?
26
15
School-based Practical- Peer Review Record-10 marks- All student-teachers have to observe at least 20 lessons of peers and record the observations in the Peer Review Record.
*How can we ensure that the trainees really observe the classes of the peers?

* Shouldn’t we develop an Observation Schedule for trainees to observe the classes of peers?

27
15
*Community-based Practical- Four days Residential camp-20 marks
*Educational trip to a location of educational/historical Importance-10 marks- Learning to live together co-operatively, participation in programmes for development of personal and social skills, practicing democratic living, providing chances for division of labour, community work etc., are the major outcomes expected of the programme. A record mentioning all the activities have to be prepared and submitted by each Student- Teacher.
* What kind of activities would benefit  English Optional trainees during a Community Living Camp?

* What  kind of places  should be visited during Study Tour which  the Optional students will benefit?
28
16
Practice Teaching for Semester II may be arranged as a single block programme for a duration of 36 working days. Student-teachers have to complete 40 Practice Lessons spread over in standards VI to XII in the Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools (Kerala State/CBSE/ICSE/ISC scheme) in the concerned Optional Subject and 2 lessons for Health & Physical Education during this period. Graduate students can be assigned standards VI to X and for post graduates from VI to XII. Only those students having Post Graduate degree in the concerned Optional Subject are permitted to undergo Practice Teaching at Higher Secondary School level.

*In Std VI and VII for SCERT Course book- Narrative mode- How can Constructivist practices be effectively incorporated?
* For CBSE  Std IX, Literature Reader is also prescribed. Would Constructivist Practices   differ?
*ICSE/ISC scheme is likely to have content which is quite difficult  for a trainee with average ability. So should some sort of screening be done before sending  trainees to schools?
29
16
The Teacher Educators have to observe the maximum number of practice lessons of the student-teacher. Observation of five lessons (probably at the beginning, middle and at the end of Practice Teaching) by the Optional teacher and one lesson by the General teacher is mandatory.
*How is it possible to observe five lessons of each trainee?  (It is mandatory!)
30
17
The prescribed lesson template consists of two columns viz, Classroom Interaction Procedure and Expected Pupil Responses. Each lesson template should have a composition of items like Curricular statements, Learning outcomes, Content Analysis, Pre-requisites, Teaching-Learning Resources, Formative Evaluation Procedures including Review and Follow-up activities.
*Are columns necessary for Lesson Plans for Models of teaching?

* For Behaviourist lessons won’t you require  4 Column Lesson Plans?
31
18
To make continuous evaluation transparent, student-teachers should be made aware of the modus operandi of the evaluation process and the assessment criteria. The level of performance of the student-teachers is to be published periodically
*Published periodically…after each test?
32
18
Assessment:-For assessing student performance, Criteria / Proforma based on rubrics have to be developed for each task by the Teacher Educators to make assessment objective.
* When shall we  as a group  prepare appropriate Rubrics ?
33
19,20
The marks and respective grades of internal assessment (CE & Practical Courses) during
Semester II have to be handed over to the Chairman of External Practical Board appointed by the University at the time of Practical Examination- In case, the total marks awarded by the internal and external examiner for a subject (Core papers, Physical Education, Optional Subject and Practice Teaching) has a difference of more than 20% of the total marks, the Chairman will examine the case and settle the variation. In such cases the decision of the Chairman will be final.
* Should we  identify guidelines  for  external examiners  which leads to constructive feedback  for internal examiners?
34
19
Assessment- EDU-09 & 10 7. CE of Optional subject (2 x 20 marks)
EDU 201.1 8. Online assignment- 10 marks
*How  should the Online assignment be assessed?
35
21
Pattern of QP
Multiple Choice- 10 (1 mark each)   Very Short Answer 10 (2 marks each )
Short Answer- 4 out of 6- 20 (5 marks each)   Essay -1 out of 2- 10 marks
*Should we consider the preparation of a Question Bank for  exclusive use by Teacher Educators?
36
25
Curriculum Transaction - Strategies to be Adopted
The strategies proposed to be adopted in the transaction of the B. Ed. curriculum include
Lecture-cum-Discussion/Narration, Co-operative and Collaborative Learning, Focused
Reading and Reflection/Intellectual Discourses, Observation-Documentation-Analysis, ICT
Enabled Learning/Virtual Tours, Requirement Based Learning / Individualized Learning,
Multi Disciplinary Learning, Meaningful Verbal Expression, Seminars, Case Studies,
Workshop /Dramatization / Miming, Self Learning, Problem Based Learning, Assignment,
Debates etc. With a view to move away from theoretical discourses through lectures alone,
the student teachers will be required to be engaged in these various kinds of learning
experience/modes of learning engagements. These strategies have to be initiated by the mentor, to guide the student-teachers to go through the processes to achieve the expected
outcomes. Many probable instructional strategies have been included with each contents in the curriculum, and the teacher educators have to adopt the most suitable ones to make the instruction effective.



Mental Process :- the sequence of mental experiences-pedagogical-instructional-experiential contexts felt / received / undergone by the student-teacher during or as a result of various interactions viz. Intellectual dilemma, Cognitive challenge, Controlled listening, Disequilibration and accommodation, Reflective intellectual discourses, Contemplative self expression, Verbal and conflict management, Narrative expression of self experiences, Field based mental imagery formation, Collective expression of consensus point and the like constitute the learning process.

* We need to identify appropriate activity/ Process and strategy for :
-Focussed reading  and reflection
-Intellectual discourses
-ICT-enabled learning (ELT methodology)
-Multi disciplinary learning
-Case Study
-Dramatization, miming
-Problem based learning
-Intellectual dilemma, Cognitive challenge, Controlled listening, Disequilibration and accommodation
-Contemplative self expression
-Conflict management

* The Mental Processes  appear to have an hierarchy. Are they all really suitable for ELT?

37
26
Academic calendar:
The course should start with an orientation.- The purpose of General
Orientation for fresh entrants to the B. Ed. Course is to spell out to the student-teachers the academic and professional aspects, and also the expectations of the institution from them in achieving the quality and standards of the professional course.
* Should we  cover NCF 2005, KCF 2007?
* How exactly can we sensitize trainees to   the fact that  good  teachers  learn every day?
* Can we together compile  English teacher role models  for  trainee reference?
38
27
Components of Curriculum::
Title of the Subject-Objectives of Learning the Subject-Contents included in the subject
-Syllabus Grid
The syllabus Grid contains four columns
1. Learning Objectives/Outcomes (what the student-teachers may achieve)
2. Contents/Concepts and allied matters
3. Strategies/Approaches recommended for transaction
4. Assessment and Evaluation
*There are several good strategies. The ones mentioned in the Grid may not be the best. We have to refine it through consensus.

* There may be several loop holes which need to be plugged.
39
28
A clear demarcation of the methodology paper and the corresponding pedagogical analysis paper with respect to the respective optional subjects have been worked out
* The Pedagogical Analysis paper sometimes used to test linguistic competence.
- How can we ensure that trainees develop their linguistic competence too, during the BEd.course.
40
29
Objectives of Optional education:
-To introduce the challenging career of a Teacher with a futuristic perspective, as an agent of social change.
-To provide the required research based learning experience so as to undertake a habit of self development through inquiry and investigation.
To design instructional and learner support mechanism – print, non-print, electronic and digital- appropriate for the learner needs and contextual requirements.
-To undertake a self-empowerment initiative in transacting the Curriculum from a Techno- Pedagogical Content Knowledge Perspective.
-To identify the Entrepreneurial opportunities of futuristic significance associated with the subject
*How  can we make  trainees capable of becoming agents of social change?
* How can we ensure that self-development through inquiry takes place?
* Should  trainees as part of  Course work  identify, collect or develop learner support  materials?
* What kind of activities can be given to ensure that self-empowerment takes place?

*How will we familiarize trainees with entrepreneurial opportunities?




PS. Several other questions are being compiled by the participants of the Workshop and will be uploaded shortly.


Dr. C. Praveen
Secretary, KUETEF