MODULE 2

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners Stephen C Burnage M.Ed. B Mus NPQH PGCE

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners Module 2: Understanding our learners 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 Learning outcomes........................................................................................................................ 3 3 Content ......................................................................................................................................... 4 4 Assessment ................................................................................................................................... 4 5 Week 1: The Psychology of Learning............................................................................................. 5 5.2 The 3 major types of behavioural learning............................................................................ 6 5.2.1 Learning......................................................................................................................... 6 5.2.2 Classical Conditioning.................................................................................................... 6 5.2.3 Operant Conditioning.................................................................................................... 7 5.2.4 Observational Learning ................................................................................................. 8 5.2.5 ACTIVITY: Influential People.......................................................................................... 8 5.3 Cognitivism............................................................................................................................ 9 5.4 Constructivism ...................................................................................................................... 9 5.5 Humanistic ............................................................................................................................ 9 5.6 Experiential ........................................................................................................................... 9 5.6.1 ACTIVITY: Engaging with theory .................................................................................. 10 5.7 SUMMARY: WEEK 1 – the psychology of learning............................................................... 10 6 Week 2: Theories of learning ...................................................................................................... 11 6.1 Behaviourist Theory ............................................................................................................ 11 6.1.1 What might this look like in the classroom?................................................................ 11 6.1.2 Activity: Behaviourist theory in practice ..................................................................... 12 6.2 Cognitive Theory ................................................................................................................. 12 6.2.1 Piaget’s 4 Stages of Development ............................................................................... 12 6.2.2 The Stages ................................................................................................................... 13 6.2.3 What might this look like in the classroom?................................................................ 15 6.2.4 Activity: The four development stages of Piaget......................................................... 16 6.3 Constructivist Theory .......................................................................................................... 16 6.3.1 The Zone of Proximal Development and Scaffolding................................................... 16 6.3.2 Vygotsky's Definition of ZPD ....................................................................................... 16 6.3.3 More Knowledgeable Other ........................................................................................ 17 6.3.4 Social Interaction......................................................................................................... 17 6.3.5 What is the Theory of Scaffolding? ............................................................................. 17 ADD ABEA INFO HERE 2 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners 6.3.6 What does this look like in the classroom? ................................................................. 18 6.3.7 ACTIVITY: ZPD.............................................................................................................. 18 6.3.8 Humanist Theory......................................................................................................... 19 6.3.9 Activity: The Humanist Classroom............................................................................... 19 6.3.10 Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Explained...................................................................... 20 6.3.11 Key Takeaways: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs............................................................ 20 6.3.12 How People Progress Through the Hierarchy of Needs............................................... 21 6.3.13 Activity: The new student............................................................................................ 22 6.3.14 So, what might this look like in the classroom?........................................................... 22 6.4 Summary: Week 2 - Theories of learning ............................................................................ 23 7 Week 3: Barriers to Learning....................................................................................................... 24 7.1 What Are The Most Common Barriers To Learning In School? ........................................... 24 7.1.1 Motivation or \"availability to learn\" ............................................................................ 24 7.1.2 ACTIVITY: Classroom distractions................................................................................ 25 7.1.3 ACTIVITY: Procrastination............................................................................................ 26 7.1.4 Social and cultural barriers.......................................................................................... 26 7.1.5 Emotional factors that affect learning......................................................................... 27 7.1.6 Personal issues that can affect learning ...................................................................... 28 8 Week 4: Applying learning theories in the classroom ................................................................. 30 8.1.1 Blooms Taxonomy....................................................................................................... 30 8.1.2 ACTIVITY: Using Blooms Taxonomy in questioning ..................................................... 31 8.2 Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences ......................................................................... 31 8.2.1 Activity: Planning using Bloom and Gardener ............................................................. 33 9 Summary: Module 2.................................................................................................................... 33 10 Assessment TASK .................................................................................................................... 34 11 Guidance ................................................................................................................................. 34 12 References and wider reading ................................................................................................ 34 2 LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this module, participants will: • Understand the psychology of learning and how we learn • Explore a variety of theories of learning relevant to teaching in an international context • Know and recognise the key barriers to learning and explore strategies to overcome these • Be able to apply learning from this module in a classroom context. ADD ABEA INFO HERE 3 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners 3 CONTENT During the second module of this course, we will develop our knowledge and understanding of how we learn, strategies to support effective learning; and how to overcome a range of barriers to successful learning. Your learning will be supported through an explanation of relevant and current theories of learning, and case studies and models of good practice from within an international school context. 4 ASSESSMENT At the end of this module, you will produce a professional case study of 1,500 words for 3 contrasting learners (500 words for each) which references the relevant educational theories on how each child learns effectively and how effective teaching helped them overcome barriers to their learning. ADD ABEA INFO HERE 4 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners 5 WEEK 1: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF LEARNING Psychologists often define learning as a relatively permanent change in behaviour because of experience. The psychology of learning focuses on a range of topics related to how people learn and interact with their environments. One of the first thinkers to study how learning influences behaviour was psychologist John B. Watson who suggested that all behaviours are a result of the learning process. The school of thought that emerged from Watson's work was known as behaviourism. The behavioural school of thought proposed studying internal thoughts, memories, and other mental processes that were too subjective. 5.1.1.1 ACTIVITY: John B Watson As you watch ‘Watson’s theory of behaviourism’, think about how his ideas are applicable in our classrooms. Make some notes in your learning journal for you to revisit when you prepare for your Module 2 assessment. Psychology, the behaviourists believed, should be the scientific study of observable behaviour. Behaviourism thrived during the first half of the twentieth century and contributed a great deal to our understanding of some important learning processes. So, let us learn a bit more about the psychology of learning. ADD ABEA INFO HERE 5 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners 5.2 THE 3 MAJOR TYPES OF BEHAVIOURAL LEARNING 5.2.1 Learning Learning is often defined as a relatively lasting change in behaviour that is the result of experience. When you think of learning, it might be easy to fall into the trap of only considering formal education that takes place during childhood and early adulthood: but learning is realistically an ongoing process taking place throughout all of life. How do we go from not knowing something to acquiring information, knowledge, and skills? Learning became a major focus of study in psychology during the early part of the twentieth century as behaviourism rose to become a major school of thought. Today learning remains an important concept in numerous areas of psychology, including cognitive, educational, social, and developmental psychology. One important thing to remember is that learning can involve both beneficial and negative behaviours. Learning is a natural and ongoing part of life that takes place continually, both for better and for worse. Sometimes people learn things that help them become more knowledgeable and lead better lives. In other instances, people can learn things that are detrimental to their overall health and well-being. The process of learning new things is not always the same. Learning can happen in a wide variety of ways. To explain how and when learning occurs, several different psychological theories have been proposed. Learning can be defined in many ways, but most psychologists would agree that it is a relatively permanent change in behaviour that results from experience. During the first half of the twentieth century, the school of thought known as behaviourism rose to dominate psychology and sought to explain the learning process. The three major types of learning described by behavioural psychology are classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning. 5.2.2 Classical Conditioning Classical conditioning is a learning process in which an association is made between a previously neutral stimulus and a stimulus that naturally evokes a response. For example, in Pavlov's classic experiment, the smell of food was the naturally occurring stimulus that was paired with the previously neutral ringing of the bell. Once an association had been made between the two, the sound of the bell alone could lead to a response. ADD ABEA INFO HERE 6 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners 5.2.2.1 ACTIVITY: Classical Conditioning This short video explores how classical conditioning can be applied to teaching. NOTE VIDEO URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjLYiJ1Zt4k As you watch the video, think about your own experience of school, and write in your learning journal of any examples where you feel your teachers used classical conditioning strategies in your lessons. 5.2.3 Operant Conditioning Operant conditioning is a learning process in which the probability of a response occurring is increased or decreased due to reinforcement or punishment. First studied by Edward Thorndike and later by B.F. Skinner, the underlying idea behind operant conditioning is that the consequences of our actions shape voluntary behaviour. Skinner described how reinforcement could lead to increases in behaviours where punishment would result in decreases. He also found that the timing of when reinforcements were delivered influenced how quickly a behaviour was learned and how strong the response would be. The timing and rate of reinforcement are known as schedules of reinforcement. ADD ABEA INFO HERE 7 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners 5.2.3.1 ACTIVITY: Operant Conditioning In this video clip, the teacher starts the class with some examples of operant conditioning. NOTE VIDEO URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2v3Q0osmoE Use your learning journal to describe what the teacher does and how you might adapt these ideas when you are in a classroom situation. 5.2.4 Observational Learning Observational learning is a process in which learning occurs through observing and imitating others. Albert Bandura's social learning theory suggests that in addition to learning through conditioning, people also learn through observing and imitating the actions of others. As demonstrated in his classic \"Bobo Doll\" experiments, people will imitate the actions of others without direct reinforcement. Four important elements are essential for effective observational learning: attention, motor skills, motivation, and memory. 5.2.5 ACTIVITY: Influential People The following are some of the major figures associated with learning and the behavioural school of psychology. - Edward Thorndike - Ivan Pavlov - John B. Watson - B.F. Skinner - Albert Bandura Take time to research each of these leading behaviour theorists and use your learning journal to record your answers to three questions for each theorist: 1. What did they theorise? 2. How did their theory relate to learning and education? 3. What can you apply from their theory to your own work in school? ADD ABEA INFO HERE 8 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners 5.3 COGNITIVISM Cognitivism is often tied to behaviourism in practice, but the theories are opposites. Cognitivism explains learning as based on understanding. The mind, when receptive to new ideas, actively processes new information to arrive at an understanding that relies on incorporating prior knowledge and assumptions. This puts thinking at the forefront of the learning process. Learning is evidenced by new understanding, not behavioural change. Cognitivism relies on a process in which new information is weighed against prior knowledge. How does new information fit in with previously learned information? This brings into play processes like problem solving, analysis and memory. Understanding is defined as a cognitive “schema,” which is analogous to awareness or meaning. Learning is defined as a change in an established schema. 5.4 CONSTRUCTIVISM Like cognitivism, constructivism sees learning as an active mental process. Under constructivism theory people build, or construct, knowledge based on social or situational experiences. This allows people to accumulate information and to test it through social interactions. In this manner, knowledge would eventually homogenize. But that is not the case. Constructivism says people build knowledge based on subjective considerations. Individuals then come to individual, subjective conclusions. Knowledge is still viewed as a conceptualized process with learning seen as the result of interactions with the environment and the constant testing that we rely on to process information. 5.5 HUMANISTIC Humanistic theory also reflects the values of its age. Taking root in the 1960s, humanistic theory postulates that learning is tied to motivations, potential and free will. It is this theory that has given us the term “self-actualization.” The humanistic, whole-person approach does not recognize a change in behaviour or a change in meaning as evidence of learning. What it relies on is people fulfilling their potential, which is done through observations and accumulated experiences. Rather than didactic teaching, humanists believe role models are the best teachers. They provide a reason for pursuing new information and help keep goals realistic. When a teacher says, “Break up into smaller groups and discuss amongst yourselves,” they are using a humanistic approach. 5.6 EXPERIENTIAL Espoused by educational theorist David Kolb, experiential theory sees learning as a four-step process that includes concrete experiences, reflective observation, abstract conceptualism, and active experimentation. Here, experience leads to reflection, then conceptualization, then testing, which involves new experiences. It is seen as a self-sustaining cycle with each of the four steps required for learning. Kolb also says emotions, prior learning and style of processing are involved. As such, there are four learning styles. Some people prefer doing; others prefer watching. Some prefer reading and reflecting. Others prefer a gut-level response followed by experimenting. This theory gave birth to ADD ABEA INFO HERE 9 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners multi-modality teaching. Experiential teachers deploy hands on learning, reflections, reading, watching slides or films, lectures, field trips, and other methods to accommodate all their students’ learning styles. 5.6.1 ACTIVITY: Engaging with theory Write a ‘pen portrait of any two of these educational theories or theorists, being sure to include reference to how each of them contributed to our understanding of how we learn: Cognitivism Social constructivism Maslow’s hierarchy of need Kolb’s four step process of learning 5.7 SUMMARY: WEEK 1 – THE PSYCHOLOGY OF LEARNING Behaviourism, cognitivism, constructivism, humanistic and experiential are among the most prominent learning theories that have influenced our day-to-day lives. Other notable theories include Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Elaboration theory, ADDIE (Analyse, Design, Develop, Implement and Evaluate), and Bloom’s Taxonomy. We will explore these in more detail in our next chapter These theories have greatly influenced teaching, parenting, and the so-called helping professions, which includes clinical psychologists, therapists, and counsellors. Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, for example, postulates that people need to have their basic needs met – food, shelter, and security – before they can seek out more transcendent needs, such as love, esteem, and self- actualization. A therapist using Maslow’s principles would attempt to secure a client’s basic needs before attempting to work on loftier goals. In practice, of course, some of these theories are applied in conjunction with others. Cognitive- behavioural therapy makes use of two theories simultaneously and rational-emotive-behavioural therapy, espoused by New York City psychiatrist Albert Ellis (1913-2007), melds three different modalities to help heal emotional distress and behavioural problems. Our environment and social developments also affect the science of learning. Right on time, for example, comes the theory of Connectivism, which is frequently called the learning theory for the digital age. This theory says that information is random, even chaotic, but those who can make connections in this environment will do well. “How are learning theories impacted when knowledge is no longer acquired in the linear manner?” asks George Simens in a paper posted by eLearn space in 2004. Among the answers to that: “The ability to see connections between fields, ideas and concepts is a core skill,” Siemens wrote, attempting to put a modern spin on an age-old puzzle. ADD ABEA INFO HERE 10 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners 6 WEEK 2: THEORIES OF LEARNING During week 1, we took an overview of the psychology of learning and the main theories that inform thinking on how we learn. During Week 2, we are going to examine what these theories might look like in the classroom and then go on to explore other education thinkers who have made a significant contribution to our understanding of how we learn. 6.1 BEHAVIOURIST THEORY What is it? Behaviourist Learning Theory (or Behaviourism) utilizes key ideas from the work of B.F. Skinner, who theorized that learning occurs through a series of rewards or punishments. Whilst Skinner believed that all learning could occur this way, Behaviourist Theory is most utilized in classrooms today as a tool for behaviour management. However, educators still utilize rote practice and repetition: two practices that are linked to Behaviourist Theory. According to Skinner, rewards increase the likelihood that behaviours will be repeated, while punishments decrease the likelihood of repetition. He also theorized that rewards and punishments could be either positive or negative in nature. This can confuse a lot of people! What he meant was that when we give or add something to the environment, the interaction is positive; when we take something away, the interaction is negative. So, for example, removing an undesirable activity from the agenda might be a negative reward, and adding an undesirable activity to it might be a positive punishment. 6.1.1 What might this look like in the classroom? In Ms. Patel’s Year 1 classroom, she is working with one of her students, Sam, to help him with some challenging attention-span issues. She gives him a sticker whenever she sees him on task. (Positive reward) In Mr. Khatri’s Year 3 classroom, Mr. Khatri quietly reminds a student to keep all four legs of his chair on the floor. (Positive punishment – yes, verbal praise & reminders qualify as adding something to the environment!) To increase the number of students who turn in their homework each day, Mr. Laghari announces that if the class has 100% completion on today’s assignment, they will not have homework on Friday. (Negative reward) Students in Mrs. Reddy’s art class are having trouble sharing the supplies. Mrs. Reddy writes the word ART on the board, and each time students have a disagreement over supplies, she erases a letter. If the word is erased completely, students will have to use pencil to complete their project for the day. (Negative punishment) Here, the teachers are all modelling that they know how important it is to engage students when crafting solutions to various behaviour issues. They maintain the belief that every child has worth and potential and see a behaviour challenge as an opportunity to teach a skill and educate the whole child. When appropriate, they create Win-Win Agreements, which are solutions that are mutually created in such a way that everyone is happy with the result. Teachers and students might work together to answer the following questions: ADD ABEA INFO HERE 11 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners • What behaviour are we noticing? Why is it happening? When is it happening? • Are we looking to increase or decrease the behaviour? • Would we like to earn something, or have something taken away? What might that “something” be? When students and teachers work together to answer these questions, they craft a solution that everyone is excited about. This level of involvement will lead to greater commitment and engagement in the solution. Notice, here, we are starting to explore some barriers to learning that we will look at in more detail later in Module 2. 6.1.2 Activity: Behaviourist theory in practice Listen to this podcast ’How to handle disruption in the classroom’ and write in your journal how the ideas in the podcast are linked to behaviourist theory and practice. NOTE PODCAST URL: https://lnns.co/DAowb6urfxy 6.2 COGNITIVE THEORY What is it? Cognitive Learning Theory is largely based on the work of Jean Piaget, who rejected the idea that learners are passive and simply react to stimuli in the environment. Instead of focusing solely on observable behaviour, Cognitive Theory seeks to explain how the mind works during the learning process. Like a computer, the mind takes in information, processes that information, then uses that information to produce learning outcomes. 6.2.1 Piaget’s 4 Stages of Development Piaget’s 4 Stages of Development indicate the learner’s ability to understand abstract, complex concepts. He suggests that children move through four different stages of mental development. His theory focuses not only on understanding how children acquire knowledge, but also on understanding the nature of intelligence. Piaget's stages are: • Sensorimotor stage: birth to 2 years • Preoperational stage: ages 2 to 7 • Concrete operational stage: ages 7 to 11 • Formal operational stage: ages 12 and up Piaget believed that children take an active role in the learning process, acting much like little scientists as they perform experiments, make observations, and learn about the world. As children interact with the world around them, they continually add new knowledge, build upon existing knowledge, and adapt previously held ideas to accommodate new information. Much of Piaget's interest in the cognitive development of children was inspired by his observations of his own nephew and daughter. These observations reinforced his budding hypothesis that children's minds were not merely smaller versions of adult minds. ADD ABEA INFO HERE 12 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners Up until this point in history, children were largely treated simply as smaller versions of adults. Piaget was one of the first to identify that the way that children think is different from the way adults think. Instead, he proposed, intelligence is something that grows and develops through a series of stages. Older children do not just think more quickly than younger children, he suggested. Instead, there are both qualitative and quantitative differences between the thinking of young children versus older children. Based on his observations, he concluded that children were not less intelligent than adults, they simply think differently. Albert Einstein called Piaget's discovery \"so simple only a genius could have thought of it.\" Piaget's stage theory describes the cognitive development of children. Cognitive development involves changes in cognitive process and abilities. In Piaget's view, early cognitive development involves processes based upon actions and later progresses to changes in mental operations. 6.2.2 The Stages Through his observations of his children, Piaget developed a stage theory of intellectual development that included four distinct stages: 6.2.2.1 The Sensorimotor Stage: Ages: Birth to 2 Years Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes: • The infant knows the world through their movements and sensations • Children learn about the world through basic actions such as sucking, grasping, looking, and listening • Infants learn that things continue to exist even though they cannot be seen (object permanence) • They are separate beings from the people and objects around them • They realize that their actions can cause things to happen in the world around them During this earliest stage of cognitive development, infants and toddlers acquire knowledge through sensory experiences and manipulating objects. A child's entire experience at the earliest period of this stage occurs through basic reflexes, senses, and motor responses. It is during the sensorimotor stage that children go through a period of dramatic growth and learning. As children interact with their environment, they are continually making new discoveries about how the world works. The cognitive development that occurs during this period takes place over a relatively short period of time and involves a great deal of growth. Children not only learn how to perform physical actions such as crawling and walking; they also learn a great deal about language from the people with whom they interact. Piaget also broke this stage down into several different substages. It is during the final part of the sensorimotor stage that early representational thought emerges. Piaget believed that developing object permanence or object constancy, the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, was an important element at this point of development. ADD ABEA INFO HERE 13 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners By learning that objects are separate and distinct entities and that they have an existence of their own outside of individual perception, children are then able to begin to attach names and words to objects. 6.2.2.2 The Preoperational Stage - Ages: 2 to 7 Years Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes: • Children begin to think symbolically and learn to use words and pictures to represent objects. • Children at this stage tend to be egocentric and struggle to see things from the perspective of others. • While they are getting better with language and thinking, they still tend to think about things in very concrete terms. The foundations of language development may have been laid during the previous stage, but it is the emergence of language that is one of the major hallmarks of the preoperational stage of development. Children become much more skilled at pretend play during this stage of development yet continue to think very concretely about the world around them. At this stage, children learn through pretend play but still struggle with logic and taking the point of view of other people. They also often struggle with understanding the idea of constancy. For example, a researcher might take a lump of clay, divide it into two equal pieces, and then give a child the choice between two pieces of clay to play with. One piece of clay is rolled into a compact ball while the other is smashed into a flat pancake shape. Since the flat shape looks larger, the preoperational child will likely choose that piece even though the two pieces are the same size. 6.2.2.3 The Concrete Operational Stage: Ages: 7 to 11 Years Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes • During this stage, children begin to think logically about concrete events • They begin to understand the concept of conservation; that the amount of liquid in a short, wide cup is equal to that in a tall, skinny glass, for example • Their thinking becomes more logical and organized, but still very concrete • Children begin using inductive logic, or reasoning from specific information to a general principle While children are still very concrete and literal in their thinking at this point in development, they become much more adept at using logic.2 The egocentrism of the previous stage begins to disappear as children become better at thinking about how other people might view a situation. While thinking becomes much more logical during the concrete operational state, it can also be very rigid. Children at this point in development tend to struggle with abstract and hypothetical concepts. During this stage, children also become less egocentric and begin to think about how other people might think and feel. Children in the concrete operational stage also begin to understand that their thoughts are unique to them and that not everyone else necessarily shares their thoughts, feelings, and opinions. 6.2.2.4 The Formal Operational Stage: Ages: 12 and Up Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes: ADD ABEA INFO HERE 14 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners • At this stage, the adolescent or young adult begins to think abstractly and reason about hypothetical problems • Abstract thought emerges • Teens begin to think more about moral, philosophical, ethical, social, and political issues that require theoretical and abstract reasoning • Begin to use deductive logic, or reasoning from a general principle to specific information The final stage of Piaget's theory involves an increase in logic, the ability to use deductive reasoning, and an understanding of abstract ideas. At this point, people become capable of seeing multiple potential solutions to problems and think more scientifically about the world around them. The ability to thinking about abstract ideas and situations is the key hallmark of the formal operational stage of cognitive development. The ability to systematically plan and reason about hypothetical situations are also critical abilities that emerge during this stage. It is important to note that Piaget did not view children's intellectual development as a quantitative process; that is, children do not just add more information and knowledge to their existing knowledge as they get older. Instead, Piaget suggested that there is a qualitative change in how children think as they gradually process through these four stages.4 A child at age 7 doesn't just have more information about the world than he did at age 2; there is a fundamental change in how he thinks about the world. 6.2.3 What might this look like in the classroom? Ms. Agarwal, a kindergarten teacher, works with students to verbally communicate their feelings. She knows that at this age, they are naturally egocentric and struggle to see things from others’ perspectives. As Mr. Anand begins his unit on fractions, he incorporates manipulatives to provide a concrete learning experience. To help students memorize the Periodic Table, Mrs. Bakshi co-creates various mnemonic devices with her class. Ms. Babu uses a graphic organizer to help students write paragraphs with appropriate structure. At the start of every lesson, Mr. Burman asks questions to activate the prior knowledge of his students. He knows this will help to link the new learning concepts to previously retained ideas, increasing the likelihood that the new learning will be remembered. Here, the teachers are modelling the need for us all to teach empathy and encourage students to develop their speaking and listening skills. They also provide structure and organize learning, and students may be taught to make their thinking visible by using hand signals during class discussions. Teachers empower students to learn, which ignites curiosity and background knowledge, then encourages hands-on investigations with specific learning targets, and ends the lesson by inviting connections. Notice, here, we are starting to explore some barriers to learning that we will look at in more detail later in Module 2. ADD ABEA INFO HERE 15 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners 6.2.4 Activity: The four development stages of Piaget Read this article from ‘Tribune World’: Understanding the stages of child development NOTE URL: https://thetribuneworld.com/2020/04/17/why-is-child-development-so-important/ Now consider teaching children about the concept of friendship. Use your learning journal to show how you would teach ‘friendship’ as a concept differently to children in each of the four stages of child development. Record your answers in your learning journal 6.3 CONSTRUCTIVIST THEORY What is it? Constructivists see the learner as a constructor of knowledge. New learning is shaped by schemas, which the learner brings to the learning process. Lev Vygotsky is an important founder of Constructivist Learning Theory. Vygotsky believed that learning is a collaborative process, and that social interaction is fundamental for cognitive development. According to Vygotsky, students learn best when working collaboratively with those whose proficiency level is higher than their own, allowing them to complete tasks they are not yet able to do independently. Vygotsky identified these concepts as the More Knowledgeable Other and the Zone of Proximal Development. 6.3.1 The Zone of Proximal Development and Scaffolding 6.3.1.1 What Is the Zone of Proximal Development? The zone of proximal development refers to the difference between what a learner can do without help and what he or she can achieve with guidance and encouragement from a skilled partner. Thus, the term “proximal” refers to those skills that the learner is “close” to mastering. 6.3.2 Vygotsky's Definition of ZPD The concept, zone of proximal development was developed by Soviet psychologist and social constructivist Lev Vygotsky (1896 – 1934). The zone of proximal development (ZPD) has been defined as: \"the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem-solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more capable peers\" (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 86). ADD ABEA INFO HERE 16 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners Vygotsky believed that when a student is in the zone of proximal development for a particular task, providing the appropriate assistance will give the student enough of a \"boost\" to achieve the task. To assist a person to move through the zone of proximal development, educators are encouraged to focus on three important components which aid the learning process: • The presence of someone with knowledge and skills beyond that of the learner (a more knowledgeable other). • Social interactions with a skilful tutor that allow the learner to observe and practice their skills. • Scaffolding, or supportive activities provided by the educator, or more competent peer, to support the student as he or she is led through the ZPD. 6.3.3 More Knowledgeable Other The more knowledgeable other (MKO) is somewhat self-explanatory; it refers to someone who has a better understanding or a higher ability level than the learner, with respect to a particular task, process, or concept. Although the implication is that the MKO is a teacher or an older adult, this is not necessarily the case. Many times, a child's peers or an adult's children may be the individuals with more knowledge or experience. 6.3.4 Social Interaction According to Vygotsky (1978), much important learning by the child occurs through social interaction with a skilful tutor. The tutor may model behaviours and/or provide verbal instructions for the child. Vygotsky refers to this as cooperative or collaborative dialogue. The child seeks to understand the actions or instructions provided by the tutor (often the parent or teacher) then internalizes the information, using it to guide or regulate their own performance. 6.3.5 What is the Theory of Scaffolding? The ZPD has become synonymous in the literature with the term scaffolding. However, it is important to note that Vygotsky never used this term in his writing, and it was introduced by Wood, Bruner, and Ross (1976). Scaffolding consists of the activities provided by the educator, or more competent peer, to support the student as he or she is led through the zone of proximal development. Support is tapered off (i.e. withdrawn) as it becomes unnecessary, much as a scaffold is removed from a building during construction. The student will then be able to complete the task again on his own. Wood et al. (1976, p. 90) define scaffolding as a process \"that enables a child or novice to solve a task or achieve a goal that would be beyond his unassisted efforts.\" As they note, scaffolds require the adult's \"controlling those elements of the task that are initially beyond the learner's capability, thus permitting him to concentrate upon and complete only those elements that are within his range of competence\" (p. 90). It is important to note that the terms cooperative learning, scaffolding and guided learning all have the same meaning within the literature ADD ABEA INFO HERE 17 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners Constructivist classrooms are student-cantered, with the teacher acting as the facilitator. 6.3.6 What does this look like in the classroom? Mr. Varma intentionally pairs students performing on or above grade level with students performing below grade level, inviting them to turn and talk about their learning throughout a lesson. Mrs. Dalal uses collaborative learning to facilitate engagement with specific learning targets, ensuring heterogeneous student groupings. Ms. Chowdhury uses Problem-Based Learning to engage her students in solving real world problems, meeting several learning targets while giving students autonomy to make decisions. She encourages students to work with peers who have different strengths than their own. In these examples, teachers model building high-trust relationships and dedicate time throughout the year to maintaining the social-emotional environment of their classrooms. They aim to incorporate student voice throughout their day, allowing students to take great ownership over their environment and learning. Teachers believe that everyone has genius and teach their students to acknowledge and utilize the strengths of their classmates, creating synergy. Leadership classrooms buzz with excitement, signalling purposeful student interaction. As teachers aim to empower students, they use teaching strategies that require collaboration and higher order thinking, acting as a guide on the side rather than a sage on the stage. Notice, here, we are starting to explore some barriers to learning that we will look at in more detail later in Module 2. 6.3.7 ACTIVITY: ZPD Take time to watch this short video: The Zone of Proximal development. After you have watched the video, think about how you would scaffold learning for a group of students learning a concept in your own subject area for the first time. Record your ideas in your learning journal NOTE: URL Ref: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Im_GrCgrVA ADD ABEA INFO HERE 18 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners 6.3.8 Humanist Theory What is it? Humanist Learning Theory approaches learning to fulfil an individual’s potential rather than meeting specific learning targets. Maslow’s research on the Hierarchy of Needs is a major concept within this theory, as it focuses on the whole person, specifically the cognitive and affective needs of the learner. The theory holds that self-actualization is the goal of everyone. Learners are trusted to determine their own goals, set standards, and evaluate their own work. Thus, students are at the centre of the Humanist classroom. Teachers are facilitators and coaches, recognizing the unique needs of each student and supporting their academic and social development. 6.3.9 Activity: The Humanist Classroom Consider a scenario where you are teaching a group of students about climate change. Draw and label a diagram in your learning journal to show what the learning relationships would look like in a humanist classroom ADD ABEA INFO HERE 19 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners 6.3.10 Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Explained Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory by Abraham Maslow, which puts forward that people are motivated by five basic categories of needs: physiological, safety, love, esteem, and self- actualization. 6.3.11 Key Takeaways: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs • According to Maslow, we have five categories of needs: physiological, safety, love, esteem, and self-actualization. • In this theory, higher needs in the hierarchy begin to emerge when people feel they have sufficiently satisfied the previous need. • Although later research does not fully support all of Maslow’s theory, his research has impacted other psychologists and contributed to the field of positive psychology. To better understand what motivates human beings, Maslow proposed that human needs can be organized into a hierarchy. This hierarchy ranges from more concrete needs such as food and water to abstract concepts such as self-fulfilment. According to Maslow, when a lower need is met, the next need on the hierarchy becomes our focus of attention. These are the five categories of needs according to Maslow: 1. Physiological These refer to basic physical needs like drinking when thirsty or eating when hungry. According to Maslow, some of these needs involve our efforts to meet the body’s need for homeostasis; that is, maintaining consistent levels in different bodily systems (for example, maintaining a body temperature of 98.6°). Maslow considered physiological needs to be the most essential of our needs. If someone is lacking in more than one need, they are likely to try to meet these physiological needs first. For example, if ADD ABEA INFO HERE 20 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners someone is extremely hungry, it is hard to focus on anything else besides food. Another example of a physiological need would be the need for adequate sleep. 2. Safety Once people’s physiological requirements are met, the next need that arises is a safe environment. Our safety needs are apparent even early in childhood, as children have a need for safe and predictable environments and typically react with fear or anxiety when these are not met. Maslow pointed out that in adults living in developed nations, safety needs are more apparent in emergency situations (e.g. war and disasters), but this need can also explain why we tend to prefer the familiar or why we do things like purchase insurance and contribute to a savings account. 3. Love and Belonging According to Maslow, the next need in the hierarchy involves feeling loved and accepted. This need includes both romantic relationships as well as ties to friends and family members. It also includes our need to feel that we belong to a social group. Importantly, this need encompasses both feeling loved and feeling love towards others. Since Maslow’s time, researchers have continued to explore how love and belonging needs impact well-being. For example, having social connections is related to better physical health and, conversely, feeling isolated (i.e. having unmet belonging needs) has negative consequences for health and well-being. 4. Esteem Our esteem needs involve the desire to feel good about ourselves. According to Maslow, esteem needs include two components. The first involves feeling self-confidence and feeling good about oneself. The second component involves feeling valued by others; that is, feeling that our achievements and contributions have been recognized by other people. When people’s esteem needs are met, they feel confident and see their contributions and achievements as valuable and important. However, when their esteem needs are not met, they may experience what psychologist Alfred Adler called “feelings of inferiority.” 5. Self-Actualization Self-actualization refers to feeling fulfilled or feeling that we are living up to our potential. One unique feature of self-actualization is that it looks different for everyone. For one person, self- actualization might involve helping others; for another person, it might involve achievements in an artistic or creative field. Essentially, self-actualization means feeling that we are doing what we believe we are meant to do. According to Maslow, achieving self-actualization is relatively rare, and his examples of famous self-actualized individuals include Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, and Mother Teresa. 6.3.12 How People Progress Through the Hierarchy of Needs Maslow postulated that there were several prerequisites to meeting these needs. For example, having freedom of speech and freedom of expression or living in a just and fair society aren’t specifically mentioned within the hierarchy of needs, but Maslow believed that having these things makes it easier for people to achieve their needs. In addition to these needs, Maslow also believed that we have a need to learn new information and to better understand the world around us. This is partially because learning more about our ADD ABEA INFO HERE 21 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners environment helps us meet our other needs; for example, learning more about the world can help us feel safer, and developing a better understanding of a topic one is passionate about can contribute to self-actualization. However, Maslow also believed that this call to understand the world around us is an innate need as well. Although Maslow presented his needs in a hierarchy, he also acknowledged that meeting each need is not an all-or-nothing phenomenon. Consequently, people do not need to completely satisfy one need for the next need in the hierarchy to emerge. Maslow suggests that, at any given time, most people tend to have each of their needs partly met—and that needs lower on the hierarchy are typically the ones that people have made the most progress towards. 6.3.13 Activity: The new student A new student has joined your class from another school in India. Map out how that student might progress through the different levels of Maslow’s hierarchy to self- actualisation with your teaching and guidance. Record your ideas in your learning journal. Additionally, Maslow pointed out that one behaviour might meet two or more needs. For example, sharing a meal with someone meets the physiological need for food, but it might also meet the need of belonging. Similarly, working as a paid caregiver would provide someone with income (which allows them to pay for food and shelter), but can also provide them a sense of social connection and fulfilment. 6.3.14 So, what might this look like in the classroom? Ms. Datta begins each day with a morning meeting to check in on her students’ emotional well-being and proactively teach them specific coping skills & strategies. Mr. Apte, A Year 8 science teacher, provides his students a menu of assessment options to illustrate their mastery of learning targets for the unit. Mrs. Kohli, a Year 2 teacher, invites each student to set their reading goal for the quarter. Mr. Jha, the school’s counsellor, partners with local organizations to fill backpacks with food that students can take home to ensure they have food to eat over the weekend. Mrs. Malhotra, a Year 5 teacher, sets aside an hour of time each week for students to learn about and create anything they want, utilizing the framework she provides. Here, teachers address the social and emotional needs of their students, and actively partner with families to develop the whole child. They recognize that each student has needs within their heart, mind, body, and spirit, and teach students how to take care of themselves in all four dimensions. They empower students to set their own goals and determine their own action steps. At the highest levels, teachers may co-create rubrics with their students and encourage students to evaluate their own work throughout each unit. Notice, here, we are starting to explore some barriers to learning that we will look at in more detail later in Module 2. ADD ABEA INFO HERE 22 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners 6.4 SUMMARY: WEEK 2 - THEORIES OF LEARNING As you can see, today’s classrooms do not solely utilize one learning theory over another, but instead incorporate multiple theories throughout the learning experience. Each theory has strengths and limitations, especially considering the realities of education in the 21st century. Educators must walk the narrow line between creating a student-centred classroom and meeting rigorous learning standards. In our next section, we will go on to explore in more depth how we can use our understanding of learning theory to help our students overcome barriers to learning. ADD ABEA INFO HERE 23 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners 7 WEEK 3: BARRIERS TO LEARNING 7.1 WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON BARRIERS TO LEARNING IN SCHOOL? The ability of a school student to learn in the classroom is not simply a question of motivation. Here, we look at the various social, cultural, and emotional barriers to learning, and explore a range of strategies that will help you to tackle them 7.1.1 Motivation or \"availability to learn\" A student’s availability to learn depends largely on their motivation. Our personal desire to achieve results and improve our knowledge, regardless of the material being studied, is one of the most important factors in our ability to learn. Looking at Maslow’s Hierarchy of school needs, we see that self-actualization comes top of the list in the essential ‘needs’ that we require to learn. A lack of motivation is a major barrier to student’s learning and without the desire to achieve; students often end up doing the bare minimum amount of work in the classroom, enough to get by but not enough to really enhance their learning. A lack of motivation to engage with learning typically results in students going through the motions of learning and not retaining information. So, what strategies can we employ in class to overcome this barrier? a. Break Learning Down into Small Steps Rather than thinking of your students’ learning as studying a whole assignment, encourage them to think of it as a series of smaller tasks that when completed, will enable them to spend your time however you like. ‘The secret to getting ahead is getting started’. ADD ABEA INFO HERE 24 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners As we encourage our students to start to complete all of the smaller tasks on their list, they’ll start to feel like they’re making progress, which not only makes time pass quicker, but helps them retain information better. As they start to complete learning tasks, their motivation for learning will gradually increase as the finish line starts getting ever so closer and closer and closer…until they have completed everything that needs learning. b. The Egg Timer Method Encourage your students to set a specific time period to study for without stopping – blocks of twenty minute periods works really well, as research has shown that the average human adult can sustain their concentration level for a maximum of twenty minutes. ‘Never do tomorrow what you can do today. Procrastination is the thief of time’. Next, equip your classroom with an egg timer (or stopwatch, or mobile phone) and set twenty minutes to study. You will be amazed at how much your students can achieve when they are completely focused on one thing for a set amount of time. Finally, encourage your students to take a 5 – 10-minute break between each twenty-minute period for even better learning technique. c. Eliminate all Possible Distractions When it comes to learning, our classroom environment is just as important as our mindset. ‘It always seems impossible until it is done’. Look at your classroom and remove all possible distractions – for example, leave that mobile phone in their bag and do not look at it. 7.1.2 ACTIVITY: Classroom distractions This infographic gives you some more ideas to help students avoid distractions and maintain focus in class: ADD ABEA INFO HERE 25 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners Consider how you might adapt this infographic for a classroom you know well and draw a revised version in your learning journal d. Praise your students regularly One of the biggest motivators for learning (or doing anything for that matter) is praise. ‘A year from now, you’ll wish you had started today’. Whatever form of praise you choose for your students, make sure it is big enough to motivate them to want to learn. 7.1.3 ACTIVITY: Procrastination This video looks at why we put things off (\"procrastinate\") and gives us some easy ways to encourage our students to stop that happening: NOTE: Video URL is https://youtu.be/bZxs1PKqYTU Use your learning journal to write down your own top 10 strategies to motivate learners in your classroom and avoid procrastination. 7.1.4 Social and cultural barriers A child’s ability to interact socially with their peers has a significant impact on how they progress in the classroom. ADD ABEA INFO HERE 26 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners The very act of learning in a classroom environment involves interacting with other students, talking through problems, and finding solutions. In today’s classroom in India with an average of 24.9 pupils per teacher, peer to peer learning in schools is important now more than ever. Discussing lessons with other students helps pupils realise their own strengths and weaknesses and enables them to improve their knowledge gaps, learning directly from their classmates. School students who have poor social skills often fall behind in their learning as they are not able to communicate as effectively as others. Of course, not all types of learning require students to be social, but in the early years in particular, the ability to listen, respond and empathise with other people are all important learning skills. The culture in which a child grows up can also have a bearing on their ability to learn. Looking at Maslow’s table, ‘belonging’ is one of the most essential learning needs. The relationships that we form with our parents, friends, and teachers all feed into our ability to learn. As humans, we are hugely influenced by the people around us and during our first 5 years, our principal influencers are our parents or guardians. The beliefs that our parents hold and the cultures that they embrace can heavily influence how we learn as students. For example, if a student has grown up in a household where mathematical subjects are given more weight that languages, that student may have a cultural barrier when it comes to learning subjects like English. 7.1.4.1 Activity: Removing cultural barriers to learning Read ‘Removing barriers to girls’ education’ NOTE PDF Ref https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/PDF1_248.pdf Now design a lesson to teach students how you will help overcome cultural barriers to learning in the context of an international school in India Record your lesson plan ideas in your learning journal 7.1.5 Emotional factors that affect learning A student's self-esteem plays an important role in their ability to learn The encouragement that students receive from their teachers, parents and friends plays an important role in their emotional learning. If a student adopts a mindset of ‘always trying their best’ and learning from past failures, they will generally have a positive outlook on their ability to learn. On the other hand, if a student’s internal voice is always telling them that they are not good enough or that there is no point in even trying, they are more likely to underachieve in school. A student’s emotional wellbeing majorly impacts their ability to do well at school. Students who lack confidence and are afraid to take educated guesses could have emotional issues that are affecting their learning. There can be several emotional factors at play in a student’s learning including fear of embarrassment, doubt, and inadequacy, all of which can lead to self-sabotaging emotional states. ADD ABEA INFO HERE 27 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners Negative emotions can be reduced by setting expectations, focusing on the positives, and setting goals for the future. However, here are three specific strategies to help reduce the emotional barriers in learning: 1. Set Proper Expectations People need to understand that what they are experiencing is normal and that any uncomfortable feelings are a normal part of the learning experience. If learning the subject matter is sold to our students as “easy” to convince them to start when it is difficult, this will eventually backfire. Also, set rough time estimates for how long things will take to complete or learn. While everyone learns at a different pace, knowing that a topic or chapter is almost complete will stop some students from giving up. 2. Utilize Gamification While many people blame video games for keeping our students glued to a screen instead of being outside on a sunny day, video games can offer several benefits. Anyone who has played a video game understands that failure is never fatal. You may face setbacks, but you have an infinite amount of “lives” and chances to redeem yourself. By making the experience of learning feel more like a video game using ‘gamification’, learners may experience a shift in expectations that will reduce the stress of the learning process. People usually enjoy a challenging game, but not a challenging test. 3. Create Desire in The Learner People are more willing to suffer through something uncomfortable if they desire what is on the other side. At the start of a course or lesson, as well as with repeated reminders throughout the course, users should have a vision of what life will be like once they complete the course. What benefit does the course have? What will they be able to accomplish that will make their life better after completing the course? If they are not sure of the benefits, their motivation is going to sink once the course gets tough. 7.1.6 Personal issues that can affect learning On an individual level, students often have personal issues that affect their learning. For example, students with diagnosed learning difficulties like autism or Asperger’s syndrome will find certain elements of learning more challenging than others. Similarly, students with learning impairments like dyslexia may find that their personal barriers hinder their progress at times. We will learn more about inclusive learning strategies in Module 5: Classroom Management. On a practical level, factors such as transport, location, language, and access to resources can all present blocks to learning for some students. For example, in our international context, school pupils who do not speak English as well as others in their class may find following instructions more difficult than confident English speakers. Or students who live in remote locations may find that a lack of access to resources like the internet plays a big part in their ability to learn. ADD ABEA INFO HERE 28 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners 7.1.6.1 Activity: Removing barriers to learning This video provides more practical advice on reducing learning barriers: NOTE VIDEO URL: https://youtu.be/_WDisGLZXtY Use your learning from the video to put together your own advice sheet for other new teachers on how to help students overcome their own barriers to learning. Having an awareness of some of these learning roadblocks can help us as teachers, understand the individual needs of our students or children. Learning barriers affect students differently and there is no ‘right’ way to reduce them. A collective effort from teachers, friends; and family in supporting students to overcome any obstacles is a good starting point. ADD ABEA INFO HERE 29 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners 8 WEEK 4: APPLYING LEARNING THEORIES IN THE CLASSROOM Over the past three weeks we have explored the psychology of learning, the theories of learning and those barriers which can prevent our students from learning. However, theories of learning should not be treated as some vague piece of academic reading that we undertake whilst completing a teaching qualification. Moreover, they should certainly not be treated as the sole domain of university academics sat in comfy offices and not having to contend with a challenging class on a hot, wet Wednesday afternoon in monsoon season. Learning theories can be an excellent resource for developing ideas, resources and strategies that can improve the outcomes of our students and make our own experiences as teacher more interesting and rewarding. To explore this in more detail, let us focus on two well-known theories that we have not explored so far in this module: Bloom’s Taxonomy and Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence Theory 8.1.1 Blooms Taxonomy Bloom’s idea – which was remarkably novel when he first devised it in 1956 – was to classify different types of thinking and then to place them into some kind of hierarchy, with the most simple at the bottom and the most difficult at the top. Rote learning of knowledge was viewed as being the most simplistic, so was placed at the bottom with more challenging skills, such as evaluation, placed at the top. ADD ABEA INFO HERE 30 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners Bloom’s model has several useful applications in the classroom. It provides a set of ready-made objectives that can be easily adapted to just about any topic that you might find yourself teaching Bloom’s is also particularly powerful when thinking about how we can ask better questions and how those questions can be differentiated for different ability ranges: Following on from the last point, it provides a remarkably effective model for differentiating worksheets, exam questions or group work. By asking weaker students to focus on learning the names of different methods of pay motivation, asking more able students to explain (analyse) how and why each method will improve motivation and asking the most able to focus on evaluating the relative merits of each method and making judgements about which are the most suitable it is possible students to make excellent progress against their own prior attainment. 8.1.2 ACTIVITY: Using Blooms Taxonomy in questioning Read ‘Blooms Taxonomy Questions’ URL REF: https://www.bloomstaxonomy.org/Blooms%20Taxonomy%20questions.pdf Now use your learning from this reading to plan your own set of questions for your own subject or area of interest that clearly demonstrate questions at each level of Bloom’s Taxonomy 8.2 GARDNER’S THEORY OF MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES Gardner’s was interested in how people learn. He argued that all hold seven different types of intelligence: i. Linguistic, ii. Logical-Mathematical, iii. Visual-Spatial, iv. Body-Kinaesthetic, v. Musical-Rhythmic, vi. Interpersonal, vii. Intrapersonal. ADD ABEA INFO HERE 31 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners They key to Gardner’s idea was his argument that each of us holds these seven intelligences in varying amounts – some of use will be good with numbers but have poor spatial awareness, some of use will be musical but have poor verbal skills. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY Many of us will instantly recognise these different groups of students within our classrooms. The child that cannot sit still (Body-Kinaesthetic) who is sat next to the child that will sit diligently and take notes. Whilst one of these students will excel in our classroom, the other will struggle to fulfil their potential. However, get the same two students out on the football pitch and the roles are reversed. Where Gardner’s is often used best by teachers is as a way of enfranchising those students who do not possess the linguistic or logical-mathematical intelligences in a great abundance. These two ADD ABEA INFO HERE 32 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners types of intelligences are well catered for in our classrooms. However, other types of intelligences are often overlooked by teachers when planning lessons. Of course, this is partly due to the methods of assessments in our subject’s areas – the Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics exam makes no provision for students being able to sing about quadratic equations! However, that does not mean that we should not be able to make our classroom more interesting places for all groups of students. Gardner’s ideas can be easily adapted to provide a variety of classroom activities that will address the different needs of students. Role plays, news reports, making up a song or rap, the use of mind maps and group debates are all excellent ways that teachers can provide students with a varied and enriched curriculum in any subject. 8.2.1 Activity: Planning using Bloom and Gardener Plan a lesson, using the grid below to ensure that Bloom’s and Gardner’s idea are being addressed in your classroom. The results should be lessons with more depth, challenge, and variety Knowledge Comprehension Application Analysis Evaluation Visual-Spatial Bodily- kinaesthetic Musical Interpersonal Intrapersonal Linguistic Logical- mathematical 9 SUMMARY: MODULE 2 In Module 2 we have spent time developing our knowledge and understanding of how we learn, strategies to support effective learning; and how to overcome a range of barriers to successful learning. We supported this learning through an explanation of relevant and current theories of learning and case studies and models of good practice from within an international school context. By engaging with the course materials, the learning activities and wider reading, you will now: • Understand the psychology of learning and how we learn • Explore a variety of theories of learning relevant to teaching in an international context • Know and recognise the key barriers to learning and explore strategies to overcome these • Be able to apply learning from this module in a classroom context. In Module 3: Understanding Curriculum, you will focus on classroom practice and pedagogy through an exploration of the formal and informal curriculum, the use of case studies and models of good practice to explore key areas of planning and pedagogy; and the use of current research and thinking to explore the purpose and impact of effective lesson objectives, learning outcomes and questioning on learning and progress. ADD ABEA INFO HERE 33 2021-2022

Postgraduate Diploma in International Education Module 2: Understanding our learners 10 ASSESSMENT TASK With reference to your learning from Module 2, produce a professional case study of 1,500 words for 3 contrasting learners (500 words for each) which references the relevant educational theories on how each child learns effectively and how effective teaching helped them overcome barriers to their learning. 11 GUIDANCE You should refer to your introductory guide for details of how to set out your assignment, and details of assessment criteria, assessment boundaries and guidance on correct referencing. 12 REFERENCES AND WIDER READING Understanding How We Learn: A Visual Guide by Weinstein et al Pub David Fulton (2018) Learning Theories Simplified: ...and how to apply them to teaching By B Bates Pub Sage Publications (2019) How Children Learn: From Montessori to Vygotsky - Educational Theories and Approaches Made Easy by L Pound Step Forward Publishing (2005) The Science of Learning: 77 Studies That Every Teacher Needs to Know by B Busch Pub David Fulton (2019) How Children Learn by J Holt Pub Merloyd Lawrence (2017) How People Learn: Helping children and adults understand the brain By O Mesa Pub Instructional design (2019) Why Can't I Help this Child to Learn? Understanding Emotional Barriers to Learning By H High Pub Routledge (2011) Understanding Barriers to Learning: A Guide to Research and Current Thinking by P Maxted Pub (1999) ADD ABEA INFO HERE 34 2021-2022