Evaluative Report
Armitage, et al., (2007:109-110) describe teaching resources as the instruments used by teaching staff to enhance their teaching. Learning resources are viewed as instruments used by the students to solidify their learning.
A number of teaching resources are used to enhance teaching in the classroom. PowerPoint is used when introducing students to new topics and theories. PowerPoint can be a “highly effective tool to aid learning” (Smith, 2014). By using PowerPoint as a visual aid it can allow lecturers to deliver lessons in a more interactive manner than simply lecturing students (InvestinTech, n.d.). However, if PowerPoint is not utilised correctly, lecturers and students can suffer from “Death by PowerPoint”. Taylor (2007:395) discusses how students can become disengaged in a lecture if the lecturer merely reads each slide verbatim to the students thus leaving them with the impression they could have read the slides in their own time and not turned up to the class. PowerPoint can also be used to assist learners with additional needs. The slides used are designed based on guidance from Dyslexia-Plus (n.d.). Slides have a dark background with light coloured text as lights tend to be lowered in the classroom during lectures.
Students attending class are encouraged to participate in group work. Coffield (2002) makes the assumption learning is rooted in social involvement and negotiation. By encouraging students to work together they not only learn to complete the task at hand, they also learn how to discuss and debate their opinions with others. Eraut (2000) argues that an individual’s knowledge may not be enough. Group work, or working as part of a team, brings in new personal knowledge which can be shared among the group. The activity “Think-Pair-Share” has been used during the introduction of new topics. This allows students who have difficulty speaking in front of larger numbers to express their views as well as the more confident
A number of teaching resources are used to enhance teaching in the classroom. PowerPoint is used when introducing students to new topics and theories. PowerPoint can be a “highly effective tool to aid learning” (Smith, 2014). By using PowerPoint as a visual aid it can allow lecturers to deliver lessons in a more interactive manner than simply lecturing students (InvestinTech, n.d.). However, if PowerPoint is not utilised correctly, lecturers and students can suffer from “Death by PowerPoint”. Taylor (2007:395) discusses how students can become disengaged in a lecture if the lecturer merely reads each slide verbatim to the students thus leaving them with the impression they could have read the slides in their own time and not turned up to the class. PowerPoint can also be used to assist learners with additional needs. The slides used are designed based on guidance from Dyslexia-Plus (n.d.). Slides have a dark background with light coloured text as lights tend to be lowered in the classroom during lectures.
Students attending class are encouraged to participate in group work. Coffield (2002) makes the assumption learning is rooted in social involvement and negotiation. By encouraging students to work together they not only learn to complete the task at hand, they also learn how to discuss and debate their opinions with others. Eraut (2000) argues that an individual’s knowledge may not be enough. Group work, or working as part of a team, brings in new personal knowledge which can be shared among the group. The activity “Think-Pair-Share” has been used during the introduction of new topics. This allows students who have difficulty speaking in front of larger numbers to express their views as well as the more confident
References: Armitage, A. et al., 2007. Teaching and Training in Post-Compulsory Education. 3rd ed. England: Open University Press. Brown University, 2014. Interactive Classroom Activities. [Online] Available at: http://www.brown.edu/about/administration/sheridan-center/teaching-learning/effective-classroom-practices/interactive-classroom-activities Center For Faculty Excellence, 2009. Classroom Activities for Active Learning. [Online] Available at: http://cfe.unc.edu/pdfs/FYC2.pdf Coffield, F., 2002. Breaking the consensus: lifelong learning as social control. British Educational Research Journal, 25(4), pp. 479 - 499. Crooks, T. J., 1988. The Impact of Classroom Evaluation Practices on Students. Review of Educational Research, 58(4), pp. 438-481. Davis, B., 1999. Cooperative Learning: Students Working in Small Groups. [Online] Available at: http://www.stanford.edu/dept/CTL/cgi-bin/docs/newsletter/cooperative.pdf Dohrenwend, A., 2002. Serving up the Feedback Sandwich. Family Practice Management, 9(10), pp. 43-49. Eraut, M., 2000. Non-formal learning and tacit knowledge in professional work. British Journal of Educational Pyschology, 2000(70), pp. 113-136. Magdziarz, S. et al., 2006. Developing a scholarly approach to the evaluation of assessment practices. Asian Review of Accounting, 14(1/2), pp. 24-36. Orlich, D. et al., 2012. Teaching Strategies: A Guide to Effective Instruction. 10th ed. Wadsworth: Cengage Learning. Phye, G. & Andre, T., 1989. Delayed retention effect: attention, perseveration, or both?. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 14(2), pp. 173-85. Smith, K., 2014. Effective Use of PowerPoint. [Online] Available at: http://www.fctl.ucf.edu/teachingandlearningresources/Technology/PowerPoint/index.php Smith, L. & van Doren, D., 2004. The Reality-Based Learning Method: A Simple Method for Keeping Teaching Activities Relevant and Effective. Journal of Marketing Education, 26(1), pp. 66-74. Taylor, D., 2007. Death by PowerPoint. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 49(5), p. 395.