Category: Teaching

Teaching students to carry out a detailed analysis of different art forms, particularly, visual (e.g., movies, graphic novels, etc.) and literature-related ones (e.g., novels, short stories, poems, etc.) is an important step toward helping them understand art and its role in their lives. Thus, it is crucial that students should be able to express their ideas in a cohesive and sensible manner.

It is crucial to make sure that the learners should remember the exact patterns of expressing a critical thought. By making the use of the identified phrases a second nature of the learners, one is expected to promote the development of the Monitor Procedural Memory by the learners (Bailey & Pransky, 2014).

The use of specific vocabulary can be viewed as an indispensable element of developing critical and analytical skills in students. Before students are capable of designing a unique manner of artistic expression, they will have to learn the tropes that are traditionally used to analyze artwork. Therefore, it is imperative that they should acquire the necessary vocabulary and use it appropriately.

To make sure that the learners should have a basis for their further analysis of the text, as well as be able to express their point of view and get the necessary ideas across, the teacher will have to consider the following vocabulary as a possibility:

Abbreviate, Chronology, Credible, Estimate, Analogy, Evidence, Exaggerate, Foreshadow, Graphic, Illustrate, Intermittent, Isolate, Metaphor, Perspective, Plausible, Presume, Prompt, Reduce, Reflect, Represent, Requisite, Reveal, Sequence, Significance, Speculate, Synthesize.

It is necessary to make sure that the learners should know that they are not restricted by the choice of words provided by the teacher. Instead, the identified vocabulary should be viewed as a starting point for their development of critical abilities. Therefore, the students should be encouraged to explore their vocabulary opportunities by using the appropriate dictionaries, including both printed and electronic ones.

It should be borne in mind that there are a plethora of misconceptions about the efficacy of specific tools for reviewing and memorizing the target vocabulary. For instance, the traditional exercise involving filling in the blank parts of the text does not have the desired effect on learners since it does not invite them to analyze the text (Spencer-Waterman, 2013).

The incorporation of collaborative practices should be interpreted as the first step toward teaching the target audience the essential vocabulary for critical reading. For instance, the teacher may use a cloze sentence so that the learners could respond together by using the vocabulary word:

“We call text intermittent when…”

The use of collaborative practices can be viewed as the most efficient way of teaching learners the target vocabulary (O’Connor, 2014). For instance, the exercises that involve defining the word in a group should be viewed as a possibility. Suggesting that the learners should provide a definition of the word “abbreviate” can be viewed as a possible example:

“To ’abbreviate’ is to …”

Finally, a time-constraint systematic practice that will not involve scaffolding by the teacher should be considered one of the possible scenarios for an assignment. Admittedly challenging, it will prompt the learners to work on critical thinking skills and develop academic independence. Furthermore, the assignment is likely to encourage learners to develop creative thinking skills. For instance, the assignment may imply that the learners should practice the vocabulary by building a dialogue.

Using formative and summative assessments is a crucial step toward making sure that the students should remember the essential information represented to them in the course of the lesson. Furthermore, the incorporation of the assessment practices will inform the teacher about the issues that must be touched upon in the course of the next lesson.

A formative self-assessment can be viewed as the next step toward helping students remember the necessary information. A self-assessment will help the target audience develop the necessary critical skills.

Creating a concept map can be viewed as a perfect tool for carrying out a group summative assessment. By allowing learners to collaborate, the teacher can assess not only the ability of the target audience to use the acquired knowledge in a flexible manner and create a system of the received information but also define problems in their understanding of specific items. Furthermore, a concept map may be used as not only the element of assessment but also as a mnemonic device that the learners will, later on, apply to solve the associated tasks (e.g., writing an essay).

Finally, a one-minute essay can be deemed as an important tool in checking the learners’ ability to not only remember the target vocabulary but also use it consciously in a sentence.

Assessing the learners’ ability to use the vocabulary in a context is crucial. Therefore, it will be necessary to include the tasks that will require the use of the target vocabulary on a regular basis. For instance, assigning learners with the task of participating in a discussion forum, the teacher may suggest that the identified vocabulary should be used actively.

References

Bailey, F., & Pransky, K. (2014). Memory at work in the classroom: Strategies to help underachieving students. Alexandra, VA: ASCD.

O’Connor, R. E. (2014). Teaching word recognition: Effective strategies for students with learning difficulties (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Publications.

Spencer-Waterman, S. (2013). Assessing middle and high school social studies & English: Differentiating formative assessment. New York, NY: Routledge.

Literature Review

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) refers to a condition that affects the development of brain cells in children. Individuals with such disorders are likely to exhibit characteristics of problems of social interaction, repetitive behaviors, as well as challenges in both verbal and nonverbal communication. According to the America Psychiatric Association (2013), such disorders have adverse impacts on the academic outcomes of the affected individuals, as well as their independence. In support of this, Schall, Wehman, and McDonough (2012) noted that ASD affects the overall quality of the affected individuals’ life. On the other hand, Hendricks and Wehman (2009) asserted that the daily life of persons with ASD deteriorates, instigated by the thought of disability.

In spite of the effects on the features of ASD on the daily functioning of individuals, there is a likelihood that affected learners have difficulties in executive functioning such as self-regulation, sequencing, as well as solving-problems. Such a scenario has adverse impacts on the academic outcomes of students with ASD. For this reason, there is a need to improve the academic performance of such learners by the adoption of appropriate learning models. One such approach is the provision of academic as well as functional life skills instruction to the affected students. In the views of Hendricks and Wehman (2009), society expects that learners with ASD should function normally with regard to the conventional societal parameters. Nowadays, there are some instructional approaches that are aimed at the improvement of the learning outcomes of students. Much of the focus as far as learners with ASD are concerned is on the improvement of their behavior skills, communication, and social skills (Petursdottir & Carr, 2011; Banda, Hart, & Liu-Gitz, 2010).

The use of academic skills, as well as knowledge, is the everyday activities play a significant role as far as an individual’s function in society is concerned. According to a survey carried out by Pennington (2010), the majority of the studies in this area emphasize the literacy of learners with ASD as opposed to major other areas such as academic performance and functionality in the society. There are limited studies that focus on the role of instructional strategies on the academic performance of learners with ASD. Particularly, there is scarce research on teaching mathematics to learners with Autism Spectrum Disorders despite the increase in the demand for mathematics knowledge and skills among numerous career choices.

Challenges of mathematics among learners with ASD

According to the National Center for Educational Statistics (2013), the performance of learners with disabilities is low. In support of this, Mayes and Calhoun (2006) pointed out that learners with ASD have challenges with the mathematics subject. On the other hand, a survey carried out by Williams, Goldstein, Kojkowski, and Minshew (2008) indicated that as low as 25% of learners with ASD prefer vocabulary to mathematics. Naturally, the idea of mathematics is challenging to a considerable number of learners. Some of the common challenges in which the majority of learners experience difficulties in mathematics are associated with semantic memory, procedural challenges, and visuospatial challenges. In addition, there are also high chances that some learners would experience difficulties in the linguistic part of mathematics. This is attributable to the fact that such an aspect takes the consideration of various vocabularies that might have varying contextual meaning.

Mathematics subject involves equations and calculations, which differentiate it from traditional texts. As such, to succeed in mathematics, learners are required to be conversant with a number of mathematics rules, including the order of operations. For this reason, learners are required to be in a position of applying the right rule for the right cases, as evident in operations requiring the subtraction of fractions.

Difficulties with fractions

Success in secondary mathematics calls for a strong base in primary as well as the prerequisite skills. According to Pennington (2010), such success is also attributable to a strong foundation in number sense in understanding decimals, fractions, as well as whole numbers. Understanding how to handle operations involving fractions is a foundational skill that can influence a learner’s academic performance in mathematics. This is attributable to the fact that the failure to have the necessary knowledge in fractions is a major contributor to the lack of preparedness among learners for other mathematics classes. In spite of this, fractions are considered to be highly challenging for students considered to have disabilities in mathematics.

Working with fractions requires learners to have a clear understanding of the various quantities such as denominators and numerous, as well as how to relate them. in addition, learners should be conversant with the necessary rules associated with fractions, and understand when to use the specific rules.

Fractions Interventions for students with ASD

The subject of mathematics cannot be complete without fractions. It is important to learn the concepts required in solving problems involving fractions. For this reason, it has become significant for learners to put a lot of effort in accessing as well as mastering content standards associated with fractions. In spite of this, the learning curriculum in the majority of secondary schools is not adequate and requires to be upgraded. This is attributable to the fact that the majority of the schools lack advanced technology or new models to enhance the learners’ comprehension of fractions. For example, empirical evidence indicates that the majority of special education teachers do not have full knowledge as far as the standards of national mathematics are concerned (Maccini & Gagnon, 2002).

Presently, there are few instructional models to enhance the academic outcomes of learners with ASD. In spite of this, the majority of the available models that teachers can use emphasize on money management, operations, as well as the basic numbers. Nevertheless, empirical evidence shows that there is a high chance of students with ASD learning mathematics content according to the grade-level standards while at the same time bettering their basic skills in mathematics. One of the significant instructional models that can be highly beneficial as far as improving the experience of students with ASD as far as learning fractions in mathematics is concerned is the use of video-based interventions.

The incorporation of video technology in the teaching of learners with the Autism Spectrum Disorders offers a significant background to ensure that students grasp the necessary knowledge and academic content as far as teaching mathematics is concerned. Such an approach not only equalizes learners but also gives them a chance to learn at a pace that is convenient for them. As such, a lot of concerns have been expressed with regard to the role of video technology in improving the academic performance of learners. The video based interventions that are used nowadays include computer-based video instruction, video prompting, point-of-view video modeling, as well as video modeling. One of advantages of adopting video-based interventions o teach mathematics among learners with ASD is that such a technology enhances a teacher’s ability to teach a wide range of skills such as self-help, play, behavior, communication, as well as social skills.

Purpose of Study

This study carries out an extension as far as the application of the point-of-view video modeling in improving the academic skills of high schools learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder is concerned. To achieve this objective the study focusses on content-based academic skills and how video-based approaches can enhance the ability of the learners to solve mathematics problems containing fractions. As such, the study examines the efficiency of video-based problem-solving interventions on learners’ ability to acquire and maintain knowledge on how to handle mixed fractions in a mathematics class.

Research questions

The study has a number of research questions including:

1. To what extent do video-based problem solving interventions help learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder improve their ability to subtract mixed fractions both at baseline and the intervention phase?
2. To what extent are learners with ASD able to maintain acquired skills one-week after concluding the intervention phase?

Methods Section

The method used for this study was the single case experimental design. The choice this study design was informed by the need to establish whether or not the video-based intervention was effective in helping learners to improve their performance as far as solving mathematics problems containing fractions was concerned. Therefore, the single case experimental design was very instrumental in ensuring replication of the effects on the intervention on the dependent variable. This was done to examine the possibility of significant link between outcome variable and the intervention. According to Kratochwill et al. (2013), carrying out several attempts provides researchers with the opportunity to obtain precise, accurate, and valid data. For this reason, this study carried out five attempts five different time points before replicating them across five learners.

In line with the study design, it was important to take five baseline measures alongside the making of a point-of-view video modeling clip. Then, the study participants were required to view the clip and solve the mathematics problems up to when all of them met the mastery criterion. After this, maintenance measures that lasted for one week were taken to examine the retention rate of the students regarding the acquired skills. The response accuracy of the participants regarding fraction word problems during the three phases was measured using a permanent recoding approach. After that, the researcher noted the percentage of the correct and incorrect problems for the purpose of making comparative analysis of all the outcomes.

The collected data was synthesized through the visual analysis method. The significance of this method is that it provides effective correlation between dependent and independent variables in any study (Krachwill et al., 2013).

Participants

The study used 5 participants. First, the inclusion criteria focused on individuals who had not used video modeling instruction before especially in solving mathematical problems. Secondly, such individuals were required to meet the diagnostic criteria of ASD based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5. Thirdly, the selected individuals should have demonstrated challenges in solving mixed fractions in mathematics according to recommendations from their teacher. Fourthly, the individuals to be selected should have exhibited conceptual understanding as far as the process of solving problems as provided by the teacher is concerned. In addition, the appropriate study participants were required to have no hearing or vision impairments, and were required to be willing to take part in the study.

Setting

The study participants were provided with instructions in relation to a functional curriculum that was below the grade level. Five learners and a special education teacher formed the functional mathematics class. A separate classroom was used for the research questions.

Study variables

The point-of-video modeling instruction was the independent variable in this study and it was delivered through a problem-solving checklist and iPad. The checklist was made to assist learners whenever deciding what steps to use when solving a given problem.

On the other hand, the accuracy of the learners’ performance regarding their problem-solving ability was the dependent variable for this study. The study calculated the percentage of the equations that were correctly solved and used that to define the learners’ accuracy.

Procedures

The procedure involved three stages-the baseline, intervention and the maintenance phases.

The baseline phase required all the study participants to go through five sessions and they were in a position to respond to each concern. This phase did not include any intervention or any form of help to the study participants.

The intervention phase comprised of six sessions for every study participants. In addition, the learners were required to achieve at least 80% during this stage. A point-of-view clip was provided to the learners alongside a problem-solving checklist. The learners were required to watch the clip attentively before attempting to solve any problem. In spite of the fact that the instructions required the students to watch the clip twice, but they watched it once. The responses from this phase were marked and the percentage of the correct answers calculated and recorded.

The last phase was the maintenance stage that was implemented one week after the intervention phase. Unlike in the intervention phase, here learners were not allowed to use the checklist or the video clip. The maintenance phase was aimed at establishing where the learners still retained the skills acquired during the intervention session.

Results section

The reliability of the data from the study was assessed through a second trained independent rater. After randomly selecting about 30% of the responses from each of the three phases, the percentage of the correct responses was calculated. It was evident that the interobserver agreement was hundred percent for all the study participants in each of the three phases. The study participants and their teacher were required to respond to informal social questions before the intervention phase.

Table 1: Percentage of problems correct by students A-E.

Table 2: Mean percentage of accurate response per student during each phase.

The results of this study showed that the accuracy of the learners regarding the ability to solve mathematics problems involving fractions improved after using the video clip that was provided.

In addition, it was evident that each of the students showed significant improvement in their performance during the intervention phase as opposed to the case during the baseline phase. The examination of IRD scores indicated that the learners were more effective as far as solving word problems involving fractions after the intervention phase.

According to the learners’ social validity responses, it was evident that they were positive about the need to have better mathematics skills as well as eager to learn through video-based instructions. After completing all the three phases, the learners reported that they had learnt a lot as far as solving mathematics problem using the instructional clip was concerned. Teacher, on the other hand, showed interest to have the students improve their capability to solve problem problems in mathematics. After the assessment was over, the teacher reported that the video-based approach to solving problems in mathematics was time efficient and easy to use.

Discussion

The current study was primarily carried out to investigate the possibility of improving the performance of learners with ASD as far as solving problems in mathematics through video-based instruction. According to the results of the study, it was evident that the accuracy of the learners in solving mathematics problems improved following the intervention which included an instructional video clip. As such, the implication of such findings is that it was possible to increase the learners’ accuracy as well as skill maintenance in problem-solving among students with ASD. The video-based intervention is easy to implement, which makes its practicality possible.

Even though there are numerous studies that have been carried out in the past on learners with disabilities, there is still less focus on the studies on mathematics interventions especially for learners with Autism Spectrum Disorders (Yakubova, Hughes, & Hornberger, 2015). With the current rate of technology use in the education system, it is no doubt that there is a need for the implementation of individualized instruction to enhance the performance of learners with ASD. According to the responses from the study participants, it was evident that the learners and their teacher applauded the use of the video-based intervention citing its ease to use and efficiency.

Suggestively, the study findings indicated that the adoption of the pint-of-view video modelling to teach students with ASD can have positive impacts on the performance and accuracy of the learners in solving problems in mathematics. This is attributable to the fact that such interventions provide teachers with an appropriate platform to offer the necessary support to the students through an approach that can enhance their memorability as well as help them retain acquired skills. In addition, contrary to the provision of one-size fits all instruction to the learners then examining their performance, the video-based model gives instructors the opportunity to offered individualized support to learners.

Limitations and directions for future research

There is a need for future research as far as the subject of the performance of students with ASD in solving problems in mathematics is concerned. This study used a small sample size of five study participants. However, to enhance the accuracy and precision of results, future studies should consider using a large sample size. in addition, a large sample size would be effective in generalizing the findings.

Given the scarcity of literature about this subject, future research is important for the purpose of providing more insights on more approaches that can be adopted to improving the conceptual as well as procedural mathematics among learners with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Nevertheless, it is important for institutions to adopt video interventions to improve the specific learning needs of learners with ASD. For this reason, future research should focus on addressing the extent of the video intervention in influencing the conceptual understanding of learners with ASD.

References

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5 (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Banda, D. R., Hart, S. L., & Liu-Gitz, L. (2010). Impact of training peers and children with autism on social skills during center time activities in inclusive classrooms. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 4(2), 619–625.

Hendricks, D. R., & Wehman, P. (2009). Transition from school to adulthood for youth with autism spectrum disorders: Review and recommendations. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 24(3), 77–88.

Kratochwill, T., Hitchcock, J., Horner, R., Levin, J., Odom, S., Rindskopf, D., & Shadish, W. (2013). Single-case intervention research design standards. Remedial & Special Education, 34(3), 26–38.

Maccini, P., & Gagnon, J. C. (2002). Perceptions and application of NCTM standards by special and general education teachers. Exceptional Children, 32(1), 1–22.

Mayes, S. D., & Calhoun, S. L. (2006). Frequency of reading, math, and writing disabilities in children with clinical disorders. Learning and Individual Differences, 16(1), 145–157.

National Center for Educational Statistics. (2013). The nation’s report card: Mathematics 2013. Washington DC: U.S. Department of Education.

Pennington, R. C. (2010). Computer-assisted instruction for teaching academic skills to students with autism spectrum disorders: A review of literature. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 25(1), 239–248.

Petursdottir, A., & Carr, J. E. (2011). A review of recommendations for sequencing receptive and expressive language instruction. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 44(2), 859–876.

Schall, C., Wehman, P., & McDonough, J. (2012). Transition from school to work for students with ASD: Understanding the process and achieving better outcomes. Pediatric Clinics of North America, 29(2), 189–202.

Williams, D. L., Goldstein, G., Kojkowski, N., & Minshew, N. J. (2008). Do individuals with high-functioning autism have the IQ profile associated with nonverbal learning disability? Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 2(3), 353–361.

Yakubova, G., Hughes, E., & Hornberger, E. (2015).Video-based intervention in teaching fraction problem-solving to students with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism Development Disorders, 45(9), 2865–2875.

Model of Play

The model of play is created using the metaphor of Milky Way. The Galactic Center is the Play, and the clustered starts are the major play concepts. The idea is that the Milky Way is made of enormous amounts of clustered starts, which is similar to the model of play that also consists of multiple different concepts critical for its existence. The main elements of the model are:

• Child’s perspective – consideration of their interests and how they understand the role of play in their daily activities (Meade et al., 2013)
• Play based setting – the creation of the context promoting imaginary play and helping children to achieve success
• Culture – attention to cultural peculiarities of the participants and current needs
• Early Years Framework – all children should have the best start in their life (The early years learning framework, n.d.)
• Reflection – analysis of results to improve models to achieve better lesson planning
• Sustained shared thinking – promotion of cooperation with peers to achieve better results (NQS, 2012)
• Environment – the creation of appropriate contexts to improve outcomes

The given model can be used in the future job to facilitate the play for students to have better knowledge and skills achieved through this play.

Theoretical Discussion

The proposed model of play presupposes the utilization of theoretical ideas that guarantee its effectiveness and contribute to the achievement of positive outcomes. Regarding the modern tendencies in the educational sphere and the current needs of children, the sustained shared thinking and imaginary play frameworks are used to create the case and achieve the desired goal.

Sustained shared thinking (SST) is now considered a potent tool that might help to improve performance in early year settings. Its main peculiarity is the focus on the development of thinking processes by engaging in meaningful cooperation with peers and sharing ideas. The existence of an opportunity to make meaning together helps children to know more about the topic and involve in the play presupposing its further investigation and analysis (NQS, 2012). At the same time, due to the existence of several actors solving the same task or performing a similar activity, SST can help children to accomplish tasks beyond their current level of ability, which is critical for the educational process (Purdon, 2016). For this reason, adherence to this very theoretical model becomes an essential part of the educational process. That is why the central conceptual idea of the play is the creation of the meaningful context resting on participants’ interests and promoting SST via the imaginary situation with the broken car. It will result in the high level of interest to the object of play and evolution of knowledge and skills among children who share their thinking when performing some tasks.

Analyzing this theoretical idea, it is possible to say that an educator acquires a set of tools to impact children and educate them within the given play. Creating the appropriate context and acting as another player, the educator becomes involved in SST and can affect participants helping them to find correct answers or avoid conflicts (Meade et al., 2013). At the same time, accepting the fact that SST is an effective way to guide a child to perform tasks that were previously unavailable or unclear to him/her, the teacher can introduce questions that demand shared thinking and collaboration to find answers and generate knowledge. In such a way, the offered play rests on the theoretical paradigm emphasizing the increased importance of SST and its ability to contribute to the development of basic skills and knowledge needed for children to evolve and enter the next stage of their cognitive development (Purdon, 2016). For this reason, SST is selected as one of the fundamentals of the proposed situation.

Another paradigm utilized for the play is an imaginary play that also shows high effectiveness for early years teaching. Play-based learning has traditionally been the educational approach implemented by teachers in Australian preschool programs. It underpins state and national government early learning frameworks. The fact is that any play-based project builds on the motivation of a child, and uses the imaginary situation as a meaningful context for learning. In this environment, children acquire an opportunity to explore, experiment, discover, and solve problems in imaginative and playful ways (Ridgway, Quinones, & Li, 2015). It becomes a fundamental element of the educational process as there is a high level of motivation and the absence of stress, which improves results. In the play, any child can alter the space of his/her optical field to sense field by acting within the imaginary situation (Lin, Fu, Wan, Zhou, & Xu, 2018). For example, in the case, children pretend they are repairing the car after the crash. Accepting the offered conditions of the game, they acquire a new meaning in the imagined situation, which is essential for learning.

The proposed play utilizes the concept of play-based learning and the creation of imaginary situations that contribute to the development of particular skills and knowledge among participants. The educator offers the case with a car to stimulate creativity and ensure that both children will perform tasks contributing to the development of their cognitive, social, emotional, and practical skills. Selection of this model is presupposed by its high effectiveness in various educational situations and its ability to contribute to the achievement of positive results among children with different characteristics (Gleason, 2017). Combination of SST and imaginary play is expected to become an appropriate choice.

Play Example

The described play occurs in an afternoon in a particular garage. The age range of children is from 4 to 4,5 years. There are two focus children (A and B) playing with their teacher. They are playing in the corner where a teacher made a garage for them, pretending she is a customer driving her car outside. Child A asks: “What can I help you, customer?”. The educator answers: “I crashed my car into the tree. Can you please help me see what happened to my car?”. Reacting to these words, Child A holds the teacher’s care and pretends that it is driven inside the garage and put on the floor to check if everything is alright or what should be done. Child A opens the cover of this car and starts to check every single spot of it, copying the behavior of specialists. In 1 minute, Child A concludes: “Okay, I have just checked your car. There is something wrong with your car…The wheels are broken; the engine is broken too”. The teacher responds to this statement: “Can you fix it for me?”. Child A answers: “Yes, I can”. The educator asks another question: “How are you going to fix it for me? Do you fix it alone or with your colleague?”. Child A replies: “I will fix the wheels for you first, and then my colleague will fix the engine and put the paint on your car.” The teacher says: “Thank you”.

However, both Child A and Child B are not familiar with the tools that should be used to perform this task. They put the petrol oil in the engine instead of engine oil. That is why the educator acts as an outsider with the primary aim to guide participants of the play and says: “Okay, there is a picture on the bottle. What do you think you are holding?”. Child A and Child B answer: “Petrol oil.”. The teacher continues: “Where should petrol oil go?”. Both participants notice that they put the oil in the wrong place and after some considerations point to a certain side of the care. The educator understands that they do not know the term to describe it and helps them: “It is called a fuel system”. Being explained the meaning of terms engine oil and petrol oil, the children keep fixing the engine. However, Child A and Child B have a conflict about who has a turn for putting the paint on the care because there is only one spray, and only one participant can do it. The teacher states: “I see Child B is holding the spray. Child A, can you please ask your colleague to give it to you when he has finished it?”. In such a way, the agreement is achieved as Child A asks Child B if she can give her the spray. Then she changes the wheels waiting for Child B to finish putting paint.

The given situation is the example of play that rests on several theoretical concepts. First of all, the idea of imaginary play is utilized to interest children and make their creativity work effectively while performing some educational activity. Additionally, the method presupposing sustained shared thinking is implemented (Soundy, 2012). The teacher engages in collaboration with children and asks them open-ended questions to make them think and find answers on their own (Somers & Yawkey, 1984). The given approach promotes improved cooperation between all participants of the play and encourages them to use creative approaches to solve problems that emerge during the whole process and that contribute to the generation of knowledge.

Pedagogical Role and Child’s Perspective

The central pedagogical role is the creation of the imaginary play and conditions beneficial for social and emotional development along with the conflict resolution. For this reason, in this situation, the educator supported children by helping them with tasks and explaining the meanings of terms unknown for them. Additionally, it was critical to play with them as a partner supporting all their incentives and helping to resolve conflicts that emerged during their cooperation (Fleer, 2015). The given situation also promoted muscle development and collaboration as children had to work with various objects, which was an important role of the educator.

In such a way, the following teachers perspective can be formulated

• Playing as a partner
• Supporting incentives
• Explaining terms
• Resolving conflicts
• Educating

As for the child’s perspective, it is a critical element of any play as it preconditions its main stages and aspects that should be emphasized. In every similar situation, children create an imaginary situation which is dynamic, continuous, and contributes to the development of new experiences and ideas via the resolution of challenges that might emerge (Ridgway, Quinones, & Li, 2015). It is critical to consider the fact that children learn in cases demanding problem-solving skills, which means that imaginary play is the best possible option for them. Analysis of play from child’s perspective this sort of cooperation is a specific meta-communicative scenario that can be used in the real-life situation due to the acquisition of certain skills and knowledge (Dayan & Ziv, 2012). In this example, the child’s perspective also serves as a major concept.

First, one can see that the educator accepts children’s perspective on the game and values their attitudes to all events occurring in the game. It helps to remain involved and engage in a specific sensitive relationship by responding to participants’ words and intentions (Nicholson, Shimpi, Kurnik, Carducci, & Jevgjovikj, 2014). Acceptance of their vision of the situation also helps to utilize the experience of the teacher and ask open-ended questions that will promote the further development of the play and its becoming interesting for both participants. Taking a child’s perspective in this play also means the improved sustained shared thinking as all individuals start to act within the same situation and find solutions together, which is critical for social and emotional development.

From the perspective of children, it is essential to perform many tasks on their own as it is interesting for them and provides with an opportunity to develop skills and acquire knowledge (Pyle & Alaca, 2018). That is why there can be some conflicts regarding the use of objects or the accomplishment of some tasks. Accepting the child’s perspective, the teacher acts effectively in the given situation showing that everyone will have an opportunity to use spray and perform various activities. Child’s perspective remains the major concern of the play. Participants consider the situation with the car as an interesting way to engage in activities they previously saw. That is why they try to apply some background knowledge to it.

References

Dayan, Y., & Ziv, M. (2012). Children’s perspective research in preservice early childhood student education. International Journal of Early Years Education, 20(3),280-289,

Fleer, M. (2015). Pedagogical positioning in play – Teachers being inside and outside of children’s imaginary play. Early Child Development and Care, 185(11-12), 1801-1814.

Gleason, T. (2017). The psychological significance of play with imaginary companions in early childhood. Learning & Behavior, 45, 432-440.

Lin, Q., Fu, H., Wan, Y., Zhou, N., & Xu, H. (2018). Chinese children’s imaginary companions: Relations with peer relationships and social competence. International Journal of Psychology, 53(5), 388-396.

Meade, A., Williamson, J., Stuart, M., Smorti, S., Robinson, L., & Carrol-Lind, J. (2013). Adult-child sustained shared thinking. Early Education, 52, 7-12.

National Quality Standard: Sustained, shared thinking. (2012). Web.

Nicholson, J., Shimpi, M., Kurnik, J., Carducci, C., & Jevgjovikj, M. (2014). Listening to children’s perspectives on play across the lifespan: children’s right to inform adults’ discussions of contemporary play, International Journal of Play, 3(2), 136-156.

Purdon, A. (2016). Sustained shared thinking in an early childhood setting: an exploration of practitioners’ perspectives. Education 3-13, 44(3), 269-282.

Pyle, A., & Alaca, B. (2018) Kindergarten children’s perspectives on play and learning. Early Child Development and Care, 188(8), 1063-1075,

Ridgway, A., Quinones, G., & Li, L. (2015). Early childhood pedagogical play. New York, NY: Springer.

Somers, J., & Yawkey, T. (1984). Imaginary play companions: Contributions of creative and Intellectual abilities of young children. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 18(2), 77-89.

Soundy, C. (2012). Imaginary play in Montessori classrooms: Considerations for a position statement. Montessori Life, 24(4), 28-35.

The early years learning framework for Australia. (n.d.). Web.

Introduction

Inquiry-based learning (IBL) is gaining more and more attention from modern educators as a method of encouraging children’s independent and creative activity. In Early Years training, this approach is particularly useful since young learners receive the opportunity to learn through real-life experiences and satisfy their eagerness to investigate processes around them. This paper includes an analysis of IB learning and teaching as a part of the Early Years programme and includes reflections on teacher identity. IBL is viewed as a beneficial strategy that has the potential to cultivate young learners’ hypothesising skills and encourage them to think independently and analytically.

Inquiry-Based Teaching Practices in Early Years Training

IBL is an approach to teaching and learning that presupposes children’s active participation in increasing their knowledge instead of passively receiving the knowledge of somebody else. Inquiries into the classroom dimension are governed by three principal frameworks: establishment of classroom objectives, recognition of an instructional approach to engage learners, and the teacher’s degree of direction (Kidman & Casinader, 2017). IBL practices are highly relevant to Early Years teaching since young children are particularly curious about everything surrounding them. Children’s natural eagerness for understanding processes happening in their lives is the major driver for IBL. However, it is also crucial to examine the function of the teacher in such a learning environment.

When analysing IBL, specialists remark that using the term ‘learning’ undermines the role of teaching, which is at the core of this process. Scholars acknowledge the importance of teachers’ support and guidance when undertaking inquiries (Kidman & Casinader, 2017). However, at the same time, they note that the level of guidance should be carefully adjusted to students’ needs so that the line between active and passive learning will not be crossed. According to the basic hierarchy of inquiry-oriented teaching practices, the level of teacher direction may vary from exposition and narration to support and encouragement (Kidman & Casinader, 2017). At the highest point of the scale, which is called hypothetical inquiry, the teacher supports the learners’ inquiry but gives no direction, thus ensuring the process of learning is a creative activity (Kidman & Casinader, 2017). Therefore, it is necessary to take into consideration both the teaching and learning experiences when analysing the importance of IBL.

A teachers’ role may be scrutinised under two types of the learning environment: field and classroom. Classroom learning environments (CLEs) are located within the premises of an educational establishment. Field learning environments (FLEs) are locations beyond school, including libraries, museums, gardens, parks, or virtual spaces that require the use of the software. Researchers emphasise the significance of the IB approach in learning science (Cremin, Glauert, Craft, Compton, & Stylianidou, 2015). Indeed, scholars argue that IB teaching has the potential to increase children’s understanding of science considerably (Samarapungavan, Patrick, & Mantzicopoulos, 2011). Therefore, such spaces as science museums are gaining popularity as FLEs, where young learners can explore science through hands-on inquiries (Duran, Ballone-Duran, Haney, & Beltyukova, 2009). The nature of LEs predetermines the variety of teachers’ roles in each setting. For example, learners have more freedom in FLEs than in CLEs (Kidman & Casinader, 2017). The simplest explanation for the differences between LEs is that in a CLE, students mostly work with secondary data, while in an FLE, they have the opportunity to generate primary data by themselves. How this data is gathered depends on the teachers’ mastery of IB teaching.

To encourage children’s inquiry, a teacher needs to initiate their interest in a topic. The most significant positive outcome from such encouragement is students engaging in hypothesising and starting to ask questions about relevant issues. The skill of questioning is more basic than that of hypothesising since even a learner with little knowledge of a subject can ask questions. However, when understanding of the topic deepens, the teacher can guide children to make hypotheses about various issues or phenomena (Kidman & Casinader, 2017). The teacher’s role in developing students’ hypothesising skills is highly significant. The educator’s task is to guide the discussion process during which learners should discern between what is known and what requires further investigation and analysis. While hypothesising is largely viewed as a scientific skill, it can also be employed in humanities under the IBL approach to make predictions about some phenomena (Kidman & Casinader, 2017).

To develop students’ inquiry skills, the teacher has to be persistent and creative when leading the initial stages of questioning. When developing inquiry teaching practices in Early Years teaching, one should make use of the positive factors and be cautious of the negative aspects. Advantages of IBL include developing children’s independent thinking, deepening their analytical skills, and encouraging independent learning under the teacher’s guidance. However, there are some serious challenges associated with the introduction of IBL in one’s teaching practice that should be considered as well. One major obstacle is a teacher’s lack of confidence or expertise (Kidman & Casinader, 2017). If the educator does not have a sufficient degree of inquiry literacy, they cannot be as effective in promoting their students’ IBL. Hence, the primary goal of a teacher is to obtain the necessary knowledge of IB learning and teaching before engaging in these processes.

Personal Reflection on Inquiry-Based Teaching Practices

Being a pre-service teacher, I have not had any teaching experience yet, so my reflections on IB teaching practices will be based on the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) (2011). According to Sachs, teacher identity (TI) is “the core of the teaching profession” (as cited in Oruç, 2013, p. 208). Through understanding one’s TI, future or practising, educators can establish what approaches they can employ during an activity to make their practice useful and effective. The professional identity of teachers working in present-day environments presupposes being engaged in lifelong learning, following professional ethics and standards, and participating in professional membership foundations (Moss, 2016). There is a variety of skills and expertise issues that TI covers: self-assessment, disciplinary and cross-disciplinary knowledge, equity, professional activism, networking, mentoring, research, reflection and problem solving (Moss, 2016). Some of the ‘literacies’ I still need to develop as a teacher involve teacher research, cross-disciplinary knowledge, and networking.

These aspects are included in APST (2011) as a professional practice and professional engagement domains. Through further enriching the knowledge and skills I already have, I will be able to enact IB practices in my teaching. Linn and Jacobs (2015) emphasise the importance of introducing IB technologies into teacher preparation programs. I believe IB practices will have a positive effect on my teaching, so I intend to enact IBL through applying core knowledge and understanding of the significance of teacher-child interactions (Linn & Jacobs, 2015). Also, I plan to use the approaches of reflective learning to analyse work in the classroom and find ways of increasing my efficacy as a teacher.

Reflection is probably the most suitable alternative approach to inquiry teaching in relation to my specialisation since it will enable me to understand the achievements and problems as a practising educator, as well as help in finding solutions to more complex issues. Another complementary approach to inquiry teaching practice will be research work since I consider it an effective means of increasing knowledge and mastering my practical skills. To enact IB practices in my teaching, I will promote the development of children’s cognitive and metacognitive processes (Wang, Kinzie, McGuire, & Pan, 2010). However, as a pre-service teacher, I realise that there are some challenges related to the integration of inquiry instruction in contemporary school environments (Eckhoff, 2017). Therefore, I will strive to provide each learner with equal access to educational opportunities within the IBL settings (Malone, 2008). To do so, I will need to make sure that my personal identity does not interfere with my professional identity.

When analysing one’s TI, it is crucial to consider one’s beliefs and values as a learner (Graham & Phelps, 2003). Research indicates that soon after placement, new teachers realise that there are gaps in perceiving their TI, which may influence their practice in a negative way (Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009). For me, the most difficult component of shaping TI is the role of emotions. I realise that allowing personal and professional identities to intermingle could have a detrimental impact on my practice, so I plan to work hard to avoid this scenario. The values I consider most crucial involve understanding the divergences between children’s physical and intellectual development that can affect learners’ level of perception. Also, I believe that teachers need to express empathy toward children and treat each student with respect, regardless of their economic and cultural background. It is important to bear in mind that TI tends to change throughout one’s professional life due to various external and internal factors (Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009).

One’s emotions, life experiences, and other issues can all influence one’s identity. At this point, I view a successful teacher as a professional who is well-educated, unbiased, continuously working on personal development, and who knows how to implement IBL in different learning environments. As a pre-service teacher, I have some apprehensions regarding the challenging aspects of implementing IBL. For instance, I am worried about enhancing my knowledge, selecting the most effective strategies, and combining teaching with continuous self-development. Before starting this course, I did not know what IBL was. While the course has given me a lot of new knowledge about this specific approach, I feel the need to enhance my understanding further through research and practice. I realise that both school administration and parents will expect me to offer the best learning opportunities to children, and I intend to work hard to live up to their expectations. The course has provided me with the foundations of IBL, which I will cultivate in the future.

References

Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. (2011). Web.

Beauchamp, C., & Thomas, L. (2009). Understanding teacher identity: An overview of issues in the literature and implications for teacher education. Cambridge Journal of Education, 39(2), 175-189.

Cremin, T., Glauert, E., Craft, A., Compton, A., & Stylianidou, F. (2015). Creative little scientists: Exploring pedagogical synergies between inquiry-based and creative approaches in Early Years science. International Journal of Primary, Elementary and Early Years Education 3-13, 43(4), 404-419.

Duran, E., Ballone-Duran, L., Haney, J., & Beltyukova, S. (2009). The impact of a professional development program integrating informal science education on early childhood teachers’ self-efficacy and beliefs about inquiry-based science teaching. Journal of Elementary Science Education, 21(4), 53-70.

Eckhoff, A. (2017). Partners in inquiry: A collaborative life science investigation with preservice teachers and kindergarten students. Early Childhood Education Journal, 45(2), 219-227.

Graham, A., & Phelps, R. (2003). ‘Being a teacher’: Developing teacher identity and enhancing practice through metacognitive and reflective learning processes. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 27(2), 11-24.

Kidman, G., & Casinader, N. (2017). Inquiry-based teaching and learning across disciplines: Comparative theory and practice in schools. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

Linn, V., & Jacobs, G. (2015). Inquiry-based field experiences: Transforming early childhood teacher candidates’ effectiveness. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 36(4), 272-288.

Malone, D. M. (2008). Inquiry-based early childhood teacher preparation: The personal learning method plan. Early Childhood Education Journal, 35(6), 531-542.

Moss, J. (2016). Introducing teaching as a profession. In Churchill, R., Godinho, S., Johnson, N. F., Keddie, A., Letts, W., Lowe, K., … Vick, M., Teaching: Making a difference (3rd ed.) (pp. 2-35). Milton, Australia: John Wiley & Sons.

Oruç, N. (2013). Early teacher identity development. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Services, 70, 207-212.

Samarapungavan, A., Patrick, H., & Mantzicopoulos, P. (2011). What kindergarten students learn in inquiry-based science classrooms. Cognition and Instruction, 29(4), 416-470.

Wang, F., Kinzie, M. B., McGuire, P., & Pan, E. (2010). Applying technology to inquiry-based learning in early childhood education. Early Childhood Education Journal, 37(5), 381-389.

Given the fact that, during the course of recent decades, the course of socio-political and scientific progress in Western countries had attained clearly defined exponential subtleties, it comes as no particular surprise that, as time goes by, the learning techniques, utilized in academic curricula, appear to place ever-heavier emphasis onto helping students to develop the skills of critical thinking.

According to Walters (1990): “The training of students in critical thinking, analytic skills, and problem solving has become a top educational priority in recent years.

Courses in critical thinking are now standard in institutions of higher learning” (p. 450). The reason for this is simple – it is namely those students that posses such skills, who would be more likely to succeed in attaining social prominence, as it would increase the extent of their professionally related adaptability.

Therefore, it represents the matter of foremost importance for educators to have a cohesive understanding as to what accounts for facilitation of critical thinking-related skills in the classroom.

In our paper, we will aim to substantiate the validity of this hypothesis at length, while referring to namely Experiential and Problem-Based (Independent) Learning Theories, as we believe that it is namely these two theories that provide teachers with most advanced theoretical framework for helping students to develop proficiency in critical thinking.

Nevertheless, before addressing the subject matter through the conceptual lenses of these two theories, we will need define the essence of critical thinking as ‘thing in itself’ and the role it plays within the discursive matrix of modern education. In the next part of this paper, we are going to do just that.

Despite the fact that, as we have mentioned earlier, the growing number of educators come to realize the indispensability of providing students with a stimulus to develop critical thinking, only few of them seem to understand the theoretical implications of such thinking.

The reason for this appears to be the fact that traditional concept of education implies the notions of ‘knowledge’ and ‘understanding’ being essentially synonymous, even though the post-industrial realities of today’s living render such an implication largely outdated. Whereas; the concept of ‘knowledge’ connotes memorization, the concept of ‘understanding’ connotes interaction.

And, up until comparatively recent times, the whole system of Western education was based upon the assumption that it is perfectly appropriate to expect theoretical knowledge, obtained in class, to correlate with surrounding realities, as if something rather statically defined.

As it was rightly pointed out by Sommer (1974): “The school emphasizes memorization and formal exercises, it emphasizes general relationships and abstract principles… It is obliged to certify the amount of learning that has taken place and relies on formal examinations for this purpose” (p. 10).

Nevertheless, such approach to education cannot be considered suitable, simply because, even the most abstract knowledge that can be obtained in the place of learning derives out of currently predominant socio-political and scientific discourses.

For example, whereas, throughout the course of 20^th century, students specializing in political sciences were taught to think of 1868 Peace of Westphalia as the foundation of international law, the NATO’s bombing of Yugoslavia in 1991 had rendered such theoretical approach utterly outdated.

Whereas, it has been traditionally assumed that it is namely governments that can indulge in unilateral spying on citizens, the most recent scandal with WikiLeaks had proven that private citizens are being just as capable of spying on the government.

Whereas, up until recently, the rate of people’s IQ was assumed to be environmentally predetermined, the most latest discoveries in the field of biology point out at the rate of people’s IQ as something rather genetically predetermined.

Therefore, it represents the matter of foremost importance for students to remain intellectually flexible (often by the mean of challenging the validity of conventional scientific theories), while pursuing with their studies, because it is only then that they will be able to take practical advantage of what it being learnt.

In her article, Tsui (2002) states: “By instilling critical thinking in students we groom individuals to become independent lifelong learners—thus fulfilling one of the long-term goals of the educational enterprise” (p. 740).

Apparently, one’s ability to indulge in critical thinking is the pathway towards such intellectual flexibility. And, one’s intellectual flexibility is the key to realization of his or her full existential potential, because only intellectually flexible individual would be able to adapt to highly dynamic realities of today’s living.

Nowadays, the origins of Experiential Learning Theory are being traced to the works of one of founders of American Pragmatism, John Dewey. In his now famous book Democracy and education, Dewey stated: “Knowledge is the tool for managing experience – no such thing as genuine knowledge and fruitful understanding except as the offspring of doing” (1924, p. 322).

According to Dewey, the validity of just about any abstract concept, learnt in schools, colleges or universities, is being reflected by the extent of this concept’s practical applicability.

The reason for this is simple – given the fact that, as representatives of Homo Sapiens specie, we are not mere spectators of a surrounding environment but its active agents, the possession of knowledge, on our part, does not only allow us to appear ‘sophisticate’, but it actually increases the degree of our existential competitiveness.

As Hytten (2000) had put it: “He (Dewey) argues that it (education) should help men and women deal with the problems of their day and create a more harmonious and fulfilling future.

For him, education provides the arena in which to test out the value of philosophical ideas” (p. 455). Therefore, students’ theoretical studies must always be followed by field exercises, during the course of which students will be able to test the strengths and weaknesses of what they had learnt in the classroom, on their own.

David Kolb utilized Dewey’s theoretical insights, in regards to education, while developing his model of Experiential Learning, which consists of four stages: Abstract Conceptualization, Active Experimentation, Concrete Experience, and Reflective Observation.

According to Kolb, it is namely while being taken through the last three stages of a learning process, that students attain critical thinking skills, as it is only then that they learn how to apply independent practice-related judgments to theoretical knowledge, obtained in the classroom. At the end of a learning process: “They (learners) must be able to reflect on and observe their experiences from many perspectives” (1984, p. 30).

In her article, where she discusses different aspects of an internship practice, Tovey (2001) points out to the fact that facilitation of students’ critical thinking should be considered as one of experiential learning’ most important benefits: “Being part of a workplace involves more than simply learning the job skills… it involves the enhancement of students’ analytical abilities” (p. 282).

By being prompted to learn from experience, students get to realize how their previously obtained theoretical knowledge applies in practice, which in its turn, helps them to adopt a critical perspective on professionally related tasks.

It is needless to mention, of course, that this would aid them rather substantially in attaining professional adequacy, because it is specifically those employees that do not address their professional duties strictly ‘by the book’ that are being valued the most.

Therefore, we can only agree with Maudsley and Strivens (2000), who provide us with a better understanding of how facilitation of critical thinking is being perceived through the lenses of Kolb’s Experiential Model: “The critical thinking process is person-specific, emotion-centered, and both intrinsically and extrinsically motivated, and often leads to critical insight unexpectedly” (p. 540).

Upon being prompted to reflect on how their theoretical knowledge correlates with their experiential knowledge, students get to be automatically presented with an opportunity to foster their critical thinking skills.

Another learning theory, the application of which is believed to result in enhancing students’ critical thinking skills, is being commonly referred to as Problem-Based or Independent.

The proponents of this theory suggest that, in order for students to be able to benefit from studying a particular theoretical discipline, they must be left on their own, while tackling learning-related challenges.

In their article, Belton and Scott (1998) provide us with the insight onto the conceptual premise of this theory: “Independent Learning (IL) is used here to emphasize independence in the processes of learning or attainment of knowledge; students taking responsibility for their own learning… The teacher’s role is more of a learning manager and resource person; a co-learner whose experience in acquiring appropriate knowledge is more important than their knowledge acquire” (p. 899).

The origins of this theory can be traced back to sixties, when medical students at McMaster University in Canada were provided with a number of educational liberties, such as showing up at certain lectures if they only considered it necessary.

Nevertheless, even though the emergence of this theory has never been associated with the individuals of a great social or scientific prominence, as opposed to what it is being the case with Experiential Theory, it continues to grow ever more popular with educators.

This can be explained by the fact that, as time goes by, the very notion of professional excellence is being increasingly perceived within essentially problem-solving context. For example, as of today, 65% of Microsoft’s software designers consist of naturalized citizens from Russia, India and China.

Even though that the bulk of these employees do not even hold a formal degree in IT-related fields and even though many of them have a criminal record, due to their hacking activities in the countries where they were born, it nevertheless did not prevent them from being hired.

The reason for this is simple – as time goes by, one’s formal possession of a university diploma becomes increasingly irrelevant, when it comes to defining his or her chances to get a job. This appears to be especially the case in Western countries where a so-called ‘affirmative action’ educational policy had attained an official status.

Nowadays, more and more corporate employers seek to hire those who, due to their possession of high IQ, are being able to adapt to the challenges of a highly dynamic professional environment.

And, it is specifically the application of Problem-Based (Independent) learning strategy in the classroom, which is expected to endow students with problem-solving skills, and consequently – to improve their critical thinking abilities.

In their article, Hmelo-Silver and Barrows (2006) state: “For experts, teaching is a problem-solving context in which they must come to understand the meaning of students’ ideas rather than just correct them.

This is especially true when teachers and students co-construct the instructional agenda in a student-centered environment such as problem-based learning (PBL)” (p. 21). When being exposed to Problem-Based (Independent) learning strategies, students learn how to utilize their own sense of rationale, while addressing a particular academic or practical challenge.

It is now became a commonplace practice for the teaching affiliates of this theory to provide students with a few possible clues as to how a particular academically-related challenge should be tackled, and then to simply leave students alone for a while, so that they would be able to choose in a favor of a proper solution on their own.

Such practice, of course, contributes rather substantially to the process of students acquiring essential skills in critical thinking, because, while being presented with a challenge to solve a particular problem, students get to realize that they have no option but to rely on their personal rationale-based judgments.

As it was rightly pointed out by Semerci (2006): “For a student who has assumed responsibility for his/her own learning, the necessity to display the behaviors of attaining knowledge and using it makes thinking and problem solving important skills… Problem-based learning (PBL) supports critical thinking and problem-solving skills” (p. 1127).

Thus, just as it being the case with Experiential Learning Theory, the utilization of Problem-Based (Independent) Learning Theory in the classroom creates the set of objective preconditions for students to indulge in critical thinking, as an integral part of the process of acquiring knowledge.

The earlier articulated ideas as to how Experiential Learning Theory and Problem-Based (Independent) Learning Theory address the issue of facilitating critical thinking, allow us to formulate the set of recommendations for fostering this type of thinking in the classroom:

1) Teachers should encourage students to come up with their own interpretation of the concepts and ideas that they are being taught about in the place of learning. This should especially be the case when the acquired knowledge is being concerned with liberal sciences.

According to Spinks (2001): “There is a widespread perception that Western society is undergoing a profound transformation in its relation to the political dimension of human experience” (23). Therefore, no topics should be made a ‘taboo’ to discuss, regardless of how controversial they might be.

For example, instead of making students to believe that the beneficence of ‘multiculturalism’ cannot even be doubted, as it is usually the case in today’s Western schools, colleges and universities, teachers should be providing them with an alternative perspective onto the subject matter – hence, prompting them to indulge in critical thinking.

2) Teachers should never skip an opportunity to allow students to validate the objectiveness of theoretical knowledge, they acquire in the class, independently.

And, the best way to assure that, is encouraging students to go on a field trips, during the course of which they would be able to test the strengths and weaknesses of a theory in practice, and to persuade them to enroll into externship and internship programs.

While referring to the specifics of how internship programs at Purdue University help students to improve their analytical abilities, Bay (2006) states: Students write a weekly internship log or journal of about two to three pages, in which they not only record their experiences but must also analyze them from a number of different perspectives” (p. 136).

It is specifically by interacting and by socializing in professionally related environment that students will be able to gain a better understanding of classroom-based knowledge’s practical relevance.

3) Teachers should consider making it possible for students to indulge in project-based learning activities, as one of the pathways towards facilitating their critical thinking skills. While being asked to work on completing a particular project, related to theoretical knowledge, students would be prompted to assess the extent of such knowledge’s practical applicability.

In its turn, this would enhance their skills of critical thinking rather extensively.

In their article, Lime et al. (2007) provide us with the insight onto project-based learning’ possible objectives: “Project-based learning can be aimed at applying knowledge and techniques that are already acquired (usually limited to one subject).

It can also include interdisciplinary projects that are related to existing professional issues” (p. 338). After having completed a particular field-project, students would be less likely to think of purely theoretical recommendations, as to such project’s completion, as representing an undeniable truth-value.

4) Teachers should create preconditions for students to choose in favor of participating in team-based brainwashing sessions as the ultimate tool of addressing educational tasks and challenges.

By taking part in these sessions, students will not only be able to improve their skills of critical thinking, but they will also learn how to defend their critical perspectives, in regards to a particular issue, against the critical perspectives of others. In their article, Kaplan and Kies (1995) state: “Critical thinking requires that students are taught the thinking skills process along with the content area.

The thinking skills process requires instruction and practice. The practice can be either deductive approach and/or by an inductive approach. Brainstorming is the part of deductive approach” (p. 186). While partaking in brainstorming sessions, students will also learn how to assess the objective value of their critical opinions. And, this will come as a great asset later in their lives.

We believe that the earlier provided line of argumentation, in regards to the significance of facilitation of critical thinking in the classroom, and also in regards to the implications of such facilitation, substantiate the validity of paper’s initial hypothesis.

By encouraging students to act as critical thinkers, while studying, teachers will help them greatly in the process of attaining self-actualization. As individuals capable of critically assessing the information that is being conveyed to them in classrooms, students will eventually cease to think of themselves as the mere recipients of knowledge.

Instead, they will grow to think of their role in the learning process as such knowledge’s co-creators. In its turn, this will result in endowing students with a completely new perspective on learning, which would be consistent with post-industrial realities of living in Globalized world.

References

Bay, J. (2006). Preparing undergraduates for careers: An argument for the internship practicum. College English, 69(2), 134-141.

Belton, V. & Scott, J.L. (1998). Independent learning and operational research in the classroom. The Journal of the Operational Research Society, 49(9),

899-910.

Dewey, J. (1924). Democracy and education. New York: Macmillan Company.

Hmelo-Silver, C. E. & Barrows, H. S. (2006). Goals and strategies of a problem-based learning facilitator. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 1(5), 21-39.

Hytten, K. (2000). The resurgence of Dewey: are his educational ideas still relevant? Journal of Curriculum Studies, 32 (3), 453-466.

Kaplan, E. J. & Kies, D. (1995). Fostering critical thinking in the middle school by using a quality circle strategy. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 22(2), 186-187.

Kolb, D. (1984) Experiential learning, Experience as the source of learning and Development . Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Lima, R. et al. (2007). A case study on project-led education in engineering:

students’ and teachers’ perceptions. European Journal of Engineering Education, 32(3), 337-347.

Maudsley, G. & Strivens, J. (2000). Promoting professional knowledge, experiential learning and critical thinking for medical students. Medical Education, 34(7), 535-544.

Semerci, N. (2006). The effect of problem-based learning on the critical thinking of students in the intellectual and ethical development unit. Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal, 34(9), 1127-1136.

Sommer, R. (1974). Experience & education. Journal of Architectural Education, 26(1/3), 9-1.

Spinks, L. (2001). Thinking the post-human: literature, affect and the politics of style. Textual Practice, 15(1), 23-46.

Tovey, J. (2001). Building connections between industry and university:

Implementing an internship program at a regional university. Technical Communication Quarterly, 10 (2), 225-39.

Walters, K.S. (1990). Critical thinking, rationality, and the vulcanization of students. The Journal of Higher Education, 61(4), 448-467.

Age

The lesson is targeted at children that belong to the age group of toddlers. According to the existing taxonomy suggested by Piaget, the infancy stage lasts toddlers are aged 1-3 (Swim 465). Therefore, the age of the target audience ranges from 2 to 3 years.

Topic

The topic of the lesson is colored, starting with the primary ones (particularly red, green, yellow, and blue). Learning to discern different colors is critical for learners since it allows them to study the properties of the environment around them and explore them in depth (Nilsen 322). Therefore, the ability to identify basic colors should be seen as essential in toddlers.

Objective

The key objective of the lesson is to teach learners about colors and the means of discerning them. The objective currently includes providing information about four primary colors (red, green, yellow, and blue), while the information about the rest of the colors will be provided to students later.

Goals

The goal of the lesson is to teach students to differentiate between four basic colors (namely, red, green, yellow, and blue) and be able to name them, respectively. Moreover, by the end of the lesson, learners are expected to be able to identify and name the colors of various objects.

Activities

The teacher prepares a small area in which objects of the specified colors (red, green, yellow, and blue) are stacked and invites the children to sit in a circle around these objects. The teacher picks an object and tells the students about the red color. Afterward, the students are suggested to select other objects and name them (for example, a student may pick a red ball). The same procedure will be repeated for each color individually.

After a short break, the teacher encourages the learners to revise the information. Then, the students are asked to sort objects based on their color. At this point, a teacher may notice that some of the students are already familiar with the concept of basic colors, while others struggle with grasping the concept. Thus, the teacher will need to focus on scaffolding the latter, simultaneously keeping the former invested by providing them with more complex task and even suggesting them to support their peers in learning.

The final activity will involve singing a nursery rhyme about colors. Using the song “If You’re Wearing Something Blue,” a teacher will check whether the students have learned the colors. Specifically, as the children sing, “If you’re wearing something red, clap your hands,” the students wearing red will clap their hands; the same will appeal to the parts about “blue,” “green,” and “yellow.” Thus, the teacher will be able to see whether students have learned the basic colors.

After the lesson, it will be reasonable for the teacher to collaborate with parents and encourage them to ask their children about colors. It is desirable to continue the activities involving naming the colors of objects and similar tasks at home so that the students could build the required skill set faster. The identified step is particularly important for the students that will have problems learning about colors in class.

Materials

During class time, the teacher will have to use several types of materials. To introduce learners to colors, a teacher will need colored paper and basic shapes of the identified colors. In addition, objects that represent the colors in question and that will be used for the first activity will have to be utilized. These may include plastic shapes, pencils, pieces of cloth, toys, and similar objects. It will also be necessary to use a device for playing music, which may range from a tape recorder to a laptop. Finally, the articles concerning the developmental stages of children (Horváth et al. 203) and the process of learning about the environment (McMillan and Saffran 1843) will have to be used.

Works Cited

Horváth, Klára, et al. “Daytime Nap Facilitates Generalization of Word Meanings in Young Toddlers.” Sleep, vol. 39, no.1, 2016, pp. 203-207.

McMillan, Brianna TM, and Jenny R. Saffran. “Learning in Complex Environments: The Effects of Background Speech on Early Word Learning.” Child Development, vol. 87, no. 6, 2016, pp. 1841-1855.

Nilsen, Barbara. Week by Week: Plans for Documenting Children’s Development. 7th ed., Cengage Learning, 2016.

Swim, Terri Jo. Infants, Toddlers, and Caregivers: Caregiving and Responsive Curriculum Development. 7th ed., Cengage Learning, 2016.

For decades, literacy teachers have argued about the best methods and approaches for teaching reading. Some of them were found ineffective and, therefore, were discarded, while others proved to be more effective and underwent further development. To understand the state of literacy in the United States nowadays, it is necessary to look back at the past. It appears that some methods suggested over 100 years ago parallel many of those recommended nowadays. This fact demonstrates that the search for the most efficient approaches to teaching reading has preoccupied educators for a long time.

In colonial times, reading material for children was based on Christian, Protestant, and Puritan values. The earliest reader was the Horn Book, a printed introduction to Christianity for children, made of wood with the transparent horn used to protect the alphabet and verses (Barry, 2008). The Horn Book offered an oral, spelling approach to reading, called “the alphabet method.” This method was the primary approach applied to reading instruction until about 1820. It was focused on “knowledge of the alphabet, recitation, spelling bees, oral reading, elocution and memorization of Bible verses” (Shearer, Carr, & Vogt, 2018, p. 10). Shortly before 1690, the New England Primer was designed and published. Along with the alphabet, the textbook included verses, rhymes, and stories, which were still religious and developmentally inappropriate for young children.

In the second half of the 19^th century, the need for educated people increased as the result of the Civil War, Gold Rush, and the Industrial Revolution. Educators, Horace Mann in particular, criticized incomprehensible words and tedious topics of essays (Barry, 2008). Thus, the approach towards teaching literacy was gradually changed, and a new type of readers was created. In 1841, the Eclectic series of William Holmes McGuffey was published. It consisted of 55 lessons with pre-reading activities, stories for children, and comprehension questions. The readers “were focused on alphabet knowledge, phonics, syllables, and sight words, and stories were written at increasingly difficult reading levels” (Shearer et al., 2018, p. 11). The stories spread cultural and religious values. However, some of them contained information about history, biology, astronomy, and so on.

Around the time of the Civil War, “phonic” readers started to appear. They emphasized the sounds that letters made instead of merely their names. These readers used an approach that transformed letters into sounds and then blended the sounds (Barry, 2008). By the end of the 1800s, educators developed synthetic phonics approaches, which are widely applied in the 21^st century. Such readers followed a certain sequence: first, using pictures, teach the letter names and their sounds; second, sound out and blend words; third, orally read sentences and stories containing words with the letters and sounds learned (Barry, 2008). At about this time, the material also changed, and reading series commonly included a primer and five or six graded readers.

The first female author, whose series of books were widely sold, was Ellen Cyr. Her books represented changes both of methods and of cultural values they spread. She introduced silent-reading comprehension activities and instruction. Since Cyr’s primer was much longer than those of her contemporaries, children could practice new words in context long enough before additional words were given. Regarding cultural changes, the main characters of her stories were also women and girls who took action, which was unusual for that time.

In the first half of the 20^th century, the support of federal and state legislatures facilitated universal education in the United States. Nevertheless, immigrants, descendants of former slaves, children of the poor still had little access to formal education. Gradually, reading for religious purposes was replaced by reading for information and commerce. When the United States entered the First World War, the armed forces had to identify men who demonstrated leadership (Shearer et al., 2018). It led to the introduction of the first large-scale testing program in the country and the development of instruments, some of which underwent certain modifications and are in use nowadays.

Educators introduced new approaches to the content development of readers. Topics started to change from fairy tales to more realistic stories about children’s life. The grade-level reading materials influenced the work of researchers, who analyzed and identified the words most frequently used in books. As a result, readers included stories based on lists of thoroughly controlled vocabulary and sight words that were frequently repeated so that a child eventually learned to read them (Shearer et al., 2018). At the beginning of the 20^th century, the teaching of reading became a separate professional field, and there appeared professional literature for literacy teachers.

From the mid- 1930s to until the 1980s, teachers throughout the country used Foresman’s Basic Readers for teaching reading, generally known as the “Dick and Jane” series (Barry, 2008). These books were usually centered on a “typical” white, middle-class American family and their pets, who lived in the suburbs, although later versions of the series had illustrations of children of different ethnicities. The textbooks included teachers’ guides together with scripted lessons, supplementary materials, and word lists in the back of each book. This series was predominantly based on whole-word approach.

In 1955, Rudolf Flesch published his book Why Johnny Can’t Read and What You Can Do About It, in which he aggressively criticized the whole-word method and advocated the phonics method (Barry, 2008). This publication initiated a decades-long phenomenon called “The Reading Wars.” The book Learning to Read: The Great Debate, written in 1967, divided educators into those who supported synthetic phonics and those who preferred holistic and analytic methods of phonics instruction (Shearer et al., 2018). As a result, new approaches appeared, and the idea of these methods was to “provide beginning readers with consistency, explicit instruction, a great deal of practice in decoding, and the gradual introduction of texts that contained the specific linguistic elements that were being taught” (Shearer et al., 2018, p. 14). Later, as professionals noticed that phonics and decoding were overemphasized, they focused on developing exercises which helped students to improve comprehension skills such as finding the main idea, identifying cause-effect relationships, sequencing, etc.

After the two world wars, there was a time of growing nationalism, and the concept of the United States as a sociological melting pot promoted cultural and linguistic assimilation. As the country entered the Cold War, millions of dollars were invested to reform science, mathematics, and reading programs in schools. Despite the announcement of “education for all,” the rich and the poor had unequal opportunities for quality education, especially in racially segregated schools. According to Barry (2008), a significant change took place in 1965 when a minority family appeared in a reading program. A focus on the difference in skin color caused a shift in values across a century of reading materials. The emphasis altered from “virtue, honesty, obedience, and purity” to “good self-concept, appreciation of difference and regard for nature” (Barry, 2008, p. 44). At that time, school reading programs were called basal reading programs and consisted of graded-level textbooks and workbooks with phonics activities and comprehension skill practice. Teachers got thoroughly structured guides with lesson plans for low, average, and high group levels.

In the 1980s and 1990s, psychologists, linguists, and educators got interested in how readers think about text, how they connect information during reading, and finally construct meaning. Earlier, experts were focused only on finite skills that learners develop, but then they started to discuss “how to build students’ backgrounds, promote concept formation, instill joy and delight in reading” (Shearer et al., 2018, p. 15), as well as how to connect the language processes of reading, writing, listening, and speaking.

At the beginning of the 21^st century, teachers got more autonomy, which meant that approaches to reading and writing became more dynamic and process-oriented. New methods were also better adapted to the changing student population. Literature circles gained in popularity as teachers noticed that student-to-student interaction was useful for comprehension improvement and development of critical language skills. New approaches were based on authentic texts and explicit skill instruction. Teachers found different ways to work with students; at times they worked with the whole class or formed groups for work on a particular skill or strategy. Since No Child Left Behind was signed into law in 2002, some new changes took place (Shearer et al., 2018). For instance, teachers were supposed to systematically assess children’s phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. States were required to establish the performance level which students needed to reach to be identified as “proficient.” The percentage of proficient students was expected to increase so that all students reached proficiency by the year 2014 (Shearer et al., 2018). In 2009 and 2010, the federal government implemented the Race to the Top initiative (Shearer et al., 2018). Its main goal was to guarantee that all graduates would be prepared to meet the requirement of college or careers. In December 2015, the US Congress passed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) (Shearer et al., 2018). It gave more autonomy to states and emphasized the importance of quality teacher education.

Despite all the achievements in teaching literacy, there are still over 30 million people in the United States with limited reading skills. At the same time, there are debates about issues such as professional standards, reaching all students, helping close an achievement gap, promoting cultural and linguistic diversity. Therefore, it is necessary to remain focused on finding increasingly efficient ways to improve the educational system.

References

Barry, A. (2008). Reading the past: Historical antecedents to contemporary reading methods and materials. A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts, 49(1). Web.

Shearer, B. A., Carr, D. A., & Vogt, M. (2018). Reading specialists and literacy coaches in the real world: Fourth edition. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, Inc.

Teaching children how to count is one of the most needed skills. The earlier a child begins to learn how to count, the more practice they will have, hence they will get an opportunity to remember and retain the skill. It is a well known fact that children of early age have problems learning counting, as they get the full ability to do that closer to age ten. As such, teaching a group of ten first grade students to count to 15 will be met with some challenges. The three rules of counting, such as one to one correspondence, stable order rule and order irrelevance rule will be useful in teaching the technique to students. Some difficulties might arise when teaching students with disabilities or ELL, so special techniques would be required.

When teaching children how to count, it is important to remember that children are visual learners, and the best way to learn is through physical manipulation and games or play. When teaching one to one correspondence, it is key to make sure that each number is matched with a particular object. For example, a child can be given candies or pebbles and told to arrange them in a line. Then, they would attribute a particular number to each object, so that there is a difference and uniqueness of each one. In the stable order rule, all the numbers must be said in order. For example, counting 1, 3, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 12, 14, and 15 would have consistency but the order is incorrect. As such, the child can use the previous rule and rearrange the objects, so that they develop a sense of the correct order. Order irrelevance rule means that the order of objects does not matter, as there is still the same amount of objects. A child can draw shapes and attribute a number to each one. After that, the objects can be rearranged, so that the child understands that there is still the same number of objects.

In order to properly assess the student, they must be given time to practice and then tested. This can be done with students touching each object they have counted. If there are 15 pebbles, each will be moved, and then the child will be required to count without touching the pebbles. Then, the order of counting will be changed to a different direction, from object 15 to 1. This would allow testing the chain of stability in the object and number accordance. For students with disabilities, it is particularly important to give them more time and visual representations.

The associations made between objects and numbers will help to remember the counting. The use of technology, such as interactive computer programs or iPads where children can use spatial representation might help the learning process. Constant repetition in a fun and involving way will enable students to remember the technique better. For ELL students, an alignment with own language counting can be made. For example, objects will have a number in their own language written while a sheet with randomly located English numbers will be placed underneath. A child would have to match each object and native number word with the English one. Auditory translator would also be advantageous in repeating counting in school or at home.

This section highlights the demographic categories that attitudinal studies have found to be influential in attitudes toward students with disabilities. The themes that follow, which include gender, training, and years of teaching experience, were found within several studies assessing educators’ attitudes toward learners with disabilities.

Gender

Studies comparing gender differences in attitudes toward students with disabilities have presented mixed results. Yuker (1994) stated that although past studies have reported positive attitudes for females, the differences between the genders are diminishing. Findings from studies carried out in the 1990s recapitulated in a review of the literature establish that in about 67% of undertaken researches, female educators had a higher positive attitude concerning disabilities than their male counterparts (Avramidis & Norwich, 2002). Subsequently, some present studies are still consistently reporting disparities between genders, mostly with females articulating more favorable attitudes than males (De Boer & Pijl, 2011; Vas et al., 2015).

Findings from previous studies contribute to the proof that gender seems to be an indicator of attitudes for educators toward disabilities with male teachers showing a more negative stance when compared to female ones (Avramidis & Norwich, 2002; De Boer & Pijl, 2011; Vas et al., 2015). Despite the rationale behind the gendered disparity remaining open to speculation, studies have attributed it to a higher forbearance and more dynamic teaching mindset in females than males. This indicates that there might be no distinction between female and male educators when it comes to the provision of inclusive education (Woodcock, 2013).

Training

In existing studies, training seems to be a major aspect that sways educators’ capacity to modify their teaching approaches (Shulman, 2013). Training can be about content knowledge (for example, knowledge about ABS), pedagogical knowledge (for instance, including teaching ABS policies), and pedagogic content knowledge (such as how to teach specific content to a particular learner in an outlined context (Matherson & Windle, 2017). In teaching, the training of learners with disabilities was linked to a positive attitude toward such students. Vas et al. (2015) highlighted the significance of concentrating on the training of educators. In particular, vehemence needs to be set on promoting pedagogic content knowledge associated with learners with disabilities when seeking to sway educators’ attitudes positively toward such students.

Years of Experience

Researches comparing the impact of variations on attitudes toward teaching learners with disabilities have established that educators with a few years of experience have a more positive disposition than their more practiced colleagues (Alnahdi, 2012; De Boer & Pijl, 2011; Vas et al., 2015). Alnahdi (2012) found that there was very little difference in teachers’ attitudes toward teaching students with ID based on their years of experience, which ranged from 0 to 30. Educators who have less than five years of practice show a statistically significant higher positive attitude when compared to the ones who have been teaching for five or more years. This could be attributed to the fact that educators who have been teaching for less than five years graduated lately from special education schools, which results in their strong association with theoretical notions that are often in educator preparation programs in institutions of higher education. On the contrary, teachers who have been teaching for five years and above tend to be more reasonable and less naive in their opinions attributable to the actual teaching practice (Alnahdi, 2012).

Introduction

Transformational changes taking place in the educational environment with the use of technology are a positive trend that helps develop teaching and engage students in the learning process. My personal philosophy is to comply with the existing quality standards that professional tutors should strive for, along with an opportunity to involve innovative achievements that allow improving the mode of bilateral interaction.

Essence

As Gann (2014) argues, the ISTE Standard 1 for coaches encourages innovations that can positively impact learning. Today, students study in the era of digital technology and advanced computer programs, and a possibility to utilize these developments in teaching practice may help increase interest in a particular discipline. Therefore, the benefits of introducing technology are objective both from the perspective of educational potential and from the standpoint of establishing productive interaction with students.

Since teaching involves not only assistance in studying teaching materials but also stimulating interest in knowledge and self-development, the philosophy implying the combination of traditional and modern approaches can expand students’ potential significantly. In case the target audience has all available resources, this can help them in the further stage of education and career due to advanced skills and the ability to combine attainments obtained.

According to Gann (2014), one of the tasks of those involved in the formation of the educational process is to maintain sustainable innovative changes. Therefore, in order to ensure high-quality work, it is crucial to engage not only students but also other interested parties, in particular, parents, administrators, and colleagues. For this purpose, an advanced system of control over professional obligations may be developed, which, in turn, will help disseminate the necessary information. Modern technologies can help create an algorithm of the interaction of all stakeholders within the framework of a single educational mechanism to increase the outcomes of valuable interventions.

Reference

Gann, K. (2014). ISTE Standards for coaches 1: Visionary leadership. ISTE. Web.