My Reflection for Today

1. The class discussed the findings on School A, B and C. It was reported that teachers in School A experienced high stress level and does not share the same vision with their principal. The principal believes that discipline and is results oriented. Some may view that his approach as not be providing a holistic education for the students but I believe he identified the need to regulate the behaviour for learning in his students as the first step in improving the school climate. Each school has its own student profile and needs. We cannot measure all schools with the same yardstick.

2. Today we used the SPSS to generate data on the survey we did yesterday. We also learned what is Cronvach's alpha and Paired-sample T-test. As a group, we had to write a report based on our mini research conducted in the class.

3. What is enriching about the course is to take a step back and reflect on the different types of learning environment to stimulate learning.

My Reflection for Today

Today, we learn more about characteristics about school learning environment by studying a case study in a group work. We studied a report on a school and identified what constitute positive and negative learning environment. We also had to support our findings with evidence. What was most striking in the case study is the role of a principal. The teachers in the school found the principal approachable, shows care and concern for her staff. Though the staff were found to have high work pressure, they did not perceive the pressure from the principal. It was more of their own instrinsic motivation to teach and deliver results as they felt that their students have the potential to do well. I find the principal is a good role model and value the contribution of her staff.

We also learnt about the SBSS instrument to analyse data collected. We completed a survey and compiled the data to be analysed. Through this exercise, I understand the importance of drafting questions and arranging them well in order to have accurate analysis.

My Reflection for Today

1. There must be a fit between the school environment and the students' background or else there would be problems. This point is very relevant to our everyday classroom situation and often overlooked by teachers. Some of us may think that our students are trying to be disruptive and not keen in learning. This would prompt me to find out more from the perspective of the students before I pass any judgement.

2. It is fascinating to learn from Murray's concept of needs that we have the personal needs to learn and strive to fulfil that need. This made me realise that students do come with their needs to learn and I have to be more aware of their learning styles and background to customise my lessons.

3. In the assessment of learning environment, we assess 3 areas and they are physical, student and social. It is important to assess learning environment so that the learning outcomes for our students are achieved. It is a process where we stop and reflect whether effective teaching has actually taken place in our classroom. With this, we can even move one step further to design lesson that can optimize the learning abilities of our students.

NEW TREND

Flexible Learning Environment
http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/learningconnection/staff/framework/flexible.asp

Darrell Fisher

About Fisher : His work involves studying

• Teacher-student interpersonal behaviour

How teachers interact with students. Using the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction in investigating differences between boys' and girls' perceptions, differences between students from different cultural backgrounds, and the effects of teacher interpersonal behaviour on student outcomes.

• Classroom and school learning environments

The development and validation of questionnaires to assess students' or teachers' perceptions of classroom or school environments and the use of these questionnaires in investigating the effects of classroom environments on student outcomes.

• Curriculum evaluation of science innovations

Evaluation of the effectiveness of new curricula using either or both quantitative and qualitative methods.

His work: The Effectiveness of Cooperative Learning Integrated with Contructivist teaching on Improving Learning Environments in Thai Secondary School Science Classrooms

• First Phase: Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES) is used to assess students' perception of the actual and prefered classroom environment through a constructivist perspective


• Second: The effectiveness of Cooperative Learning integrated with constructivist teaching in promoting improvement in Classroom Environment was evaluated through an Action Research process, involving the use of feedback on actual and preferred classroom environment

Sample:

7 secondary Science teachers and 17 classes of 606 students in Thailand.

Method:

Student Actual and Preferred Forms of the CLES,

• assessing personal relevance, uncertainty, critical voice, shared control and student negotiation were administered


• factor analysis and internal consistency measures supported both actual and preferred forms


• Student's attitude to Science was also measured


• A number of teachers participated in an attempt to improve their classroom environment through the use of cooperative learning integrated with the constructivist teaching approach

Conclusion:

Changes in classrooms did occur , supporting the effectiveness of CL integrated with the constructivist teaching in improving learning environments and students' attitudes towards science in Thailand.

Session 3 (Fraser & Fisher)

1. The Knowledge Arena: a learning environment that underpins concept mapping.
by Ray McAleese; Scott Grabinger & Kathleen Fisher
http://www.clab.edc.uoc.gr/hy302/papers/knowledge%20and%20learning%20arena.pdf

2. Assessing and Improving the Psychosocial Environment of Mathematics Classrooms
by Barry J.Fraser, John A.Malone & Jillian M.Neale
http://www.jstor.org/view/00218251/ap020093/02a00050/0

3. The Effectiveness Of Cooperative Learning Integrated With Constructivist Teaching On Improving Learning Environments In Thai Secondary School Science Classrooms
by Panomporn Puacharearn and Darrell Fisher
http://www.iasce.net/Conference2004/22June/Panomporn/conference_full_%20paper_singapore.doc

Reflection on Articles for Session 1 to 3

Learning Environment

Students’ perception strongly determines whether the learning environment is conducive or not. A student must feel a sense of belonging and empowerment in their learning. Their personal needs for affection, safety, need for love and esteem must also be met.

I believe teachers who can fulfill the students’ needs would be able to provide a conducive learning environment. Students view teachers as the most crucial factor in determining learning outcome. In school, we often emphasize the importance of teachers having good rapport with their students. It is also one of the classroom management skills advocated to teachers. Some teachers may think that their role as a teacher is just to teach but effective learning can only take place when we know our students’ background with regards to their attitudes, beliefs and skills.

This was explained in the article entitled, ‘The Design of Learning Environments’ as learner-centered environment. When the knowledge-centered and learned-centered environments intersect, teachers can then plan their lessons building on the knowledge the students have on a subject matter.

It was also commented that attempts to create environment that are knowledge centred also raise important questions about how to foster an integrated understanding of a discipline. An English teacher in my school planned an interdisplinary programme for a group of Normal Technical students. The teacher taught a theme on Safety and worked with the Design and Technology teacher to expand it to ‘Safety At Work’. Through this process, students are aware of the overall picture and know how to apply the knowledge learnt.

E-learning

One of the conclusions drawn in the article entitled, ‘Development, validation and use of the Online Learning Environment Survey’ is that ICT cannot be used on it own. It should be grounded in practical learning theory.

There are many initiatives introduced by the ministry on the use of ICT in various IP and non IP programmes. In my school, the English department embarked on Online Forum to discuss issues like ‘Are Senior Citizens a Burden to Society?’ or ‘One should start dating when they are in secondary school. Do you agree?’. Prior to bringing the students to the computer laboratory, students were provided some background on the topic by showing them a VCD on a discussion followed by an introduction to the language use for a discussion during English lesson. Students were aware of the learning objectives and the end product required for the lesson.

It was mentioned by Godfrey (2001) that teachers must not only be trained in the use of technology but also in the task design especially if the teachers are expected to develop their own materials. In the above example, all English teachers went through training on setting up an online discussion and designing online lessons. Teachers felt equipped with the skills to handle the technical aspects. A Learning Circle group was also formed so that teachers can share their resources and experiences in designing the lesson. Teachers reflected on their lessons on what went right and areas they want to improve to support students’ learning.