Students can be actively and consistently engaged throughout a lesson; the key to this is selecting activities that will allow for them to be so engaged (Smith, 2013). Sessions that started with the Inquiry Approach allowed for effective questioning which in turn encouraged discussion among the students and with the teacher. The Inquiry Approach caused students to think about the subject matter and pursue their own line of questioning in the form of a Class Discussion. In constructivist classrooms, Class Discussions are useful activities as they can help students reinforce or correct their current knowledge of the subject matter (Eggan & Kauchak, 2009). It is important as a teacher to verbally acknowledge all responses during such discussions
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Students experienced Role Playing when the teacher would tell number stories (e.g. “Two cats are on a couch. Five more cats jump on the couch. How many cats are now on the couch?”) and students participated in acting out the story. This allowed them to apply the cognitive process of addition in a fun, dramatic way. This particular Role Playing activity allowed for all students who participated to feel a sense of achievement, including those who perhaps were not “in” the role play but were counting the number of cats …show more content…
It ensures that all students are engaged and are given equal opportunities to learn the subject matter by providing a variety of learning activities (Brady & Kennedy, 2007). Measures were taken to ensure all students of varying abilities were catered for, through variations in Content, Process and Products (Findlay, 2012). Variations in content included the use of Concrete Materials. The use of Concrete Materials, such as the “mini teddies”, provided a valuable resource to teach addition and effectively assess student understanding. This activity helped create a meaningful understanding out of an abstract concept (Dole, 2013). This use of Concrete Materials was paired with the Buddy System, where students worked collaboratively to complete the activity. These pairs were chosen according to their ability and afforded all students the greatest chance of success. Another variation of content was through Reteaching and Exemption, where subject matter was reviewed and reflected at the beginning and end of each lesson and students being asked/not asked particular questions about addition according to the teacher’s prior knowledge of their readiness.
Variations in process included the Level of Support given to particular students – adding or removing teacher assistance, in the form of a prompt for example, as
Students experienced Role Playing when the teacher would tell number stories (e.g. “Two cats are on a couch. Five more cats jump on the couch. How many cats are now on the couch?”) and students participated in acting out the story. This allowed them to apply the cognitive process of addition in a fun, dramatic way. This particular Role Playing activity allowed for all students who participated to feel a sense of achievement, including those who perhaps were not “in” the role play but were counting the number of cats …show more content…
It ensures that all students are engaged and are given equal opportunities to learn the subject matter by providing a variety of learning activities (Brady & Kennedy, 2007). Measures were taken to ensure all students of varying abilities were catered for, through variations in Content, Process and Products (Findlay, 2012). Variations in content included the use of Concrete Materials. The use of Concrete Materials, such as the “mini teddies”, provided a valuable resource to teach addition and effectively assess student understanding. This activity helped create a meaningful understanding out of an abstract concept (Dole, 2013). This use of Concrete Materials was paired with the Buddy System, where students worked collaboratively to complete the activity. These pairs were chosen according to their ability and afforded all students the greatest chance of success. Another variation of content was through Reteaching and Exemption, where subject matter was reviewed and reflected at the beginning and end of each lesson and students being asked/not asked particular questions about addition according to the teacher’s prior knowledge of their readiness.
Variations in process included the Level of Support given to particular students – adding or removing teacher assistance, in the form of a prompt for example, as