curriculum planning

EIBA7123-IB-Assessment and learning

Learning Outcomes:
2. set in context approaches to teaching, learning and assessment, explaining how they relate to theory and research;
6. analyse critically evidence relating to children’s performance;
13. identify, select from, evaluate and synthesise information gained from a range of academic and professional sources in order to sustain a coherent argument;
14. select, use and adapt appropriate methods for collecting evidence relating to children’s learning and reflection on your own practice.

Assessment for learning is associated with improvement in levels of achievement and a better disposition towards learning. In my programme plan for Module 1, different forms of formative assessment tasks provide various learning activities, leading students to the summative assessment. Interweaving formative assessment gives learners and facilitator opportunities to know how they are progressing and can improve. 

Inspired by Anderson and Krathwohl’s(2001) revision of the original Bloom’s taxonomy. I realised there are different dimension of knowledge that learners may be expected to acquire or construct.

Thus, I determined that my Module 1 programme plan consists of three dimension of knowledge included Procedural, Conceptual and Factual.

Based on the Bloom’s cognitive process dimension as my guideline, I tried to design different forms of formative assessment to help my learners construct their knowledge from one to another thinking stage progressively. 

A)Procedural:

In Visual Arts, Developmental Workbook is one of the assessment tools for teachers to observe the ongoing developing process of learners. My learners are required to annotate their investigation, developing process of the initial ideas and thoughts in their Developmental Workbook throughout the whole programme. Learners will develop a consistent developing process guided by the flow chart as reference. They will develop their ownership at each stage of their learning and creative process based on the Design cycle. Rubric of Developmental Workbook was also given to learners as a guideline of what is expected in their Developmental Workbook.

 

B)Conceptual:

As a candidate school for International Baccalaureate (IB), the big idea (Key concept, significant concept, Area of interaction) is the main core of the entire programme plan. Diagnostic assessment on the first lesson is important to assess learner’s prior knowledge of the particular concept and knowledge. Learners who were able to conceptualize the interrelation between key concepts, Area of interaction and unit question will start to classify and apply their knowledge to produce their artwork independently. Learners who need more guidance for conceptual understanding will scheduled more individual tutorial session with me. Besides, graphic organiser such as words splash, mind mapping, Traffic light, Think pair share were used as an ongoing reflection template to determine their level of understanding after each lesson.

C)Factual:

In my programme plan Module 1, photography and photograph editing skills are the factual knowledge they need to acquire in order to carry out the summative task. Besides, knowledge of basic principles and elements of art including colour, tone, value, texture, composition so on and so forth was also part of the content. Learners vary in the amount of time it takes them to master a skill. Hence, different formative task was designed for differentiated learners in my art class. Learners who have no basic knowledge of colour theory will need to accomplish a colour tonal chart as one of their formative task. Learners who already learned the colour theory in previous semester were required to interpret warm and cold colour in photograph editing process. I think it’s very important to determine the strength and weakness of each learner in the class and customise effective formative task to cater their needs in constructivism learning environment. 

Differentiation

On the first and second lesson of the programme, I started to observe and identified special needs learners and Multiple Intelligences in my class. Diagnostic assessment is essential to determine different learner’s need.

I tried to use variety forms of assessment. For some students, written work is difficult, so too much reliance on it will put them at a disadvantage. Similarly, particular activities or topics will inspire excellent performance in some students and frustrated others.

Assessment drives learning, when learners are closer to the learning and assessment cycle they experiences a greater sense of purpose and involvement in learning.

We cannot expect every student loves art, but we try to make them fallen into it. Using different approaches to engage all the learners is always my biggest challenge in programme and lesson planning. From my observation, my learners included Intrapersonal, Existentialist, Visual and Logical Intelligences. One of the highlight of my formative task poem writing. Learners were given a Q &A handout to describe their photomontage and write a poem to interpret the meaning of their images. This formative is to provoke their abstract perception of an image. My learners came out with beautiful poems. 

One of the highlights of my formative assessment which I think has particularly motivated and encouraged my learners were the group oral presentation.  Learners were required to read the book “The little prince” and investigate on Dadaism which is one of the Avant Garde art movements as the platform of group discussion in the class. Group activities also enable learners to develop their Approaches To Learning skills including collaboration, communication, transfer, thinking and organization skills. “Scaffolding” grouping technique is one of my common practices in the classroom because I think peer support is essential to create a quality learning environment. Learners were able to understand, analyse and interpret the key concept from different perspective through the class discussion. The discussion was very interactive and it provokes a lot of new ideas which is meaningful for both learners and facilitator. I was very impressed by their creative thinking on the reflection.

Based on the feedback from my learners to the formative assessment, I recognised there are few fundamentals in creating an effective formative task. Learners who have difficulties in conceptualise ideas will gain better knowledge and understanding through Quantitative task, such as questionnaires. Learners who have higher ability to adapt the concept and interpret meanings are more suitable to Qualitative task, such as case studies and analysis essay. Besides, introvert learners are more comfortable to have individual task, they are passive in group discussion and activities. The extroverts, by contrast, are more interested in group work. Thus, I will try to design different form of formative assessment which caters different learners need. Opportunities for self–evaluation and peer evaluation are also useful in creating a conclusive learning environment.

EIBT7123-IB-Teaching and Learning

Learning Outcome:
1. select , use, evaluate and adapt as appropriate approaches to teaching, learning and assessment across the curriculum;
2. set in context approaches to teaching, learning and assessment, explaining how they relate to theory and research;
10. reflect critically on the complex factors which impact on children’s learning and development;
12. identify, select from and use a range of approaches to organising classrooms, working with other adults and meeting children’s diverse needs and ensuring their wellbeing.

While preparing this Module –Practice, I realised that teaching is extremely complex, to be effective, facilitator needs to engage learners mentally in order to find out what they are thinking. The programme plan I planned in Module-Design can only be carried out ideally based on many factors, including teaching strategies, organization, classroom management, differentiated strategies and learning environment.

Feedbacks from both observer and my learners are the essential elements to improve my teaching practice. The observer helps me to recognise strength and weaknesses of my professional practice, suggests solution and resources to me. My learners helped me to identify how relevant and practical my programme plan is. After the learning sessions, I have discussed with my observer about the issues occurred during the class, methods to improve on the lesson.

There are several issues being addressed by my observer, including: 

Organisation/classroom management

In first learning session, some of my learners were not engaged, I should have prepare handout or worksheet as a task for them to fulfil while I was having individual tutorial for the photo editing learning session. Besides, learners will have a better understanding if the basic guideline of the software tools was given at the beginning of the lesson. They can explore and develop their skills more in depth.

Learners’ engagement in lesson

In second learning session, I have used different approaches to cater Multiple-Intelligences in my class. I was able to capture attention from the whole class because various platforms were given to understand the content from different aspects. They were able to understand the significant concept, reflect on the Areas of Interaction (AOI) and the integration to different subjects. Being a facilitator in an International Baccalaurate (IB) School, conceptual understanding is essential in each learning session.My learners have indicated excitement and were attentive during the learning session. They showed active participation and interaction between teacher and other learners. They were also able to elaborate the content creatively.

Content delivery

The feedbacks were, I have engaged and provoke the active learning using constructive questions and learners were actively participating in the discussion. However, some learners were having difficulties to understand the concept taught in class. Besides individual tutorial, I might need to develop and learn more about differentiation learning strategies, hence to accommodate different learners in the class with a well-organised structure. The observer also pointed out the concept is too broad, although it integrated with many subjects, some learners might find it too abstract to understand. It will be more realistic to focus on only one or two context in the learning session. 

Active Learning refers to a method of learning where active student participation is encouraged through project-based exercises. Characteristic of active learning is that the teacher acts as a facilitator of the education process rather than as a unilateral source of information. From this Module-Practice, I have learned the fundamentals of active learning classroom practice included: 

Eliciting prior knowledge

Diagnostic assessment is essential to understand my learners’ capability and their thinking level. From my experiences in this module, I have learned that diagnostic assessment is a baseline to understanding how much learning has taken place before and after the learning activity is completed. This is also important for me to improve differentiation strategies in the classroom practice. Besides, I also learned that learners can only analyse and synthesize a particular concept if their knowledge is insightful. For instance, learners who have no prior knowledge of colour theory were not able to analyse their artwork based on the theory. Bloom’s taxonomy is always my guideline to determine the learners’ cognitive thinking stages. 

New knowledge with feedback

Ongoing contribution of learners’ feedback is another important element to improve my active learning practice. Some part of my programme plan in Module-Design was not realistic when it comes to classroom practice because I didn’t encounter the capability and prior knowledge of my learners when designing the programme. I also realised the importance of class and group discussion in order to develop a quality learning environment. During discussion, I can better understand my learners’ strength and weaknesses hence reflect on my initial plan. 

Form of Assessment

The summative assessment is always the goal of the whole programme plan. I have learned that the form of assessment will affect the learning and teaching experiences directly. Authentic assessment is more relevant to develop active learning because it embraces diverse learning styles and personalities. Learners were developing dynamic approaches to carry out the task based on their own learning experiences. This is also encouraging them to be a life-long learner.

Reflection on learning

Another element of active learning will be the learners’ ongoing evaluation and reflection. The philosophy of  (IB)International Baccalaureate framework stresses on learner centred, hence it’s essential to encourage learners to know “how to learn” which is one of their Area of Interaction-Approaches To Learning(ATL). Based on the ATL skills, learners will examine their own learning effectively.

Besides, peer evaluation and critic session is another powerful tool to provoke active learning. From my experiences in this Module, I have learned that facilitator may not be the only person who can give advice and solution. Interesting thoughts and ideas from peer support are actually more realistic and provoking to create a harmony learning environment. Collaboration and interaction between learners drive peer support, hence, develop a quality learning atmosphere. Sometimes, learners know better than the facilitator their peers’ strength and weaknesses.

As a Visual Arts facilitator, my biggest challenge is always to inspire learners who have “zero” interest in the subject. I believe this situation happens in all subject, but it is crucial to Visual Arts because most of the learners have misconception that art is not an important subject.

My critical event during the learning practice was learners who did not accomplish their task and have very limited research and reflection in their Developmental Workbook. In order to overcome this circumstance, the perception of “art as a language” is essential to engage learners to better understand the purpose of learning art.

I showed examples of “art as a language” in my class, hence the importance of visual literacy in real life. For instance, a doctor can only interpret images from the CT scan machine if he understands the representation of lines, tones and colours of the image. An engineer needs to understand the layout plan drawing in order to carry out the project effectively. Eventually, my learners understand that visual art is interweaving in everyday life. 

Time management is also another issue I was facing in the learning session. The estimation of time given to group discussion was always being extended. I tried to apply thematic group discussion to resolve this problem. For instance, instead whole class doing investigation on a particular topic, I assigned different task for different groups. This was able to shorten the discussion time but meeting the learning outcomes. 

“Teachers are the engineers for the soul.”

I have learned to be a active learner as a facilitator because I believe teaching is an ongoing practice which need patience, passion and efforts.

EIRM7126-Introduction to Research Methodology

RESEARCH CRITIQUE 

 

ABSTRACT

 

Purpose of the study is to review and evaluate the qualitative nature of the research “Learning on the Job: An Analysis of the Acquisition of a Teacher’s Knowledge” by Paul G. Schempp.” The article is an interpretative case study to examine criteria used by an experienced teacher to acquired knowledge in his field of expertise. Experienced Physical Education teachers, Bob and Kathy are the key informants in this study. Data were collected in various methods of qualitative techniques included participant observation, artifact and document analysis, stimulated recall using videotaped classes, and interviews. Besides, other school personnel included students, teachers and administrators were also involved in this study. Specific strategies were employed in the process of analyzing data included triangulation of methods, member checks and constant use of follow up interviews in order to ensure the data trustworthiness. The data analysis process involved summarizing data into themes and categories using procedures recommended by Miles and Huberman (1984), Goetz and LeCompte (1984) and Patton (1980) took approximately one year to accomplish. Shulams’(1987) theory of knowledge base for teaching was used to describe the forms of knowledge Bob acquired in pursuit of his professional practice. In the final step, the researcher presented a copy of the report to the informant, Bob for his comments and reactions to ensure the accuracy of data (reliability) and validate the findings of the report.

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Twenty first century’s education system is being transformed by the dramatic technological revolution. Students are grown up in the rapidly changing media-saturated world. As a teacher who are responsible to facilitate the next generation, understanding and improving the skills of acquire knowledge is essential and crucial. The purpose of educational research is to provide descriptive, predictive, or explanative information with the goal of improving learning. This research topic is significant for educators who are responsible in molding our next generation by maintaining their profession.

Karl Popper (1972), described three worlds of knowledge: World 1, knowledge of physical and real-world objects and experiences; World 2, individuals’ knowledge and skills; and World 3, shared ideas treatable as public objects that can be stored and accumulated.

According to James Hiebert, Ronald Gallimore, and James W. Stigler in the study of “ A Knowledge base for teaching profession” ( 2002) , most American teachers live in Popper’s World 1 and 2, they interact with their students and create knowledge for themselves. But building a profession’s knowledge for teaching requires teachers live in World 3 that allows ideas for teaching being shared and examined publicly hence can be stored and accumulated to the next generation.

In this qualitative study, the informant, Bob has constructed a comfortable set of criteria to evaluate his daily classroom operation and selecting knowledge based on years of contact with many professional sources. These criteria formed a Screen through which all potential pedagogical knowledge passed upon his perception of the power and quality of its source.

 

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

 

Myriad amount of literature reviews is evident in this article. The researcher was able to make connections between the objectives and purpose of his paper with the appropriate selection of literatures. For instance, data analyzing involving themes and categories using procedures recommended by Miles and Huberman (1984), the construction of these categories was influenced by Shuman’s (1987) theory of knowledge base for teaching.

In analyzing the data, the researcher categorized knowledge acquisition into five categories included classroom organization and operation, teaching behavior, subject matter, pedagogical-content knowledge and external conditions. Relevant literature review were provided to support his study while discussing the above mentioned five categories including Lang and Burroughs-Lange (1994), Russell and Johnston(1988),Placek (1983), Wilson and Wineburg (1988) so on and so forth.

However, the researcher did not give any argument or disagreements in any literature being reviewed. Most of his literature reviews were merely to support his personal’s perspective throughout the study. Skepticism and bias may occur when a statement is made from single perspective without justification. The study would have been more comprehensive if he could discuss and reflect his insights more in depth related to his literature review.

 

METHODOLOGY

 

This is a year-long interpretive analytic case study project to observe a high school Physical Education teacher. The data were collected using variety of ethnographic techniques including observation of participant, recorded artifact and document analyses, stimulated recall using videotaped classes, and both formal and informal interviews. Ethnographic research involves the collection and analysis of data about an individual or group under natural conditions.

 

Spradley (1980) states that ethnography means “learning from people” rather than “studying people”. In this study, researcher recorded field notes during and after observation and summary statement was made off site after each day of data collection in this qualitative study. The data collection process began 2 days before the start of school and ended before the Christmas break.  The researcher was present at the school on a daily basis on the first month of the study and made field trips twice on average after that. On the other hand, field notes were recorded during and after observation and a summary statement was made off site after each day of data collection. Besides that, the researcher used specific strategies such as triangulation methods and member checks to ensure data trustworthiness.

In this study, the site was selected due to its reputation which received an educational excellence award from the United States Department of Education two years before the study. Hillcrest High School has approximately 470 students. The school was awarded an educational excellence from the United States Department of Education two years before the study.

According to Cheryl Forchuk and Jacqueline Roberts (1992), researcher must mention how the study sites were determined and describe the selection of participants and their levels of participation. There is no information given by the research on the strategies of selecting the site and what are the specific criteria to select HHS school as the setting for his study.

Cobb and Hagemaster (1987) stated that particular informants (e.g. experienced teacher) can be purposely included for their relevant knowledge or experience in a qualitative research, but these must be described in detail. The participant (Bob) who has 14 years experiences in physical education at Hillcrest High School was being selected in this study but no information given by the researcher on the method and process of selection. Secondly, the strategies of selecting the specific subject matter (physical education) as a focus on the study should also being stated clearly in the research. This is important in all research study which served a purpose of helping the reader understand the concepts or theories developed in a specific context.

Robinson and Torne (1988) stated that one of the strategies to avoid bias in a qualitative research is to use a consultant, advisor or research team to review the study process. In this study, Kathy who was Bob’s colleagues for many years has being selected to be the cross-checking participant in order to ensure the validity and trustworthiness of the data. However, it would be more successful if the researcher invites an advisor who has an independent view (who is not an experienced physical education teacher) to determine the validity of the data and process from an independent perspective.

 

 

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

The researcher’s role is to collect data based on his observations on the daily activities of the participant without interfering with his lesson and behaviour, analyse artifact and documents, stimulate recall using videotaped classes and conduct both formal and informal interviews with the participant, students, teachers and participants.

Specific strategies employed to ensure data trustworthiness included triangulation of methods, members checks disconfirming case analyses and cultivating reactions from the case-study teacher to the themes, categories and events to be included in the final report. Kathy, who has been teaching physical education together with Bob in HHS was participated in the cross check stories and events describe by the participant to ensure validity.

The data analysis process involved summarizing data into themes and categories using procedures recommended by Miles and Huberman (1984), Goetz and LeCompte (1984) and Patton (1980).

After the process of data collection, researcher has to process and analyze the data gathered to identify and determine significant findings in relation to the research question. An initial draft of the report was prepared by Bob stated his comments and reviews. Additional revisions were then made based on the responses and reactions from the teachers. The findings were brought back to Bob so that he could check the accuracy of the data (reliability), and validate the findings of the report. Eventually, the findings were brought to Kathy to check for reliability and to validate the findings of the report.

The use of key informants and the constant use of follow-up interviews to check the consistency of the responses and also to ensure accuracy and alternative explanations are triangulated.

The researcher attempted to verify the data with secondary interviews to validate the statements made by Bob, using personal such as Kathy. The cross checking interviews with Kathy somehow reduces the observer’s bias and enhances the validity of the study. However, there is a chance for the observer to be interpreting the events according to his subjective understanding of the situation.

According to Leininger (1990), transferability, recurrent patterning and saturating indicate consistency of study conclusion, credibility, confirmability and meaning-in-context indicate truth value. Although the data analyzing process of this study was systematic, but the daily data collection from the researcher’s observation of Bob’s classroom practices is subjective and could be affected by personal beliefs and perception. Hence, confirmability of truth value in this study was not meet.

 

 

RESULTS

Inspired by Shulman’s (1987) seven categories of teachers’ knowledge : subject matter, general pedagogical, curriculum, pedagogical content, learners, contexts and purposes, the researcher presented his findings based on the five categories that emerged during the analysis of data.

 

Subject Matter

The content of Bob’s classes was described and detailed in a curriculum guide he had compiled. Bob acquired new subject- matter knowledge based upon these criteria (a) perceptions of his own competence in teaching the subject, (b) personal interest in the subject matter, (c) perceptions of student interest, (d) actual student demand as demonstrated by elective class enrollments, (e) time investment necessary to teach or prepare to teach the subject, (f) the novelty of the subject, and (g) facility and equipment constraints.

 

Class Organisation and Operation

Like many teachers (West, 1975;Yinger, 1980), classroom order and control were predominant concerns for Bob. Bob relied on practical rules and principles to guide classroom operation rather than inflexible or absolute rules. His determination of being a good teacher was heavily skewed towards organizational and operational concerns. Although he had spent much time formulating, writing and explaining his operational policies, the complex and fluid nature of his classes required constant interpretation and reevaluation of the codes of operation and organization. Bob perceived the ability to organise and operate a class is the fundamental and critical responsibility of a teacher.

 

Teaching Behaviour

In terms of teaching behavior, Bob did not actively pursue knowledge that directly affected his instructional practices. Years of experiences have forged a mode of operation, a routine, which frames the knowledge Bob imparts to his students. These procedures have been used for years by Bob, therefore, he is more inclined to select new activities that fit his mode of operation rather than looking for new ways to teach the subject matter. Bob did not actively seek effective teaching strategies and he realized its lacking in his repertoire of skills.

Pedagogical-Content Knowledge

Bob seeks curricular content that fits his teaching style. In pedagogical practice, he teaches an activity in terms of its essential skills by giving brief explanations and sometimes demonstrations, then students practice these skills through drills and then to play the game with the given rules. Content that could be incorporated into the existing classroom routines and rituals was highly valued. Previous research reveals that Bob is not alone in his regard for knowledge that is easily imported into existing classroom practices (Alexander, Muir, & Chant, 1992; Elbaz, 1983)

 

External Conditions

These conditions include local regulations and requirements that were imposed by the administration and school board as well as regulations and laws handed down from state and federal agencies. The structure of the school provided him no feedback on his teaching behavior, nor was there encouragement to simulate greater students’ achievement. Bob passively resisted school and state imperatives that ran counter to his personal beliefs and his interpretation of the community moral standards.

 

DISCUSSION

The researcher has concluded that little changes was evident in Bob. Little changed in the observable practices of Bob’s day-to-day activities as a teacher and he became fairly predictable in his course of action.” The changes and alternations he did make were neither dramatic nor overtly visible. Bob’s professional knowledge appeared personal and idiosyncratic ( Carter, 1990; Zeichner, Tabachnick, and Densmore, 1987). Besides, Bob received limited motivation and appreciation to learn and develop his profession. Years of experience have forged a mode of operation, a routine, which frames the knowledge Bob imparts to his students.

 

The initial problem was to determine the criteria used by an experience teacher in acquiring knowledge to teach. The conclusion drawn by the researcher was that Bob had well developed set of criteria to guide his acquisition of knowledge. Classroom order and operation held the highest priority in Bob’s pedagogical knowledge. His acquisition of new knowledge was to assimilate into his professional practice. As conclusion, Bob’s time in service has made him well aware of who he is, what he does, why it does it, and what knowledge is required for him to meet the demands as a teacher in a public school.

 

 

REFERENCES

 

James Hiebert, Ronald Gallimore, and James W. Stigler ( 2002). A knowledge base for the Teaching Profession: What would it look like and How Can We Get One?. Educational Reseacher Vol. 31, No. 5, pp. 3–15.

 

Bresler. L (1996).  Ethical Issues in the Conduct and Communication of Ethnographic Classroom Research.  National Art Education Association.

 

Cheryl Forchuk and Jacqueline Roberts ( 1993). How to Critique Qualitative Health Research Articles. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research.

 

Carter, K. (1990).  Teachers’ knowledge and learning to teach.  In W.R. Houston (Ed.) Handbook of Research on Teacher Education (pp. 291 – 310).  New York: Macmillan.

 

Goetz, J.P., & LeCompte, M.D. (1984). Ethnography and qualitative design in educational research.  Orlando; Academic Press.

 

DW flow chart

 

EIBC7123-IB-Curriculum Processes

Learning Outcomes:
3. Evaluate critically findings from research as well as personal experience in relation to the curriculum,
4. Make informed decisions and implement plans, which show some originality, to address an aspect of the curriculum and monitor these, reviewing progress, making adaptations and amendments where appropriate,
5. Reflect critically on the factors which have an impact on children’s learning,
11. Identify contested areas of professional practice by evaluating some theories relating to an aspect of professional practice and evaluate their relevance to the classroom.


Programmes are planned based on the published documents from the International Baccalaureate (IB) and Cambridge International Examinations (CIE). e.g. subject guide, syllabus. I studied the syllabus in detail in order to create programme plan which is aligned to the Scope and Sequence, Scheme of Work and Unit Plans to suit our learners. I choose an appropriate framework (example, inquiry cycle) as a basic guideline for my lesson plans which allow me to observe the development process of my learners. I designed my lesson plans based on my learners’ needs according to their Multiple Intelligence, ages and levels.

The sources I used in designing this programme plan including:

1) MYP Art Guide, Principles to practice

As an International Baccalaureate school, I am using IB as a framework and CIE syllabus as my content reference in designing this programme plan. My aims is to instil learners’ conceptual understanding of the macro concept (for example: revolution) including social, politic and economic aspects in order to prepare them in real life situation. I am using CIE Art syllabus as my reference to decide which specific art skills and techniques to be instilled for my learners to communicate their artistic intention.

I need to make sure learners are able to meet all the MYP Art objectives (criterion) throughout the learning process. In order to achieve this, backward planning is essential. I thought about the final outcome and expectation of the summative task before I design the content of the programme plan.

And also to provoke their critical thinking skills throughout the process of creating the final artwork.

Thus, the content, teaching strategies, activities and summative task should be aligned in a holistic and progressive structure.

The programme plan was designed based on the inquiry cycle: Act, Knowledge and understanding, Reflection. Learners will start the learning journey from the “Act”, they will choose an ordinary object and capture from different viewpoints with their camera and also explore and experiment with principles of arts and composition in photography. Then they will move on to second stage, ”Reflection”.They will write down their initial thoughts and ideas on their Developmental workbook and discuss with their peers and teacher. Eventually, they will start to develop their initial idea into a final artwork which involves a lot of experiments, investigation and study of different art movements and artists (Knowledge and understanding).

Besides, I also studied different learning styles including Anthony Gregorc’s model, Cattell Horn Carroll, Honey and Mumford’s learning cycle as references. But I found that David A Kolb style is more relevant to this programme plan as “Experiential Learning Theory”.

2) David A. Kolb styles model

According to Kolb’s model, two related approaches toward grasping experience: Concrete Experience and Abstract Conceptualization, as well as two related approaches toward transforming experience: Reflective Observationand Active Experimentation. I felt that Kolb’s theory is very relevant to this “perception continuum” session which including thinking, feeling, doing and watching.

In the second learning session, learners as Diverges andAssimilators will grasp concrete experience from photo shooting activity and look at an ordinary object from different viewpoints. They will interpret a new definition to that object which will acquire their reflective observation skill.

Converges and Accommodatorslearners will explore and experiment with different medium during the process of developing their initial idea into the final artwork which is to develop the active experimentation in transforming experience. Besides, the process of software editing will required a lot of practical hands on experience which is also part of the active learning.

3) Bloom’ Taxonomy

In first learning session, I used Bloom’s Taxonomy as my guideline. Learners will develop their thinking skill based on knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation through different activities in the classroom. This is also related to the MYP commands terms which encourage learners to identify specific keywords in different formative and summative task.

Using Bloom’s structure as the basic framework of daily lesson will help me to determine the weakness and strength of my learners at every thinking stage. It also helps me to plan my classroom activities in a more consistent and progressive structure.

I also created a backup plan using Kath Murdoch’s inquiry learning to accommodate differentiated learners. As a facilitator, sometimes I feel that I am also a risk taker. We need to anticipate different learners’ need and learning styles in the class, thus a backup plan is always essential. Learners who are used to follow Kath Murdoch’s inquiry cycle since they were in the PYP will feel more comfortable to follow this learning style.

Besides, the CIDTT Guide is also a good overview to prepare myself for this module. It gave me good guidelines of what is required to complete for each section of the assignment.

The highlights of my planned programmes and learning sessions will be the combination of various approaches to cater Multiple Intelligences. For instance, one of the sessions in the programme plan is poem writing. Learners will write a poem to describe the photomontage they have created.

Besides, they will read the literature book “The little Prince” to develop the “perception quality”

(Anthony Gregory’s mind style model theory)

I found out that it is very useful for conceptual learning session. This quality allows learners to visualize,conceive ideas, to understand or believe that which we cannot actually see. When we are using our abstract quality, we are using our intuition, imagination, and looking beyond“what is” to the more subtle implications. "It is not always what it seems."

I would like to create different perspective for my learners to understand meanings are always different in various contexts. This is essential when they are creating a new definition for the object in their photomontages. I believe creativity start from “looking out of the box”.

In this module, I learned that the process of designing programmes and sessions require time, foresight and teaching experience to create plans which are comprehensive, flexible and realistic.

At first, I categorized the content into two part which are “concept”and “skill and techniques” in order to draft the timeline for the programme plan. Then, I need to consider the duration and timeframe to anticipate scheduling issues such as holidays, school events which will affect my programme plan.

I also studied different learning style while designing the programme. I think it is very important to determine different learners in the classroom, especially in Visual arts class. Every learner has their potential talent and artistic style to be discovered, as a facilitator, we should be able to inspire and encourage the “artist” within them. Theoretically, if there are 25 learners in the class, we might need 25 different approaches to inspire every learner’s unique and original ideas or thoughts. I think this is the biggest challenge to be art facilitator.

The planning process requires time to account all the details that go into programme and each learning session. I found it useful to use the inquiry cycle as my basic structure to design the programme plan. And it’s easier to follow the Bloom’s structure as my guideline to plan the learning session in a systematic way.

Finally, it was challenging for me to complete this module because some of the questions were really difficult to answer. Overall, this was a good experience and I am looking forward to receiving feedback from this module which could help me to develop my planning in the following module 2.

Developmental Workbook

Observation from peer

 

 

 

 

 

Assessment

In the summative assessment, learners have to create a series of photomontages with a new definition for an ordinary object responding to the significant concept, key concept and guiding question. They were using The Design Cycle as a guideline to carry out the task.

 

The tasks required my learners to interpret key concept and give a new definition for an object through a series of photomontages. Learners choose an ordinary object and capture from different viewpoints with their camera to explore and experiment composition in photography. They learned about rule of composition, elements of art and colour theory.

After taken a series of photographs as initial idea, learners had group discussion and different form of formative assessment to evaluate their conceptual understanding and ongoing development process. Learners will think creatively and develop their analytical thinking skill throughout the process of creating the final artwork.
In this programme plan, learners exposed to the Avant-Garde art movement Dadaism in relation to social and political aspects. This is also an interdisplinary unit which integrated with Language A and Humanities. Thus, learners acquired knowledge from different subjects and context to communicate their artistic intention in depth. Their summative assessment, they have to create a series of photomontages with a new definition for an ordinary object responding to the significant concept, key concept and guiding question.

Learners will attempt to conceive ideas, to understand meanings are always different in various contexts. And, they will also experience the process of "destruction" as part of the creating process because throughout the development process of creating the photomontage, ideas change from time to time.

In line with the summative task, I designed a series of formative task to examine both their conceptual understanding and specific skills and techniques at one to another stage. I designed different form of formative task to cater different learners’ needs. 

Observation of Performance

This is often used as a diagnostic assessment for each new topic. Learners had class or groups discussion of a specific artist or art movement, create mind map, followed with an oral presentation which demonstrates their understanding of the content taught. 

Assignments

Assignments can be a simple or comprehensive task depends on the content. A vast range of tasks including individual research assignments, group project and basic drawing and colouring practise. 

Written Questions / Exercises with Short, Extended Answers

I integrated a lot of literature in this programme plan, learners were asked to write poems and write a short synopsis after reading the literature books.
They were also required to write an analysis essay at the stage of “investigation” as one of the formative task to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the Avant-Garde art movement Dadaism from both social and political aspects.

 

Formative task—Experimental pieces of photomontages

At the stage of “Plan”, learners were required to create a series of experimental pieces as a preview or draft of their final art works. They have to elaborate and interpret the key concept “change” and the significant concept “Meanings are always different” through their art work. For instance, they can use an eraser as a metaphor of human being, when time goes by, the shape and size reduced. Human being is constantly changing and affected by environment, social and many other factors.

Besides, they also exhibit the basic understanding of the composition in photography, The rule of third, colour theory and digital photo editing skills.They developed an initial idea, theme or personal interpretation to a point of realization, expressing and communicating their artistic intentions. They had to apply skills, techniques and processes to create, research and reflection in their Developmental Workbook.This formative is a checkpoint for them to determine and reflect on what is the “gap” between their Knowledge and the final goal (summative task). 

 

 
The Design Cycle

 

 

Cognitive thinking

Content: Key concept, guiding question and Area of interaction

From the summative assessment reflection essay, showed that my learners have insightful interpretation They were able to communicate their artistic intention through mind map and a series of initial sketches in their Developmental Workbook. They were also aware of the expectation guided by the given rubric. However, there are still some learners were not engaged in the conceptual development process. More differentiation teaching strategy need to be applied to improve on this area.

 

Art Skills and techniques

My learners were able to analyse and synthesizetheir initial ideas, thus develop into a series of photomontages. They explored and investigate photo editing skills to communicate their artistic intention in depth.
 

Communication is fundamental in my art class because different learners have different strength and weakness. We have individual tutorial after every lesson, learners will have to show me their evidence of development process in the Developmental Workbook progressively. I will discuss and annotate relevant information on their Workbook.Besides, I will post individual comments and feedback on ManageBac which is our online communication platform. After assessing the Summative Assessment, I will return the rubric with grading to my learners.

We will have discussion sessions about their grades and comments.

Being a facilitator, it is important that I communicate successfully to my learners.

Sometimes, learners were not responding to my online comments and feedback, I have to review and talk to them in the class in order to make sure they are aware of the expectation and criticism.Some of my learners are very passive, they are expecting teacher to “spoon feed” all the information. Hence, I have to use persuasive language to deliver the intention and feedback.