Understanding Inclusive Learning and Teaching in Lifelong Learning Essay

Form 2 Assessment front sheet and feedback record PTLLS Level 3 This form is mandatory Theory Assessment No:| Unit 002 – Understanding Inclusive Learning and Teaching in Lifelong Learning| Learner name: | Jessica Bell| Enrolment number:| | Date issued:| 23/10/2012| Date submitted 😐 06/11/2012| I confirm that the evidence for this unit is authentic and a true representation of my own work.

Learner Signature …………………………………………….. Date ………………… | Marker/Tutor/Assessor name: Grade: Date: 1. Summarise learning and teaching strategies used in own specialism. In any teaching specialism it is very important to use strategies to engage students and try to motivate them to gain as much as they can from their chosen course of study.

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Below I have highlighted the strengths and limitations of three teaching strategies that I use in my own specialism: Strategy| Strengths| Limitations| Discussions| This gives all students an opportunity to express their opinion. It allows for a difference in opinion and for students to learn from each other’s point of view. Quieter students may not participate.

More confident students may dominate the discussion. The group could easily go ‘off task’ and need to be brought back to the subject focus. Not practical with more than 20 students. | Group work| Gives students a chance to find out the roles they naturally take within a group setting. Can help quieter students to participate in a smaller group. Allows a sense of achievement as students work together to achieve a common goal. Students can learn from each other. | Students may be overwhelmed by those with stronger characters within the group.

Extra preparation needed to focus the group and make sure clear instructions are given. Groups may get side tracked and not focus on activities set. | Practical Demonstration| Students are able to think for themselves and show their own understanding of the subject. It allows the teacher to assess progress of the students.

Good for kinaesthetic learners. Allows students to practice their skills. | They are difficult to moderate so they could be an unreliable form of assessment. Can be difficult if the group is large.If lots of resources are needed then it can become very expensive and there may not be a budget for it. | 1.

1 Explain how approaches to learning and teaching in own specialism meet the needs of learners. It is very important to use a variety of teaching strategies so that you can keep your learners engaged, and that you can cater for as many learning styles as possible so that all levels of learner can be stretched and challenged. One of the ways to ensure that all levels of learner can be engaged is by having extra tasks prepared to give any students that complete their work early.A teacher could also be willing to let students take work home if they need extra time to complete what they haven’t completed in class. When teaching sex education classes I do a practical demonstration of how to put on a condom. This teaching method is a good example of how to engage students that learn in different ways with one activity. Visual learners are engaged by watching the demonstration, aural learners are engaged by listening to the explanation, those students who learn by reading and writing can read the instructions and make notes on them and kinaesthetic learners will learn through doing the task themselves.

Whilst delivering tutorials a lot of the methods I use have to be suitable for group work as so much of the emphasis is on sharing views and listening to the opinion of others. Methods such as demonstration, discussion, role play and project work are suitable. I adapt these methods for the needs of each group that I teach. Currently I have four groups that have very different needs, for example one group is mainly made up of visual and kinaesthetic learners so I use video clips to encourage discussion.Another group I teach is made up of mainly high level learners so I make sure that there is space for them to engage in more intellectual debates and discussions. Some of the students have a low level of English in this group however so I make sure that concepts are fully explained and groups are mixed so as the low level English speaking students do not group together. 1.

2 Describe aspects of inclusive learning Inclusive learning is ensuring that when teaching every student is fully involved in the session and that no one is excluded for any reason.It is the responsibility of the teacher to treat all students equally and fairly and to never directly or indirectly be prejudiced or exclusive. Students have the right to feel included but also that their individual learning or support needs have been taken into consideration. For example, if a student had a visual impairment that required them to need a hand-out in a larger print, the teacher should not draw attention to this fact but she could make all the hand-outs the same font size.

An example in my own practice was when I was showing a film as part of the college’s Black History Month event and a student had approached me during the film and told me that she had a hearing impairment and therefore would I turn on the subtitles. This experience has taught me never to presume but to be aware of any needs beforehand and even have the subtitles on without prior knowledge of a student with a need for them. 2.

1 Explain how to select inclusive learning and teaching techniques 3. 1 Explain ways to engage and motivate learners in an inclusive learning environmentThe techniques that I use when delivering tutorials are often dictated by the recommendations of the specialist teams within the college, for example, the careers team. When I am writing my own tutorials they are based around my own subject knowledge and selection of teaching and learning techniques that I believe will engage learners and keep them motivated to learn during the session. I select these teaching techniques through knowing the class that I teach and what keeps their attention, their learning styles and attention spans.As I normally teach in a classroom it is often difficult to use such teaching techniques such as large scale practical demonstrations.

In all the techniques used I aim to ensure that at all times the learning environment is inclusive and that every student feels they have been treated equally and fairly. Being inclusive in group work could mean putting the groups together carefully so that there are not too many dominate students in one group. It is also very important to enable quieter students a chance to participate in the class.This can be done through breaking the class into smaller groups where a quieter student may feel more confident. It could also be achieved by asking for their ideas on a one to one basis during group or individual work and asking them to share (something the teachers knows it good or correct) with the larger group. When selecting teaching and learning techniques the physical layout of the room should be thought about. For example, tables could be put together to encourage group work or they could be laid out in a semi-circle to encourage discussion.It is very important to keep students engaged and motivated by using a wide range of teaching techniques, many of which I have mentioned above.

Methods such as group work, discussions, practical tasks, debates, group projects and paired activities when used well will reach all learning styles and keep the lesson active and students engaged. In my own experience, when a class is very tired or not willing to put much effort in, breaking them up and giving them a focused activity that engages them to use their own knowledge and opinions usually wakes the class up. 2. 2 Explain how to resources that meet the needs of learnersWhen teaching tutorials on a variety of topics such as; sexual health, bullying, confidence building, healthy relationships, the key aim is to present the information in the most engaging, interactive and motivating way possible. To do this a variety of teaching methods and resources must be incorporated into the teaching session’s plans. Below are 4 of the resources that I use on a regular basis when delivering different tutorials with the advantages and disadvantages of both; Audio/visual/digital equipment I use videos and clips of songs to encourage discussion on the topic of the session.

I once used an advertisement made by the Home Office on Domestic Violence to start small group discussions on how the man was portrayed in the advertisement and if the group thought it was realistic. This led to much discussion which was relevant and enabled learning on the topic when questions were raised that I (or other students) could answer. The advantages of this resource are: * it is a very inexpensive and easily accessible way to enhance the learning experience * it is very good for visual learners * it helps keep learning relevant to the times and what students are used to.The disadvantages of this resource are: * Copyright laws may hinder some films/clips/audio being used.

* It could be distracting for some students and cause them to lose attention * Not suitable for low level ESOL learners * Need to be carefully adapted for students with visual or hearing impairments. Computerised presentations Most of the tutorials that I have written and delivered are accompanied by a Power Point presentation. The advantages of this resource are: * Enhance learning by having key points presented visually * Good for visual learners * Good for doing quizzes to check learning Easy way to present statistics and charts * Can be a great tool to enhance reading skills if used properly. The disadvantages of this resource are: * Can be disengaging for students if slides are too long or not interesting * Can be tempting to read from slides and this can discourage creativity and discussion in lessons * Need to be carefully adapted for ESOL and visually impaired students. Flip chart paper and pens All of the tutorials that I deliver are very focused on enabling students to form their own opinions and discuss their views with others.This is a great resource to keep records of discussions points and ideas brought up by students. It can also be helpful in small group discussion for students to write down their ideas in an activity.

The advantages of this resource are: * Very helpful aid to group discussion * Good way of recording thoughts and ideas * Enables students to freely write and draw as large as they would like The disadvantages of this resource are: * Can be messy * Not a permanent way of recording information * Could be a distraction for students 2. 3 Explain how to create assessment opportunities that meet the needs of learners.There are 3 types of assessment that can be carried out throughout the teaching cycle that meet learner needs. These types are: Initial Assessment This can be completed prior to students starting a course of learning. An example of doing an initial assessment at either the beginning of a session or the beginning of a course of learning would be to ask questions such as ‘what does anyone know about this subject? ’ or ‘has anyone done this before? ’. This would then enable the teacher to include their experiences in the session and kick start discussions. Formative AssessmentThese types of assessments occur during a session by asking questions to determine knowledge and progress.

Simple assessment tools such as quizzes should make this more engaging for students. It can be done either verbally or as a written quiz. An example of when I do this in my own teaching would be the short quiz I use at the end of the section of sexually transmitted infections during a sex education tutorial. If any students get a question wrong then this provides an opportunity for the group to go over the information again. Summative Assessment These usually occur at the end of a course of study.These types of assessment are normally by way of assignment or exam or more formal method.

These types of assessment however are not suited to all learners and if possible creative ways of assessing the standards of the qualification have been met should be found. An example could be an end of study project or practical demonstration of learning. 2. 4 Explain how to provide opportunities for learners to practice their literacy, language, numeracy and ICT skills There are many ways to embed opportunities for learners to improve their functional skills when planning lessons and schemes of work.Some examples of these that I could use whilst delivering tutorials include: Literacy Providing students a paragraph of information to be read out loud to the class (whilst being sensitive to students’ ability), asking them to make notes or bullet points on video’s or presentations. Language Students can improve their learning skills by answering the teacher’s questions, also I could make a quiz for them to answer the questions to or start an organised debate. Students are also constantly listening to answers, questioning and talking with fellow learners in a group setting.

Also they could be asked to do a project or presentation to deliver to the class. Numeracy Students can improve their numeracy skills by some mathematics being included in tasks, for example, asking how many people they think had a certain opinion and then asking what percentage that would be of a certain number. Also problem solving can be incorporated in tutorials and students can be asked to keep track of the time and asked how many minutes they now have left. ICT ICT skills can be improved by students using IT programmes such as Word, Excel or PowerPoint to create a presentation or write up some work they have done in class.Students can also be asked to email their homework to the teacher.

3. 2 Summarise ways to establish ground rules with learners to promote respect for others It is very important to set ground rules with a new class right from the beginning. Ground rules set boundaries within which students can safely work and learn. They should be a tool to help the class run smoothly and make sure that each student feels respected and treated equally by their classmates as well as the teacher. In my own classes I usually start the first lesson with a session on how we will establish the ground rules.Depending on the group this could be done by asking students to all think of a rule and then looking at them one by one and discussing if the whole group thinks they should be used. With other groups, I have said that as the teacher I will state three rules and the students can state three as well.

The ground rules are then written on a large sheet of flipchart paper and I ask all the students (and myself) to sign the sheet. It is then displayed clearly in the class so that students can be easily referred to it if they have broken a rule.I always try to include the students in coming up with ground rules as I have mentioned above. This way they will feel more included and are then more likely to keep to the rules.

This does rely on the students being sensible and not asking to have rules that will not benefit the class (such as breaks every 20 minutes). Usually when challenged students will agree to a list that is beneficial to the whole group. If ground rules are not set at the beginning of the session then there is no expectation set of the behaviour expected in the classroom.If someone is told they are not to do something before they do it then there can fairly be consequences for their actions.

It encourages students to take responsibility for their behaviour and empowers them to be part of the authority and decision making body. 3. 3 Explain ways to give constructive feedback that motivates learners. There are many ways to give constructive feedback to learners. Feedback should always motivate students and encourage them, it should never be given purely to criticise their work and should always be given with the intention of helping them to improve.Feedback can be given informally such as talking to a student during class about the work they are doing. If they were working through a project they could informally come and ask for teachers help or tips on how to improve the final product. More formal methods of constructive feedback would be written by the teacher who has marked an assignment or piece of coursework.

It should ideally be a two-way process with students being given the opportunity to ask questions and comment on the feedback they have been given. Some different methods of feedback include: ElectronicThis can be given by email or online via a system like EASYIS at College of North West London. Verbal This could be given one-to-one or as part of a group. If a project has been presented by a group then the group would get feedback together. It could also be given by a peer group after, for example, doing a ‘micro-teach’. Written This could be written on the student’s work that they have submitted or as part of a qualification checklist.

Feedback should always be given at the right time and place, for example, individual feedback should be given in private.Feedback should always be factual and objective and never hold any personal views by the teacher. It should include specific facts about the work including positives and things that could be improved. The main aim should always be encourage, motivate and enable the student to improve and develop. When giving written feedback it is important that things are written clearly and concisely and that there is little room for interpretation. The comments need to be read how they were intended but if the teacher is available for the student to discuss the feedback with then any confusion can be quickly cleared up.The model of saying something positive, followed by something which needs improving and ending on something else positive can help the student to remain positive throughout the experience and not feel that they are being criticised. Bibliography Ann Gravells, 2011.

Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector: Fourth Edition. 4 Edition. Learning Matters Ltd.

. Ann Gravells, 2012. Passing Ptlls Assessments (Lifelong Learning Sector). 2nd Revised edition Edition.

Learning matters. A Wilson, 2008. Practical Teaching. Edition.

Thomson Learning.

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