Sunday 24 June 2012

Saturday 23 June 2012

Educating the Heart and Mind: Sir Ken Robinson

100 Useful chemistry experiments

Thinking about becoming a teacher: take a quiz

Career Quiz - To be or not to be a teacher

Finding gold in the grey matter - The Olympic Games, London, 27 July - 12 August (by TES)

Faster? Higher? Stronger? New research shows that ‘exercise starts and ends in the brain’. Jo Knowsley investigates

When Helen Jenkins suffered a severe Achilles tendon injury in 2006, the now-reigning triathlon World Champion was warned that her sporting career was over. But the determined Welsh athlete defied the doomsayers to return to fighting fit form, winning her first World Championship in Vancouver in 2008. She is now one of Britain’s best hopes of winning Olympic gold at this year’s Games.

She has been helped by her coach, husband and fellow triathlete Marc Jenkins, but Helen also has a secret weapon: science. She has been undertaking “neurobics” brain training, where she eats, trains and even sleeps with less oxygen so that when she encounters the oxygen-rich air of London she is guaranteed to produce a turbocharged Olympic performance.

Helen is one of several Olympic athletes training under the guidance of Professor Damian Bailey, himself a former international athlete and head of the Neurovascular Research Laboratory at the University of Glamorgan, whose research has demonstrated that “exercise starts and ends in the brain”.

“I know what it’s like competing at the top end, having represented my country in football and athletics,” he says. “But my brain wanted to take me places that my body couldn’t follow: lots of pain without much gain. I simply had to find out why, and so turned to science for answers.”

Bailey’s research has challenged traditional dogma that performance limits are set by the heart, lungs and muscles.

“The advent of sophisticated magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound techniques has provided us with a window into the brain and helped unlock some of the unsolved mysteries that set the limits of human performance,” he says.

“We have come to realise that the most successful endurance performers are those who can best conserve the biggest amount of oxygen in their brains during exercise.”

Bailey and his team turned to alternative superhuman models to test this theory, focusing on how high-altitude mountaineers and free divers overcame extremes of exercise and lack of oxygen that would usually be considered “incompatible with ordinary human life”. This provided unique insights into how the brain “senses” oxygen and the defence mechanisms it deploys to optimise function. “The human brain is so oxygen-hungry that it soaks up a disproportionate 30 per cent of our body’s energy budget,” Bailey says.

“We can put our brains under extra pressure with intermittent bouts of exercise, combined with a lack of oxygen - a so-called high-altitude double whammy. This causes the brain to release tiny molecules known as free radicals.

“But rather than damage the body’s cells, as was previously thought, they act like molecular on-off switches, which trigger the complex machinery required to get oxygen into our brains and keep it there. Over time our bodies adapt to their controlled release, boosting the training response and optimising oxygen delivery and performance.”

Bailey says it is not by chance that some of the best endurance performers in the world are born and bred at high altitudes, and therefore adapted to a low-oxygen environment. For the rest of us, who can’t select our past, our environment or our parents, bringing the mountain to the athlete is the solution.

Next month, athletes from more than 200 nations will compete, inspired by the Olympic motto “Citius, Altius, Fortius” - “Faster, Higher, Stronger”. It’s the perfect stage for world record attempts, with steady improvements made over the years in how fast Olympians run, how high they jump and how far they throw objects. But is there a limit to human performance?

The battle between scientific prediction and athletic performance has a long and embarrassing history. Less than 50 years ago, scientists were confident that a 100m sprint in less than 10 seconds would be physically impossible. They predicted that the forces generated would simply tear the body apart. Yet the Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt has run it in 9.58 seconds. A marathon run in less than 2 hours and 15 minutes was considered equally impossible, but not for Kenya’s Patrick Makau, who recently set a world record of 2:03:38.

Bailey’s research turns conventional wisdom on its head. It has not been an easy journey for Helen Jenkins. Her husband, too, has faced adversity. At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Marc Jenkins was forced to carry his bike for 2km after a competitor collided with him, damaging his wheel. He crossed the finish line in last place, but his heroic efforts embodied the Olympic spirit and won him instant fame. The next year, he battled life- threatening deep vein thrombosis and a pulmonary embolism. But like his wife, he has returned to full health.

Both feel that training in a low-oxygen environment has contributed to this positive outcome. From her first session gasping for air while merely sitting in the chamber at 12 per cent oxygen (equivalent to 4,500m of altitude, but without any acclimatisation), Helen’s body and brain slowly became used to the low-oxygen environment. As a result, her performance has improved.

“Squeezing an extra 1 per cent out of Helen will represent the difference between an athlete finishing on the podium or just being another forgotten race statistic,” Marc says. “It’s all about mind over matter.”

What else?

For Olympic resources on every subject, check out the new TES Resources London 2012 collections.

Thursday 21 June 2012

Managing behaviour (by TES)

For behaviour articles go to this link http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storyCode=6255916&s_cid=BEHAVIOUR_News_RES

Summary:

This month TES behaviour expert Tom Bennett talks about the pros and cons of compassion in the classroom and picks out resources to stop you becoming 'too kind'.

Teachers TV: Ignoring disruptive behaviour
Sue Cowley defines 'strategic ignoring' in this useful guide to managing low-level disruption.

Teachers TV: The quiet ones
John Bayley discusses how teachers can help the less visible students.

Behaviour: Building relationships for behaviour management – what not to do
How to avoid bad relationships in the classroom.

Under my skin – unpeeling the clingy child
Every teacher will have a child who doesn't understand the boundaries. Here are some strategies to help you when they get too close.

My sample school rules
Use as a starting point to design (or reflect upon) your own school policies.

Talking tough
How to make a good first impression with the class.

Don't try too hard
Find out why trying too hard to gain the admiration of your pupils could land you in hot water.

Student infatuations
Advice on what to do when Stupid Cupid comes to class.

Wednesday 20 June 2012

Science should be open to all

By Pallab Ghosh
Science correspondent, BBC News

Currently the results of publicly funded research are restricted and have to be paid for
A group of experts has urged funders of UK research to encourage scientists to publish their results in journals that offer free public access to findings.

A report by Dame Janet Finch argues that there is a powerful "moral" case for publicly funded research to be freely available.

Dame Janet also states that there could be considerable economic benefits if industry has free access to research.

Currently, most results have to be paid for by subscription.

But supporters of commercial publishing say that they have contributed greatly to the development of the peer review system and the resulting high standard of scientific research.

According to Dame Janet, "everyone agrees that greater open access would bring huge economic and public benefits. The challenge though is how we move to this model without damaging UK research, peer review or scientific publishers?"

Historically, scientists have sent their research results to scientific journals for consideration for publication.

Specialist editors working for the journals sift through the material submitted to them and select those they feel have made a significant contribution to the field.

The editors then send these scientific papers to experts in the field for assessment, a process known as peer review. It is at this stage that one or more of the experts can reject the research because they believe it is flawed or that it has not made a significant contribution to the field.

It is more often the case though that the expert reviewers, known as referees, ask for clarification or more experiments to be carried out.

Once all or most of the referees are satisfied, the journal publishes the research and it is at this stage that the work is formally considered to be new science.

This process is in the main carried out by commercially-owned academic publishers who charge a subscription for access to the research. Two of the world's leading journals, Nature and Science, require subscriptions.

Critics allege that commercial publishers have made excessive profits from publicly funded research
Critics have argued that commercial publishers have made excessive profits from scientific research that has been paid for from public money. Critics also say that denying access to publicly-funded research is immoral.

This sort of criticism has seen the emergence of a new model of scientific publishing called open access. In this model, the author - or more likely their institution or funding body - pays for the administrative costs of peer review and the published research is made freely available to all.

The issue has become more acute in recent years with all research papers now potentially available online. Most commercial publishers have a "pay-wall" requiring a fee before allowing access to the research material.

Last year the Science Minister David Willetts set up an independent working group led by Dame Janet Finch of Manchester University to examine how to expand access to the peer-reviewed publications that arise from research undertaken both in the UK and in the rest of the world.

Bob Campbell, a senior publisher at Wiley-Blackwell, said that he saw a cointinued role for commercial publishers, but that there would be a move towards some form of open access in their models.

Measured way

The report's conclusion is that the government should encourage research funders, scientists and journal publishers to back the open access model playing an increasingly important role in scientific publishing.

Although open access journals currently account for just 10% of published research it is an area that Dame Finch wants to see expanding rapidly.

"The long term future lies with open access," she said at a news conference to launch her report.

"It will continue to grow fast. We need to embrace this change and do so in a measured way.

One of Dame Janet's recommendations is to require the funders of research to set aside £60 million each year to pay the administrative fees for publication in open access publications.

Mr Willetts said he would give a formal government response after he had a chance to properly consider the report.

But after an initial reading he said it seemed to have struck a "sensible balance in safeguarding the very important role of academic publishers while finding a way to manage the change to an environment that is more dominated by open access".

Many scientists are strong supporters of open access publishing. Among them is Prof Elizabeth Fisher, a world class neuroscientist at University College London.

"At my institution we are lucky enough to have access to many journals. But inevitably myself or one of my colleagues occasionally needs to see something that we haven't subscribed to and so we have to pay a fee to see research that has been publicly funded.

"So it would be tremendously useful for our research if we didn't have to think twice about this sort of thing".

Professor Adam Tickell, pro-vice-chancellor for research and knowledge transfer at the University of Birmingham said that universities were hugely supportive of the move toward the new model of scientific publishing.

"Open access is is in our marrow," he said, "greater access is for the greater good".

Saturday 16 June 2012

The story, as told by fruit, of National Standards

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d9ZBpg3sMo&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Friday 15 June 2012

What teaching and learning means to me: Teaching Aims

Learning, to me, represents not only what takes place in an academic environment but also in everyday life from forming social and professional connections to learning how to act in certain situations. Learning is not solely about academia, however important we deem that to be, but also about living alongside each other and having the ability to solve everyday problems. Learning is truly one of the ‘things’ that remain with us throughout our lives whether acknowledged or not. Simply being alive, whoever we are, results in learning in some capacity. For me, teaching represents a formal tool in which to facilitate shared learning outcomes efficiently and effectively.

I learn differently dependant the focus of the learning. For example, when swimming competitively I learnt new techniques and styles by actively ‘doing’ after independently and quietly reviewing information. When learning science I review in depth and observe closely prior to ‘doing’ an experiment myself. I also draw mind-maps, using colour which allows me to visualise diagrams when recalling information. I am generally a solo, independent quiet learner until I have understood the topic myself and then enjoy discussing my ideas and thoughts as part of a collaborative team. I do not learn well listening to hours of audio or being ‘talked at’ nor by being thrown ‘in at the deep end’ without being given an opportunity to investigate, even if only for a few minutes, a new topic. This fails to elicit focus.

For me, an effective teacher would be inclusive, patient, understanding, concise and able to reinforce instructions and expectations, in a non-patronising way and also be open to learning from their students as well as able to guide students in their learning. He/she would include various activities in a lesson to ensure inclusion of all students, who may have varying learning styles and abilities, and encourage collaboration, respect and support for each other within and beyond the learning environment. Unfortunately, I did not have teachers like this myself.

At High School a teacher asked a student in my class which planet they were from. He replied, ‘Mars.’ No-one in the class ridiculed the answer except for the teacher who went on to make derogatory remarks about the student in every subsequent lesson. A teacher also bullied my brother because he had a learning disability and could not differentiate between ‘d’s and ‘b’s and often could not articulate himself clearly. I know that I do not want to be a teacher like I, my brother or classmate experienced. I never want to cause pain or contribute to someone giving up because of anything I have said or done, although I realise in reality we all do on occasion upset others without meaning to.

Teachers need to know how best to encourage and support all learners. A student maybe poor, in state care, difficult or unruly but teachers should refrain from making judgements or labelling individuals. Teachers may not know what is going on at home that results in of certain behaviour, or whether there is a learning or other disability contributing to frustrations. Teachers need to learn about behaviour and how abuse, neglect, trauma or significant events, like the earthquakes in Christchurch, may shape student behaviour or impact on learning. They also need to recognise what affect their comments, attitude, biases and personal thoughts and feelings may have on their teaching and subsequently on their students. Cultural knowledge is also important as to is recognising bullying and knowing how to handle it.

My aim is to embrace an attitude of equity for all students and support goals. However ‘obscure’ a learners aim may appear to others, I do not wish to detract or discourage it. I believe that anyone is able to achieve their goals and that all of us, as part of a global community, not only in the role of teacher, have the responsibility to nurture, support and encourage students to be all they can be and all they want to be. Some dreams and aspirations may well appear unrealistic but who are we to judge what someone is truly capable of aspiring to or what may be available in the future to allow someone to reach a goal that at the initial time of hearing seemed impossible. I want to be a teacher who enthuses and excites students about the world around them and who inspires students to form their own ideas and possibilities.

The strategies I plan to engage to achieve this include:

i. acting on feed-back from peers.

ii. Completion of courses related to professional development, behaviour and learning disabilities.

iii. asking for help even if I feel it may make me look stupid.

iv. Learning all I can about class room and behaviour management

I also think it important to dress appropriately. If a teacher is well presented then she/he leads by example and does not leave a window for inadvertently causing offence or a means for ridicule. A tidy and clean appearance is important and hopefully this will portray tidily prepared lessons and organised classes with clear objectives and summative/tidy reviews. It is my intention to provide a learning environment that is respectful, well organised and planned ahead of time and which incorporates different learning styles. My aim is to allow for management of a class by positive reinforcement rather than criticisms or chastising of inappropriate behaviour.

Overall, I think teaching incorporates more skill and ability than is generally recognised by the general public and even by student teachers. Teachers today play a mix of roles rather than a traditional ‘sage’ and ‘dictator’ as experienced during my school years. I am sure that areas where I need assistance will become more apparent as teaching practice commences and real experiences take place. I would like to eventually work with students who are difficult and who others may have given up on. Help in maintaining a working and effective balance between educating, guidance and facilitator in the classroom would be invaluable.

Retraining to become a teacher has been a long debated decision and not one taken lightly. My greatest fear is that I will embarrass myself or look like an idiot, but within these fears, I think, lies factors that we all feel at one time or another, including students. I am passionate about people and the world around us and hope to bring that into the classroom. I realise there are many basic tenants and much curriculum information to learn and brush up on prior to walking in to a classroom.

I am genuinely an advocate for justice, health treatment, freedom of speech and education for all. The latter not being the least important because it came last in the list. If I am given an opportunity to be able to serve and assist in any way to encourage and excite individuals towards their own goals, aspirations and dreams then I would be honoured to do so. Teaching is not new to me, albeit it in a completely different culture and country with completely opposing views to New Zealand but it is something I believe I will be good at, in time, with the right training and mentors.

I am very thankful to Bronwyn Taylor who initially interviewed me and showed great excitement at receiving my graduate diploma application. Her comments have stayed with me for the last 3 years. I always do my very best to succeed in the very best way I am able and with this in mind look forward to a career in teaching. I hope my attitude towards life in general; life-long learning, equity, inclusion and desire to see colleagues, peers and student develop both professionally and personally will help me achieve this vision of the future.

My Philosophy in regard to Teaching Science

This is my philosophy in regard to teaching science. It was developed over the last five months and is very close to my general belief and values around an overall teaching philosophy. I hope you enjoy reading about my values, hopes and aspirations for science in the classroom.

Before writing my teaching philosophy for science I found it necessary to research different theories and compare them to my own thoughts and ideas. I determined that I do not fall wholly into any one category but rather across various philosophies. In particular, social constructivism, the ideas of Professor Kereti Rautangata, cognitivism and humanism, and to a lesser degree behaviorism. To explain further I will briefly outline the particular parts of each teaching philosophy that appeal to me, albeit each philosophy is much more complex and extensive than allowed for below.

Behavioral Psychology includes a degree of rote learning where evidence of learning is observed through a change in behaviour (Skinner, 1961; Watson, 1979). Being teacher centered and directed, the teacher is considered the expert, or ‘sage’ with all the answers (Watson, 1913; Bandura, 1969). Students self regulate learning and are given reinforcement by the teacher who observes, measures and quantitatively evaluates results (Holland and Skinner, 1961). The line between teacher and learner is very clear (Appendix A).

Humanism relies on a teacher providing numerous resources from which a student can choose to learn from which results in personalised and tailored learning for each individual (Maslow 1943; McLeod, 2007), thus recognising learners as individuals (McLeod, 2007). This theory appeals to me as my view of students is that they are all unique individuals with their own strengths and weaknesses and contributions to give.

Cognitivism allows learners to pursue their own interests within a community that also supports individual exploration (Neill, 1973; Montessori, 1994). It consists of individual learning activities, joint projects and field trips which provide real life learning opportunities based on individual interests (Kohler, 1992). Cognitivism is based on individuals having private and subjective knowledge that is then teacher directed towards resources that the student then engages with. Cognitivism relies on IT use; email, computer programs, timed power point slides and other web designed teaching/learning aides by which students move through various stages of learning (Appendix B), (Piaget, 1970; 1985). Incorporating computer generated-learning, means learners can progress at their own pace allowing for varying abilities within a class. Although students may not be working at the same level or even on the same subject at any one time I can see many benefits from this teaching philosophy. A major disadvantage is the requirement for a teacher to be able to multi-task and remember where any one student is up to at any one time.

Constructivism is also based on Gestalt psychology and can be argued to have arisen partly from cognitivism (Galloway, 2001). Students use previous and current experiences to derive knowledge and make educational experiences an integral part of life. It involves problem-based learning that not only applies to classroom activities but also to solutions to real life problems (Galloway, 2001). Social Constructivism allows for collaboration with others and the construction of hypotheses (Bruner, 1961; Vygotsky, 1978; Glaserfeld, 1992; 1996; Montessori, 1994; Mascolol and Fischer, 2005). It also has its focus in real life experiences as initially intended by its advocate John Dewey (Mascolol and Fischer, 2005).

It is my personal belief that if lessons can relate to the real world, animals, plants, planets, everyday house hold and environmental processes, then students will not only engage more easily with topics and subject matter but also retain information more readily. I particularly like that students are encouraged to research and find meaningful contexts in their quest for knowledge, and that learners and teachers are focused on creating an educational community that has meaning and value within a democratic community. The theories that did not fit my ideas include Existentialism, Critical Theory and Social Reconstructionism (Appendix C).

My teaching philosophy combines at least three of the theories mentioned: cognitivism, humanism and social constructivism.

- Cognitivism because learners are able to apply lessons to life outside of the classroom and incorporate an array of IT resources via E-learning (Appendix D).

- Humanism, because it allows a student to choose from a variety of resources in order to learn on an individual basis. It may be more difficult and time consuming to track the progress of individual students if all are working with individualised resources at their own pace within their own parameters but, an experienced, aware and energetic teacher would see good results. It would allow students to engage in a topic at an appropriate level for the individual and with resources that each connects with, whether audio, visual, literary, or hands-on (puzzles etc), therefore catering for most if not all learning styles.

- Social Constructivism because it allows for collaboration and education that has real world meaning.

Adopting parts from each of these theories would allow for an environment that is conducive to learning, where students tolerate different points of view and where individuals are able to bring their life experiences in to the classroom and yet apply lessons learnt to the wider community. Students will learn to be responsible to themselves, each other and the community in which they live. The classroom environment would aid in attaining equity by nurturing and encouraging students to take risks in speaking, demonstrating and partaking in group and class activities. Encouraging participation in investigations and hypothesising would promote the sharing of ideas and encourage curiosity leading to amazement of the world about them and mutual respect for each other as learners. Ultimately learners would be encouraged to embrace science education as being a natural part of life, all around and everywhere, rather than merely an external curriculum ‘add-on’ (Appendix E). Bringing science alive, and making it relevant and applicable to everyday life will capture and excite many students. For example, investigating the chemistry of food in items that students commonly eat, gazing at the wonders of the stars and making parallels with time travel, or at the inner machinery of a cell which isn’t unlike the workings of a car or motorbike engine have appeal to both genders.

With regard to Maori inclusion in my teaching philosophy, I refer to Professor, Kereti Rautangata. He managed to bring in to his teaching traditional Māori spiritual ideals giving students the ability to connect with who they are as well as to relate to their perceived reality of the world. His statement sums up my own thoughts perfectly:

“For me, everything must be interlinked with the ‘Cosmic Plan', the all-inclusive Primordial Blueprint that human beings, irrespective of colour, creed or country, should ultimately be aspiring to. . . Hence for me, the art of teaching is coined in the phrase:

... ‘Tahuna te Ahi-para papa-rākau-a-Tū, Oi' he ngākau-toa, Oi' he Manawa toa ..." ... "Fan the potential spark, lying dormant in the psyche of a tauira (student & teacher), into a flamboyant shield of glory ..." (Rautangata, 2008).

He views education as a tool for which a spark may be ignited in a person. His philosophy is a combination of reality, spiritual and physical and he is an advocate for first being inspired yourself before trying to inspire others (Rautangata, 2008). I firmly believe this is a wonderful philosophy and these words speak volumes to me. My desire is to be able to enthuse others about the world around us; its natural marvels, mysteries and awesomeness. To encourage curiosity that leads to amazement. To light the tinniest of sparks could take any student so much further than if they had had no spark at all. Like one-degree begins insignificantly small but in space opens up to become kilometers wide.

In regard to Maori, the Ministry of Education states that schools need to provide all individuals with opportunities to understand and respect tikanga Māori (The Ministry of Education, 2012). After a 12 week course in the School of Maori with Duane Culshaw (2011) and hearing Anton Matthews speak (lecture 7^th February 2012) about tikanga and Maori Culture I think it important that all students come to appreciate and respect the depth and significance of Maori history, customs, language and spirituality, including the beliefs around ancestors and the entire meaning of whanau and how the Marae itself, for example, the placement of decorations, doors and windows, are deeply symbolic. There is a great wealth of understanding to be obtained from exploring Maori culture and language that would in itself encourage others to make comparisons with their own cultures and thus reduce any feeling of minority in a classroom, whether Asian, African, Pacific Islander, Maori or other. Inclusion of trips to a Marae and incorporation of Te Reo language is invaluable to all students in recognising New Zealand’s unique and rich history, traditions and culture. Including pohiri and Kapa Haka as a norm in schools would benefit not only the school but the wider community especially if parents and extended family are invited to have input.

However, it is simply not sufficient to concentrate only on the Kiwi student or Máori learner. It is my belief that science teaching is required to incorporate a philosophy for multiculutural education and therefore needs a multicultural philosophy. To this end science education needs to include texts, readings and examples from other cultures. For example the movements of the moon could be related to the Islamic, Mayan and Amazonian Calendars that could then lead on to various scientific discoveries each of these cultures made. After all, science started in the East with ancient civilizations. Understanding the value and significance of ecosystems to different cultures would be enlightening for many students. Mapping tectonic plates would reveal not only scientific information but also reveal many myths and folk tales. In particular, many myths about earthquakes are from areas that are situated on major fault lines (Quynh, undated). Lessons should include scientists from different ethnicities and cultures including minorities; women, for example. This would illustrate to students that science is genuinely for everyone. Describing the lives of great scientists would give learners an appreciation of great discoverers being human and not dissimilar to each of them. Any one student is equally able to discover something unique.

On the note of equality - as Banks and Banks (1995) stated, ‘equality is reached when teaching styles facilitate the academic curiosity of all learners regardless of their race, cultural, social or other group’. This equality also extends to access to resources, especially IT. Where possible, making sure educational resources are available before and after class to students is important. In particular, assess to computers. This would also have the added benefit of facilitating further cooperative work in groups that is important for some cultures and specific learners. For example, the academic success of Mexican, American and African learners is increased with cooperative activities (Aronson & Gonzalez, 1988).

This leads me to my last but most important belief. I absolutely believe that all learners regardless of wealth, age, gender, faith, ability, background, race or any other factor should always be treated with absolute equally in the classroom. The classroom itself should foster an environment where learners have a positive, collaborative and inclusive educational experience which comes from building a foundation of equal status where there may exist gender differences, significant diversity in race, ethnicity, culture and ability. My teaching philosophy not only encompasses what I wish to foster in a classroom environment but also what I wish to see develop in my students and also in myself. It is important to me to recognise my own biases, and thoughts and feelings and re-evaluate and reconsider my own viewpoint to ensure that attitudes towards each student is genuinely equitable. It would be my intent not to portray myself as an expert in any field but rather as a partner in the learning process. Moses Maimonides, stated that the best we can do is to place a person in a position, via education, where they no longer need our aid. If a student found that I was obsolete in that they could learn no more from me, then I would believe my job would have been a successful one.

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Appendix A

Behavioural Psychology reflects the way many African and Asian nations teach as well as what students and parents expect from a teacher and learning processes. Although, there is a place for this teaching philosophy it is not one I would wish to embrace in New Zealand. From personal experience, whilst building, funding and running a school in rural North Africa, any other method of teaching in Africa would result in confusion for the students and their extended families who have very clear ideas and expectations: that being the teacher teaches and the student ‘fills up’ like a vessel or sponge. This philosophy therefore has its place in the global community albeit not one I believe would elicit the best results in New Zealand.

Appendix B

These stages are known as ‘assimilation’, where a student fits new information into an existing cognitive structure or understanding; ‘accommodation’ where a learner modifies their existing cognitive structures based on new information and then ‘equilibration’ where a student develops a more adaptive and sophisticated mode of thought from something newly learnt (Piaget, 1970; 1985).

Appendix C

Existentialism appeared too abstract (Sartre, 1957 p14; 2007 p6; Kierkegaard, 2000) and it included long moral and political contexts. As New Zealand is very much a multicultural society I believe it best to focus on our similarities and embrace differences in order to build a positive learning community rather than form separations by focusing on political differences. Of course, in science as with all areas politics are rife in academia and between individuals and groups but this need not detract focus from teaching. Critical Theory encourages a world where all learners work towards freedom and equality whilst at the same time working towards changing social conditions (Giroux, 1981; 1989. Michael Apple, 2004; Brown, 2011). Social Reconstrucionism focuses on working to overcome problems that exist in society and thus create a better world (Montessori, 1994). Critical Theory allows each student to work towards an individual need and ability, but I wonder who judges a student’s need and ability. It is my belief that all learners should not be labeled but encouraged to achieve all they are able rather than being judged as more or less able or in need.

Appendix D

However, as teachers we need to ensure that students embrace not only the ability to communicate effectively using IT in a virtual space but are also able to fully function and communicate in the physical world via face to face interactions which develop specific social skills including the ability to read body language and expressions.

Appendix E

This is not unlike the aim outlined in our Professional Studies lecture which states that Maori should be a natural part of a students experience so that it is not considered an ‘add-on’ but rather a natural presence to both teacher and student.

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