Progressivism Progressivists believe that individuality, progress, and change are fundamental to one's education. Believing that people lea rn best from what

they consider most relevant to their l ives, progressivists center their curricula on the needs, experiences, interests, and abilities of students. Progressivist teachers try making school interesting and useful by planning lessons that provoke curiosity. In a progressivis t school, students are actively learning. The students interact with one another and develop soci al qualities such as cooperation and tolerance for different points of

view. In addition, students solve problems in the classroom similar to those they will encounter in their everyday lives. Pro gressivists believe that education should be a process of ongoing growth, not just a preparation for becoming an adult. An obvious example of progressivism would be our class. We are in groups a lot and we actively learn through discussion. We talk about how what we read can be in corporated into our future teaching careers. Dr. Theodore takes into account the suggestions from the previous semester's students and modifies his class

accordingly. After reading John Dewey’s book and discussing his thoughts and ideas in class, one can see John Dewey's relationship to p rogressivism. He

wanted students to learn through action and being involved in the processes that will get to the end product. He wanted the s tudents to work on hands-on projects so learning would take place, rather than memorization. In a regular classroom students just memorize what they need to know and it goes away after the test. In Dewey’s mind, the students would have to exercise their brain by problem solving and thinking critically, resulting in learning (even though the students may not even know it!). This allows the individual's brain to develop, so as the

individual grows learning becomes easier! After attending a school Dewey would have set up, a child would be ready for the real world and a lot of the everyday setbacks that an individual would experience, such as losing a button, changing a tire, making lunch, or balancing a checkbook. School would be a lot of hands -on learning, and the progression of education would not end! Perennialism

Perennialists believe that the focus of education shoul d be the ideas that have lasted over centuries. They believe the ideas are as relevant and meaningful today as when they were written. They recommend that students learn from reading and analyzing the works by histor y's finest thinkers and writers. Essentialists believe that when students study these works and ideas, they will appreciate learning. Similar top

perennialism, essentialism aims to develop students' intellectual and moral qualities. Perennialist classrooms are also centered on teachers in order to accomplish these goals. The teachers are not concerned about the students' interests or experiences. They use tried and tr ue teaching methods and techniques that are believed to be most beneficial to disciplining students' minds. The perennialist curric ulum is universal and is based on their view that all human beings possess the same essential nature. Perennialists think it is important that individ uals think deeply,

analytically, flexibly, and imaginatively. They emphasize that students should not be taught information that may soon be outdated or found to be incorrect. Perennialists disapprove of teachers requiring students to absorb massive amounts of disconnected information. They recommend that schools spend more time teaching about concepts and explaining they are meaningful to students. The only example I can think of would be a class about religion or history. The instructor would use religious books and historical documents.

As a behaviorist, you believe that learning takes place when knowledge is separated into smaller bits. Students are rewarded for successful answers. Instruction focuses on conditioning the learner's behavior. Learning involves repetition and association and is high ly mechanical. Behaviorist leaning teachers focus on a new behavioral pattern being repeated until it becomes automatic. (Schuman)

The role of the behaviorist teacher is providing stimulus material and prompting the correct response, while the learner's ro le is to be the receiver of the information response until the behavioral change is permanent. (Applications of Learning Theories) Teachers with a behaviorist leaning view errors as not enough conditioning. Without repetition and proper conditioning, students will make mistakes. As a cognitivist, you believe that learning is a change in individuals' mental structures enabling them to show changes in behavior. It is based on

the thought process behind the behavior. Your focus is on what is in the learner's head coupled with the behavior. According to "Applications of Learning Theories for Instructional Design Practice", from the cognitivist's perspective, you emphasize the following principles:

Internal processes/conditions of learning (the learning processes that take place in the learner's mind)

o Attention o Expectancies o Reception o Perception

o Short-term memory o Rehearsing o Encoding o Long-term memory

o Memory strategies o Encoding strategies o Executive control

o Prior knowledge and experience External processes/conditions of learning (the environmental support for the internal processes of learning)

o Attracting student attention o Setting expectation o Assisting learners to recall prior knowledge and experiences

o Identifying types of learning outcome (memorization, conceptualization, application, problem solving, etc.) o Facilitating and support cognitive processes for learning of the identified types of learning outcomes o Assisting learners to develop learning strategies o Helping learners to control their own leraning processes (metacognition)

o Assisting learners to perform self assessment o Assessing learners' performance and provide informative feedback

The role of the cognitivist teacher is to assist the learner's application of the proper learning strategies, and the learner is active in the learning process. Cognitive leaning teachers view errors as unsuccessful attempts to understand, order and act upon their environment in ways that

make sense to them. Knowledge is the organization of a set of mental structures and problem-solving processes that the learner manipulates and restructures in response to new information and experience. (Gordon) I possess some qualities of both a behaviorist and cognitivist teacher. Some concepts in first grade need to be memorized and practiced. For example, when reading, students should see a high frequency word and recognize it without having to sound it out. Words l ike have, were, my,

was, some, etc. are used often in first grade text and cannot be sounded out. Students who come to first grade without much reading prac tice need to learn basic sight words before they can become fluent readers. Playing sight word games and continuing to read will help them learn these words.

In my classroom, I often act as a guide for my students. In mathematics, being proficient requires being able to use prior kn owledge from one situation and to apply it in another. In open-ended story problems, students must have the ability to know which math function (addition, subtraction, etc.) to use and how to apply a strategy to solve the problem. I often facil itate and support th e internal processes of the various learners in my classroom.

In science, my young students come to school with some prior knowledge that is often incorrect. It is my job to acknowledge the misconceptions and design tasks that reformualte knowledge. These tasks should include hands-on activities and time for sharing the outcomes with classmates. Both the behaviorist and cognitivist offer important aspects to learning. When deciding which strategies to util ize, it is cr ucial to consider the

level of knowledge of the learners and the cognitive processing demands. The nature of the learning task and proficiency level of the learners should both be considered when incorporating strategies.

References: Books:

Bruning, Roger H., Gregory J. Schraw, and Royce R. Ronning. Cognitive Psychology and Instruction. Charles, C.M. Building Classroom Discipline. Personal: Ridgely Elementary School, Springfield, Il linois, 1994-2001.

Websites: Anderson, John R., Lynne M. Reder, Herbert A. Simon. Applications and Misapplicatons of Cognitive Psychology to Mathematics Education , Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University.

Applications of Learing Theories for Instructional Design Practice Gordon, Edward E. Cognitive Learning Makes Training More Powerful, 1994. Roschelle, Jeremey. Learning in Interactive Environments: Prior Knowledge and New Experience, Un My philosophy of education

Filed Under The Way I See It My philosophy of education? It is and always has been student centric. Of course the world has changed much since I started t eaching, and my teaching philosophy has reflected this. It is definitely grounded in the 21st century. I’ve made it a point to be a l ife long learner and be on the

cutting edge of new developments in education so that I can be the best teacher possible for my students and their parents. B eing the best teacher possible also means collaborating with my colleagues and sharing what I have learned and learning from them. What should the 21st century classroom be like? The 21st century classroom must stil l be a safe place where students can develop to their full potential. Curriculum must stil l be inclusive, interdisciplinary, contextual and based on real world examples. Assessment in the 21st century

classroom should not focus on the outcome but on the learning process itself, and entail higher order thinking, r ich world tasks, collaboration, peer assessment, timely and appropriate feedback. The classroom environment in the 21st century must stil l facilitate and enc ourage project based learning, collaboration, discussion, reflection and feedback , and of course teachers must stil l teach, assess and evaluate students keeping different learning styles and multiple intell igences in mind.

What has changed in the 21st century classroom? What has changed is the availability of new tools and technologies such as mo re powerful computers, a plethora of new computer applications, the Internet, LCD projectors,white boards, document cameras, wiki’s, clas s blogs, just to mention a few, that facil itate the development of crucial higher order thinking skil ls and the technologica l media and information fluency

students will need to be able to meet the demands of the future, whatever they are. It’s exciting to be a teacher in the 21st century. We really don’t know for sure what the future will bring. The world is cha nging so rapidly, and yet we are charged with preparing our students for this unknown future. This is precisely why teachers need to be life long l earners. Change is constant; learning must be constant. This is why I’m a l ife long learner. This why I started my personal blog www.teachersatrisk.com over two

years ago so that I could collaborate with other teachers not only at my school level or at the Board level but with teachers all over the world via the new technology to share what I’ve learned and learn from what others share. I guess what I finally want to say is that after teaching for 25 years I sti l l love teaching. I love working with the students, and I love working with other teachers. Teaching in the 21st century is not an easy task by any means, but it’s one o f the best jobs for someone like me who loves

learning, loves teaching, loves sharing, needs to be creative and likes to be on the cutting edge of things.

Philosophy of education can refer to either the academic field of applied philosophy or to one of any educational philosophies that promote a specific type or vision of education, and/or which examine the definition, goals and meaning of education.

As an academic field, philosophy of education is "the philosophical study of education and its problems...its central subject matter i s education, and its methods are those of philosophy".[1] "The philosophy of education may be either the philosophy of the process of education or the philosophy of the discipline of education. That is, it may be part of the discipline in the sense of being concerned with the aims, forms,

methods, or results of the process of educating or being educated; or it may be metadisciplinary in the sense of being concerned with the concepts, aims, and methods of the discipline."[2] As such, it is both part of the field of education and a field of applied philosophy, drawing from fields of metaphysics, epistemology, axiology and the philosophical approaches (speculative, prescriptive, and/or analytic) to address questions in and about pedagogy, education policy, and curriculum, as well as the process of learning, to name a few.[3] For example, it might

study what constitutes upbringing and education, the values and norms revealed through upbringing and educational practices, the limits and legitimization of education as an academic discipline, and the relation between educational theory and practice. Instead of being taught in philosophy departments, philosophy of education is usually housed in departments or colleges of ed ucation, similar

to how philosophy of law is generally taught in law schools.[1] The multiple ways of conceiving education coupled with the multiple fields and approaches of philosophy make philosophy of education not only a very diverse field but also one that is not easily defined. Although there is overlap, philosophy of education should not be conflated with educational theory, which is not defined specifically by the application of philosophy to questions in education. Philosophy of education also should not be confused with philosophy education, the practice of teaching

and learning the subject of philosophy. Philosophy of education can also be understood not as an academic discipl ine but as a normative educational theory that unifies pedagogy, curriculum, learning theory, and the purpose of education and is grounded in specific metaphysical, epistemological, and axiological assumptions. These theories are also called educational philosophies. For example, a teacher might be said to follow a perennialist educational

philosophy or to follow a perennialist philosophy of education. 10 Top Tips: Planning for Engaging Teaching and Learning Students will only engage with a subject if the teaching and learning i s of a sufficiently high standard. The following points could serve as a

checklist: Engaging starters: A bright, focused start to all lessons should help arouse motivation – good starter activities, quick-fire tests or dril ls to revisit material from the previous lesson, and turning the register into an engaging activity all help.

Clear objectives and expectations: Students want to feel that they can cope with what is going on – they need careful outlining and sharing of objectives, ensuring that everyone understands not only what is going on but why it is important. Sense of purpose:

Few students will engage with an activity which appears to be pointless, and a sense of audience or any incentive, from infor mal rewards to success in examined components will help in this area. Students need to know where they are on their learning journey and how they can achieve their next goal.

Plenary: It is important that students are aware of exactly what they have learned, how they have progressed and what the next steps are so that they can have a sense of achievement and reward. Effective differentiation:

Inclusion is about more than just catering for those with special educational needs – it is about providing a well -structured learning experience for all students, and recognising their individual learning styles. You may find this recent post helpful for more ideas about differentiation. Suitable challenges:

Every learner needs to feel challenged if they are going to learn at all. Few activities will engage and challenge every learner – particularly in a mixed-ability group – so it is important to have a range of activities to cater for all. Cross-curricular links: This is of course relatively straightforward where one teacher is (mostly) teaching all subjects, compared to the secondary model where a c lass

comes to specialist teachers. It is therefore essential that we gain a sense of what is happening in other subject areas and seek ways in which we can collaborate on a project which will give a real sense of purpose to their learning. Personal Learning and Thinking Sills (PLTS): We need to find ways of developing the personal, learning and thinking skills in our students. For reference (and as a reminder), these are

independent enquirers, creative thinkers, reflective learners, team workers, self-managers and effective participators. Many of the activities you’re already using will make a real contribution to these skil ls, however it is not always explicit – we should make students aware of the wider skil ls which they are developing in our subject.

“Compelling learning experiences”: A compelling learning experience is defined as “a real and relevant context for learning through which young people recognise for themselves the importance of learning to their l ives, both now and in the future”. In other words, the learning experience should be something which the learners perceive as being worthwhile.

Choosing suitable Key Stage 4 accreditation: There are many options available, including GCSE, early entry, short course, NVQ, FCSE and several others – which is best for you and your students? Teaching Diverse Learners

One challenge teachers face is how to work with a broad range of cultural, l inguistic, and intellectual differences among their students. How can teachers address the varied needs of all their students? What must teachers consider when planning and implementing liter acy

instruction? In this session, l iteracy expert Dorothy Strickland discusses key elements of effective instruction that build on student diversity and promote effective learning. You will learn strategies for differentiating instruction to maximize learning for all of your students.

"When we talk about divers ity, we're usually talking about cultural and linguistic diversity. But children are also diverse learners in terms of their abilities, interests, background knowledge, and the way they approach learning. All of these contribute to who a child is and how that child will learn."

Dorothy Strickland Professor of Reading Rutgers University Meet the Expert

Learning Goals At the end of this session, you will better understand how to:

use students' background knowledge and experiences as a springboard for l iteracy instruction

provide opportunities for student choice within the grade-level curriculum

support student learning through scaffolded instruction

plan instruction and group students flexibly to address their individual strengths and needs

Before You Watch Session Preparation

Analyze the Video

Video Summary

Watch the Video

Extend Your Knowledge Examine the Topic

Grouping Diverse Learners

Tips for New Teachers

Put It Into Practice Choose Activities

Modeling Main-Idea Questioning

Scaffolding Instruction

Reflect on Your Learning What Did You Learn?

Create a Literacy Practices Portfolio

Begin > Before You Watch

earning and Teaching should be Inclusive and Enjoyable:

The Learning Environment

For education in school to be effective, the environment needs to be conducive to learning, allowing the pupils space and time to interact within the learning and teaching process. Creating and maintaining stimulating learning environments can be achieved through effective classroom organisation, interactive and whole school displays and a climate of innovation.

Points Arising from Research

The best learning environment is one of high challenge and low stress Ritualised and patterned positive teacher behaviour influences performance Constant and varied exposure to new material encourages quicker and deeper learning Differentiated structures are necessary for effective individualised learning Constant and varied exposure to new material encourages quicker and deeper learning Music can be used to improve recall as well as create the chosen learning environment Incorporate a range of teaching strategies within planning Ensure resources are appropriate, accessible, identifiable and relevant to children’s learning needs Environment should support pupils to become independent and active learners Adopt a collaborative approach when planning for children’s needs Good visual display can improve recall and attention by up to 80% Equal opportunities form an integral part of the formal and informal curriculum

Key Elements of the Learning Environment

The visual environment:

Whole school display l inked to theme, which supports a planned set of values of the whole school community Good learning and teaching displays in classrooms and corridors reflecting a broad and balanced curriculum which is well matc hed to the

needs of the pupils Displays include a variety of languages and scripts, positive images of minority groups and positive role models for all pupils and staff Teaching resources and displays reflecting the multi -cultural and social diverse nature of local and wider communities Provide opportunities for pupils to interact with a culturally and socially diverse range of people e.g. through visits, visitors, pen friends,

exchanges Litter, graffiti or vandalism Good development of school grounds Tidy staff room and offices A planned programme of improvements to the school environment Purposefully organised classrooms Up to date ICT is accessible Staff take on responsibilities for areas of the school Develop citizenship Use intervention strategies e.g. ’circle time’, ’schools’ councils’, ’pupils’ courts’ and ’mediation’

The external environment:

Use visual display around the room to highlight key topics, key words, and key concepts Use visual display to tell the story of the topic which is being studied Ensure visual display provides a good balance of images, symbols, pictures, colour and text Paint games on playground surfaces Purchase games equipment, which encourages physical activity and co-operative play Train playground supervi sors in new playground games and the imaginative and safe use of playground equipment Plant bulbs, trees and sensory gardens Increase the provision of l itter and recycling bins Install benches and tables

The internal environment:

Display more pupils’ work in public areas and classrooms Pupils know where material, equipment and other learning resources are kept Renovate toilets and shower blocks (e.g. fixing locks on doors, improving lighting and ventilation) Better checking systems for toilets (e.g. ensuring soap and paper are available)

Locate water-drinking stations Paint murals Redecorate areas in bright colours Carpet classrooms and corridors Relocate coat racks and ensure ‘easy stowing’ systems for shoes Fit blinds in ’sun trap’ rooms Create health notice boards

Reflection and Discussion

Which areas of the above do you recognise in your current school/classroom practice?

Are there any areas that you would consider adopting to enhance the learning environment in your school/classroom?

Some Development Activities Towards Enhancing the Learning Environment

Key Element Objective Action

Some examples and suggestions

Visual

Displays include a variety of languages and

scripts, positive images of minority groups and positive role models for all pupils and staff.

School mounts exhibitions to emphasise positive role models e.g. achievements of females from a

variety of ethnic groups in management and science, achievement of males in the arts and caring professions.

Aural

Use music to create a working mood appropriate to the activity. Aid relaxation, energise, learning and concentration with

selected music

Use 'passive' concerts to establish a positive

learning attitude e.g. Vivaldi - Five Concertos for Flute and Chamber Orchester; Bach - Fantasia in C minor; Ben E King - Stand by Me; Louis

Armstrong - What a Wonderful Life;Tina Turner - Simply the Best.

Behavioural Use intervention strategies e.g. 'circle time', 'school councils', 'pupil courts' and

'mediation'.

Pupils with staff support, organise their own groups e.g. school councils, where equality issues

can be raised and discussed.

External Use visual display to tell the story of the topic which is being studied.

Geography class - bright visual displays of work placed alongside large posters of beautiful scenery. Use a subject bulletin board for snippets

of information, affirmation walls with individua l bricks comprising students' statements of what they like about the subject. Photographs of field

trips.

Internal Pupils know where material, equipment and other learning resources are kept.

Train pupils both individually and collectively to care for resources and keep them in order.

Classroom Arrangement

The arrangement of the classroom is a factor in children’s successful learning experiences. Placing computers in an open and inviting space

encourages their integration into class activities, to be used as tools when appropriate for the task. Try to position computers in a common area where they are visible to others.

Some important questions to consider when placing computers and other technology in the room are:

Where can the equipment be easily accessible, but out of the flow of traffic?

What other activities would be good to have close by—or far away? Food, l iquids, and chalk dust can be harmful to the equipment.

Where are the electrical outlets to support the equipment?

Where can equipment be placed against a wall or partition to prevent children from tripping over wires or fiddling with elect rical

outlets?

Where can children work together without distracting others?

Where is an area with enough light, but away from windows, other sources of glare, and fl ickering l ights?

Allow Space for Students to Work Together

Using computers and other technology encourages communication and provides language opportunities, important for children's s ocial and cognitive development. Children can practice language skills, work as a team, and learn to problem solve as a part of the their daily work .

Almost without exception, students should work at the computer with others. Support this interaction by providing space for t wo or three chairs at each computer. This encourages collaboration and social skills as children easily share ideas, discuss their work, and help each other.

Arrange the classroom so that there is space for students to work together, and to cluster around the computer(s). Students will want to see

the work that others are doing, so foster these language opportunities by allowing space for them to happen. If you have more than one computer, group them together in one part of the room rather than scattering them throughout the space. Desks or tables placed so that students can see each other, and flexible arrangements that can be easily moved to allow for collaboration work well for acti ve, student-centered learning.

Purpose

Information and communication development opportunities and information flow are the big challenges arising from a dedicated review of

most educational questions, whether from theoretical frames or material facilitations. School l ibraries are considered one of the most important resources within educational facilities. As the need to develop school l ibraries becomes very urgent a need to convey the wide diversity in information resources from one side and the new, teacher and student roles from the other side becomes important . Within this view, came the project of learning centers to raise school l ibraries i nto international and technical level.

Concept

A school util ity driven by a qualified expert. It contains several information resources and their techniques, which the teac her directly deals to

acquire searching skills of information, analyze and evaluate to build a new knowledge and experience, then develop them using several learning methods. It also provides services to, facil itate the useful for both teaching and learning.

The beginning

Learning resources centers are not a new concept, they were known s ince 1960s when started the transition from traditional school l ibraries into resource centers which offer services for teachers and students. It is contains not only printed materials, but with all other communication means to give a concentration of facil itates to support self-learning methods. This view encourages educational trends, ruled in mid of 1960s

and 1970s, whereas these are the methods of self-learning, from programmed learning and learning for mastery and learning throughout audio media to passing earliest beginnings to employ computer in learning process. And, information technology and teaching and learning theories have added a new dimension into learning resources centers concept.

Reasons for establishing resources centers

The strong connection between learning resources and method, and passing away supporting and cultural general role of school

l ibraries into essential, accurately planned, role to achieve the method and its purposes. The book and printed material become not the only information resource.

Development of educational theories, international tends to self learning, taking in account differences of individuals, make the

learner the axis of educational process, and the teacher role change into a leader and facil itator of learning process.

Learning resources centers concentrate on amalgamation of resources, information and communication technologies with educatio nal practices inside centers.

Assignments

Definition the goals of learning resources centers programs, with and implemented, evaluated plan to achieve these goals.

Center activities planning and to amalgamate them with school educational program.

Establishing a balanced group that contains printed and non-¬printed educational and learning materials supporting curriculum.

School man-power development through continuous training during the period of teachers service and ensuring technical resources,

and notify them about new materials, and sharing with them in decision making processes related to reso urces purchasing.

Presenting consultation services in the educational techniques field and teaching methods.

Ensuring educational techniques production requirements and acquainting about methods of their production and amalgamating

them into educational curricula. Make the periodical maintenance for materials and educational instruments available in the center.

Encourage students on self-learning.

The aim

Learning resources center's general aim is to ensure learning educational suitable environment that all ows learner benefit from any kind of learning resources, gives him self-learning opportunities, reinforces searching and exploration skills and allows teacher to follow up effective methods when designing lesson material, develop it, implement and evaluate.

Learning resources centers, material ingredients

A) Self-learning auditorium: Self-learning auditorium should facilitate access to all kind of information resources: printed, depending on learning instrument and computerized resources. Then this auditori um should be available, attractive and suitable for student of all grades.

Self-learning auditorium includes the following: – Reception and visitors serving area, cataloguing, borrowing and – management. – Reading and perusal area. – Self-learning area (using several resources) – Electronic learning area – Area when can be maintained learning resources (printed and not printed) – Catalogues area (using computer)

B) Group-learning auditorium: The most important characterizing this auditorium is: it has a var ious equipments and uses, whereas available projectors depend on computer, radio or l ive presentation through digital camera. There is available, also, flexible furnitur e which can be

reshaped to suit all kind of group and cooperative learning. And it also prepared for simple designing and production of educational materials and several media.

Collections

Educational resources are considered as most important element of the center, and without it the center cannot achieve its ma in role. Building and developing collections to be made according to specific policy, made and adapted in order to satisfy center's goals. This policy sho uld ensure the building and development of integrated collection that can help and enrich educational curricula.

Learning resources center specialist's role

As a teacher, the library media specialists works with students and other members of the learning community to analyze learni ng and

information needs, to locate and use resources that will meet those needs, and to understand and c ommunicate the information the resource provides. The library media specialist is knowledgeable about current research on teaching and learning and skil led in applyi ng its findings to a variety of situations – particularly those that call upon students to access, evaluate, and use information from multiple sources in order to learn, to think, and to create and to apply knowledge. In short, the library media specialist teaches students to use informa tion for critical thinking and problem solving using the information literacy standards for student learning set.

A learning resources center's success depends firstly on the range of its engagement in modern learning methods implementatio n, which gives more concentration to learner role in learning process, and evaluates work mechanism, in learning resources centers on the bases that learning resources center is not a place supported with learning resources accordingly, but educational action and substantial element of different elements of classroom lesson. The Work mechanism in learning resources centers requires following two methods and merging between them.

1. Benefiting from learning resources centers requires each teacher to implement one lesson weekly (or according to school class es

number) in the learning resources center and to depend, in this lesson, mainly on group learning method (cooperative learning) . 2. In the second method, benefiting from learning resources centers does not require teacher to implement class lesson in learni ng

resources center, but he has to follow up the same previous procedures, then allow the students to implement their projects referring

to learning resources center outside the lesson time, and students to be given, in this case, more time to implement the proj ect, then require do a presentation and discussion in the class.

Activities

The learning center implements a group of activities, designed and implemented by teachers in cooperation with center special ist. Methods of implementation of these activities differs according to educational grades and concentrate on implementation of modem educational and learning methods. Such activities are:

Reading activities: aim to sow reading habits those like; summarization and book presentation.

Learning activities: these activities are done by student depending on himself to support his learning.

Educational activities: these activities are done by teacher to support student learning.

Information search: search on internet and using references.

Cultural activities: these activities to be done by student in order to improve his cultural level; school radio, seminars, lectures and

competition. Cooperative activities: these activities are done by students to help center to achieve its aims as a center group.

Administrative' activities: these activities appear to occupy center with waiting lessons, school meetings and educational coordinator's

meetings etc .

Social activities: the aim of these activities is community service; l ike anti -terror activity, anti -smoking etc.

Services

Center offers a group of services to meet student and educational staff needs, and these services can be developed according to their needs. These services: guiding readers, references services, borrow out, copying and scanning and bibliographical services.

Conclusion

Learning resources centers are the correct way to activate school l ibrary and to amalgamate it into educational procedure as well as it is a part

from it, but not among subsidiary util ities. One of the biggest problems that stil l face school l ibraries is that school l ibraries still playing general cultural role lead to isolate them away from educational process. So they became a place to cover waiting lessons and an esca pe for every lazy teacher, who does not desire to carry out lessons, whereas learning resources centers project has put the center among educational process through its support by necessary technical and librarian equipments needed for teachers educational tasks performance within modem

method, and supported these centers with supporting for curriculum educational resources, suitable for age types existing there, so center became a necessary place where teachers run to, to help them to implement their tasks and achieve their educational aims. [1]

Notes

Classroom Routines And Homework Lunch Count/Attendance- As the students enter our classroom each morning, their name tag from our Absent Board to the correct section which indicates their lunch choice: Regular, Alternate, or Brought Lunch. Students arriving to school after 9:00 a.m. have been asked

to stop in the Cafeteria and order lunch with Mrs. McElfresh before coming to the classroom. Bathroom Breaks- During independent and small group work, students use a special sign language signal to request a bathroom break. After receiving permission, they place the pass on their desk, and go the restroom.

Water Breaks- Students are welcome to bring in a sealable water bottle daily to keep at their desks. Individuals are also welcome to use the hallway drinking fountains periodically throughout the day. We take class water breaks immediately after Recess and Physical Education.

Homework- Homework is assigned regularly in Reading, Spelling/Word Study, and Math with a few exceptions. All homework is to be turned

in at the beginning of the subject it was assigned on the day it is due. The one exception would be spelling. It will be placed on the students desk the morning it is due so that it can be collected along with any notes that have been brought in for the teacher. Math homework is to be turned into the Math teacher directly at the start of that class. Students missing homework assignments are asked to complete the work at recess or at home for the next school day. After several instances of not completing homework, the parent/guardian will be contacted.

Spelling- Spelling/Word Study homework is distributed in a two-week cycle. Each list consists of approximately eight pattern words (ex. words

with the “ea” spelling), two vocabulary words which also follow the pattern, and two self -selected words. Students select their two words from a cumulative l ist of words they are unfamiliar with or which they frequently misspell. Practice homework assignments are to be completed during the two week cycle and turned in on the day of the Spelling/Word Study Test.

Creating Interactive Bulletin Board Displays with Students

In addition to adding color to a classroom, defining classroom goals and policies, and showcasing student work, bulletin boards can be interactive teaching tools. Bulletin boards can be “another teacher” in your classroom. Bulletin boards that change periodica lly to reflect new lessons help visual learners better understand new material, reinforce new words and concepts, and challenge students to participate in new ways.

Using Bulletin Boards to Teach

Bulletin boards can be education tools as well as colorful decorations. Teachers can use bulletin boards to teach math, language arts,

geography, and other disciplines. Bulletin boards can introduce new topics and generate student interest. A bulletin board wi th dinosaur bones, for example, can introduce a unit on dinosaurs. Students assemble the bones into the skeleton of a dinosaur, either on their own or step-by-step, adding a bone as they complete another activity so that the skeleton emerges piece by piece. A math bulletin board migh t give the answer to a problem and challenge students to create al l the problems they can think of with that answer.

Bulletin boards are also self-teaching tools for students. Teachers design learning activities using the boards and movable parts affixed to them

and students can move from board to board during free or quiet time to complete the activity. Students can add their own literary compositions to blank bulletin boards or respond to prompts given by the teacher. Students can also voice their opinions on b ulletin boards, voting on favorite books and recommending reading material to others.

Bulletin boards used as word walls can be powerful vocabulary-building tools. As students are exposed to new vocabulary, key vocabulary words are added gradually to the wall. Teachers facil itate review activities to practice the new words. Activities that allow students to interact

with the word wall, such as those that involve moving the words to different categories or locations on the wall, help studen ts understand and retain the new vocabulary.

Using Bulletin Boards: This site explains how bulletin boards can be used for different purposes

Rethinking the Bulletin Board: How to use bulletin boards to teach.

Word Walls: How to create and use a word wall with your students.

Interactive Bulletin Boards

Bulletin boards that challenge students to interact with them can engage them in the learning process more effectively than s tatic display bulletin boards. Static bulletin boards can become simply part of the classroom décor after a few weeks, while interactive bulletin boards that

change according to topical lesson plans can hold student interest and help different kinds of learners assimilate the new ma terial in their own way and at their own pace. By allowing students to help create bulletin boards and to interact with them, students take ownership of the classroom and of their own learning experience. Students are challenged to be active learners and to actively seek out new in formation, to create new artwork, or to achieve higher grades that will be displayed on the boards.

Students can respond to prompts issued by the teacher to help create the boards. For example, students can bring in or draw p ictures of words

that begin with a certain letter, or items of a certain color, and post them to the board. The teacher can then prompt students to rearrange the material according to new categories. For example, items that begin with the letter “D” can then be rearranged by categories such as “animals”, “things”, and “people”. Bulletin boards can be self-quizzes that students help create. Students can be the “experts” on part of a

topic or book and create questions or clues that are posted on the bulletin board. After providing time for students to resea rch the answers, the original posters place their answers underneath the questions. Students then move from board to board to l ift the flaps a nd grade their quizzes.

Interactive Concepts: Details the different levels of interaction possible with bulletin boards.

Making Interactive Bulletin Boards : Examples of what interactive bulletin boards are and how students interact with them.

Creating Bulletin Boards with Students

Students can interact with bulletin boards by helping to create them or to provide their content. Students can create bulleti n boards by

working together to create small pieces of a larger project and piecing them together to form a completed whole. Students can work together to make a map of a region under study, fi l l ing in mountains, rivers, cities, indigenous groups, and other features as they ar e discussed in class. Students can work together to create great works of art by painting, drawing, or making a collage of a section of a famous work of art that will then be pieced together with other student works to create the larger finished masterpiece. Building a castle or house, a nature or farm scene,

or “building” an animal lets students take the lead in learning about a new topic and giving them a finished product to display, which help s them take ownership of their learning experience.

Students can also provide the content of bulletin boards. Reader’s choice bull etin boards allow students to recommend favorite books and voting bulletin boards let students voice their opinions on books, movies, or artwork. Students write and post questions abou t their reading material or the current lesson to question bulletin boards and other students can discuss and post answers.

Interacting with bulletin boards after their creation is important to reinforce learning. Simple review activities led by the teacher, such as

question and answer games, can keep student attention focused on the board and help cement new concepts. Answer quests, in which students must move from board to board to find the answers to questions, can also help review material. Moving the pieces of the bulletin boards to categorize the information differently, such as moving the animals in a farm scene into groups according to color or size, can keep the material fresh.

Creating Bulletin Boards: How interactive bulletin boards work and how to involve students. Site includes examples of interactive bulletin boards with explanations of how to implement them.

Interactive Bulletin Boards: Interactive bulletin board examples and explanations of how students get involved in their creation.

Interactive Bulletin Board Ideas

Middle School Math: Bulletin board examples for middle to early high school mathematics, including information on how to create the board and how to use it interactively with students.

K-8 Mathematics: Interactive bulletin board ideas and instructions for kindergarten through eighth grade mathematics.

Kindergarten Bulletin Boards: Interactive bulletin board ideas on a variety of subjects for kindergarten teachers.

Elementary Ideas: Bulletin board ideas to get everyone involved. Suitable for early elementary school.

Elementary Bulletin Boards: Interactive bulletin board ideas for elementary school classrooms. Site also includes math and lan guage arts bulletin board ideas.

Library Bulletin Boards: Bulletin board ideas for l ibrary science, many challenge students to read more books.

Reading Bulletin Boards: Interactive ideas to get students more involved in reading. Suitable for later elementary and middle school.

Word Walls: Word walls can be used as bulletin boards. These walls help students learn vocabulary and spelling.

Concept Question Board: This bulletin board challenges students to engage material outside the classroom.

Multiplication Table Bulletin Board: A bulletin board idea to help students learn multiplication tables.

Dinosaur Bulletin Board: An interactive bulletin board about dinosaurs integrated into a multi -day lesson plan about dinosaurs. Suitable for early elementary school students.

Bulletin Board Baseball : Uses a bulletin board decorated as a baseball diamond to help students solve math problems.

Butterfly Bulletin Board: How to create an interactive bulletin board on butterfly anatomy, integrated within a larger lesson plan. Can be adapted for other animals.

Native American Bulletin Board: An interactive bulletin board integrated into a larger lesson on Native Americans.

Learner activities and resources A range of interactive quizzes, games and simulators to help you prepare for the tests, assessments and experience requires to obtain your Western Australian driver's l icence.

Extracurricular activities are activities performed by students that fall outside the realm of the normal curriculum of school or university education. Extracurricular activities exist at all levels of education, from 4th-6th, junior high/high school, college and university education.

Such activities are generally voluntary as opposed to mandatory, non-paying, social , philanthropic as opposed to scholastic, and often involve others of the same age. Students often organize and direct these activities under faculty sponsorship, although student-led initiatives, such as independent newspapers, are common.

Contents

1 Historical background

2 Examples

3 See also

4 References

5 External l inks

Historical background

The extra curriculum made its first appearance in colleges in the nineteenth century. It complemented the curriculum as much as subverted it. The students found in it a kind of laboratory for practical and vocational interests. The first extracurricular activities were student l iterary societies (which had roots in the previous century at Harvard and Yale), debate clubs, and by mid-century, Greek letter fraternities and sororities. Students also initiated and organized the early athletic programs on American college campuses. Literary societies were on the

decline by the turn of the twentieth century, and some educators felt that less desirable extracurricular activities were now distracting students from their curricular responsibilities. Intercollegiate athletics soon became the dominant element in the extracurri culum in most American colleges and high schools.

Such activities as school newspaper and interschool sports programs have been part of American high schools since the World War I era. Today’s public high schools offer a comprehensive array of extracurricular activities to complement the curriculum.

Activities that often involve some time commitment outside of the regular school day, such as band and choir, are also considered extracurricular activities.

Companies seeking job applicants may not look solely for those with a high GPA; employers might also look at extracurricular activities to determine if the applicant is the best suited for the job.

Examples

Student government

Model United Nations

World Scholar's Cup

Moot court

Model Crime Investigations

Topic-specific clubs such as math club, Philanthropy Key Club Competitions such as the National History Day program & Quiz Bowl

Political science organizations that moot court, or the publication of a law review

Internships and other school sponsored work programs

University societies

Debate

Drama

Guitar

Sports

School journalism

Robotics

Entrepreneurship

Orchestra

Band

Choir

Art

Co-curricular activities (CCAs), previously known as Extracurricular Activities (ECA) are non-academic activities that all Singaporean students must participate in. This policy was introduced by the Ministry of Education, as a means to enhance social interaction, leadership, healthy recreation, self-discipline and self-confidence.

Through CCAs, students in their early teens are often given actual public responsibilities. Red Cross and SJAB members, for example, are often

required to render first aid at public events. Most uniformed groups require precision, management and organizational skills, providing training to prepare students for the outside world.

In polytechnics and universities (tertiary education institutes), CCA records are considered by potential employers.

Contents

1 Classification of CCAs

2 Structure of the CCA Programme

3 Structure of Typical CCAs

4 Competitions

5 Inexhaustive l ist of CCAs

o 5.1 Student Associations o 5.2 Sports and games o 5.3 Uniformed groups

o 5.4 Performing Arts groups o 5.5 Clubs and societies

6 External l inks

Classification of CCAs

There is a wide choice of CCAs in schools, for which students can sign up based on their interest and ability. Schools typically classify CCAs under one of the following groups:

Performing Arts

Sports and Games

Uniformed Groups

Clubs and Societies

Student Associations

Secondary schools typically divide CCAs into Core CCAs and Merit CCAs:

Core CCAs, which typically include the Sports, Performing Arts Groups and Uniformed Groups, tend to take up more time and

resources and have more emphasis placed on them by the school. Membership in at least one Core CCA is compulsory for secondary school students in Singapore and it is considered an integral part of the education system.

Merit CCAs, which typically include the Clubs and Societies, are usually less time-consuming. Academic clubs however may be

consume as much time as, if not more than, Core CCAs. Merit CCAs serve as an optional pursuit for students with an interest i n what the CCA has to offer.

Structure of the CCA Programme

CCA choices vary widely from school to school, although schools at each education level are required to conform to national s tandards

prescribed for that level. For instance, all secondary schools must compulsorily offer Band as a musical group . Secondary schools with an enrolment of less than 1000 must offer either National Cadet Corps or National Police Cadet Corps as a uniformed group, and those with an enrolment of more than 1000, both.

In primary schools, CCAs are often introduced to students at Primary Three. Not all primary schools make CCA participation compulsory. In primary schools, Brownies are l ikened to junior Girl Guides.

In secondary schools, CCAs are treated more seriously. Students are required to pick at least one Core CCA to join at Seconda ry One. Belonging

to a Core CCA is compulsory, and the students may choose a second CCA if they wish. At the end of the fourth/fifth year, 1 to 2 'O' Level points are removed from the examination aggregate (a lower aggregate indicates better marks). Although the marks are few, it is believed by many that they may make a difference when the students are considered for the most popular tertiary institutions. For example, one minimum prerequisite for admission Raffles Institution at Year Five, via the 'O' Levels, is an already perfect score with the maximum of 4 points removed.

Structure of Typical CCAs

CCAs are held outside of curriculum hours and the activities partaken depend on the nature of CCA. For example, Uniformed groups do foot dril ls and team-building exercises while competitive sportsmen spend most of the time training and learning techniques from their instructors .

CCA groups typically feature an Executive Committee. In mus ical groups and CCAs catering to specific interests, the Executive Committee typically consists of a Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer, among other positions.

The National Police Cadet Corps has started a few Open Units in the tertiary institutions, recruiting members to serve as student leaders in the secondary school units.

Many former students return to their alma mater after graduation to help impart what they have learned to their juniors. Some do so within a formal framework, such as those in the uniformed groups (where ex-cadets are appointed as cadet officers), or the Voluntary Adult Leader scheme (for those above age 20). Others do so on a casual basis.

Competitions

Many CCA-related competitions are held in Singapore, creating a competitive environment which provide CCA groups an objective to work towards.

The Ministry of Education organizes competitions for competitive sports at the zonal and national level, respectively the yea rly Zonal and National Schools Competitions. MOE also organizes the biennale Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) for the Aesthetics CCAs .