Context of learning
Context of learning
Learning context is defined as the situation in which something is learned or understood, a situation that can impact how something is learned or what is taught. For instance, a classroom is a learning context if context is defined as the collection of situations that are pertinent in a learning event. A learning context can also be a website that offers online classes. A lecture, a lab assignment, a group project, and the discussion of a case study are all examples of learning settings in a classroom. Learning settings are compatible with all types of teaching and learning methodologies. Learning contexts are a key topic in many of the most exciting areas of current study in learning and education, such as Computer Supported Cooperative Learning (CSCL), Situated Learning, and Learning Communities. Context matters. Students' motivation and engagement might rise when they understand the significance of their academic knowledge and abilities thanks to learning in context. A student's ability to apply knowledge and skills in the real world or in a new environment may be constrained or reduced by learning that occurs outside the context in which such knowledge and abilities are to be applied. Using context can improve the learning experience and student outcomes even if contextualizing learning can be challenging for educators. All educators need to have a grasp of student motivation, but it's especially crucial for those who teach online because students there need to be more driven to succeed.
My learner is 13 years old. I take online tuition for her. Being an adolescent learner, her emotions were taken into consideration while teaching class. Teenagers spend more time at school than anywhere else. They are exposed to the knowledge-source of their culture there. spending time with their friends, participating in extracurricular activities that can help them develop their personalities, and making plans. As a result, school experiences have an impact on many facets of adolescent development, including the breadth and depth of intellectual capital, psychological health, and the character of peer influences.
Smith et al., (2021) Since the COVID-19 pandemic epidemic, there has been an increased focus on students' mental health. Yet, there hasn't been much focus on academic results. In the study is used to examine changes in students' motivation for academic accomplishment. High school students (grades 9 and 10) who participated provided feedback on their expectations and values for learning both before and after the epidemic (i.e., January and November 2020). Using repeated measures multivariate analyses of variance, changes across time and as a function of extraversion/introversion were examined (MANOVAs). Children lost their learning interest, which grew as a function of extraversion, it was discovered that most perceptions were stable. Discussion of the results is done in the context of pertinent pre-pandemic.
Learner is an intelligent child. She studies in 8th grade in well reputed institution. She was shifted from Central Board of Secondary Education to International General Certificate of Secondary Education curriculum. The change in curriculum affected her confidence. She finds biology difficult to learn. She used to score less marks in school exams. She likes to play games and do other online activities. she is good at martial arts. She is from well to do family. I have introduced online methods to enhance her interest in the subjects that are taught in school. I have chosen the concepts excretory system, cell, natural selection, population and extinction for teaching learner which is part of 8th grade curriculum. She likes reading books.
The context of place had an influence in her. She stays in different country away from where I stay and classes are taken using zoom platform. The concepts are introduced online. Parents were advised to take the learner to different ecological places where she was staying. She visited Singapore science centre, orchids garden, nearby parks and got interested in biology. The concepts of natural selection , population and change were understood by the learner in better way after visiting the places. Faversham and Blom ( 2013) According to their study, Swedish high school students aged 13 to 15 benefit cognitively and emotionally from learning biology outside. In four classes, 85 students took part in a quasi-experimental design. When taking a biology class on ecology or the diversity of life, half of the students had numerous lectures outside while the other half were taught inside. Five months after the course, twenty-one students were questioned, and all expressed satisfaction with the new learning environment they had encountered while studying biology. This context of introducing lessons outside the classroom with live demonstration of plants and animals benefitted the learner as well. The learner started understanding the concepts in a better way when she was asked to observe and learn things .
The learner learning was assessed continuously throughout the teaching sessions. There was a progress in her academic performance in school after introducing online methods of teaching.
The first lesson producing urine (Excretory system)
( Appendix 1 ) was taught to learner in traditional classroom teaching style. The learner found it difficult to understand the concept in her school. Learner was asked to say the things she understood in her school classroom. Taking into consideration her prior knowledge in the topic lesson plan was prepared . The learner was inspired, motivated & took up the challenges of learning. She answered the questions with conceptual understanding. So, I created a safe & stimulating environment for the learner. Inquiry into the subject promoted critical thinking, & creativity. The learning was based on the learners capability & prior knowledge. The learners performance was excellent in the small written exam. The learning design took care that the learners intellectual curiosity is maintained.
The learner was introduced to the concept Natural selection (Appendix 2), There she was introduced the method by which the nature promotes selection of species over the other species in period.
The concept cell was introduced. This concept was taught as preparation of Olympiad examination. The difficulty in understanding abstract topic like cell (Appendix 3) was taken into consideration and was taught with help of you tube videos. A recent development in the educational sector is the use of video to help pupils learn and comprehend difficult ideas and concepts. Students adore watching YouTube videos because they may master difficult concepts from them and hone their punctuation and listening skills. For a better comprehension of the idea covered in that particular class, I used online YouTube videos.
The learner was taught the lesson population and change (Appendix 5). The learner found the topic to be a bit tough compared to other topics .the lesson was taught for 5 days. I usually take 30 min class to minimize the load of teaching. Every details of the lesson is taught by reducing the time and increasing number of days the class is taken. This context worked well for the learner. The learner found it interesting as the duration of lesson taken was less and was made interesting.
E-context is introduced during online learning (Khan, Ali and Alourani, 2022). During online learning, learner like to have a selection of available learning possibilities. Learner can choose whatever projects and assignments she wants to do. She can use other learning resources than those that the I suggest while teaching her online. She appreciated being questioned about her opinions on the learning experience. With online learning, learners prefer to choose their own learning path. Learner can identify her strengths while engaging in online learning. Online learners can select their next course of study. The decision-making process for learning objectives during online learning is enjoyed by the student.
The learner was introduced to assessment for learning (William D., 2011). Paul Black and Dylan William, professors, asserted that by using assessment for learning, students can double their pace of learning. Given that I take online classes using the Zoom platform, this theme is crucial to me. It benefits me to evaluate the student as I instruct in the classroom. Five fundamental AfL strategies, which make up assessment for learning, were applied. To elicit proof of learning, questions and classroom discussion were used.
Wu and et al (2021) did a survey where assessment for learning was implemented by Chinese govt in education centres where English as foreign language where taught ,they found that teachers scarcely implemented peer and self-assessment and the benefit of assessment of learning was not achieved. Taking into consideration from there survey I tried to implement assessment for learning in the classroom.
The learner has been assessed with different objectives. oral questioning and answering was done during each session. Feedback is taken after each session asking in which area is to be more focussed in next session.
I followed inquiry-based pedagogy. J krishana murthy an eminent education philosopher supported inquiry-based learning as well as formative assessment over summative assessment. National educational policy 2020 recommended to shift from summative to formative method of assessment.
The topics that were taken are producing urine (Excretion), Natural selection, cell , Population and change . The class duration was for 30 minutes for each session. 5 minutes was for formal talk. 20 minutes each topic was introduced. last 5 minutes was a quick revision. During the class learner was assessed. There was a mutual interaction with learners throughout the session. The learner was given enough time to pour out ideas related to the subject that was been taught. This helped me with lesson plans. I was able to adjust time, provide time for note making (Titsworth, 2001) for learner and making her do speak about topic that was been taught that day. The learner scored well in class exams. (Appendix 5) she assimilated the subject well and could do perform well. The topic cell was introduced to her for Olympiad preparation .She achieved 3rd position in her school .The learner was asked to do online quizzes.
This context of introducing online quizzes in the form of a game (Davies, 2005) helped my learner a lot in progression . Kahoot is a game- and question-based instructional platform. Teachers can design surveys, polls, or conversations to go along with academic teachings using this application. It was employed to complete online quizzes. (Appendix 6 ).she was made to do other online quizzes apart from kahoot .quizzez.com was used to assess her knowledge in the lesson that was been taught. (Appendix 7).
The score was calculated at the end of the assessment (Appendix 8 ) the quizzes that were available online in Byju application and other applications were utilised . Multiple choice questions were part of assessment. (Appendix 9 , 10 )
The learner was asked to draw diagrams and label it (Appendix 12)
The learner was asked to do question and answers as part of assessment after the class. (Appendix 13). Regular feedback was received orally for each session.
Assessment for learning is an effective method in teaching .it reduced the gap in knowledge in a learner as learner is assessed during each class. the confidence level of the student is increased through this method. learner can go through any other form of assessment with ease. There was a good improvement in the learner after introducing lessons to her in the planned format. Learner started scoring well in her school academics ( Appendix 14) .
The method I have adapted is to introduce learning using online videos . Online teaching with introducing video to respective topics that were introduced had a large impact on learner. Zhang et al., (2006) An e-learning system with interactive video enables proactive and sporadic access to video content. In this empirical study, they looked at how interactive video affects learner satisfaction and learning outcomes in online learning settings. Four different environments were examined, three of which were e-learning environments with interactive video, one without, and one without non-interactive video. The conventional classroom setting was the fourth. The experiment's findings demonstrated that interactive video has a value for improving learning effectiveness. Students in the interactive video environment of online learning outperformed those in other environments in terms of learning performance and learner satisfaction. Students who used the non-interactive video-based e-learning environment, however, did not do much better either. The results imply that it might be significant.
I have used google images related to the topics while I was taking classes on that day for my sessions. it was shared during session using zoom share screen option. it was part of notes also.
Communication tools like Gmail and WhatsApp were used. Gmail was used to send question paper and notes for learners. WhatsApp
was used for text messaging the class session timings. I Keep my learner engaged with a positive attitude. Teaching is most effective when learner is motivated by the desire to learn, to be creative and innovative. Allow myself to be enthusiastic and find ways to let student see what is interesting about the subject. I was well prepared with subject. Important concepts were chosen. Taking into consideration effect of pandemic in learner life as schools were conducted online and they got used to online learning. the regular traditional classroom learning was not effective. The most important concepts were taken and showed how they are related. ideas are given to students to build on material they have already mastered, whether from my course or previous classes. concepts were effectively demonstrated with visual aids such as google images. I used some time of session for oral questioning activity other than traditional lecture. Students were given time for process information and answer questions. Being a teacher learner, I am also learning along with them, have set a standard, applied them equally. If I made a mistake or don't know the answer to a question, I made it as a fact it is better to acknowledge rather than ignore it
The methods I had to adapt for teaching is hands on training . In this method the best teaching strategy created to date that encourages students to actively engage with scientific concepts rather than simply being an audience. Being an online teacher, I find it difficult to arrange things for hand on training. There are many free virtual science laboratories online, this method almost provides students with hands-on learning opportunities without incurring significant costs. Students can theoretically enter an animal or plant part through detailed descriptions, images, or up-close photos without actually doing it. Biology dissections can be carefully examined with a virtually hands-on experience without the smell issue, and similarly, play with a chemical reaction without getting burned. For abstract topics virtual labs cannot be created. Another method I need to use is instructive conversations. One of the most effective ways to teach science terminology is to create instructive conversations. Let students discuss their experiences using an application linked to the topic of discussion in between classes. While they converse using technical and scientific Vocabulary , this encourages the development of their scientific discussion. I want to Use this as a teaching approach to make it simple for pupils to learn science vocabulary. Cross over learning was implemented for topics natural selection and for Population and change . this method of teaching worked well and will continue with other topics as well. This form of instruction gives students the chance to learn in a variety of locations, including the classroom, museums, field trips, or clubs. By raising a question in class, learner is asked to go to different locations to research the answers, and returning to the classroom to discuss and share the results . In order to investigate the subject and get a greater degree of understanding, learners can record, link, recollect, and share their different learning events in this way. I want to apply project based teaching using technology in future for better results. Chanlin ,(2008 ) This study looked at how learners aged between ten to eleven years used technology during science project-based learning activities, and the results are presented in this publication. computer technology was used by learners as a tool for gathering material, organised it, and presented it to their fellow classmates as part of the larger project-based learning process. By the use of guided research procedures, students conducted research, communicated with classmates, teachers, and the community (through in-person meetings and visits), and presented web pages that demonstrated their knowledge of many subjects. The study's findings show that every student succeeded in completing their intended research. Learning outcomes of students were assessed based on their performance in acquiring abilities to synthesize and construct knowledge, to participate in scientific exploration tasks, and to use the technology for research work.
