Workshop by:
Kakul Agha
19/3/2013
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The following areas will be addressed during the
workshop:
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What is progressive pedagogy (PP)?
Concept and application of Progressive teaching.
What assumptions guide progressive pedagogies?
What are the defining characteristics of
progressive pedagogies?
How can I integrate progressive pedagogies into
my classroom?
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How do I teach?
Which pedagogy do I use?
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How do I teach?
Which pedagogy do I use?
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Which one do I like most?
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Since the 1960s, educational reformers have
called for a fundamental transformation in
the way that students and instructors relate
to one another and how material is
presented.
Proponents seek to:
 fundamentally alter the role of the instructor
 transform classroom teaching methods
 make students self-conscious participants in
the process of knowledge construction.
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“…a specific management of the education process
that emphasizes creativity, individuality,
cooperation, and open and active teaching
……………………. so that independence, creativity,
inner activity, self-realization, openness,
emotionality and experience are enhanced in
students” (Svozil, 2005).
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Let us relate our way of teaching to the
definition and concept of progressive teaching
and try to match / jigsaw / fit it!
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The term “habitual lesson” (HL) was
understood both by student teachers and
students to indicate a lesson led intentionally
in the most convenient way and as usual, in a
lesson verified in practice.
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A “progressive lesson” (PL) has a similar content and
structure as its habitual counterpart, but involve:
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more frequent participation of students in lesson
management;
increased students’ role in the education process,
giving them a bigger choice of exercise alternatives;
encouraging a higher level of decision making role in
students;
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Lets ponder!!
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Exercise 2…
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A “progressive lesson” (PL) has a similar content and
structure as its habitual counterpart, but involve:
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more frequent participation of students in lesson
management;
increased students’ role in the education process,
giving them a bigger choice of exercise alternatives;
Ask them which
activities they like?
Or even the flow of
the class?
Add VARK
perspective!
encouraging a higher level of decision making role in
students;
Participation in case study;
group activities;
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Time to reflect on YOUR pedagogy – things
that you use and like *** and also believe in
them***
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Francis and Grindle (1998) have identified the
following major ones:
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interdisciplinary integration;
the teacher as a guide in the education
process;
an active students’ role;
student participation in the creation of the
curriculum;
learning mainly through discovery;
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inner motivation - external rewards and
punishments are not necessary;
there is not much emphasis on traditional
academic standards;
limited testing;
emphasis on cooperative group work;
learning and teaching inside and outside
classrooms; and
creative expression by students
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A classroom that is student-centered.
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Teaching methods that are inquiry driven and
organized around problem-solving and
investigation.
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Instructors who are passionate about their
subject’s real world significance.
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Metacognition - critical reflection about content
and pedagogy - is an integral part of the
classroom experience.
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Strengthens student motivation
Promotes peer communication
Reduces disruptive behaviour
Builds student-teacher relationships
Promotes discovery/active learning
Responsibility for one’s own learning
Experiential
Learning
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Inquiry learning emphasizes constructivist ideas of
learning [where knowledge is built from experience and
process, especially socially based experience].
 Therefore learning proceeds best in group situations.
Inquiry-based learning approaches:
 ‘Pure’ Problem-based learning
 ‘Hybrid’ Problem-based learning
 Field-work
 Case studies
 Investigations
 Individual and group projects
 Research activity
Role of
teacher –
facilitator
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Specific learning processes that students engage in
during inquiry-learning include:
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Creating questions of their own
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Obtaining supporting evidence to answer the
question(s)
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Explaining the evidence collected
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Connecting the explanation to the knowledge obtained
from the investigative process
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Creating an argument and justification for the
explanation
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Play the video
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRPVQFS
moqU
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It reflects self-consciously about teaching methods
and the teacher-student relationship.
It encourages disagreement and celebrates difference
– and treats the classroom as a place where
differences can be articulated and analyzed.
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It treats students as participants and not as
spectators.
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It emphasizes practice: active inquiry and
investigation.
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It seeks to develop a critical awareness of problems,
power, and inequalities.
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Neil Fleming's VAK/VARK model – 1970s
One of the most common and widely-used categorizations of the
various types of learning styles is Fleming's VARK model
(sometimes VAK) which expanded upon earlier Neuro-linguistic
programming (VARK) models:
 Visual learners;
 Auditory learners;
 Read / write learners;
 Kinesthetic learners or tactile learners.
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The VARK Questionnaire
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Look at your scores! [Could do it with your
students too]
So there is a need to know the student….
It helps teachers to reflect on their teaching
and learning styles to be used in the
classroom.
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1.
That the traditional classroom is a site of power, privilege, and
hierarchy.
2.
That teaching, the methods of instruction, choice of readings,
nature of the assignments, and forms of assessment have
ideological significance.
3.
That traditional approaches to teaching diminish student agency,
limit the number of perspectives that are raised, marginalize
students who don’t conform to certain norms, and unduly separate
the classroom from the real world.
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All good teachers strive to create a nurturing and
inclusive classroom environment. But proponents of
progressive pedagogies go further.
Progressive pedagogies:
Emphasize the psychosocial dimensions of
teaching: empathy and
cultural sensitivity, but
also their obverse:
estrangement, cynicism,
and conflict.
Place issues centering
on class, disability,
ethnicity, gender,
race, and sexual
orientation at the
center of inquiry.
Stress the value of
experience - both the
experience that comes
from hands-on research
and community-based
learning and from each
student’s personal
experiences.
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STEP 1
Be self-conscious about your learning
objectives and practices.
 Encourage critical reflection about teaching
among your students: why you chose the
books, assignments, and evaluation methods
that you did.
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STEP 2
Organize sessions around problems and questions.
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Explore difficult issues in theory and practice.
STEP 3
Create a participatory classroom, where students
engage in active learning, inquiry, and problem solving.
STEP 4
Devise assessment techniques that include elements
beyond homework and testing.
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Edgar Dale - a US educationist and professor
of educations at Ohio State University.
In 1946 he developed his most famous
model, the cone of learning .
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1. Undertake a group research
project:
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Have students work on a formal research
project which involves: designing the study,
constructing measurements, selecting a
sampling strategy, collecting data, analyzing
data, and interpreting and communicating the
results.
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2. Use clips from feature films /
videos / audios in the classroom:
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Film clips can engage students, stimulate
discussion, and dramatise important issues
and experiences.
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3. Integrate simulations into
your teaching:
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Several students might act out an issue that
the class can analyse.
Thus, in a social work class, students might dramatize the ethical
issues raised by gift-giving or continuing contact with clients.
Or a management class could showcase a role play by students on
managerial issues.
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4. Critically analyse an article
from the news media.
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Examine an article’s biases, omissions, and
implicit assumptions.
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5. Incorporate a communitybased learning project.
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Involve students in experiential learning that
links theory, content, and professional
practice.
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6. Develop “case studies” and “realworld” scenarios
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Write out caselets – letting students collect
pertinent information.
Let students prepare portfolios of real time
information.
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Design a set of questions / paper, keeping in
mind interventions utilising Progressive
Pedagogical strategies.
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Thanks for your support and
participation in the workshop!
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