Teaching Skills

Trainee’s Book

or t c o urs e
A sh
eo ple w h o
for p
t to te a ch
w a n

Educasia
Education in Context
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Contents
Introduction 6. Assessment 42
Types of assessment; methods of
Course map assessment
Assessment at the start of a course
1. Assessment for learning:
1. Teacher Roles & Responsibilities 1 Self-assessment; Peer assessment
Strong and weak teachers Giving feedback: Marking and
Knowledge; attitude and behaviour; record-keeping
skills End of course assessment: Continuous
Role in guiding and managing assessment; exams
learning
The teaching cycle and trainer’s
responsibilities 7. Resources 49
Research and report on resources
Make the most of limited resources
2. How we Learn 7 Make the most of the coursebook
Learning in the world and classroom Make your own resource
Approaches to learning
VAK learning styles
Active and passive students 8. Group Work 54
Advantages and disadvantages of
group work
3. Equality in the Classroom 15 Setting and managing group work
Students: difference and equality tasks
Key ideas on equality in education Forming groups
How to motivate all students Reporting back from group work
Plan and teach an activity to motivate Design a group work activity
and interest all students
9. Classroom Management 60
4. Teaching for Learning 22 What is classroom management?
What do we want students to learn? Classroom management techniques
Thinking skills – Bloom’s educational Reward and punishment
objectives
Writing learning tasks
Questioning and questioning End of Course Assessment Task 64
techniques
Supplementary Activities 65

5. Planning 31 Additional Readings & Research 67

Curriculum, course and lesson
planning Methods File 73
Learning objectives
Teach a lesson
 INTRODUCTION
NAMES AND
Information forCOUNTRIES
trainees
This book is a general introduction to teaching skills for those who are teaching and those who plan
to be teachers. The taught skills are applicable to most subjects and most student age-groups.

The course combines basic teaching skills and learning theory with practical methods for creating
effective lessons. There is also an emphasis on techniques that work in low-resource settings such
as Myanmar. It provides a wide range of training activities including practice, observation and self-
assessment. Additionally, it encourages reflection on best practices for applying modern principles
and techniques to trainees’ own contexts.

The Trainee’s Book

The Trainee’s Book has nine units on different aspects of teaching. Each unit contains most of
these parts:
Reading passages and diagrams: These present new information or summarise information.
Learning activities: Learning activities help trainees reveal what they already know, link it to
new learning, and understand, practice and apply their learning.
Reflect: In some units there are places where trainees think about what they are learning and
how they are progressing. This is for personal reflection and self-assessment. Trainees could write
answers to these questions to check their understanding.
Summary: Each unit has a summary of key learning points presented as a bullet-point list.
Practical tasks: Each unit has a practical task. Some of them are teacher observations: trainees
observe an experienced teacher, focusing on aspects of the lesson related to the unit they are
studying.
Assessment: Each unit has an assessment task. These tasks check understanding and
application. They usually ask trainees to connect the ideas in the unit to their own experience.
If you also use them as a method of continuous assessment, then they should be used in the
two-point scale (pass or more work needed).

At the end of the Trainee’s Book, there are three extra sections:
Additional Reading and Research: These are extension activities for stronger trainees. It is not
necessary that all trainees do these. You can decide which ones to use, and which trainees might
benefit from them.
Supplementary activities: This section has a small number of additional activities based on
methods explained in the Methods File. They are suitable for trainees at all levels to practice
specific teaching skills or apply their learning. The trainer decides when to use them during the
course.
Methods File: This is a reference section describing some teaching methods. Most of these
methods are used in the course. Refer to the Methods File for good practice guidelines.

TEACHING SKILLS INTRODUCTION TRAINEE'S BOOK i

UNIT TOPIC AND LEARNING CONTENT SKILLS DEVELOPMENT/
OUTCOMES ACTIVITIES
Teacher roles and responsibilities Strong and weak teachers Think about and analyse own
experience; discussion
Trainees will be able to…
Knowledge; attitude and Categorise qualities
a. identify the qualities of a
behaviour; skills
good teacher

1 b. explain a typical teacher’s

roles and responsibilities
c. plan the stages of the
Role in guiding and managing
learning
The teaching cycle and trainer’s
Input and comprehension

Ordering
teaching cycle
responsibilities Teach each other
Reflection Design self-evaluation form

How we learn Learning in the world and Analyse own experience

Trainees will be able to… classroom
a. identify different kinds of
Approaches to learning Categorise learning activities
learning

2 b. explain different approaches

to learning in the classroom
c. identify different learning
styles (VAK) and the
VAK learning styles Reflection
Teach each other; application to
teaching and learning

implications for teaching Active and passive students Mime, roleplay

Application
Equality in the classroom Students: difference and equality Reporting back
Trainees will be able to… Key ideas on equality in Match ideas to meanings and
a. explain some key concepts in education examples – word cards
equality, and how that might
Inclusion case studies Discussion and reporting back;

3
affect teaching and learning
b. identify issues of equality roleplay
and diversity, and ways to How to motivate all students Prioritising; poster
promote inclusion
c. identify the main motivators How to interest all students Design a checklist; discussion
for learning Plan and teach an activity to Application
motivate and interest all students
Teaching for Learning What do we want students to Reflection; ordering
Trainees will be able to… learn?
a. explain some ways to
develop thinking skills Thinking skills – Bloom’s Matching
‘educational objectives’ Review: self-assessment

4
b. apply this to their teaching in
their subject area Write learning tasks Application
c. write a learning objective
Develop learning activity Brainstorm; application
Questioning and questioning Writing questions; peer assessment
techniques Asking questions

Planning Curriculum planning Review curriculum context

Trainees will be able to… Analyse strengths and weaknesses
a. write a course-plan
b. plan a teaching and learning Course planning Design course outline
session which meets the Develop short course plan
needs of individual learners Learning objectives Evaluate learning objectives;

5
c. use appropriate resources Apply to objectives
d. use effective teaching Use differentiated objectives
and learning approaches
to engage and motivate Lesson planning Use input-process-output stages to
learners plan lesson
e. reflect and evaluate the Brainstorm; develop checklist
effect­iveness of their own Practicum Micro-teach: application
teaching Feedback and self-evaluation

ii TEACHING SKILLS COURSE MAP TRAINEE'S BOOK

UNIT TOPIC AND LEARNING CONTENT SKILLS DEVELOPMENT/
OUTCOMES ACTIVITIES
Progress, Feedback and Types of assessment; methods of Matching assessments to learning
Assessment assessment objectives
Trainees will be able to… Assessment at the start of a course Reading; case study discussions
a. identify different
assessment methods Assessment for learning Self-assessment
b. explain assessment Self-assessment Design assessment activity
Peer assessment

6
methods in different
contexts, including initial Giving feedback Apply principles of constructive
assessment Marking and record-keeping feedback
c. explain and demonstrate Evaluate marking systems
good practice in giving Design record-keeping form
feedback End of course assessment Develop end of course assessment
d. explain the need for record Continuous assessment; exams policy
keeping in relation to
progress and assessment
Resources Research and report on resources Research: find out; analyse; evaluate;
Trainees will be able to… present findings
a. map available resources for Make the most of limited resources Workstations
their subject

7
Research
b. make creative use of
limited resources in their Make the most of the textbook Analyse textbooks
subject area Analyse case studies
Design activities
Make your own resource Linking to learning objectives
Making resources
Group work Advantages and disadvantages of Analyse and complete charts
Trainees will be able to… group work
a. explain the uses of group Forming groups Ordering, categorising

8
work
b. apply this to their Setting and managing group work Analysing case studies
teaching in their subject tasks
area Reporting back from group work Reporting back
Design a group work activity Application
Classroom Management What is classroom management? Review teaching skills as a
Trainees will be able to… management method
a. Explain the principles of

9
Management techniques Observe and make notes on
classroom management classroom skills
b. Use a range of strategies to Make classroom rules
manage the classroom
Reward and punishment Evaluate appropriateness and
effectiveness of different techniques
Practical assignments Each unit has a practical assignment to observe or assist a teacher in class,
all depending on the situation.
Extension activities Each section has additional reading, research or practice and there are
all more in the Supplementary Activities Section.
These can be used in long courses, or by stronger students.
Assessment Each unit has an assessment task. This can be used as continuous
all assessment.
The course also has an end of course assessment task.
Methods File This is a reference section describing some teaching methods. Most of
these methods are demonstrated in the course.

TEACHING SKILLS COURSE MAP TRAINEE'S BOOK iii

 Use this page for your notes.

iv TEACHING SKILLS NOTES TRAINEE'S BOOK

 UNIT 1
NAMESroles
Teacher AND COUNTRIES
and responsibilities

Identify the qualities of a good teacher

BY THE END OF THIS
UNIT TRAINEES CAN
Explain a teacher’s typical roles and responsibilities
Plan the stages of the teaching cycle

A. Thinking about teaching

My worst teacher, my best teacher

1. Think about the worst teacher you have had. List all the reasons why he or she
was a bad teacher.
2. Work in pairs. Make a list of the weaknesses of bad teachers.
3.Think about the best teacher you have had. List all the reasons why he or she was
a good teacher.
4. Work in pairs. Make a list of the strengths of good teachers.

Discussion: What makes a good teacher?

5. As a class, discuss what makes a good teacher. Make a class list of these
qualities.

B. Knowledge, attitudes, behaviour and skills

1. Check your understanding. Match these words with the correct definitions:
1. knowledge (n) a. how someone acts
2. attitude (n) b. information and understanding
3. behaviour (n) c. ability to do something
4. skill (n) d. how someone thinks and feels

2. In groups, look at the class list of qualities. Put each quality under one of these
headings. A good teacher needs good knowledge, attitudes, behaviour and skills.

Knowledge Attitudes and behaviour Skills

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 1 TRAINEE'S BOOK 1

The qualities of a good teacher
3. Read this summary of key qualities. Tick those that are on the class list you
made earlier.

Knowledge
The teacher needs to know and understand:
• The subject to be taught
• How to plan teaching
• How to teach the subject

Attitudes and Behaviour

The teacher needs to have an attitude that is:
• Positive and interested: positive about teaching, about the subject, and about the students
• Fair: does not have favourites in the class and is interested in every student

A good attitude is shown by the teacher in the classroom when he or she:

• Praises good work and student effort
• Keeps calm and is patient and helpful
• Treats students equally – does not treat some students better than others

Skills
The teacher is able to:
• Plan: give a structure for learning
• Teach: make learning varied and interesting; make learning relevant; motivate students
• Manage learning: help students learn and assess student progress
• Manage the classroom: make sure all students are working well

Knowledge and Experience

+
Attitudes and Behaviour

=
kills
Classroom S
The result of good teaching is good learning

4. Check your understanding. Match these words with the correct definitions:

1. relevant (adj) a. reason to do something

2. motivation (n) b. organising framework
3. structure (n) c. meaningful because related to life

2 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 1 TRAINEE'S BOOK

 C. The role of the teacher

KEY WORDS
Achieve (v): succeed in
Facilitate (v): help, and make the task easier. A good facilitator (n) uses their skills to help
students learn and achieve the task.
Guide (v): show people the way. A good guide (n) knows where to go, how to get there, and
looks after the group with care and attention.
Learning objective (n): the end point of the learning; what the learning aims to achieve
Task (n): a job to do, or an activity with a purpose.

The teacher's role is to guide, facilitate and manage learning for each student equally

Read and reflect

1. Read the text and answer the questions:
1. What do teachers need to know and do to guide learning?
2. How can a teacher help students understand what they are learning?
3. Make a list of the different things the teacher has to plan.
4. What does the teacher have to do to manage the classroom?
5. Give two examples of how a good teacher is also a learner.

The role of the teacher is to guide, facilitate and manage learning for each student equally.

To guide learning, teachers need to know what they are going to teach and how they are going to
teach it. They also need to monitor every student’s progress, to make sure that students achieve their
learning objectives.

A good teacher is able to facilitate individual and group learning. They are able to interest students
and motivate them to take part actively in lessons. They help students understand what they are
learning by providing structure and making learning relevant to the students.

To manage learning, the teacher has to plan. This means planning the whole course to give the overall
direction. It also means planning what to cover week by week, to make sure that the students can
finish the course in time. A teacher also needs to plan each lesson, so that every lesson helps students
towards their learning objectives.

Managing learning also means that a teacher has to manage the classroom and make sure that all
students are working well (i.e. not wasting time or stopping the other students from working).

Finally, good teachers are also learners. They think about their teaching, about what worked and what
didn’t work. They are not afraid to try new things. They learn from their mistakes. The teacher who
continues to learn makes the work new and interesting both for themself and for the students.

To carry out this role well, and give all students high quality learning, a teacher needs the right
knowledge, attitudes, behaviours and skills. They need to be able to use these qualities together to
help students learn.

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 1 TRAINEE'S BOOK 3

 D. The responsibilities of the teacher
Teaching has different stages. A useful way of looking at these stages is to see them in a cycle. In
a cycle, each stage leads on to the next, in a continuous way, and each cycle of learning builds on
the one before. There are five key stages in the teaching cycle. The teacher has to work through
this cycle in the right order, to give good quality teaching to their students. The cycle can apply
to the lesson, the topic, or the whole course.

KEY WORDS
Cycle (n): a repeating circle of events
Stage (n): step or part of doing something

Teaching cycle
1. Here is a list of the stages of the
teaching cycle. They are in the wrong
order. Put them in the correct order
in the diagram.
Plan
Assess
Teach
Evaluate
Identify needs

2. Read the case study below and answer the questions.

Do you agree with the teacher that this was a good lesson? Which of the five
stages of the teaching cycle did he cover in the lesson?

CASE STUDY: MISSING PIECES

A teacher goes into the classroom.
Teacher: Right. Open your books at page 46.
Student: Sir, we did this last week.
Teacher: Did we? Ah yes, I remember. Ok then, page 52. Read the unit and answer the questions at the end.
The teacher sits at the front, marking the homework of another class. Halfway through the
lesson, a student asks a question:
Student: Sir, we need to look at a map to answer question 5.
Teacher: Do you? Mmm. You’d better leave that question out and go on to the next one.
At the end of the lesson, the teacher leaves the room thinking, "That was a good lesson – the
students were quiet and got on with their work".

4 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 1 TRAINEE'S BOOK

E. The stages of the teaching cycle
3. In the Missing Pieces case study, none of the stages of the teaching cycle were
present. Work in five groups. Each group discuss one stage of the teaching cycle.
• Read the reading passage about your group’s stage
• Add your own knowledge
• Answer the two questions below:
• Why is this stage important? (For example, why is it important to evaluate teaching?)
• How can the teacher do this? (For example, how can a teacher evaluate their teaching?)
• Give examples of good or bad practices you have experienced
• Report back to the class

Identify needs

A teacher should find out the students’ needs so that they can plan their teaching at the right level
for their students. With a new group, you will need to determine what they already know, the abilities
within the group, and how they learn best. You should also get to know the students well enough to
know what difficulties they may have that could make a difference to their learning. Identifying needs
will help you plan your teaching.

Plan learning

Teachers need to plan the learning they are going to facilitate. Planning provides a structure in which
each piece of learning builds on earlier learning. As a guide, you need to know where you are going.
This means you need to know what subject content and level you are going to teach at the level of
your students. It also means that you need to know how to teach the subject. It is difficult to guide
learners well if you do not have a plan.

You have to plan at several levels. You need to design an outline plan of the whole course. You also
need to plan each lesson in the course. Sometimes your planning will include designing learning
activities and summary handouts for your students. Planning student learning will help you deliver
successful lessons.

Teach

A teacher needs to have clear learning objectives, at the right level for the students. Then they can
choose learning activities which help students reach these objectives. The teacher needs to use a
variety of teaching and learning activities in every class, to make learning interesting and motivate
students. A variety of approaches is also needed to help students with different learning styles and
skills.

In the classroom, the teacher also has a responsibility for the welfare of the students. This includes
making the classroom safe and thinking about the students as individuals.

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 1 TRAINEE'S BOOK 5

Assess learning

A teacher needs to know how well the students understand their learning. Students also need to
know how they are doing, so that they can do the work needed to succeed. Regular assessment helps
both the teacher and student. Assessment does not always mean tests and exams. Giving feedback
to students is a kind of assessment. Assessment helps you evaluate the success of your teaching.
As a teacher it is important to understand the difference between assessement and evaluation.
Assessement concerns with people, so a teacher would assess his or her students. Evaluation concerns
with determining the worth of something, so a teacher would evaluate the worth of his or her lesson.

Evaluate teaching

A teacher needs to know how successful their teaching is, and learn from the things that go well, as
well as the things that don’t go so well. You need to think about the lessons you give, and make a few
notes about what worked and what didn’t work. You need to look at student assessment results to see
how they are progressing towards their learning objectives. You also need to get feedback from your
students from time to time. Evaluation helps you identify student needs for the next cycle of learning.

Self-evaluation
4. What questions do we need to ask ourselves to evaluate our teaching? Design a
checklist that a teacher could use to evaluate their teaching after any class. This
checklist is a list of points that make a good class, e.g.
•  Students were interested in the lesson
•  There was a variety of different learning activities

F. Observation and Assessment

Practical task: Observation 1

1. Observe an experienced teacher in class. You should observe for about 45-60
minutes. While observing the class, make a note of anything the teacher did that
you thought was good and made the lesson interesting. Answer the following
questions:
1. What is the teacher doing well?
2. What is the teacher not doing well?
3. What things would I do differently, if I was the teacher?

2. Discuss your observation.

Give examples.

Assessment task

6 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 1 TRAINEE'S BOOK

 UNIT 2
NAMES
How AND COUNTRIES
we learn

Identify different kinds of learning, drawing on your own experience

BY THE END OF THIS
UNIT TRAINEES CAN
Explain different approaches to learning in the classroom

A. Thinking about learning

Real life learning

1. We have all learned many things in our lives. How did you learn the following
things? Think about:
• What did you do to learn? • Who helped you, and how?

Make brief notes for yourself, and then discuss in pairs or small groups. Give
examples from your own experience.
• The words to a song • Sharing food
• Riding a bicycle • Not hitting people
• Water is wet • Giving an opinion

2. Discuss these as a class. Make a class list of some of the ways we learn.

3. In small groups, discuss the different ways people learn and then answer the
following questions and give examples from your own experience:
• Which of these ways of learning happen in the typical classroom?
• Do some kinds of learning happen more than others in the classroom?

Learning in the classroom

4. Discuss these questions in pairs.
1. What do teachers mean by a good student? Does what you did. What does this tell us about how
the teacher like students to be quiet and listen, students are expected to learn?
or to ask questions? What does this tell us about 3. How much interaction is there between teacher
how students are expected to learn? and students? Interaction means two-way
2. What kinds of learning activities happen in communication. What does this tell us about how
class? Think about the last lesson you had, and students are expected to learn?

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 2 TRAINEE'S BOOK 7

 B. Approaches to learning

KEY WORDS
Active learning (n): students learn by being Approach (n): way of thinking about
active – discovering and thinking about something
their learning Focus (n): central point
Passive learning (n): students learn by Method (n): way of working
listening to the teacher and remembering Interaction (n): communication between
information two or more people
Theory (n): explanation of a system of
thought

Three key approaches to learning

1. Read the text. Which approach best describes your classroom learning?
2. Check your understanding: Write down an example from your own experience
of each of these ways of teaching and learning: Instruction, Discovery and
Interaction.

Theories of learning have developed over the

years, and these have made a big difference to INSTRUCTION DISCOVERY
learning in the classroom. Three key approaches ‘I tell you’ ‘You find out’
to learning have been the most important over teacher-centred student-centred
students passive students active
the past 40-50 years.
The earliest approaches focus on the teacher.
The teacher gives students information. Students
listen to the teacher, and learn what they are
told. A lot of learning is based on memorising INTERACTION
and repetition, and it can seem unconnected to ‘We talk’
real life. This is a teacher-centred approach so working together
students are generally passive. It can be called students active
the instruction method.
between the students and the teacher. The
Later, teaching began to focus more on student teacher helps students develop their skills,
thinking and understanding. Students explore knowledge and understanding by building on
the world around them, and develop their own what they already know, and connecting learning
understanding by thinking about what they are to real life. Students work together, and are active.
discovering and making connections. Students This method is about the teacher and students
are active. This is the discovery method. working together. It can be called the interaction
More recently, approaches focus on interaction method.

My classroom learning
3. Read the list of learning activities on the next page and think about your own
learning experience as a student. Tick the Yes or No column depending on whether
you have experienced the activity.

8 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 2 TRAINEE'S BOOK

ACTIVITY YES NO
Dictation: writing what the teacher says
Listening to the teacher
Copying texts from the board
Memorising facts
Repeating
Working through the textbook on your own
Asking questions
Discussing in pairs or groups
Discussing as a class, guided by the teacher
Trying things out
Answering comprehension questions
Answering open questions
Marking by the teacher
Feedback from the teacher
Making things
Finding things out (e.g. library or internet)
Experiment
Written exercises with right and wrong answers
Writing in your own words (e.g. essays)
Case studies
Demonstration/observation (being shown)
Projects
Thinking about how you learn

4. In groups, make a chart with the headings below. Put each activity from Exercise
3 in a column. Discuss your decisions as a class.
5. Go back to the scores on your own classroom experience as a school student.
Which type of learning was the most used: instruction, discovery or interaction?

INSTRUCTION DISCOVERY INTERACTION

Teacher-centred activities Student-centred/active Student and group centred/
students students active

Summary
All the approaches have their strengths. In today’s classroom, an interactive
approach that also uses a variety of teaching and learning techniques from all
three approaches, will help to make learning interesting, motivating and relevant.
6. Practice interacive instruction: Read Methods File A: Teacher explanation and do
Supplementary Acivity A Teacher presentation.

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 2 TRAINEE'S BOOK 9

 C. Learning styles: How do I learn best?
So far we have looked at the different ways we learn, and some different approaches to learning.
This section is about different learning styles, and what that means for teachers and students.

1. Visual learners learn through visual information and remember how things look.
2. Auditory learners learn through listening and remember sounds and voices.
3. Kinaesthetic learners learn through doing things, remembering actions and movement.

Learning styles questionnaire

1. Below are 15 statements about ways of learning. Look at each of the statements
and decide how much you agree with it. Score each statement from 1 to 5. If you
strongly agree, score it 5. If you strongly disagree, score it 1. If you neither agree
not disagree, score 3.
2. Add up your scores using the key.

DISAGREE AGREE
1. I listen to music while I work. 1 2 3 4 5
2. I learn best by watching someone else and practising. 1 2 3 4 5
3. To spell correctly I write it out first. 1 2 3 4 5
4. I remember how the pages of the textbook look. 1 2 3 4 5
5. I prefer the teacher to write comments on my work. 1 2 3 4 5
6. I learn best reading the textbook and handouts. 1 2 3 4 5
7. I often use my hands when I talk. 1 2 3 4 5
8. I can understand something more easily with a diagram. 1 2 3 4 5
9. I can remember the words to songs. 1 2 3 4 5
10. When I spell I see the word as I spell it. 1 2 3 4 5
11. I prefer the teacher to talk to me about my work. 1 2 3 4 5
12. I learn best by listening and asking questions. 1 2 3 4 5
13. I’d rather play sport than watch it. 1 2 3 4 5
14. I enjoy doing practical activities. 1 2 3 4 5
15. When I spell I say the words in my head. 1 2 3 4 5

VISUAL KINAESTHETIC AUDITORY

Question 4 _____ Question 2 _____ Question 1 _____
Question 5 _____ Question 3 _____ Question 9 _____
Question 6 _____ Question 7 _____ Question 11 _____
Question 8 _____ Question 13 _____ Question 12 _____
Question 10 _____ Question 14 _____ Question 15 _____

Total _____ Total _____ Total _____

10 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 2 TRAINEE'S BOOK

 What is your preferred style?

There are three different totals: one each for visual, auditory and kinaesthetic. The higher the score,
the stronger your preference is for this way of learning. Most people use all three ways of learning to
some degree. Many people have one or two learning styles that are stronger than the other(s).

3. The learning styles are linked to human senses. Match the word with the sense.
1. visual hearing
2. auditory touching
3. kinaesthetic seeing

4. Which learning style – visual, auditory or kinaesthetic – is most useful for:

• Reading fast? • Remembering a face but not the name?
• Typing fast? • Remembering memory rhymes?
• Remembering someone’s name? • Spelling English well?

Learning styles in action

5. Read the learning style descriptions and reflect.

VISUAL LEARNERS
Visual learners learn best through visual information, and remember how things look. Use:
• Diagrams, mind-maps, flow charts, tables
• Lists with bullet points
• Colour-coding or use of symbols to show links
• Demonstration and observation
• Watching presentations using diagrams, pictures, etc

AUDITORY LEARNERS
Auditory learners learn best through listening, and remember sounds and voices. Use:
• Discussion; asking and answering questions
• Giving yourself instructions; hearing the words you are reading, in your mind
• Memorising by repeating key points to yourself
• Teacher lecture or explanation with student asking questions
• Students explaining in their own words in response to people’s questions

KINAESTHETIC LEARNERS
Kinaesthetic learners learn best through doing things, and remember actions and movement.
Ideas need to be linked to the real world. Use:
• Exploring, experimenting and trying things out
• Spreading work and workbooks out round you; getting up and moving around
• Organising and categorising by moving things around (e.g. cue-cards)
• Real life, e.g. case studies, field studies
• Students explaining to others by showing them or using diagrams

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 2 TRAINEE'S BOOK 11

 In groups or pairs, complete these sentences.
1. Everyone learns differently. Therefore, each student should..
2. Because students have different learning styles, teachers should..

VAK – what it means for teaching and learning

• Learners can use their strongest learning style to help them learn, e.g. when
revising.
• Teachers should use all three styles in their teaching to help all their learners
equally.
• Teachers can help learners develop their less favoured learning styles, so that
learners can use a wider range of study techniques.

CASE STUDY: VISUAL LEARNER

Hla Min‘s grades were usually C+. His VAK scores showed he was strongly visual. He decided to change
his study techniques to visual methods for only one of his four subjects. He would therefore see if it
made any difference. He was delighted to get his first A grade in the subject in which he used visual
methods. This year he will use the new techniques for all of his subjects. His lecture notes look like an
art folder.

6. In groups, make a list of classroom activities useful for each learning style. Each
group chooses a different learning style. Design a poster using the information in
this unit, and your own ideas.
7. Put your posters on the wall. Look at the other groups’ posters. Add information
and ideas to other groups’ posters. Make notes of the best ideas.

D. Passive or active? Beliefs about learning

Active students take control of their learning. They want to understand and to find out more. They
like to think and make sense of things. They ask questions.

Passive students feel that learning is outside their control. They feel it depends on how clever they are
or how good the teacher is. They are often quiet in class.

1. Four corners of the classroom represent agree, strongly agree, disagree and
strongly disagree.
• The teacher will read a student statement. Decide whether you agree or not.
• Go to the part of the room that represents your opinion. Explain why you have
this opinion.
• Decide as a group whether this student thinks learning is active or passive.

How might student beliefs about learning affect their progress?

What kind of student are you?

12 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 2 TRAINEE'S BOOK

E. Observation and reflection

Practical task: Observation 2

1. Observe an experienced teacher in class for 45 minutes to 1 hour.While
observing the class, make a list of everything the teacher and students do:

TEACHER STUDENTS
• Presented topic • Listened
• Gave exercises from book • Worked in small groups
• Gave an example of exercise

2. After the class, decide which approach to teaching was used most – instruction,
discovery or interaction? Did students seem passive or active? Think of some
examples of what happened in the class to support your opinion.
Discuss your observations.

Reflect
1. Have we used all the learning styles in this unit? Write down at least one
example of each:
1.
Visual 2. 
Auditory 3. 
Kinaesthetic
2. Have we used all the teaching approaches in this unit? Write down at least one
example of each:
1.
Instruction 2. 
Discovery 3. 
Interaction

SUMMARY: HOW WE LEARN

• We learn in many different ways.
• No single way of learning fits everything to be learned.
• Some ways of learning fit some kinds of skills better than others.
• People have different learning styles and preferences.
• Understanding comes from linking learning to people’s own lives, experience, and
previous knowledge.
• Understanding comes from thinking about what you are learning.
• Practising is an aspect of all learning, since it helps skill development.
• The ‘interactive approach’ to learning does not replace the earlier approaches, but
includes useful aspects of each.
• To deliver good quality learning, the teacher needs to work with all these things.

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 2 TRAINEE'S BOOK 13

F. Assessment task
Answer these questions to give examples of the summary points.
1. We learn in many different ways. Name three ways we learn.
2. No single way of learning fits everything to be learned. Name at least two ways of learning that
are useful in the subject you hope to teach.
3. Some ways of learning fit some kinds of skills better than others. What is a good way of learning
a practical subject?
4. People may have different learning styles and preferences. How can knowledge of learning styles
be used by the teacher to support learning?
5. Understanding comes from linking learning to people’s own lives, experience and existing knowledge.
How did we do that in this unit?
6. Understanding comes from thinking about what you are learning. How did we do that in this unit?
7. Practice is an aspect of all learning, since it helps skill development. Give an example from your life
or from school where practice developed your skill.

FURTHER RESEARCH
Find out a bit more about theories of learning.
1 Read the Additional Reading at the end of the book. This looks at another model of
learning styles. It extends the VAK model, as it has a larger number of learning styles
listed.
2 If you have internet access,
i. Try an online questionnaire which adapts the VAK model:
http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=questionnaire
ii. Find study strategy helpsheets for learning styles:
http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=helpsheets

14 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 2 TRAINEE'S BOOK

 UNIT 3
NAMESinAND
Equality COUNTRIES
the classroom

Explain key concepts in equality and how they affect teaching and learning.
BY THE END OF THIS
UNIT TRAINEES CAN
Identify main motivators for learning, and explain how to use this
knowledge in your teaching.

A. What does equality mean in education?

The idea of equality in teaching and learning is that no student should be at a disadvantage to
other students. Of course, there are many disadvantages in the world that can affect people’s
opportunities: war, displacement, poverty, physical or learning disabilities, and many others.

As teachers we can’t change the things that have happened to people, but we can treat all
students equally in our classroom. We can also ask for equal opportunities in our schools, to make
sure school rules are fair to everyone.

Equality and needs

1. Here are six pairs of students. In each pair, the students are different from each
other in some way. Discuss in groups:
• If you wanted to treat people equally in each pair, would you treat them the
same or treat them differently, and how? Think about
• Should the teacher change subject/topic/content/materials?
• Should the teacher change teaching methods?
• Should the teacher behave differently towards one or the other?
a Girl / Boy d. Buddhist / Christian
b Visual learner / Auditory learner e. Orphan / Has parents
c Fast learner / Slow learner f. Can’t see well / Can see well

2. Equality in the classroom is about being fair to everyone. To be fair to everyone

does not always mean treating people in exactly the same way. If students have
different needs, then we need to think about how to help with their individual needs.
Here are some key words when thinking about equality in teaching and learning. In
groups, use the cue cards to match the meaning and examples with the word.

MEANING EXAMPLES
Entitlement
Equality
Diversity
Inclusion
Differentiation

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 3 TRAINEE'S BOOK 15

 3. Once you have agreed on the arrangement of all the cards, discuss how far the
examples happen in your school or your community. Report back on your results.
Keep your own record of the meaning and examples, and add to your examples as
you go through this course, and think of new ones.

B. Case studies: Inclusion issues

1. In pairs or groups, read these stories from students and teachers in Myanmar.
Choose one, and discuss:
a. What issues of equality and inclusion are raised by these quotes from students
and teachers?
b. What would you do as a teacher to improve the situation?
2. Report back using one of the following methods:
• Roleplay. Pairs present your ideas for improvement through a short role play
between the student and the teacher in the case study.
• Give a short presentation on your case study to the class.

A. STUDENT B. STUDENT
"I have to look after my two younger sisters "I get bored in class. The teacher is too slow,
on my own. One of them is disabled, and and he never asks me to answer. He always
needs a lot of help. I can’t always get my asks the weak students and embarrasses
homework done. The teacher is not helpful." them when they don’t know the answer."

C. TEACHER D. TEACHER
"Many students aren’t motivated. They don’t "Some students don’t understand Myanmar,
see a future. They attend, but have little especially those who grew up in ethnic
interest in study. They’re only interested in areas, so teachers try to explain again and
English and computers." again. Students must try hard and listen to
their teacher."

E. STUDENT F. STUDENT
"I am a new student. I was punished by the "My parents are worried because they can’t
teacher because I could not understand the afford the school uniform. I only have one
English language. I speak Myanmar. He made uniform. I don’t know what we are going to
me run round the school five times." do."

G. STUDENT
"I am the only Muslim student in my class. I The teacher should create an inclusive
want to go to this school because it is a good classroom by considering individual needs
school, but I feel a bit of an outsider."

16 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 3 TRAINEE'S BOOK

 C. Motivating every student

KEY WORDS
Entitlement (n): having a right to something Motivation (n): desire to do something
Equality (n): Same status, rights or opportunity Motivate (v): encourage desire to do
Diversity (n): a lot of variety; very different something
Inclusion (n): allow (someone) to share in an De-motivate (v): discourage desire to do
activity or privilege something
Differentiation (v): identify differences Motivator (n): a reason that encourages the
between (two or more things or people) desire to do something

To learn well, students need to be motivated. We saw in Unit 2 that practice is an important
part of all learning. If students are not motivated, they may not do all the practice they
need to develop their skills. Why do some students appear motivated, and some not? What
can the teacher do to help student motivation? We want all our students to be motivated,
so that they all have an equal chance to succeed.

Reasons to learn
1. Below are some reasons why students might want to learn. Put them in order, from
1 to 9, according to what motivates you.
_____ Because it will be useful to me in future _____ To get the approval of my classmates
_____ Because the topic/subject interests me _____ To get good exam results
_____ Because I find learning activities fun _____ To get the approval of my parents
_____ Because I’ll be in trouble if I don’t learn _____ Because I feel good about myself when I
_____ To get the approval of the teacher am successful in class

2. Discuss in pairs and see what similarities and differences there are between your
answers. Report back to the class. Answers will depend on your experience, so there
are no right or wrong answers. Research shows, however, that in general, two types of
motivators are stronger than others: the feeling of success and interest in the lesson.

Success as a motivator
Here are two students starting out together. Student A has a cycle of success, which
is helped by the teacher’s praise and opinion that he/she is a good student. Student
A is motivated by his/her success. Student B has a cycle of failure, which is helped by
the teacher’s lack of praise and opinion that he/she is a weak student. Student B is
demotivated by his/her failure.
Student A Student B
The teacher sets a task for the class. The teacher sets a task for the class.
Student A gets good marks. Student B gets poor marks.
The teacher praises the student. The teacher says the work is not very good.
The student feels good about themselves. The student feels bad about themselves.
The student continues to get good marks. The student continues to get poor marks.
The teacher thinks ‘This is a good student’. The teacher thinks ‘This is a weak student’.
The student thinks ‘I like this and understand it’. The student thinks ‘I will never understand this’.
The student feels motivated and works hard. The student feels demotivated and stops trying.

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 13 TRAINEE'S BOOK 17

 3. What changes can the teacher make to help Student B succeed, and increase
motivation? The teacher can help the student break the cycle of failure with.

Small steps: Break a big task into smaller steps so that most students can achieve something. This is
an example of differentiation.
Early feedback: Walk around the class to see how students are doing. Comment on the first step of
slower students early on, and in class.
Extra help: Make a group of the weaker students and give extra help.
Praise: Praise what is good. Be specific – effort, tidiness, good ideas, accuracy, speed, etc.
Advise: Give specific advice about the next step so the student has something to aim for.
Result: The teacher thinks, This student needs small steps and more help. The student thinks, I can do
this and keeps trying.

Look at the case study on the previous page, and think of ways the teacher could help
Student B succeed.
a. Discuss in groups. Make a poster, chart, cartoon or drawing to show the changes.
b. Show your poster/chart/cartoon/drawing to the class and explain the changes.
c Make a good practice checklist, using one or two words for each point to remind
you, and remember to use it when planning and teaching.

REMEMBER
Strong students and weaker students need to be kept busy and learning. The whole class should not
go at the pace of the slowest. Differentiation is about keeping all students active. Stretch stronger
students, e.g. give more difficult tasks; have more difficult learning objectives; give extension activities.

Making lessons interesting

4. As a class:
a. Discuss – What is the most interesting part of today’s lesson so far?
b. What made it interesting?
c. Draw a mind-map to show what made it interesting.
d. Make a good practice checklist to use when planning and teaching.
So to motivate all students, the teacher must:
• Make sure that all students experience success.
• Make learning interesting by linking it to real life, and making it active and varied.

__________ Checklist
___
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___________
o ___
__________ ___________
o _________ ___
Interest ___________
o _________ ___
___________
o _________ _ ___
__________
o _________ ___
__________ ___________
o _________

18 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 3 TRAINEE'S BOOK

Plan and deliver a motivating learning activity
5. Plan a short learning activity (10 minutes) which is motivating and interesting to all
students.
a. Work in groups of 3-6 people who teach the same subject area. Decide on a small
topic you are going to teach, and the level or grade of your students.
b. Plan a learning activity to introduce the topic. Use the checklists you made in
section C to:
• Make the activity interesting
• Plan for all students to have some success.
c. Teach the learning activity to the rest of the class.
d. Feedback: Look at the motivation checklists. How many points did the activity get?

Using ARCS
There are many theories regarding the matter when they are given or the order
motivation of students in the classroom. they are given in. What is important
One of the theories most useful to the is that they be included as part of the
teacher is Keller’s ARCS model. In the teacher’s materials and delivery strategy.
model, Keller says that the student
must be given Attention in a number
of different ways. This is followed by A AA R
Relevance; the learning must be relevant Attention Relevance
to the student. The student also has to
be given Confidence that he or she is
learning the right things. Finally, there Learner AA
needs to be Satisfaction, the student Motivation
AA
must be satisfied that what they are
doing is right for them.
Satisfaction Confidence
AA
All of these things can and should be
given to the student as part of a lesson
or a number of lessons. It does not S C
TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 3 TRAINEE'S BOOK 19
Attention Relevance Confidence Satisfaction
Provide novelty and Match the focus of the
Tell students about what Encourage and support
surprise – do something lesson to the needs of
they need to do to learn the students’ internal
different in the class or the student and what and how they will be enjoyment of the
during the lesson he or she needs to learn
assessed at the end of learning
the lesson or course experience
Turn the students on Match learning Provide challenging Provide positive
to learning by posing objectives to student and meaningful reinforcement and
questions or giving needs and objectives opportunities for motivational
them problems to solve learning success feedback
Use a range of teaching Present lessons in ways Link learning successes Set up and maintain
methods to meet the that are understandable to the students’ consistent standards
students different needs and related to the personal effort and and consequences for
students’ experiences ability success
and values

D. Observation and reflection

Practical task: Observation 3

1. Observe an experienced teacher in class. You should observe for about 45-60
minutes. While observing the class, make a note of anything the teacher did that you
thought was good and made the lesson interesting.

SUMMARY: EQUALITY IN THE CLASSROOM

• Equality in education means that all students are treated equally in the classroom.
• To treat people equally, we need to think about their individual needs and differences.
• Difference should not mean disadvantage.
• A good teacher can increase the motivation of all students.
• A good teacher makes sure all students can experience successful learning.
• A good teacher makes learning interesting by linking it to real life.
• A good teacher makes learning active and varied.

Further reading
Read Equality in the Classroom in Additional Reading and Research.

20 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 3 TRAINEE'S BOOK

 E. Assessment task

Differentiation
Read the list of teaching strategies that help differentiation in the chart below.
• In column 2, tick if this has happened in the teaching of this unit.
• If it happened, write down an example from this unit in column 3.

Teaching Strategy  Example

1.  Have clear learning objectives All learning activities should help
Learning objectives are
students learn. Be clear what your learning objectives are for every
 described at the
lesson. Make sure the students know too, so they know what you expect
beginning of the unit.
from them.
2.  Use different learning styles Ensure that you have a variety of
learning methods in every lesson, which will help all your students learn
– visual, auditory and kinaesthetic.
3.  Use pair and group work Students learn from each other. All students
develop their thinking skills.
4. Variety Change activities during the lesson – this will maintain interest
and motivation.
5.  Use graduated activities Make use of graded activities. For example,
break down more complex tasks into smaller steps, or make materials
at different levels of difficulty (e.g. cue cards for language practice;
roleplays).
6.  Plan extension activities Aim your lessons towards the middle of the
ability range, but make sure that you have extension activities for the
stronger students, which challenge them but are achievable.
7. Monitor Know how your students are doing by walking round the
classroom. Listen to group work; check that students understand; look at
individual work; praise success and give advice.
8.  Success for everyone Make sure that everyone is able to achieve
something, even the slower students. Use small steps; praise the
successes of group work, which includes all group members.
9.  Give advice Where you want students to improve, give specific advice
about what they need to do.
10.  Praise both achievement and effort Praise should be genuine, and
say exactly what was good about the work or behaviour, e.g. effort,
good ideas, improved behaviour. Be specific.
11.  Equality and inclusion Think about the whole person for issues
of equality – gender; ethnicity; religion/culture; learning abilities
or disabilities; home language/language of instruction; home
circumstances.

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 3 TRAINEE'S BOOK 21

 UNIT 4
NAMES for
Teaching AND COUNTRIES
learning

BY THE END OF THIS Learn to explain some ways of developing thinking skills
UNIT TRAINEES CAN Apply Bloom's taxonomy to write objectives
Write a learning objective

A. Learning objectives, tasks and activities

What do we want our students to learn? Learning is not just remembering and repeating.
Students also need to be able to think and do. The starting point for planning teaching is to have
clear learning objectives. This is the case whether you are planning a whole course, one lesson, or
a single activity in a lesson. This helps you in your role as a guide to know where you are going.

TEACHER PLANS learning objectives learning tasks learning activities

learning objectives learning tasks learning activities STUDENT DOES

Learning objectives are written for the student to tell him/her what they are going to learn,
how they are going to learn and what level of accomplishment is expected of them. Learning
objectives are NOT written for the teacher but they help the teacher in their role as a guide and
facilitator know where the student is going, what they are doing and how they can help the
student reach their goal.

EXAMPLE 1
The student will be able to list three possible reasons for global warming. Given this very simple
objective, the teacher can see that they have to provide information on global warming or point the
student in the right direction so they can get the information for themselves. Once ‘researched’, the
student will provide the teacher with a simple list of three possible reasons for global warming for
assessment.

EXAMPLE 2
The student will be able to develop a funding proposal to install a bore well in Gilgit Township,
Northern Pakistan. The proposal must include a time frame and full costing for supplies,
transportation, local labour and a survey engineer. This objective is a little more complex, the
teacher must direct the student to the correct research materials; guide them through the research
and the development of the proposal. The student will then present the teacher with the completed
proposal for assessment. When writing objectives, the teacher first has to review ALL of the topics they
are expected to cover. These topics form the basis for the goals the students will reach at the end of
the term. To help the students reach those goals the teacher has to develop the steps the student will
take. These steps are the learning objectives.

22 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 4 TRAINEE'S BOOK

This means that the teacher must ask him or herself the following question:

‘What do I want my students to be able to do as a result of a lesson or activity?’

All learning objectives have three parts; a performance that tells the student what he/she is to
do, a condition that tells the student the focus of the thing he/she is to do, and a standard that
tells the student how well the performance must be carried out.

Performance - what the Condition - the focus of

student is to do what the student is to do
EXAMPLE 1
The student will be able to list three possible reasons for global warming.

Standard - how well the

student is to carry out the
performance

Performance - what the Condition - the focus of

student is to do what the student is to do
EXAMPLE 2
The student will be able to develop a funding proposal to install a bore well in Gilgit Township,
Northern Pakistan. The proposal must include a time frame and full costing for supplies,
transportation, local labour and a survey engineer.
Standard - how well the
student is to carry out the
performance

The most useful objective is the one that allows the student to be able to make a number of
decisions about how they will carry out the performance. When writing your objectives you are
searching for a group of words that will tell your students exactly what has to be done and does
not confuse them in any way. For example, consider the following phrases. Those on the left
would confuse the student; they might ask “What do I have to know?”. Those words on the left
however just need a qualifier to tell the student what he/she is to do. “Write an essay.”

Words open to many interpretations Words open to fewer interpretations

• To know • To write
• To understand • To recite
• To really understand • To identify
• To appreciate • To sort
• To really appreciate • To solve
• To grasp the significance of • To construct
• To enjoy • To build
• To believe • To compare

Assessment task
As a group, review the following learning objectives and underline the performance,
condition and standard in each one. If the objective does not have a performance,
condition or standard rewrite the objective.
• List all primary and secondary colours • Understand how to give advice to customers
• Demonstrate how to perform CPR correctly • Summarise three features of the new Huawei
• Respond to a series of questions hand phone.

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 4 TRAINEE'S BOOK 23

Learning objectives and the cognitive domain
One useful way of looking at learning objectives was developed by B.S. Bloom in
the 1950s. This gives a structure of the skill levels that we need to fully understand
what we learn, and make sense of it in the world. It is still widely used today to help
teachers think about learning objectives, and how to use them to set tasks that
develop their students’ skills.
In 1956 B. S. Bloom identified six levels within the cognitive domain, from simple
recall or recognition of facts, at the lowest level, through increasingly more complex
and abstract mental levels, to the highest order which is classified as evaluation.

Evaluation Evaluation is concerned with the ability to judge

the value of material for a given purpose.
Synthesis refers to the ability to put parts
Synthesis together to form a whole.
Analysis refers to the ability to break down material into
Analysis component parts so that its structure can be understood.
Application refers to the ability to to use learned
Application material in new concrete situations.
Comprehension is defined as the ability to grasp
Comprehension the meaning of material.
Knowledge is defined as the remembering of
Knowledge previously learned material.

Bloom’s taxonomy is important in teaching and learning because it helps teachers

better plan their lessons and help students better understand what they have to do
when learning. There is a lot of criticism about the taxonomy however, the main one
being that people don’t learn in such a structured, organised manner and there is no
real link between one level and the next. This may be the case, but the taxonomy is a
useful tool to help the teacher organise learning.
The taxonomy helps teachers better understand that if they are going to teach
a student to create something, for example, there is a lot of learning that has to
take place first. The student has to be given the knowledge and understanding
about what is to be created. Then, the student must be given time to practice and
see where things are correct and where things are not correct and make a decision
about fixing those things that are not right. Only after all this has been done can the
student create something.
Each level in the domain is at a different level of complexity and helps the teacher
develop higher order thinking. For example:
• Knowledge: Name three animals in Southeast Asia whose survival is threatened
by deforestation.
• Comprehension Explain the meaning of ‘survival’ with respect to deforestation.
• Application: Choose one threatened species and explain how it is threatened.
• Analysing: Analyse the main reasons for the threat to elephants in Thailand.
• Synthesis: Determine how successful elephant conservation efforts are in Thailand.
• Evaluation: Develop a proposal to help protect elephants in Thailand.

24 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 4 TRAINEE'S BOOK

Bloom’s structure of educational objectives
Look at the chart below:
Column 1 in the chart shows the levels of thinking.
Column 2 shows examples of the skills needed for that level.
Column 3 shows examples of the questions and tasks the teacher sets, to develop
skills at that level.
Note: You do not need to learn all the words and examples in this chart. It is more
important that you understand the skill levels, and the key words.

skills required questions and tasks

higher
level What do you think?
Assess and make judgments, e.g.
skills How + adj, e.g. How effective…?
- compare ideas
Why?
evaluation - verify the value of evidence
discuss, ​assess, ​evaluate,
- make choices based on reasoned
argument
decide,​  justify, ​recommend​,
judge, ​prioritise, ​verify

Use knowledge creatively, e.g. Can you…?

- bring together knowledge from What do you think?
different areas What would happen if…
synthesis
- solve problems Why?
- draw conclusions plan, ​predict, ​create, ​design,
- predict; have new ideas imagine,​  devise,​  solve,

See patterns that can be used to Why? What? (applied to

solve problems, e.g. underlying patterns and
analysis - cause and effect possibilities)
- organisation of learning analyse​, distinguish ​
- recognition of implications investigate,​compare, contrast
How?
Apply learning to situations e.g.
use ​demonstrate,​ calculate, ​
application - use methods, concepts or
develop,​ illustrate,​ apply, ​
theories with different examples
choose
What? Where? When? Who?
Understand information, e.g. Which? (to demonstrate
- understand meaning understanding)
comprehension
- interpret facts …in your own words
- understand methods explain, ​identify, ​classify, ​
summarise​,  interpret

Know specific information, e.g. What? Where? When? Who?

- remember dates, events, places (facts)
knowledge
lower - know major ideas describe, ​define, ​list, ​find, ​
level - know subject matter state, ​name
skills

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 4 TRAINEE'S BOOK 25

 B. Learning tasks
Students need to develop skills at the higher levels of learning, so they can make sense of the
world around them. People ‘make meaning’ by thinking about experience, seeing connections
between things, and having ideas about the way the world works. The learning objectives,
activities and tasks that teachers plan should help them do this.
In some schools and classrooms, a lot of learning stays at the level of knowledge and
comprehension. Teachers can help their students towards a higher level of learning by developing
more difficult tasks that:
• build on the lower level skills, and
• build on what students already know.
This helps students connect their new learning to their existing learning, and make sense of the
new. The higher levels of learning apply especially to older students, but even young children
learn to make sense of the world around them through play and exploration – and thinking.
We will learn about designing learning objectives in more detail when we look at course and
lesson planning. For now, we will focus on learning tasks and learning activities.

Mix and match

1. Mix and Match. Work in groups. Each group has a set of cards: 6 large cards
(Bloom’s levels) and a set of small cards (learning tasks). Mix up the small cards, and
give them out between the group members.
a. Groups put the large cards of Bloom’s levels in the correct sequence.
b. In turn, group members take one of their small cards. The group discusses each
task, and agrees on the level of learning. Put the card in the agreed level.
c. When you have finished, go and have a look at what the other groups did.
d. If you notice a difference between your results and another group, ask the other
group why they put that task at that level.
e. Then think about whether you agree or not, and why. Do you want to make any
changes to your group’s answers as a result?

2. Review. Think about the

mix and match activity. It
had 5 tasks (numbers 1-5
above).
a. What level of thinking
did each task support?
b. Discuss as a class.
c. Mark your own work.
How well did you do?

26 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 4 TRAINEE'S BOOK

C. Writing learning tasks

Writing your own task

1. Write a task for each level in Bloom’s structure, using a question or task word from
the right column of Bloom’s structure of educational objectives.
a. Write these tasks for the subject/topic and the grade or level of students you are
teaching (or will be teaching).
b. When you have finished, exchange your work with a partner, and review each
other’s work. Give each other feedback. Tell your partner what is good and what
could be improved in these four areas:
• There is one task at each skill level.
• Tasks are all related to your partner’s teaching subject.
• All tasks are at the right level for the students’ grade/level.
• The tasks are clearly written and you can understand them.
c. If you think your tasks could be improved, make changes.
d. Put some examples of your tasks on the wall. Look at other trainees’ tasks.

NOTE
The higher skill levels include the lower
ones! For example, in order to evaluate the
success of conservation efforts, you will also
need to be able to list and describe types of
conservation projects with examples before
analysing and evaluating success.

Tasks at higher levels do not have to be

difficult, but students will have to understand
and think in order to do them.

D. Learning activities

Mix and match

1. Use a learning task at the level of BRAINSTORM
analysis or above. Brainstorm as many • All ideas are valid
ideas as you can for things students • Quantity not quality
could do to complete the task. • No judgements
See Methods File G: Group work methods • Encourage creativity
for information about the brainstorm
technique.

2. If you teach or plan to teach primary

or middle school, read Additional Reading
for Unit 4.

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 4 TRAINEE'S BOOK 27

E. Using questions
1. What level of thinking do you need to answer the questions below. Discuss in
groups or as a class
b. c.
a. What were the main What do you think Could we use
points in her speech? about the survey results? a bicycle to pump
water?
h. d.
Where’s the bus station? What does this
e.
graph show?
f.
g. What is the
Why does it best solution to this
What are the causes
rain? problem?
of global warming?

Read the text and briefly answer the following questions:

a. Which levels in Bloom’s structure are the discussion questions Q1 and Q2?
b. Write questions based on the text for each of the other four levels in the structure. For
ideas about different kinds of questions, see Methods File C: Open and closed questions.

FORESTS IN DANGER
All around the world people are logging a lot of trees. Indonesia for example has lost 45% of its forests
since 1950, and is currently cutting down about 2 million hectares per year. Unfortunately, people
usually don’t think carefully before they cut down a tree. They think only about the money when they
sell the wood. If we think carefully about trees we can see that they are important because of all the
things we get from a forest.
A forest is a home for many different animals, plants and mushrooms that we can eat. Some plants
can be used for medicine. We can also find honey in the forest. We can collect all these things for
ourselves. Or we can trade or sell them for other things that we need like rice or clothes.
Even more important is the role of forests in maintaining the ecology of the world. Trees take in carbon
dioxide, and give out oxygen, the biggest part of the air we breathe. They are also very important for
the water that we use. The streams in the forest are usually clean and cool. After the forest is gone, a
stream can dry up because there aren’t any trees to protect it from the sun.
Forests also help to keep the soil healthy. Falling leaves make new soil, and the roots of trees hold the
soil together. Without forests, soil can be washed away by the rain. Without soil, the ground cannot
soak up rain, so water runs away more quickly, and more floods happen. There is not enough water in
some places, and too much in others.
In the past there were lots of trees. Now we are using modern technology and we are logging quicker
than before. Often, people don’t plant new trees after they cut down the old ones. Now there are a lot
of areas where there aren’t any trees.
Discussion: Q1. What is going to happen if logging continues to increase?
Q2. Do you think logging should be controlled? Why/Why not?

28 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 4 TRAINEE'S BOOK

Asking questions using ‘wait time’
This exercise needs to move quite quickly. If you don’t know the answer to the
question, say so. The focus here is to practise asking questions, not answering them.
For more information read Methods File B: Why ask questions?
a. Stand in a circle. In turn, trainees go into the middle of the circle and ask one of
their questions on Forests in Danger.
b. Trainee uses wait time (wait 3 seconds) before choosing someone to answer.
c. The chosen trainee answers the question with a short answer.
d. That trainee then goes into the centre of the circle and asks one of their
questions, and so on, until everyone has asked a question.

4. Choose three techniques from Methods File B: Why ask questions? that you think
are useful. Write a sentence for each saying why.

F. Observation and reflection

Practical task: Observation 4
1. Observe an experienced teacher in class for 45 minutes-1 hour. Before you observe, make
a larger version of the chart below. While observing the class, make a note in your chart
of time spent on each activity; what the teacher does; what the students do; the level of
thinking skills needed

TIME TEACHER DOES STUDENTS DO LEVEL OF

THINKING SKILLS

2. After the class, analyse the lesson by looking at the information on your chart.

TIME TEACHER DOES STUDENTS DO LEVEL OF

THINKING SKILLS
10 mins Presented topic Listened and answered Knowledge
questions
20 mins Gave task in textbook Worked in pairs Knowledge, comprehension

Evaluate
3. Evaluate. What does this tell you about the lesson? Make one or two judgments
based on what you have observed, e.g:
• Did the teacher change learning activities regularly? (time column)
• What did the teacher do to help student learning? (teacher does column)
• Were the students active? (students do column)
• Were higher levels of thinking skills used? (level of thinking column)
Discuss your observation with the class.

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 4 TRAINEE'S BOOK 29

SUMMARY: TEACHING FOR LEARNING
• Learning includes developing thinking skills as well as subject knowledge.
• Thinking helps connect new learning to existing knowledge, and make sense of it.
• Learning objectives state what we want students to be able to do as result of their
learning.
• Higher level learning tasks help students make use of what they are learning.
• The activities you plan to achieve learning objectives can be very varied – but remember
why you are doing them. Will students learn something?
• Questions make people think.
• Questions work at different levels of thinking skills.
• Teachers should design some questions at higher levels to encourage student thinking
at different levels.

G. Assessment task
1. Review the learning tasks you wrote for 4C: Writing learning tasks. Do you think
these are good tasks for your subject? Write them out for the trainer to review,
making any changes that will improve them.
2. Choose two tasks, at different levels of thinking, and briefly explain what the
students would do to complete them. Here are two examples based on the question
on 4C: Writing learning tasks:

COMPREHENSION
What is the meaning of ‘survival’ in this context? (5 minutes)
1. Students write an explanation then compare with a partner, and agree on an explanation.
2. Teacher asks class using wait time
3. Brief discussion and agreement.
4. Write agreed explanation on board

ANALYSIS
Analyse the main reasons for the threat to elephants in Thailand. (25 minutes)
1. Class brainstorm on all the reasons they can think of for threats to survival of species
2. Student or teacher writes ideas on whiteboard
3. Teacher asks which of these apply to elephants, and rubs out any that don’t
4. Teacher asks, 'Are there special problems for elephants that we have not listed?' and adds these
5. Class agrees on the list of threats (If students have access to internet, they can check this)
6. Teacher confirms list and adds any additional information
7. Groups order list from highest threat to lowest
8. Individual students write their analysis

30 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 4 TRAINEE'S BOOK

 UNIT 5
NAMES AND COUNTRIES
Planning

Write a course plan

BY THE END Plan a teaching & learning session to meets the needs of individual learners
OF THIS UNIT Choose and use appropriate resources and teaching/learning activities to
TRAINEES CAN engage and motivate students
Reflect and evaluate the effectiveness of your own teaching

A. Course planning
In this course so far we have looked at how we learn. We have also looked at teaching methods
through experiencing and practising different kinds of group work and related learning activities.
Now we are going to begin to put these things together in planning and delivering our lessons.
Planning happens throughout an education system.

WHAT IS STUDIED
CURRICULUM WHAT SKILLS ARE DEVELOPED
FRAMEWORK

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
OUTLINE PROGRAMME OF STUDY
COURSE CONTENT
SYLLABUS ASSESSMENT CRITERIA AND METHODS

OUTLINE PLAN FOR TIME AVAILABLE TO MEET

NEEDS OF SYLLABUS AND CURRICULUM
COURSE PLAN

DETAILED PLAN OF EACH LESSON

LEARNING OBJECTIVES; CONTENT; METHODS;
LESSON PLAN TIMING; ASSESSMENTS

Curriculum framework
What is to be studied, and what skills should be developed through learning. The curriculum is
developed by or for educational institutions or classes.
In many parts of the world, school curriculum is now determined by or on behalf of the
government: sometimes to control information; and sometimes to make sure that students have
equality in what they are learning.
A national curriculum gives everyone in the country the opportunity to learn the same skills.
There is often a core curriculum with additional choices of subject or level.

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 5 TRAINEE'S BOOK 31

KEY WORDS
Syllabus: an outline programme of study. teacher. Lesson plans include learning
The syllabus selects information from objectives; content; teaching and learning
the curriculum framework and makes a activities; timing; and assessment of
programme of study. It shows the learning progress.
objectives for the course, the topics and the Learning objectives: what students will be
level. The syllabus does not tell the teacher able to do as a result of learning. Learning
how to teach the course. objectives are developed at each planning
Course plan: an outline plan for the whole level. Usually the teacher will develop
course. This is developed by the teacher. It learning objectives for their lessons, and
shows how the teacher plans to cover the sometimes for individual students or groups
syllabus over the time they have. of students.
Lesson plans: a detailed plan of each
lesson. Lesson plans are developed by the

Curriculum and syllabus

1. In Myanmar, who is responsible for development of the curriculum and the syllabus in:
a. primary, middle and high schools (basic education)?
b. monastic schools?
c. community-based education programmes?
d. universities?
What are the strengths and weaknesses of this situation for the students?

2. Summarise the class discussion. Write brief notes of the important points.

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSESS
Basic

Monastic and
community
Universities

THE CHALLENGE TO TEACHERS

In many schools where there is limited curriculum planning, the curriculum is set by the coursebook.
This means that many teachers feel they have to teach what is in the coursebook, and nothing else.
Very often this stops them thinking about more active ways of teaching. As a result the teaching can
become boring. The challenge to today’s teachers in Myanmar is to begin to develop active teaching
methods to engage and motivate students, while using traditional resources.
Remember, teaching starts with learning objectives: what is it that students will be able to do as a
result of their learning with you?

32 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 5 TRAINEE'S BOOK

A. Developing a course plan
Stage 1: The outline
1. In this activity you will plan a course outline which covers all the material in the time
allowed, and plans for a variety of different ways of learning. The first step is to create a
rough plan to cover the course material in the time available. You can make changes when
you develop your more detailed plan later.

Here is the contents list for a coursebook

on the environment. THE ENVIRONMENT AND US
a. In groups, make a week by week plan Page
to teach these topics over 20 weeks at
Introduction 2
2 hours per week. Use large paper if
possible. Waste 3
Include: at least one field study; one Ecosystems,
project; time for review and revision; biodiversity and resources 8
and time for assessment. Water 11
b. Display your plan. Go round the room Forests 19
looking at each other’s plans.
Energy 23
c. As a class, discuss similarities and
differences between the plans. Climate Change 28
d. Make a note of what you think is the Development, people and
best course outline, and why. the environment 37

Stage 2: The course plan

2. After you have made a course outline, the next step is to develop this into a course
plan. The course plan adds more detailed information to the course outline. Whether your
subject is topic-based or skill-based, or a mix of both, you need to think about:
• the students’ learning objectives
• active teaching and learning methods to deliver the learning objectives
• teaching and learning methods that take account of the resources you have available
The course plan should cover at least one semester.
For developing the course plan, you will need a curriculum, syllabus or coursebook to use.
If you have access to one already in use, use that. If you work, or are planning to work, in
a situation without a curriculum or syllabus, use the main coursebook used in your subject
area and level.
Use the curriculum, syllabus or coursebook to design a course plan for the first three weeks
in one subject. This plan is for a new class – you have never met these students before.
Work individually or in pairs or groups. Use a form like the one on the next page. Use all
the headings.

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 5 TRAINEE'S BOOK 33

COURSE PLANNING FORM
Teacher: Number of lessons:
Subject: Course hours:
Level: Lesson times:

Aim: Key resources:

Date Learning objectives Activities Resources

What will you do? What resources do you

Week 1 The student will…
What will the students do? need?

Week 2

Week 3

Assessment:

Feedback
3. If you worked individually or in pairs, give your work to another student or pair for their
feedback. Give feedback on each other’s work.
If you worked in groups, choose a way of presenting your work to the whole class for
questions and comments. After you have given and received feedback, see if there is
anything you want to change in your course plan to improve it.

C. Writing learning objectives

1. Many teachers start out thinking about what they are going to teach. Writing learning
objectives helps the teacher to think about what they want the students to learn. Once
they know what they want students to learn, they can think about how to teach it.
Look at these objectives. Which ones are focused on student learning?

a. b. c.
Students will be able
Students will be able to explain the main argument I will teach the
to identify the 5 key points in the unit of the unit in their students the next
and give one example of each. own words. textbook unit.

e.
d. Students will be
Students will be able to
able to write a short article,
repeat the textbook unit word
summarising the main points,
for word.
and giving their own opinion.

34 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 5 TRAINEE'S BOOK

 2. Think back to Bloom’s educational objectives. What level of thinking skills is
needed for each of the objectives?
3. What difference would these different learning objectives make to how the
teacher might teach the subject?

What makes a good learning objective?

4. In pairs, read the seven learning objectives in the box below and answer these
questions:
a. What subject is each objective written for?
b. How good are these learning objectives and what is wrong with the less effective
ones?

At the end of the class…

1. Students will be able to use a computer
2. Students will be able to multiply simple fractions
3. Students will be able to ask and answer 8 simple questions in English about their studies
4. Students will know the simple present tense in English
5. Students will be able to find, open, change and save a document
6. Students will be able to understand arithmetic
7. Students will be able to draw and label the parts of a flower, and describe their functions in writing

Measurable means that the results

S
SPECIFIC
of learning need to be observable,
Clear and definite
so learning objectives are written
MEASURABLE with action verbs, e.g. describe,
M Learning can be proved: ‘Students will
be able to…’
explain, demonstrate.

Verbs like know and understand

A ACHIEVABLE
It is possible
are not used. They are too vague
(not specific) and therefore difficult
REALISTIC to measure. We don’t know if

R It is reasonable in relation to student

starting points and time scale
someone knows and understands
unless they demonstrate that
knowledge and understanding
TIMED
T Set a time: ‘By the end of the class/unit,
students will…’
through use or application.

Writing good learning objectives

takes practice. Many teachers find
it difficult to start with. But it is
Assessment task time well spent since it will help you
think about what to teach, why,
As a group review the seven objectives again and how.
and decide if they are SMART.
For more information on this topic,
see Additional Reading for Unit 5:
Writing learning objectives.

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 5 TRAINEE'S BOOK 35

 Appropriate verbs for use in learning objectives
Verbs applicable to the levels in the cognitive domain. Note that depending upon usage some
verbs can apply to more than one level of Bloom's taxonomy.

Knowledge Comprehension Application Analysis Synthesis Evaluation

Arrange Classify Apply Analyse Arrange Appraise
Define Describe Choose Appraise Assemble Argue
Duplicate Discuss Demonstrate Calculate Collect Assess
Label Explain Dramatise Categorise Compose Attach
List Express Employ Compare Construct Choose
Memorise Identify Illustrate Contrast Create Compare
Name Indicate Interpret Criticise Design Defend
Order Locate Operate Differentiate Write Estimate
Recognise Recognise Practice Discriminate Formulate Judge
Relate Report Schedule Distinguish Manage Predict
Recall Restate Sketch Examine Organise Rate
Repeat Review Solve Experiment Plan Score
Reproduce Select Use Question Prepare Select
Translate Test Propose Support
Set-Up Value
Evaluate

SMART course planning

5. Go back to the three-week course plan you developed. Check the learning
objectives and see if you can improve them:
a. Self-assess:
Do they focus on what the student can do after learning? Are they specific?
Do they describe how you will know that learning has been achieved?
b. Make changes that you think will improve the learning objectives.
c. Swap with another group and give each other feedback.
d. Keep your own copy of good examples of learning objectives.

D. Lesson planning
The lesson plan is a more detailed plan of learning objectives and teaching methods. It helps
you prepare the lesson. This in turn helps you to teach the lesson – you know what you and the
students are doing and why; you know what resources you need; and you can use it to manage
the time as well. It is a good idea to plan your next lesson after you have taught the previous
one. This means you evaluate what actually happened in the class while planning the next class.

Discuss
a. Why do teachers need to plan lessons in detail?
b. Why can’t they just use the course plan?
c. What would happen if a teacher did not prepare their classes?

The lesson plan starts with the learning objectives. The learning objectives
tell you to think about how to teach the material.
36 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 5 TRAINEE'S BOOK
 Instructional strategies
Instructional strategies define the overall approach taken by the teacher to help the student
achieve the goal. The strategies are:

Direct instruction
Drill and practice Mini lecture
Structured overview Demonstration
Compare and contrast
Reading guides
Interactive instruction Indirect instruction
Brainstorming Problem solving Problem solving Self study
Interview Debate Discussion Concept formation/attainment
Tutorial Role play Peers practice Case study Discussion

Independent study Experiential learning

Assigned questions Self study Field observation Simulation
self paced Projects Reports Experiments Role play
Learning activity package Games Surveys

Instructional methods are those things used by the teacher to help the students achieve the
learning objectives. They spell out the nature of the learning activity and different instructional
methods have to be included in your lessons.

Direct Instruction
This strategy is teacher focused and includes methods such as lecture, questioning, drill and practice
and demonstration. It is used for providing information or developing step-by-step skills and works well
in actively involving students in knowledge construction.
Indirect Instruction
Examples of indirect instructional methods include discussion, concept formation/attainment, problem
solving, decision making, case study and self-study. This strategy is mainly student focused. However,
direct and indirect instruction can be used together and complement each other. The strategy takes
advantage of learners' interests and curiosity, encouraging them to generate alternatives or solve
problems.
Using this strategy, the role of the teacher shifts to that of a facilitator and supporter who arranges the
learning and provides opportunity for involvement and provides feedback to students.
Interactive Instruction
This strategy relies heavily on discussion and sharing among students providing them with
opportunities to react to the ideas, experiences, insights and knowledge of others and to generate
alternative ways of thinking and feeling. The strategy includes total class discussions, small group
discussions, projects, or learners working together on assignments. The strategy also requires the
refinement of observation, listening, interpersonal, and intervention skills and abilities by both teacher
and student.

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 5 TRAINEE'S BOOK 37

 Experiential Learning
Experiential learning is inductive, learner centred, and activity oriented. It typically occurs when
students participate in an activity and critically look back to clarify learning and draw insights from the
review and put learning to work in new situations. The strategy can be viewed as a cycle consisting of
experiencing, sharing, analysing and applying. The emphasis in experiential learning is on the process
of learning, not on the product.
Independent Study
This strategy refers to the range of instructional methods provided to foster the development of
individual learner initiative, self-reliance and self-improvement. The focus is on planned self- study
under the direction of the teacher.

Instructional Methods and the Cognitive Domain

Teaching methods need to be considered in terms of the intended depth of instruction. For example:

Evaluation Projects, problem solving case study, interview

Simulations, case study, projects

Synthesis
Case study, discussion. problem solving, questions
Analysis
Demonstrations, projects, role play exercises, games
Application
Discussion, presentations, questions, reports, games
Comprehension
Mini lectures, examples, illustrations, reading guides
Knowledge

The stages of a typical lesson

Review Overview Input Process Output Assessement

Review previous Overview of New Student learning, Use and Determine what
learning upcoming lesson information, skill development demonstration of students have
skills and ideas and practise learning and skills learned

These stages of the lesson focus on student learning. Here are the lesson stages in more detail:
Review last lesson: ‘Last time we learned about, and practised…’ Use this to remind students, and
check their knowledge and understanding through asking questions.
Overview this lesson: ‘Today we are going to…’ Use this to introduce a topic and also to tell students
the learning objectives.
Input: Teacher introduces new material or teaching/learning point(s).
Process: Students do different activities to practise the learning, from more controlled (and knowledge-
based), to less controlled (and applied).
Output: Students use their new knowledge, understanding and skills, at levels from application upwards.
Assessment: Assessment of progress, and feedback on progress.

38 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 5 TRAINEE'S BOOK

What activities are useful for each stage of learning?
2. As a class, complete this chart.
a. Use everything you learned in the course to brainstorm ideas for the teacher
and student columns for each stage of the lesson – input, process and output.
b. Make a class ‘good practice’ checklist.
c. Make your own copy of the checklist.

Lesson stage What should the teacher do? What should the students do?

Input

Process

Output

Plan a lesson
3. Write a detailed half-hour lesson plan for one of the lessons in your course plan.
Use the form on the next page. Later, you will teach this (or part of this) to the
class.
a. Learning objectives:
• Review objectives in the course plan. Do you want to make any changes?
• Write objectives for all students
• Write extension objectives for stronger students.
b. What materials and equipment will you need for this lesson?
c. What learning activities will you plan for the input > process > output stages
of the lesson: What will the teacher do? What will the students do?
d. How long will each activity take? Show planned times on the lesson plan.
e. If you have ideas about how to assess student learning in this lesson, then put
them into the ‘assessment’ box on the plan.

4. Teach your lesson to the class or a group. The trainer will assess your teaching
according to the guidelines.

Feedback
5. As a class, discuss the lessons:
a. What were the strengths of the lessons?
b. What were the weaknesses of the lessons?
c. What could be improved?

Evaluate your lesson

6. Think about your own opinion about the lesson, the general discussion and the
feedback from the teacher trainer.
Make notes in the evaluation box on the lesson planning form.

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 5 TRAINEE'S BOOK 39

 LESSON PLAN
Teacher: Students: Subject: Topic:

Date:

Objective/s:

Extension objective/s: Some students will be able to..

Materials:

Time: Teacher does: Students do:

Input

Process

Output

Assessment

Evaluation

40 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 5 TRAINEE'S BOOK

 E. Assessment
TRAINER CHECKLIST TO ASSESS TEACHING DEMONSTRATION
Lesson stage: What should the teacher do? What should the students do?

• Review previous lesson • Ask and answer questions

• Introduce lesson objectives • Work individually or in pairs
• Find out what students already know • Come up to the board and
• Revise old concepts show ideas
Input • Introduce new concepts • Do activities as a class
• Ask questions
• Answer students’ questions
• Use or adapt the teacher’s book (if relevant)
• Assess students’ understanding
• Set differentiated work from the textbook or • Consolidate understanding
give another activity • Work individually, in pairs or
• Use different learning styles small groups.
• Use different teaching methods • Use different learning
Process • Walk around class and check student work methods
• Help students if they need extra support • Ask and answer questions
• Give harder questions (extension activities)
to students that finish work quickly
• Ask and answer questions
• Review work from the lesson • Answer and ask questions
• Assess students’ understanding • Demonstrate understanding
Output from lesson
• Extend concepts, introduce harder ideas
• Give homework • Self-assess work

SUMMARY: PLANNING FOR LEARNING

• Plan your course: course outline and course plan
• Plan every lesson: learning objectives; teaching and learning activities; resources needed
• Plan the stages of the lesson: input, process, output
• Analyse student needs to help plan for both stronger and weaker students
• Plan for a variety of learning activities (keeping students active and interested)
• Evaluate each lesson: What worked well and less well?
• Use your evaluation to help plan the next lesson

FURTHER RESEARCH AND EXTENSION ACTIVITY

1. Read the additional readings for Unit 5: Writing learning objectives summary and
Learning in the classroom.
2. Extension activity: Read the INEE Standards for Teaching and Learning. How far are
these are achieved in your school? These are in the Additional Readings for this unit.
a. Choose one or more of the four standards (e.g. standard 3: Instruction)
b. Look at the evidence column. Rate how far you think the standard is achieved using a
scale of 1-4: 1 = not at all; 2 = sometimes; 3 = regularly; 4 = almost all the time)
c. Give an examples of things that happen that support your evaluation
d. Give your overall opinion, based on your scoring and evidence

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 5 TRAINEE'S BOOK 41

 UNIT 6
NAMES Feedback
Progress, AND COUNTRIES
and Assessment

Identify different assessment methods

BY THE END
OF THIS UNIT
Explain assessment methods in different contexts, including initial assessment
TRAINEES CAN Explain and demonstrate good practice in giving feedback
Explain the need for record keeping in relation to progress and assessment

A. What is assessment?

KEY WORDS
Test (n): A ‘short’ set of questions or Constructive (adj): helpful
exercises to determine a person’s skill or Exam (n): A ‘longer’ set of questions or
knowledge exercises to determine a person’s skill or
Peers (n): people who are equal knowledge, completed in a formal setting

There are three kinds of assessment: assessment at the start of the course (or unit); assessment
during the course (or unit), and assessment at the end of the course (or unit).
Assessment at the start of the course tells teachers and students how much the student
already knows and understands. Knowing the student’s starting point helps teachers with their
lesson planning. Assessment during the course tells students how they are progressing in their
learning, and what they need to do to improve. Assessment at the end of the course shows
whether students have achieved their learning objectives.
Learning objectives tell students where they are going. Assessment tells students how far they
have got along the way. When learning objectives are clear and specific, this helps students to
know how far they have achieved them.

Methods of assessment
1. Which of these classroom activities can be used for assessment?
a. questions b. tests c. practical work d. essays
e. observation f. roleplaying g. exams h. student presentations

2. Below are eight learning objectives. Discuss in pairs and decide which one or
two of the methods of assessment above work best with these objectives:
a. Students can ask and answer simple questions about themselves in English
b. Students can remember important dates in history
c. Students can sew a simple shoulder bag with a pocket
d. Students can explain why angles in an equilateral triangle are 60 degrees
e. Students can analyse the strengths and weaknesses of three world leaders
f. Students are able to describe survey activities and explain the results
g. Students are able to achieve a first aid qualification
h. Students are able to plant a tree
42 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 5 TRAINEE'S BOOK
 3. In pairs, discuss which of these methods of assessment can be used:
a. at the start of a course   b.  during the course   c.  at the end of the course

B. At the start: Initial assessment

When you have a new group of students, you need to find out a bit about them, so that you
know what difficulties they may have, and can plan to meet the needs of all your students. Initial
assessment is one way in which you can analyse needs. Needs analysis is the first stage of the
teaching cycle.
Early on in the course, it is a good idea to find out some starting points in three areas:
• How good students’ knowledge, understanding and skills are in the subject you are teaching
• How good their key skills are – this means the skills of reading, writing and study skills
• If they have any additional needs arising from their personal situation (see Unit 3)
However, you don’t want to overload them with different tests and questionnaires at the same
time as you are getting to know them. It is good practice to use different approaches, over the
first couple of weeks, to build up a picture.
It is good to use a mix of formal methods such as tests, and informal methods such as discussion.
Asking students to assess themselves gives useful information, too.

Initial assessment case studies

1. In groups, read one of the case studies below.
a. Read the first part of your case study (A1, B1 or C1), and discuss the question.
b. Write down your ideas and report back to the class.
c. Read the second part (A2, B2 or C2) and discuss the questions.
d. Write down your ideas, and discuss them as a class.

CASE STUDY A
A maths teacher is going to start teaching simultaneous equations. She knows all her students need to be very
confident in working with linear equations before they can solve simultaneous equations.
What does she do as an initial assessment ?

CASE STUDY B
After three weeks, a Grade 1 teacher begins to worry about three children in her class. Than Naing has no energy,
and is very thin. Soe Soe seems to have too much energy and is always demanding her attention. Kyaw Kyaw is
slow to respond to instructions, and seems to be in a world of his own. The teacher wants to find out more about
these children’s needs.
What does she do as an initial assessment ?

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 6 TRAINEE'S BOOK 43

 B. During the course: Assessment for learning
Many teachers assess progress by using tests, but test marks only tell the student what they
got right or wrong. They don’t show the student what they need to do to improve. During the
course, most assessment should give feedback to students to help them learn, correct mistakes,
and improve. This is assessment for learning or formative assessment. Let’s look at some ways in
which assessment can help students improve.

Self-assessment: How am I doing?

1. In the chart below are two learning objectives for Unit 4 Planning.
a. Think about your understanding and practice in these two areas: What can
you do? What are your areas for further learning and practice?
b. Complete the chart to show what you can do, and what you need to improve.

TRAINEE’S LEARNING OBJECTIVE CAN DO TO IMPROVE

Plan a course outline which
- covers all the material in the
time given
- plans for a variety of different ways of learning

Plan a lesson which

- has clear, specific and realistic learning objective(s)
- covers the stages of the lesson
- meets the needs of all learners in the group
- uses a variety of teaching and learning methods to
support student learning

Reflection like this is a type of self-assessment. Self-assessment helps students think about
what they are good at and what they need more practice at. The areas for improvement can
be discussed with the teacher. After the discussion, the areas for improvement can be used as
personal targets for the student. Personal targets:
• Help the student focus on what they need to do to improve
• Help the teacher meet individual student needs.

Peer assessment: How are we doing?

Peer assessment is when students comment on each other’s work. Peer assessment helps all the
students involved to understand what ‘good work’ means. Think about student A and student B
commenting on each other’s work.
• When student A tells student B what is good or what could be improved, student A learns
to see what is good, and explains it to someone else. Explaining things to someone else is a
good way of strengthening your own understanding.
• Both students get to see examples of someone else’s work, and can compare what they have
done with what someone else has done. Student A and student B have different strengths, so
each one learns from the other.
Students should only make helpful comments on each other’s work. The coming section on
constructive feedback will help you make useful comments to your peers – and also, as a teacher,
to your students.

44 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 6 TRAINEE'S BOOK

 Feedback: How are you doing?
Feedback is when people comment on the student’s work. Students can learn a lot about their
progress through regular constructive feedback from their teacher. Constructive feedback means
feedback that helps the student improve. Constructive
feedback: The Feedback Loop
• Gives specific examples of what is good in the practise
student’s work
• Gives specific advice about what the student needs
to do to improve
• Involves the student in thinking about what to do understand feedback
to improve
Although feedback should tell students what they
need to do to improve, it should never be completely new practice fix mistakes
negative, since this is demotivating.

Giving constructive feedback

2. Work in pairs with a new partner.
a. Look at the feedback sentences in the chart. In column 2, tick those which
are constructive, and cross those that are not.
b. In column 3, explain why the feedback is constructive or not.
c. When you have finished, swap your answers with another pair, and give each
other constructive feedback on this exercise.
d. Report back on your discussions.

Feedback ü or ✗ Explanation

1. That’s not right. Do it again.

2. You did a good job there.

3. Not again! You’ve made the same mistake as

before.

4. That’s awful. You’ve put the items in the wrong

order.

5. No that’s wrong. We’ve got a deadline to meet. Do

it again, quickly.

6. Well done.

7. Good - you’ve covered all the main points here.

However, the structure of the essay is a bit
confused. How can we fix that?

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 6 TRAINEE'S BOOK 45

 Marking
Formative assessment is part of the process of learning. It can also be a measure of achievement
of learning objectives along the way. When a teacher plans to use an assessment as a measure of
achievement, they will mark that assessment, usually using one of two main methods:
1. The two-point scale
This is often used when there is a clear definition of what the student needs to be able to do
(their learning objectives), and several skills are involved, e.g. presentations, project reports, or
practical skills such as mechanics. Students who do not pass the first time are given specific
feedback on what they need to do to improve, and given time to make the changes. Written
feedback is better so that students can refer to it when reviewing or redoing the work.

more work needed pass - can do

2. Grading using a scale: marks out of 10, 20, 100, etc. or grades A±, B±, C±, etc.

The pass mark for number-based grades will depend on the subject and the type of assessment.
Number-based grades are particularly useful when assessments are based on right/wrong
answers, but they are also used for other kinds of work – for example, a project has 20 marks: 5
for research; 5 for reporting; 5 for analysis; 5 for presentation. Letter-based grades are often used
for assessments where very precise marks are not helpful, for example essays or creative work.
When using letter-based grades it is common to have 3-5 letters for a pass.

E - fail   D - fail     C - pass B - pass   A - pass

3. Discuss:
a. In one school, the pass mark for multiple-choice tests is 70%, and the pass
mark for writing an essay is 40%. Why do you think this is?
b. Compare the two-point scale with the grading scale. What are the strengths
and weaknesses of each method? Which method do you prefer?

Keeping records
4. Reflect: Why keep records of student assessments? Note down 2-3 reasons.
Share with a partner.

5. In small groups, design a form for keeping track of results of assessments for a
class. If possible, use a computer: word-processing or spreadsheet software.
a. What information should it have on it? Make a list. Make it simple so it is
easy to see the information you need.
b. Swap with another group and look at each other’s. Give feedback.
c. Are there any improvements you can make to your design?
d. Discuss your designs with the class or group.
e. Keep a record of your group’s final design.

46 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 6 TRAINEE'S BOOK

 Design an assessment task
6. In groups, design a simple assessment activity using cue cards. For ideas on
using cue cards, see Methods File: Charts and Organisers. Options:
a. an assessment in your subject area
b. prompts for a conversation in English, e.g. ordering a meal
c. matching vocabulary with meanings
d. answering the question, ‘Why is a dog a mammal?’

7. Test your assessment activity out on another group. Each group delivers one
assessment task and completes one assessment task.
After testing your assessment activity, evaluate, and see how it can be
improved.

D. End of course: Summative assessment

End of course or summative assessment measures the student’s learning as a result of the whole
course. In order to be fair to all students, you should use a mix of assessment methods to show
whether the learning objectives have been achieved.
In some schools, student work that is done during the year counts towards the final assessment.
This is called continuous assessment. This is good practice. It means that student success
depends on all the work they have done, not just a three hour exam. In some places, the work
students have done during the year (course work) counts for 60% of the final result, and end of
year exams count for 40%.

EXAMS
If exams are one of the methods of assessment used by the school, then you need to give
students practise in this method before they sit final exams. The skills needed to do well in
exams are:
Reading the instructions: It is easy to make mistakes in an exam by not reading the
questions carefully enough.
Memory: Depending on the subject, students may need to remember facts, examples, and
how to do things (like maths calculations). Techniques for revision like summarising, making
brief notes or drawing mind-maps often have to be taught.
Familiarity: Students should be familiar with the form of the exam. It is not fair to ask
students to write an essay if they have not had practice, or to give them a case study if they
have never done one before.
Keeping to time: Managing the time is a skill that needs to be practised. Students have to
work faster in an exam than when they are learning.
Most of these skills can be practised by giving students past papers as part of their
exam preparation.

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 6 TRAINEE'S BOOK 47

Assessment policy
1. In subject groups, make recommendations for end of course assessment for
your subject.
a. What different methods will you use that are good for your subject?
b. How will you combine the results of the different methods to give an overall
result?

Vocabulary check
2. Write a short definition of these key words.
a. Initial assessment b.  Formative assessment c.  Summative assessment
d. Self-assessment e.  Peer assessment f.  Continuous assessment

E. Summary: Assessment
1. Make a summary of the key learning points in this unit. Make it in the way that
will make most sense for you.
It could be a checklist as for other units:
Point 1…
Point 2…
Or it could be a chart or diagram that shows the key points.

48 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 6 TRAINEE'S BOOK

 UNIT 7
NAMES AND COUNTRIES
Resources

BY THE END OF THIS Map available resources for your subject area
UNIT TRAINEES CAN Make creative use of limited resources in your subject area

A. Research Project on Resources

KEY WORDS
Resources (n): things that help teaching; teaching aids
Materials (n): teaching aids such as coursebook, map, DVDs, library books, stationary
Equipment (n): teaching aids such as whiteboard. photocopier, computer

To make learning interesting to the students, it is useful to have a range of resources. A lot
of schools have very few resources, and very little money to buy new equipment or learning
materials. This means that teachers have to make the most of what they have got.
Work in groups of 4-6 to find out about resources. Each group member should focus on a different
area: space, equipment, materials, library, people, computers.
This research project on resources has four stages. Here is a summary of the stages.
1. Collect information 2. Summarise information 3. Analyse information 4. Present findings

Collect information
1. Think about your experience in your last school. How many people had to share
a textbook? Do students have access to computers? How often?
a. Make a checklist you can use to collect information.
b. Talk to a teacher about the resources they have in the school.
If you do not yet teach, try to talk to a teacher who teaches the subject you are
planning to teach at the level or grade that you plan to teach. There is an example
checklist on the next page.

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 6 TRAINEE'S BOOK 49

 RE S OU RCE DETA IL S NO T ES
CLASSROOM
none
tables and seats fixed tables and chairs
moveable tables and chairs
black/whiteboard
boards
can students use it?
none
wall display maps, posters
student work
none
electricity sometimes
reliable
EQUIPMENT
can students listen to audio?
audio/visual
can students watch film?
how many?
can students use them?
computers
internet?
multimedia learning resources?
e.g. science equipment for
Subject-specific science classes, toys for young
students, etc.
MATERIALS
teacher has only copy
coursebook students share copies
students have own copies
e.g. English language listening
supplementary
materials for English class
does teacher have enough?
stationary
do students have enough?
LIBRARY
how many books?
books do students borrow books?
are the books useful?
encyclopedias, dictionaries,
reference material
atlases, etc.
PEOPLE
other teachers
students as resource people
people from community

Add or adapt this checklist for the class you are describing. To find out how the resources are
used, ask one or two more questions. Some examples are given in the checklist, and you should
also ask one or two questions of your own. Write other useful information in the notes column.

50 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 7 TRAINEE'S BOOK

 Summarise information
2. Make a mind-map of what you found out. You should have at least 2-3 points for
each topic. One example (for ‘materials’) is given.

space
people

materials
resources

library all students have

a textbook
computers equipment

Analyse information
3.
a. Decide on the key points from your summary.
b. Decide how good the resources are for the subject and level/grade.
c. Decide which is the biggest resource difficulty the school will have to deal with.

Present findings
4. Plan a short presentation. There will not be time to say everything you found
out, so you will have to choose the information carefully.
a. Show your mind map
b. Summarise key points
c. Evaluate how good the resources are in this school for your subject
d. Explain which is the biggest resource difficulty

Reflect
5. Reflect and discuss in groups or as a class. What have you learned from doing
this research activity?

B. Making the most of limited resources

Research as a resource
In this section you will explore different
ways of making the most of limited
resources. The trainer will set up four
different activities in different parts of
the classroom. The topic of the activity
is Using Research as a Resource.

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 7 TRAINEE'S BOOK 51

 1. Work in four groups. Each group will start with one of the four activities. Each
group has 10 minutes to complete the activity, and then moves on.

2. Report back to the class. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this
technique as a teaching method.

C. Making the most of a textbook

Compare and contrast

Work in groups of 3-4. Each group should have at least one copy of two different
textbooks for the same subject. Compare the approaches in the two textbooks, and
think about these questions and present your group’s ideas in class discussion:
• In what ways are they similar to each other?
• In what ways are they are different from each other ?
• What do you like about each?
• What do you dislike about each?
• Which is more motivating/interesting and why?
• Which is the better resource for learning and why?
2. Case studies in problem solving. In pairs, discuss the situations below. Suggest
some active teaching and learning strategies these teachers could use.
a.
I only have one
geography textbook for the whole e.
This is the science
class, so I read it out loud. Students book I had in school. I am a very
write it down in their notebooks, experienced teacher. It was good enough for
and then learn it. me, so it is good
enough for them.
b.
The English in the
textbook is much too difficult for f.
the students. I tell them to read it for I think I use active methods.
homework so that they can look up the When the students have read the
words in the dictionary. unit, I ask them questions to test their
understanding.
c.
The students read g.
through the 9th standard The 6th standard
history textbook unit on their science book gives information
own in class. Then they write the with drawings, but there are no
answers to the questions at the questions. I make up questions about the
end of the unit. Then I information for the exam to test what
mark them. students remember.

d.
I have an English coursebook but h.
To teach students how
no audio. The text of the audio is only in the
to draw a hand, I copy a drawing onto the
teacher’s book, so we have to miss out the
whiteboard, and the students
listening exercises.
copy my drawing.

52 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 7 TRAINEE'S BOOK

D. Make your own learning activity

Active learning
1. Think of a textbook you have used, or plan to use when you teach. This could be
from Myanmar or another country. Discuss:
• Does this textbook promote active learning?
• If not, what can you do to make learning more active?

2. In pairs, use active learning methods to make the most of limited resources.
a. Choose a topic from a textbook.
b. Choose a suitable active method to teach the topic, e.g. questioning, group or
pair work, roleplay, categorising, sequencing, survey, field work, creative project.
For more information, look up your chosen activity in the Methods File.
c. Plan 5-10 minutes of the lesson: introduce topic; give instructions; start activity.
d. Deliver your lesson to the class.

Practical task: Make a resource

1. Work in pairs or groups of people who teach the same subject and level. Make a
teaching resource you can use in your classes.
a. Think about the different ways you can use word or picture cards.
b. Decide on the learning objective.
c. Make an activity or game to teach the objective, using word or picture cards.
Here are a few ideas, but use your own ideas for your own subject if possible.
• Make a map with cards to label countries, states, main physical features, etc.
• Make roleplay prompts for language practice, e.g. a menu and picture cards
of food for practising ordering a meal
• Make cards to match words and meanings
For other uses of word cards, see Methods File: Charts and Organisers.

SUMMARY: RESOURCES
• When you have limited resources, you have to make the most of what you’ve got.
• Share resources through workstations.
• Share resources though group work.
• Use research as a resource. Notice that you have resources all around you – outside; other
people; maybe a library in the school.
• Use active learning methods as a resource.
• Make your own resources for activities.

E. Assessment
1. Read Methods File D: Charts and Organisers. Make a chart or mind-map showing:
a. categorising b. ordering and ranking c. processes

2. Write down ways you can use these methods in teaching your subject. Be
specific. Write at least two ideas for each of a, b, and c.

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 7 TRAINEE'S BOOK 53

 UNIT 8
NAMES
Group AND COUNTRIES
work

BY THE END OF THIS Explain the uses of group work

UNIT TRAINEES CAN Apply them to your teaching

We learned in Units 2 and 3 that students:

• learn better when they are active
• are more motivated when they are active
• learn better and are more motivated when the learning is linked to real life
In Unit 4 we learned that teachers:
• need to be clear about what they are teaching and why (learning objectives)
• need to set tasks and questions that help students think about, and make sense of, what they
are learning
Teachers and students work together. The teacher sets tasks and activities which guide student
learning, discovery and thinking. Thinking develops understanding. One of the ways in which
learning is made active, interesting and motivating is working in groups.

A. Using group work

Examples of group work

1. In this section you will identify examples of group work used in this course, and
then analyse the advantages and disadvantages of group work.
Review: As a class, discuss which of these methods we have used in this course.
Complete the chart together on the board.

GROUPING USED? EXAMPLE

Individual

Pair

Small group
(3-4)

Large group (5+)

Whole class

54 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 7 TRAINEE'S BOOK

 2. In groups, trainees copy the chart and complete it again with their own ideas.
Each group presents a section of their chart to the class, and discusses points of
interest. Keep your own record of advantages and disadvantages for each grouping.

GROUPING USED? EXAMPLE

Individual

Pair

Small group
(3-4)

Large group (5+)

Whole class

B. Setting and managing group work tasks

In this section you will learn about organising and classifying information to make sense and be
useful. You will do this by designing a diagram to show the information in a clear way. For more
information on this, see Methods File D: Charts and Organisers.

Good practice
1. Look at this checklist of good practice points for setting and managing a group
work activity. The points are in mixed order. In groups of three, order the points.
There is more than one correct answer.
Prepare materials Visit each group and check understanding
Give an example Add missing learning points
Summarize the learning Put students in groups
Students make a note of key points Ask if there are any questions
Know what you want students to learn Set a realistic time limit
Plan the activity Visit each group and check progress
Give advice if needed or asked Groups report back
Give clear step-by-step instructions Decide how groups are going to report back

2. Put the points into categories. An example of a category is ‘planning’ or

‘preparation’. Make a diagram that shows the order and the categories.

3. Go around the class and look at other groups’ diagrams. Use this information to
improve your own diagram. Make your own record of your group’s final diagram.

4. Discuss:
a. Why is the order (sequence) important?
b. How do categories help?

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 8 TRAINEE'S BOOK 55

C. Forming groups
Pairs or groups?
Forming groups is part of the skill of using group work. Here are some different ways you
can form pairs or groups.
Guidance for working in pairs:
a. Choose a partner.
b. Work with someone you haven’t worked with yet (or today, or this week).
c. Move on to another person./Talk to three different people.
d. Pyramid: After pair work, combine two or more pairs to do group work.
Guidance for working in groups:
e. Get into groups of 4 or 5 – people choose their own group.
f. Number round the room, e.g. 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3. People with the same number work
together.
g. All people sitting on the left/wearing green/whose name starts with A-E, etc.
h. Teacher groups people of the same ability level together.
i. Teacher groups people of different ability levels together.
j. Pyramid: Two small groups combine to form a large group.

Practice forming groups and pairs

1. For each situation below, choose at least two ways of forming pairs or groups from the
sections above, or use any other ideas you have. Explain to the class why these approaches
will help with this situation.
1. More than half the students in your class do not speak in class discussion.
2. Some students find the level of the work difficult.
3. When you ask students to work together, they always work in the same groups.
4. Three students dominate class discussion.
5. You’re afraid that group work takes too much time.
6. You know that one or two students tend to be left out of social groups in the class.
7. Some students are bored. You think the work might be too easy for them.
8. Four students always sit together at the back of the class and don’t pay attention.

2. Think of another situation where group work is useful. Tell your partner about it.

D. Research: Reporting back from group work

Reporting skills
1. Reporting back from pair and group work is an important part of the learning
process. Think about the reporting back you have done in this course.
a. Why is it useful?
b. What skills have you been practising when you have reported back?

56 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 8 TRAINEE'S BOOK

 2. Teach each other. Work in six groups. Each group has one of the cards below.
Research your topic, and prepare how you will report back. Make your reporting
back an example of good practice.

Topic 1: Why report back from group work? Topic 2: What is good reporting back?
a. Brainstorm a. Brainstorm
b. To find out more, read the next page b. To find out more, read the next page
c. Summarise the main points c. Summarise the main points
d. Plan to report back – use questioning d. Plan to report back – use a diagram
techniques See Methods File C: Charts and organisers
See Methods File B: Why ask questions?

Topic 3: Verbal methods Topic 4: Visual methods

a. Brainstorm a. Brainstorm
b. To find out more, read about explanation in b. To find out more, read about Charts and
Methods File A: Teacher explanation organisers in the Methods File D.
c. Summarise the main points c. Summarise the main points
d. Plan to report back – use a verbal d. Plan to report back – use a visual method
method

Topic 5: Action methods Topic 6: The role of the teacher

a. Brainstorm a. Brainstorm
b. To find out more, read Methods File E: b. To find out more, read the next page
Action methods in the classroom c. Summarise the main points
c. Summarise the main points d. Plan to report back – use a process chart
d. Plan to report back – use an action method See Methods File C: Charts and organisers

Reflect
3. Have you reported back from group work yet? If not, think about doing so next
time there is a group exercise. Have you reported back for your group several times
when others have not reported back at all? If so, suggest one of your classmates to
report back next time.

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 8 TRAINEE'S BOOK 57

GUIDELINES ON REPORTING BACK
Why report back from group work?
• Information and thinking is shared in the whole class
• Students develop confidence
• Students practise speaking skills
• Teacher checks understanding
• Teacher can ask further questions to develop whole-class discussion
• Teacher can add information
• Teacher can summarise learning points so students know what they have learned
For information on questioning techniques, see Methods File: Why Ask Questions?
What is good reporting back?
• Summarises key points or main arguments
• Does not include everything everybody said in discussion
• Well-organised (order, headings or categories, charts)
• Has visual support, e.g. board, newsprint, diagrams, demonstration
• Shows the group’s opinion does not express only the reporter’s opinion
• For information on speaking techniques, see Methods File: Teacher Explanation.
The role of the teacher in reporting back
a. Manage reporting back time:
• Set and keep to time-limits, e.g. 2 minutes for each group
• Ask for 1-3 key points from each group (not everything they discussed)
• After the first group has reported, ask other groups only to report new points that have not
already been made
• Teach each other – give different groups different tasks so each group’s reporting back is
different.
b. Make sure every student reports back sometimes.
• Keep a record of who has done verbal reporting back as you go along
• When you ask for the group’s report, say which student is to give it
• Choose someone who hasn’t done it before, or someone who hasn’t done it recently
c. Confirm learning and understanding
• Ask more questions if needed
• Add more information if needed
• Summarise learning points
For information on organising diagrams, see Methods File: Charts and organisers.

reporting back.
Class discussion is a kind of
k ca n pr ep ar e st ud en ts fo r class discussion.
Group wor

58 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 8 TRAINEE'S BOOK

 E. Design a group work activity
You are going to teach the topic ‘Forests’ to a Standard 8 class. Your resources are
the reading passage in Unit 4, your students and yourself. Your learning objectives
are that students will be able to:
• Analyse the main problems with logging
• Present this analysis in an organised way

1. In small groups, design a pair or group work activity that will help students
achieve the learning objectives. Read Methods File G: Group work, and D: Charts and
organisers for ideas.
2. Present your activity to the class.
3. The class votes for the activity idea that best meets the learning objectives.

SUMMARY: GROUP WORK

• Group work is active
• It involves thinking about and making sense of new information
• It is a form of guided discovery with tasks set by the teacher
• It allows thinking or preparation time
• Students learn from each other
• Shy students are more likely to say something in pairs or groups
• Teacher can summarise and ensure that learning points are understood.

F. Practical task: Observation 4

1. Observe an experienced teacher in class for 45 minutes to an hour. Before you
observe, make a larger version of this chart:

Strengths and
Time Teacher does Students do
weaknesses

While observing the class, make a note in your chart of:

1. time spent on each activity 3. what the teacher does
2. what the students do 4. strengths/weaknesses of each part of the lesson

2. After the class, analyse the lesson by looking at the information on your chart.
What makes a good lesson? Think about the good and bad parts of the lessons you
have observed. Make a good practice checklist.

Assessment
Write a short paragraph about a real classroom situation where some students do not
participate. This can be a class you teach, or attend, now or in the past. Describe the situation,
then choose two or more ways of forming pairs or groups to help with the situation, and explain
why you have chosen these methods. Which would you use first, and which later, and why?

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 8 TRAINEE'S BOOK 59

 UNIT 9
NAMES AND
Classroom COUNTRIES
management

BY THE END OF THIS Explain the principles of classroom management

UNIT TRAINEES CAN Use a range of strategies to manage the classroom

A. What is classroom management?

Spot the difference
1. As a class, discuss the differences between the two pictures. Think about your
own classroom experience: what makes students work well?

Good classroom management creates a classroom in which students work well and learning takes
place. The basis for a well-managed classroom is that all students are interested and motivated.
Most of this course has shown ways of doing this. We have seen that the teacher makes lessons
interesting by giving a variety of learning activities; making sure that work is not too difficult or
too easy; making sure that every student has something to do the whole time whether they are
quicker or slower; and making learning meaningful by linking it to existing knowledge and real
life. To be able to do this, the teacher has to plan their classes well, and be well-organised.
However, the teacher also needs to have a positive relationship with the students, and maintain
classroom discipline. How can they do this? We learned in Unit 1 that a good teacher is positive,
and interested in all the students. This is shown in their behaviour in class which is fair and
patient. The teacher praises effort and good work. What else do they need to do?

60 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 9 TRAINEE'S BOOK

 B. Techniques
Classroom skills
1. The trainer will demonstrate poor and good classroom skills. Make notes of good
practice under the following headings. If you practise, you will soon do these things
automatically.
• Getting student attention – silence to start
• Voice
• Eye contact
• Walking round the class
• Using the board

2. Discuss and make a class list.

3. Do Supplementary Activity A: Teacher presentation.

Class rules – basic discipline

It is a good idea when making basic class rules to ask students what ideas they have. This means they
think about what would make the classroom work well for learning. Some of their ideas may be helpful.
The final list should not be too long, and should include some student ideas. Once you have made a list
you need to make sure all students keep the rules.

4. What rules do you want? Look at this list of rules. Do you agree or disagree with
these rules? In pairs, decide which of these class rules would be helpful to you as a
teacher and students as learners. You can write your own extra rules too.
• Silence at all times
• No speaking when the teacher is talking to the whole class
• No interruptions when other students are speaking
• Put up your hand before speaking
• Don’t put up your hand (the no hands rule) – the teacher will choose someone
to speak
• No moving about the classroom
• Students can move round the classroom for group work
• No food and drink in the classroom
• No telephones
• Don’t ask questions
• Give your homework in on time
• Give your homework in on the same agreed day every week (e.g. Thursday)
• Be on time for class

5. In groups of 6-8, decide on a list of 5 or 6 class rules you can agree on. They can
be from the list above, or they can be different. The important thing is that they
help both teacher and learners to create a working classroom. Present your list to
the class, explaining why you have made these rules.

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 9 TRAINEE'S BOOK 61

Class plan – know your classroom

It is helpful to make a class plan showing where students sit. This will help you learn the names of a
new group. Knowing students’ names means they feel you are know who they are, and are interested
in them as individuals. Your interest in them and their learning is motivating.

When you have got to know the group, it is useful to make another class plan to help in classroom
management.

It is easy as a teacher to focus on those students who are active and engaged, and to find that all your
teaching is directed to them. But it is important to be aware of all your students. If you ignore quiet
students, or ones that are not working, you will allow classroom management problems to develop.

6. Make a class plan of a real class. It could be one you teach now, or one you are a
student in. Mark the door, the board, and the tables and chairs.
a. Mark where individual students sit.
b. Look at your plan. Where are the quiet spots, where quiet students sit together?
Where are the hot spots where students who are easily distracted sit together?
c. Discuss as a class: What strategies can you use to make sure that these students
participate fully in class?

C. Reward and punishment

1. Students need to be able to work. An undisciplined classroom is not fair to those
who want to learn. How does a teacher ensure that their classroom is disciplined
and hard-working? Make two lists, one for student misbehaviour, and one for
punishments that you have seen or experienced.

2. Make a class list for each topic. Discuss each punishment.

What is good and what is bad about the punishments?
Will the punishment help the student do better next time?

3. In pairs, look at this list of punishments that some teachers have used.
a. Discuss whether each one helps the teacher, the student, the class, or nobody.
b. Are there any that you would not use as a teacher? Why?

4. Have a class discussion about suitable punishments. What do you think of these?
a. stand on one leg for 45 minutes
b. clean the toilet
c. tell the whole class the mistake
d. the student has to jump like a frog for the whole class time
e. pain – stick/pinch/twist ear etc
f. the whole class works in silence
g. stand outside the classroom
h. copy out lines
j. sit at the front of the class
k. stay in classroom at lunch time or after school to do work
l. do extra homework

62 TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 9 TRAINEE'S BOOK

Physical punishment is never acceptable. Physical punishment includes hitting, pinching and making
students do physical exercises for a long time.

Humiliating punishment is not acceptable. Humiliating punishment means making the student look
stupid, especially in front of the class. Humiliating punishments create resistance and rebellion. The
student decides they don’t care what the teacher thinks, and the problem will probably get worse.

A punishment that makes it easier for the class to work without disruption, or for the student to catch
up on work that the rest of the class has completed, is the most effective. Students can understand
the reasons for this, even if they don’t like it. An example is if they have to stay behind after school
to complete late homework. They may even thank you for it when they are older, though you will
probably never know that.

Many studies have shown that reward for good work and good behaviour is more effective at
changing behaviour than punishment. With difficult students you need to find something they
are doing right, and praise that, even if it is something that you expect of all students as standard
behaviour: if it is an improvement on what the student was doing before, then praise it. Praise and
encouragement gives the student the kind of attention they want. In fact, disruptive behaviour is often
called attention-seeking behaviour, because the student feels that any attention is better than none. If
you give students supportive attention, you may not need to use punishment at all.

D. Practice and assessment

Practical task
Find out what the policy is on physical punishment in a school, preferably one in
which you teach or will be teaching.

SUMMARY: CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

• A well-managed classroom helps students work and learn
• Making lessons interesting and motivating is a big part of classroom management
• A positive relationship with students is a part of classroom management
• Basic classroom skills help a teacher manage a classroom
• Class rules help a teacher manage a classroom
• Pay attention to quiet spots and 'hot spots' as well as hard-working students. The teacher
should only use punishments that help classroom management
• Some punishments are not acceptable under any circumstances
• Reward, praise and encouragement are usually more effective than punishment in
changing behaviour

Assessment
Choose one summary point and write a short paragraph explaining what it means
and how you do it. Give examples if you can.

TEACHING SKILLS UNIT 9 TRAINEE'S BOOK 63

 ASSESSMENT
NAMES
End ANDassessment
of course COUNTRIES
The end of course assessment measures output. It is partly continuous assessment, and
partly demonstrating your teaching skills.

A. Continuous assessment
Assessment: Demonstrate your knowledge and understanding through the unit
assessments.

End of unit assessments during the course may contribute to your final assessment.

B. Plan and teach a lesson

Assessment: Demonstrate your teaching skills in practise

1. Plan and teach a 30 minute lesson. This can be in a classroom setting, or it can be a
lesson taught to the students in your training class. Plan the lesson for the subject
and level you teach or plan to teach.

2. The assessment will use an agreed checklist of good practice, so that you know
what the assessment standards are.

3. The trainer will observe your lesson and assess it using the checklist. Give the
trainer a copy of your lesson plan at the start of the lesson.

4. Your lesson will be assessed on the two-point scale, so that if more work is needed
you can improve the areas for improvement, and do the assessment again when
you feel ready for it.

more work needed pass - can do

64 TEACHING SKILLS ASSESSMENT TRAINEE’S BOOK

 ACTIVITIES
NAMES AND
Supplementary COUNTRIES
activities to practise teaching methods

A. Teacher presentation
Read the good practice guidelines on Teacher presentation in the Methods File before
you do this activity. Prepare and give a five minute talk. Do this as a class, or in groups of
about five.
a. Each trainee prepares a five minute talk on a topic they are going to teach.
b. Each gives their talk in turn. The other students in the group listen. Each listener has
a different focus (A-D below).
c. At the end of the talk, the presenter says what they did well and not so well.
d. Listeners give feedback on their focus – one thing done well, one area for
improvement.
e. Listeners change their focus for each talk (Listener A in talk 1 becomes Listener B
in talk 2, etc.)
Listener A: Listen and watch for communication skills
Listener B: Listen and watch for content skills
Listener C: Listen and watch for student involvement skills
Listener D: Listen and pick out what you liked best about the talk. This
might be one of  the elements on the checklist, or it might be something
else, like humour.

B. Asking questions: Open and closed questions

Read the guidelines on Open and closed questions in the Methods File before you do
these activities.

1. What’s the difference between these questions?

a. What are the 4 reasons for…? b. What are the main reasons
for…?
What are the four reasons for…?

What are the main reasons for…?

2. Make these closed questions into open questions.

closed questions open questions
1.  Is a dolphin a fish? How do we know that a dolphin is not a fish?
2.  Do trees store carbon dioxide?
3.  When did Myanmar get independence?
4.  I _____ playing football. (like/likes)
5.  True or false? Bananas are vegetables.
6.  How many countries are in ASEAN?

TEACHING SKILLS ACTIVITIES TRAINEE'S BOOK 65

 C. Charts and organisers

Read Methods File D: Charts and Organisers before you do these activities.

1. Find examples of these teaching methods in this book.

a. Categorising b.  Timelines and sequencing c.  Process diagrams

D. Action methods: Roleplay

In groups, write a lesson plan for a roleplay using the cue cards below. The context is a
meeting about whether a school should make students wear uniforms.
Should school uniforms be compulsory?

You are chairing the meeting. Your job is to You are the head teacher of the school. You
make sure everyone gets a chance to speak. want all students to wear uniforms, because
it makes the school look smarter when visitors
come.

You are a parent. You don’t have a lot of You are a standard 6 and 7 history teacher. You
money, and you already have to pay for think that uniforms will make the students feel
school fees, books and other activities. You more proud of their school, and want to work
don‘t want to pay for uniforms. harder.

You are a standard 5 science teacher. You You are the owner of a clothes shop. You hope
don’t like uniforms because you think they to get the contract to supply uniforms to the
encourage people to act and think the same, school. You can get them a good deal, so they
rather than be individuals. don’t have to pay much.

You are an eight year old girl student. You You are a fourteen year old boy student. The
don’t want to wear a uniform, because they other students sometimes tease you because
are not comfortable when you play. You your clothes are ugly. You want to wear a
can’t run and jump easily in the uniform. uniform because all students will dress the
same.

66 TEACHING SKILLS ACTIVITIES TRAINEE’S BOOK

 EXTRA!
NAMESreading
Additional AND COUNTRIES
and research

Unit 2. How we learn

Multiple intelligences – Howard Gardner

Education specialists continue to research how we learn, and develop theories from their
research. In the 1980s, Howard Gardner, a professor of Education, published his ideas about
multiple intelligences. He identified 8 kinds of intelligence, which show what we are good at, and
what interests us. Everyone has a mix of these areas, but will be stronger in some than in others.
Teaching that makes use of these different intelligences will help students learn. This chart gives
a summary of the intelligences identified by Gardner.

INTELLIGENCE STRENGTHS LIKES LEARNING EXAMPLE CAREER

TYPE WITH
language communicate through words writer, journalist,
language lawyer, administrator

mathematical/logical understand abstract numbers and logic accountant, computer

relationships programmer, scientist
visual/space use visual information pictures artist, architect, web
designer
kinaesthetic/body physical movement physical experience builder, driver, dentist,
and co-ordination doctor, craftsperson
musical communicate through music musician, song writer
sound and music
interpersonal understand other social experience teacher, manager,
people’s feelings community worker
intrapersonal reflect and self-reflection social worker,
understand self counsellor
natural understand the experience in natural farmer, gardener,
environment world environmentalist

1. What VAK preference might these intelligences have?

2. Which intelligences are your strongest?

TEACHING SKILLS EXTRA TRAINEE'S BOOK 67

 Unit 3. Equality in the classroom
Maslow’s theory of motivation
Abraham Maslow’s theory is that people are motivated by their needs. The needs are at different
levels as shown in the diagram: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The lower need has to be met first.
If someone does not have enough to eat, their need to find something to eat (survival level) will
be stronger than their need for approval from others (esteem level).
In school, many of the survival and safety needs are met for students, so the social and esteem
levels of need become the main motivators.
One important type of esteem is self-esteem, and this is developed by being valued by others.
So in the classroom, praise for success contributes to self-esteem, and becomes a motivator for
learning.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Self-actualisation:  becoming the best you can be; making

Self-actualisation a contribution to the world.
Esteem needs:  self-respect and self-confidence;
Esteem needs appreciation by others
Social needs:  family; friendship; belonging to a group;
Social needs acceptance by group
Safety needs:  feeling physically and emotionally safe
Safety needs
Survival needs:  food, water, air, shelter
Survival needs

Unit 3. Equality in the classroom

Bloom’s skill levels apply all through the learning process, and to all subjects. A three year old
child’s favourite question is ‘Why?’, and parents often have great difficulty answering it.
The learning has to be at an appropriate level for the age of the child. If a six year old asks, ‘Why
do some things float and some things sink?’, you are not going to give a technical scientific
explanation. But because teachers should know and understand more than their students, they
are able to guide learning in the right direction, building on what students already know.
Here are two examples which show the application of Bloom’s higher level thinking skills for
younger students.

1. Floating and sinking for 6-7 year olds

Resources needed:
• a bucket of water for each group of 5-6 students
• objects made from different materials, e.g. plastic bottles; cans, bottle tops; coins; different
fruits, paper, rubber balls, pencils, wood, cloth. Each group has at least 6 different objects
• a record sheet with headings: object; guess; 1st try; 2nd try

68 TEACHING SKILLS EXTRA TRAINEE’S BOOK

a) Students guess which objects will float and which will sink (prediction = synthesis of existing
knowledge)
b) Students put each object in the water twice and record findings
c) Discuss findings. Ask questions:
• What do the things that float/sink have in common? (analysis)
• Why do some objects sink and some float? (analysis, synthesis and evaluation)
• Students have begun to discover that size and weight are not the only reasons. Later in
learning they will build on this knowledge to understand the other factors more fully.

2. UK National Curriculum Attainment targets for 10-11 year olds in Science

The extracts describe some of what students in the UK should be able to do by the age of 11 in
sciences:
• Students recognise that scientific ideas are based on evidence (application)
• Where appropriate, they make predictions (synthesis)
• They select information from sources provided for them (application and analysis)
• They begin to plot points to form simple graphs, and use these graphs to point out and
interpret patterns in their data. (application and analysis)
• They begin to relate their conclusions to these patterns and to scientific knowledge and
understanding. (synthesis)
• They suggest improvements in their work, giving reasons. (evaluation)

Unit 5. Planning
Writing learning objectives: Summary

Before we start to teach, we should think about what we are doing and why we are doing it. How
can we make good learning objectives?

“By the end of the class…

• Each learning objective sets a time for the goal. If I want to get to Mandalay by next week, it is
very different than if I need to get there by tomorrow morning. Likewise, the amount of time
you have in your class will change your learning objective, or how much you are able to teach.

…students will be able to…”

• The objective is focused on students doing something. As a result, all learning objectives
should be observable. Observable means that we can easily see if the students are doing
something or not. Good objectives talk about things we can see students doing.

...action verbs: describe, explain, write, demonstrate, etc.
• We use action words in our learning objectives because they are observable – we will be
able to see and assess our students achieving the objective.
• Because the objective is focused on students doing something observable, all learning
objectives include action verbs.
• Verbs to be avoided include: know and understand because they are not observable.

...realistic
• The objective also needs to be realistic and reasonable: How much learning is it reasonable to
expect in the amount of time you have set.

TEACHING SKILLS EXTRA TRAINEE’S BOOK 69

 Review Overview Input Process Output Assessement

Review previous Overview of New Student learning, Use and Determine what
learning upcoming lesson information, skill development demonstration of students have
skills and ideas and practise learning and skills learned

Learning in the classroom

What do teachers and students do at the different stages of the lesson? This summary shows:
• different methods for different stages
• developing student skills through practice
• the teacher’s role

1. INPUT: Ways of presenting new information:

a. Teacher presents or demonstrates. See Methods File A: Teacher Explanation
b. Students read/look at/listen to/research some material
c. Teacher asks questions – students contribute what they already know – then the teacher
builds on that.

2. PROCESS: Ways of practising, learning, remembering and using:

Student practice of new learning starts with controlled exercises. Later they can use the new
learning in more free, independent ways. This can be individual, pairs, or groups.

high control medium control low control

a. high control: students do exercises with a single right answer (knowledge and
understanding), e.g. wh- questions with one correct answer; multiple choice questions; gap-
filling; calculations; reading data off a graph, etc.
Teacher role: walking round classroom checking progress and giving help; correcting and
marking work.
b. medium control: students develop competence: pairs/groups (understanding, application,
analysis), e.g. giving examples; producing own material/questions; discussion; testing each
other; case studies; roleplay.
Teacher role: walk round classroom giving help; facilitate groups; manage classroom;
formative assessment.

3. OUTPUT: Ways of using learning

c. low control/free: higher level tasks: students use new skills and knowledge more
independently: (analysis, synthesis, creativity and evaluation), e.g. students write or speak
in their own words or demonstrate their skills in practice – presentations; paragraphs; essay,
speeches; using vocational skills.
Teacher role: feedback; formative assessment.

70 TEACHING SKILLS EXTRA! TRAINEE’S BOOK

Standards: Teaching and learning
From Interagency Network on Emergency Education (INEE) Minimum Standards:

STANDARD EVIDENCE
1: Curricula • Curricula, textbooks and supplementary materials are appropriate to the age,
Culturally, socially developmental level, language, culture, capacities and needs of learners.
and linguistically • Curricula, textbooks and supplementary materials cover the core
relevant curricula competencies of basic education including literacy, numeracy, early learning,
are used to provide life skills, health and hygiene practices.
formal and non- • Curricula address the psychosocial well-being and protection needs of learners.
formal education, • Learning content, materials and instruction are provided in the language(s) of
appropriate to the the learners.
particular context • Curricula, textbooks and supplementary materials are gender-sensitive,
and needs of recognise diversity, prevent discrimination and promote respect for all learners.
learners
2: Training, • Training opportunities are available to male and female teachers and other
Professional educational personnel, according to needs.
Development and • Training is appropriate to the context and reflects learning objectives and
Support content.
Teachers and other • Training is recognised and approved by relevant education authorities.
education personnel • Qualified trainers conduct training courses that complement in-service
receive periodic, training, support, guidance, monitoring and classroom supervision.
relevant and • Through training and ongoing support, teachers become effective
structured training facilitators in the learning environment, using participatory methods of
according to needs teaching and teaching aids.
and circumstances. • Training includes knowledge and skills for formal and non-formal curricula,
including hazard awareness, disaster risk reduction and conflict prevention.
3: Instruction • Teaching methods are appropriate to the age, developmental level,
Instruction is language, culture, capacities and needs of learners.
learner-centred, • Teachers demonstrate an understanding of lesson content and teaching
participatory and skills in their interaction with learners.
inclusive. • Instruction addresses the needs of all learners, including those with
disabilities, by promoting inclusiveness and reducing barriers to learning.
• Parents and community leaders understand and accept the learning content
and teaching methods used.
4: Assessment of • Continuous assessment and evaluation of learners’ progress towards
Learning Outcomes established objectives inform teaching methods.
Appropriate methods • Learner achievement is recognized and credits or course completion
are used to evaluate documents are provided accordingly.
and validate learning • Graduates of technical and vocational programmes are assessed to gauge the
outcomes. quality and relevance of the programmes against the changing environment
• Assessment and evaluation methods are considered fair, reliable and non-
threatening to learners.
• Assessments are relevant to learners’ future educational and economic needs.

How far are these standards met in your school (if you have one)?

TEACHING SKILLS EXTRA! TRAINEE’S BOOK 71

 Unit 7. Resources
Research learning materials in your subject and level.
• If you have internet access, try one or more of these websites.
• http://www.primaryresources.co.uk (resources for primary level only)
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/learning/ (for all ages)
• http://educasia.org/ (for adults only)

If you do not have internet access, check libraries and/or shops for books, DVDs or other materi-
als. Make a list of two or three resources or ideas for learning activities that can work in your class.

Unit 8. Group work

This chart shows a summary of the benefits and limitations of different ways of grouping.

GROUP USE ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES

All groups do the • good preparation for class activity or • some students can
same activity discussion let others do the work
• students can compare answers – teacher needs to
• group answers mean no individual monitor
student gets wrong
Teach each other: • groups doing different parts of a • need good feedback
Members focus on topic are more efficient to make sure ideas are
different parts of text • allows for graded tasks shared
or task, then explain • more topics are covered
to each other
Groups with similar • focus on common interests • students may find it
interests • share knowledge difficult to be creative
Mixed ability group • stronger students can help weaker • stronger students can
• strong learn better by explaining feel frustrated
• weaker ones can feel
stupid
Same ability group • differentiation • weaker students often
• weaker students given easier tasks need to have the skills
• stronger students given more and knowledge to pass
challenging or additional tasks an assessment

72 TEACHING SKILLS EXTRA! TRAINEE’S BOOK

 METHODS FILE
NAMESfor
Strategies AND COUNTRIES
teachers

A. Teacher explanation/presentation
Advantages: Good for giving new information and explaining things
Disadvantages: Does not involve students actively

Good practice guidelines:

Involve students:
-- Set a task at the beginning that students will do at the end of the presentation: this gives
students a focus for their listening.
-- Ask students what they already know: they could spend one minute writing down what they
know, and then you can ask for examples. This gets them thinking about the topic.
-- Link the topic to real life through examples and stories.

Content skills:
-- Organise your talk: use lists or make clear connections between each point
-- Explain: keep it simple; use examples
-- Use visual support, e.g. use the board to organise or summarise your talk
-- Keep it short – 10 minutes is usually plenty!

Communication skills:
-- Make eye contact with the students: this shows that you are speaking to them
-- Move around the classroom: this makes the talk more like a conversation
-- Show your own interest and enthusiasm through your voice
-- Talk clearly – not too fast; loudly enough.

Teachers often talk too much in

class. For students to be active, they
need to be doing most of the talking.

TEACHING SKILLS METHODS FILE TRAINEE’S BOOK 73

 B. Why ask questions?
Advantages: Good for making students think and make meaning
Disadvantages: If not done well, will not engage students. It needs practice

Questions
These are the four stages in using questions:
ask question students think choose someone answer

TECHNIQUE HOW TO DO IT BENEFIT

no hands rule • Students do not raise hands. • Encourages all students to focus
Teacher chooses from whole on the questions as they might
class. be chosen to answer.
wait time • Teacher asks question then waits • Encourages all students to think
for 3 seconds before choosing about the answer.
someone to answer.
write time • Teacher gives students a minute • Everybody gives an answer so
to think about the question and teacher knows who doesn’t
write down their answers or understand.
ideas.
• While students are writing,
teacher walks around and checks.
• Teacher chooses someone to
answer.
discussion time • Students discuss the question in • Promotes engagement and
pairs or small groups. interaction.
• Can be used after write time.

choosing a person • After wait time, write time, or • Everybody has to concentrate –
discussion time, teacher chooses they might be chosen.
someone to answer.

minimum length • Ask a follow-up question to • Develops speaking skills.

answer stronger students:
• ‘That’s interesting. Can you say a
bit more about that?’

whole class answer • With higher level questions, use • Builds a discussion.
follow-up questions to build a • Students make connections
discussion, e.g. and build knowledge and
• ‘Do you agree with that (wait understanding
time) Student A?’ • Students and teacher together
• ‘Can you add anything (wait ‘make meaning’.
time) Group 2?’
• ‘What do you think (wait time)
Student Z?’

When choosing someone, use ‘write time’ to notice if a weaker student has an
answer. If so, you can choose them and give them the experience of success.

74 TEACHING SKILLS METHOD FILES TRAINEE’S BOOK

 C. Open and closed questions

Closed questions

Closed questions are used to check knowledge and comprehension. They ask students to
remember information they have been told. Yes/no questions (or true/false questions), one
answer questions and multiple choice questions are examples of closed questions.

Examples of yes/no questions:

-- Is a dolphin a fish?
-- Do trees store carbon dioxide?
-- Has the USA ratified the Kyoto Protocol?

Examples of one answer questions:

-- Who is the President of the USA?
-- Which are the three longest rivers in the world?
-- When did Myanmar gain independence from Britain?
-- Where is the next World Trade Conference being held?

Examples of multiple-choice questions:

-- Hser Wah has 8kg of pork. She sells 2.5 kgs to Zaw Win. How much does she have now?
a. 5 kg b. 6 kg c. 5.5 kg d. 6.5 kg
-- We can’t watch a movie because the DVD player is _______ . broke/broken/break

Open questions

Open questions are used for application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Open questions ask
students to think about their answers.

Examples of open questions:

-- What are the main problems with the Kyoto agreement?
-- What would you do if you knew your friend was taking drugs?
-- Why are glaciers melting?
-- How can a country improve the health of its people?

Ask open questions to develop thinking and discussion in the classroom

TEACHING SKILLS METHOD FILES TRAINEE’S BOOK 75

 D. Charts and organisers
Advantages: Good for making students think, make meaning and show understanding
 In group work, makes students discuss and find agreement
 Good for visual learners, and for kinaesthetics when word cards are used
Categorising: What goes where?
1. Venn diagrams: What’s in? What’s out?
Teaches boundaries, definitions, and concepts.
2. Charts: What kind of…?
Teaches comparison, definitions, concepts.
Can be controlled (teacher designs chart) or more free (students design chart).

Example A: What is a mammal? Example B: Similarities and differences

Myanmar
mammal

China India
Make word-cards with things that are true and
not true for mammals.
Students put only the things that are true for Students list words describing Myanmar, China
mammals inside the circle. and India. They put the words in the correct
sections (e.g. In Asia goes in the innermost
triangle – same for all three).
warm-blooded
Myanmar
mammal ASEAN
member
has ears

has hair or fur former British

in Asia colony

border each
doesn’t have a breathes China other India
backbone carbon dioxide
permanent member population over democracy
of UNSC 1 billion

Example C: What is the best soap?

TYPE COST SIZE HOW GOOD IS IT?
Cleano 5 baht 150g Not very good - you need to scrub hard, and it makes your skin dry.
Good. Cleans quickly and effectively.
Sparkle 20 baht 150g
No smell.
Beauty 60 baht 90g Good. Very nice smell and beautiful pictures on the packet.

Students collect and use information in English language class to practise comparisons.

76 TEACHING SKILLS METHOD FILES TRAINEE’S BOOK

2. Mind-maps: Connections
Teaches groupings of different aspects of a topic. Use to organise thinking on a topic.

Example D: Preparation to write an essay on forests

flood control
climate forests
people
water
ecosystems resources
carbon
biodiversity

Ordering and ranking

Teaches logical ordering by time, importance or other characteristics.

Example E: Changing a fuse Example F: Looking after your computer

keep away from sun
first next then finally use a firewall

update programs cover keyboard

remove old fuse
turn on power supply
nice carrying case safe net use

replace with new fuse regular virus checks defragment

turn off power supply Students put the points in order of importance,
with the most important at the top, and the
Students put these actions in order to complete least important at the bottom. There are no
the task. right or wrong answers, as this is about forming
opinions and giving supporting arguments.

Process diagrams
Shows relationship between different parts of a process, e.g. cause and effect.

Example G: Causes and effects of global warming

fossil fuel use Glaciers melting loss of biodiversity
world’s temperature
increasing faster Sea levels rising
deforestation Extreme weather economic damage

E. Action methods in the classroom

Practices applying and practising learning, and showing understanding and connecting learning
to real life. Particularly good for kinaesthetic learners.

Roleplay
Students represent different opinions or experiences, and act out the situation
• English language role plays, e.g. giving directions to a lost visitor.
• Social science case studies, e.g. a farmer, a businessperson, a foreign investor and an
ecologist discuss a new hydro-electric power plan.

TEACHING SKILLS METHOD FILES TRAINEE’S BOOK 77

Case studies and problem solving

Give students case study problems to solve. Make the problems related to the topic they are
learning, and real-life issues. The teacher can write case studies from their own experience or
use newspaper, magazine or internet articles to give them ideas. Students can be given different
information about the same situation to encourage discussion.

Drama
Students develop a short drama about an issue in personal and social learning, e.g. getting
married at age 14; having an alcoholic family member; moving to a different country.

Games
• Games should have a learning purpose.
• Language learning games practise specific language in a fun way. See Activities for the
Language Classroom from Educasia for ideas.

Writing questions
• Groups write questions and answers on a topic, and exchange them with another group .
• Make sure all students have to think of questions and make sure they know the answers to
their own questions. They may need to research and check.

F. Projects
Develop study, research and thinking skills.
Projects are good for student engagement and motivation, but need planning and preparation.

Circuits/workstations
When resources are few, share them by having groups do different tasks at different times. This
means that fewer people need the resources at the same time. To do this:
-- set up exercises or activities at different points in the room. Plan activities that will take a
similar amount of time (e.g. 15 minutes)
-- split the class into groups and give each group a place to start
-- groups have a set amount of time for each activity and then move on

For example: Your maths class has very few mathematical instruments. Have one group using the
instruments, while other groups have maths work that does not need those instruments.

Field study
Field study means going outside the classroom to learn. It is an exploration to look for something
specific or to find something out. A field study does not have to be a long way – it starts outside
the door. Field studies are often used in subjects like geography, biology, and environment, but
they can also be used for other subjects like maths (e.g. measuring, surveying, calculating floor
area), languages (e.g. creative writing) or art (e.g. drawing buildings, plants or people).

78 TEACHING SKILLS METHOD FILES TRAINEE’S BOOK

Surveys
• Surveys gather information. The information can be facts (e.g. to find out how many teachers
smoke) or opinions (e.g. To find out whether people think smoking should be banned).
• Designing surveys to find out the answers to questions is not always easy, so start with simple
surveys to build student skills in analysis.

Creative projects
Student magazine, class book of short stories, recipes, community wisdom, case studies, etc.

G. Group work methods

Develop thinking skills. These are good for student engagement and motivation, but need
careful planning and preparation.

Brainstorm
Students think of as many ideas or examples as possible. Brainstorming is usually done as a
whole class, but it can be done in groups or individually. It is good for making lists, problem
solving, finding out student’s prior knowledge and getting all students involved.
1. Give the class the topic or problem.
2. Students call out their ideas, and the teacher or a student writes them on the board. All
ideas are accepted.

If it is a problem-solving brainstorm, students can agree or vote on the best ideas to develop
further. The solutions can be worked on in groups or as a whole class.

Pyramid
In this method, students work in pairs and then small groups on a discussion question. It is good
for involving all students and building confidence.
1. Give students the question for discussion, with one minute to note their own thoughts.
2. Put students into pairs for 3-5 minutes, to compare answers and make a combined list.
3. Put two or three pairs together to make a small group. This group discusses and makes a
combined agreed list of ideas. This list belongs to the whole group.
4. Have a whole-class discussion, asking for the ideas from different groups. Note the main
points on the board.

Teach each other

In this method, students work on different parts of the same question or activity, and then
teach each other what they have learned. It is good for student engagement, motivation and
differentiation.
1. Students work in groups. Give each group a task linked to the topic and learning objective.
These tasks can be at different levels of difficulty if you have a mixed level class.
2. Groups do the task or discussion.
3. Groups report back to the class as a mini-lesson.

Use the reporting back to develop student explaining skills: see Methods File A: Teacher
Explanation.

When assessing individual contribution to group work, ask group members for their assessment
of themselves and each other.

TEACHING SKILLS METHOD FILES TRAINEE’S BOOK 79

 Use this page for your notes.

80 TEACHING SKILLS NOTES TRAINEE’S BOOK

 Teaching Skills
Trainee’s Book
Teaching Skills is designed as a methods for creating effective
textbook for a course in training lessons with emphasis on techniques
teachers-to-be, but can also serve as that work in low-resource settings
a useful guide for current teachers such as Myanmar.
who would like to improve some of
their skills. The taught skills are applicable to
teaching most subjects and student
It combines basic teaching and age-groups.
learning theory with practical

Educasia and The Curriculum Project deliver key programs of Thabyay Education Foundation

Design and layout: Katherine Gibney