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| Author: Prince Foday |
Explaining How to Select and Prepare Resources for Planned
Learning Activities
The selection and preparation of
resources for planned learning activities are based on the Department for
Education guidelines. The guidelines established are that schools must avoid
using teaching and learning resources developed by inappropriate organisations;
that schools must be sensitive in teaching about cultural and religious beliefs
and practices; and that teaching and learning materials must be
engaging and challenging and not controversial, offensive and of obscene nature
to students and the wider community. The guidelines established that
schools must be open to objections about utilising specific teaching and
learning materials.
Inappropriate institutions should never be
considered in preparing resources for planned teaching and learning activities
and those delivering lessons should be cognisance of the blacklisted list of
organisations. Some of the blacklisted institutions are tobacco companies,
businesses involved in the promotion and sale of alcohol, companies that are
involved in the promotion and sale of weapons, businesses that encourage
unhealthy food choices for children and young people, etc.
It is ideal to be highly sensitive to the
content or imagery used for the planned lesson, say the image of the prophet
Muhammad should not be used in the teaching of a lesson. Planned teaching and
learning resources should be within appropriate cultural and religious contexts.
The selection of planned learning resources
should not be offensive to the students but challenging, engaging and
beneficial to the student.
There is a need to make provision for
correctness to objections raised about planned teaching and learning materials.
Describing Learning Support Strategies to Use to Meet the Needs of
Individuals and Groups
The learning support strategies that are
significant to meeting the needs of individuals and groups are jigsaws; turn
and talk; polling; quick write; summative assessment; formative assessments;
problem-based learning; project-based learning; gamification; differential
learning; peer training muddiest point; interleaving; tests and quizzes; and
think, pair and share.
Jigsaws develops the critical thinking of
learners. This is where students are organised into smaller groups to quietly
read a selected passage of course material and share what they have learnt with
other groups in the class. Participants in each group are allowed to answer
questions on the big idea is? What does the idea mean, and why important? How
applied for a better understanding of the topic? What part of the passage
that can be agreed with and disagreed with? What questions can be raised from
the passage?
Turn and Talk is used in class. That is where
the teacher raises a clear question for learners and then instructs them to
select a partner to share their thoughts on the topic before discussing the
idea with the whole group.
Polling is utilised by raising a question for
students to answer. A poll is taken to ascertain the number of students who
raise their hands for specific answers. The polling method is used to determine
student's views about a particular topic and provides an idea of whether there
is a need for additional explanation.
Quick write is used as a learning support
strategy in a classroom by raising a prompt and allowing learner to provide
their thought on a topic in five minutes. Quick write is used to allow
students to have their thought on a new topic, provide the platform for
learners to unveil prior understanding of the topic, and grade learners for
performance record purposes.
A summative assessment is used as way
of evaluating the in-depth knowledge of students about a subject. Students
are given assignments on a subject and their performance is assessed through a
defined grading system. Summative assessments are provided to support
students’ course activities and performance in a specific subject.
Formative assessment is used to guide the
learning of students and give feedback on the performance of each student in
the classroom. The feedback is significant as it helps in improving strategies
for the delivery of lessons. The strategy helps to unveil the strengths and
weaknesses of students.
Problem-based learning is used to expose
learners to real-life situations. It supports students to understand the world
around them by connecting learning to practical happens in our society.
Project-based learning is implemented by giving
students a specific project to work on and allowing them to make a
PowerPoint presentation in the classroom.
Gamification is used as a learning strategy to
reward learners for a job well done and compromise that with the teaching.
Students are provided games that are important for improving their academic
skills; helping build their competitiveness among peers and using a point-based
system for completing a task.
Differential training is used to tailor learning
to meet different needs. That is done by updating the learning
environment, product, process and content.
Peer training is applied to engage students to
learn from each other. This is done by bringing up topics that students are
perplexed about coupled with the chance to brainstorm in small groups. The team
leader in each group will share the ideas of their group with others in the
smaller groups and then come up with a collective agreement on the topic.
The muddiest point is used to identify the most
challenging topics that learners do not comprehend. The approach is meant to
provide an explicit understanding of the elephant in the room or difficult
task.
Tests and quizzes are applied as a learning
strategy by providing students either a quiz and grade them by marking of their
papers. The standard learning practice is that students are given both
individual and group tests and quizzes. The average mark from the individual
and group text or quiz is the standardised base of assessment.
Think-pair-share provides students with the
stage to organise their ideas and share the ideas with partners and then
the entire class. Students are provided the platform to independently think of
an idea, pair with small groups of colleagues to provide their views about the
idea and thereafter share that thought with the broader class.
Clarifying How to Ensure the Learning Environment Meets Health,
Safety, Security, and Access Requirements of Individuals and the Group as a
Whole
The important health and safety issues in any
classroom, including my own classroom, are class size, layout, space limitation, and the behaviour and maturity of students. Classroom health and safety is a
significant concern for my learning environment and meets the legal
requirements of health, safety, security, access requirements of
individuals and groups. Every school should have a strong risk assessment
in place meant to curb potential hazards for students, staff, and visitors. The
measures taken to avert the risk of danger and hazards are to prevent
slips and trips, risks linked with the use of electrical equipment, and risks associated
with poor ventilation and temperature.
Slips and trips should be of important concern to school and the classroom setting. The classroom floors and walkways should
always be kept clean and devoid of obstruction. Handrails and steps should be well
looked after. Floors must be kept clean and not slippery, even entry points.
Schools must have a checklist of slips and trips by focusing on ensuring that
gangways between desks are clearly maintained, robust about maintaining no
trailing of electrical leads and cables; have spontaneous action in place for
potential spillages, have enough bright light for access and safe exit and
ensuring that internal flooring is in the right good condition, floor windows
are above ground and well secured to avoid falls, high-level windows have
window openers and where necessary secured step ladders are available.
There should be provisions for electric
equipment checks. Electric equipment is only used when they are in good
condition. Interestingly, I took a personal laminator to my school some time
back. The caretaker had to check it before use in the classroom. My school is
responsive to the checklist of ensuring that electrical cables are routed to
prevent trips, ensures that any faulty electrical equipment be replaced, that
electrical equipment is checked at intervals to facilitate it safe usage, and
ensure that electrical cables, plug sockets and switches are in good repair.
Ventilation and temperature should be of
significant concern for schools and classroom settings. In my school, we ensure
that there is natural ventilation. Blinds and window dressing are available
based on the temperature. We use blinds to prevent reflection from the sun in
the classroom. The child and young people’s ability to learn will be affected
when the classroom is too hot and too cold. We respond to the checklist
concerning ventilation and temperature by ensuring that windows have blinds to
protect learners and staff from heat and glare from the sun, ensuring that an
acceptable temperature is maintained, and maintaining natural ventilation.
Fixtures, fittings, and furniture are dangerous
to my school and classroom. We ensure that hot equipment like radiators are
protected to prevent learners from the risk of burn, window restrictors are
fitted in on the upper floor windows and ensure that they are in good working
order, ensuring that electrical gadgets are suitably fitted to avoid potential
danger and ensure that furniture used are ideal for the user whether a student
or staff.
Items that require manual handling are
strictly handled within the manual handling regulation and the school ensures
that staff is appropriately trained for that. Additionally, we have learners
who may have challenging behaviour. Fortunately, I am leaf-trained or team-teach
trained to handle students with challenging behaviour with the pretext of
safeguarding the child and young people in my school, including staff that may
not be trained in handling challenging behaviour.
References
Claire, R (2023) What are learning resources for teachers?
How are they helpful? Available at: https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/professional-development/teacher-educators/knowing-subject/articles/what-are-learning-resources (Accessed 13 March 2024)
Curson, L.B. (1985) Teaching in Further Education: An
outline of Principles and Practices. 3rd Edn. Great
Britain: Biddles Ltd, Guildford
Fearn, H. and Keay, J. (2021) Curriculum: Keeping it
simple. Available at: https://educationinspection.blog.gov.uk/2021/12/08/curriculum-keeping-it-simple/ (Accessed 24 March 2024)
Danielle, L. (2020) 17 Learning Strategies to implement in
your classroom. Available at: https://tophat.com/blog/learning-strategies/ (Accessed 10 April 2024)
Fisher, R. (1995) Teaching Children to Think. United
Kingdom: Stanley Thornes (Publishers) Ltd
Fulton, D. (2012) Placing Students At the Heart of
Creative Learning. Great Britain: TJ International Ltd
Johnson, J. (2001) The Literacy Skills Test. Exeter:
Learning Matters Ltd
Nest (2024) A reasonable approach to classroom safety.
Available at: https://worknest.com/blog/schools-classrom-health-safety-2/#:~:text=In%20a%20classroom%20environment%2C%20significant,in%20one%20classroom%20risk%20assessment (Accessed 28 April 2024)
Safesmart (2024) How to create a Classroom Health and
Safety Checklist. Available at: https://safesmart.co.uk/health-safety-checklist-for-use-in-classrooms/ (Accessed 13 May 2024)
Ewles, L. and Simnett, I. (2003) Promoting Health: A
practical Guide. 5th Edn. United Kingdom: Elsevier Science
Limited
AUTHOR:
PRINCE FODAY
Educationist, Economist and Professional Freelance Journalist
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