INNOVATIVE TEACHING METHODS LEARNED IN THE TRAINING COURSE ENTITLED

”INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO TEACHING”

Prague,Czech Republic

17-26 Aug. 2015

School is a ‘base camp’ for enquiry...

CLILMETHOD

Content and Language Integrated Learning

So, you see, the

orbit of a planet is

elliptical.

What’s an orbit? What’s

a planet?

What’s elliptical?

A Paradox:In subject matter learning we overlook the role of language as a medium of learning, and in language learning we overlook the fact that content is being communicated.

CLILContent and Language Integrated Learning

Premise: The European launch of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in 1994 was both educational and political.;

• CLIL has been seen to be a key lever in realizing some of the eight key competences for lifelong learning as recommended by the European Parliament in 2006 (communication in the mother tongue and foreign languages; learning to learn; social and civic competences; sense of initiative and entrepreneurship; cultural awareness and expression)

Learning content

In the same time

Learning a foreig

n language

In the same time

CLIL

CLIL‘s goals

Content

Language

Balance

CONCRETELY...WHAT IS CLIL?

an alternative mean that provides opportunities for students to use language to learn rather than learning to use languages which is the core task of language lessons;describes an envolving approach to teaching and learning where subjects are taught and studied through the medium of a non-native language;learning a curriculum subject in a second, third or sometimes fourth language involves drawing on effective pedagogical practice from a range of different educational contexts.

Revisits effective teaching/ learning

A Spanish Teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine. The word "House" for instance, is feminine: "la casa". The Word "Pencil", however, is masculine: "el lapiz”. A student asked, "What gender is the word 'computer'?" Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether computer' should be a masculine or a feminine noun. Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.

The men's group decided that "computer" should definitely be of the feminine gender (”la computadora”), because:• No one but their creator understands their

internal logic;• The native language they use to

communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;

• Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval;

• As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.

The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be masculine ('el computador'), because:• In order to do anything with them, you

have to turn them on;• They have a lot of data but still can't think

for themselves;• They are supposed to help you solve

problems, but half the time they ARE the problem;

• As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.

RWCT Methods -Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking

•was funded by the Open Society Institute (OSI) - which promotes worldwide educational, social and legal reform - and the International Reading Association, a non-governmental organization of professional educators.•is based on the idea that democratic practices in schools play an important role in the transition toward more open societies. •introduces research-based, instructional methods to teachers and teacher educators. 

RWCT methods promote:

Student-Initiated Learning

Active Inquiry

Problem-Solving

Critical ThinkingCooperative

LearningWriting And Reading

Processes

Alternative Assessments

RWCT METHODS:The Insert Method •Using a coding system as the students read text (fiction or non-fiction) to

focus their attention and indicate which parts of a text may need further discussion or review(?,!,√,+)

Free writing•Continuously writing for a set period of time without regard to spelling, grammar, or topic. It produces raw, often unusable material, but helps writers overcome blocks of apathy and self-criticism

Dice

Venn Diagram

Cinguain• is a class of poetic forms that employ a 5-line pattern. Earlier

used to describe any five-line form, it now refers to one of several forms that are defined by specific rules and guidelines.

•Describe, Compare, Associate, Analyze, Apply , Argument

•“There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into sun”. 

Pablo Picasso