Tuesday, October 19, 2021

AIOU SOLVED ASSIGNMENT No. 2 | Course: Elementary Education (8623)

 

ALLAMA IQBAL OPEN UNIVERSITY, ISLAMABAD

 

 

          Name _____________________________

         Roll No: ___________________________

 




Course:  Elementary Education

 

Course Code :  (8623)                                                                            

 

Semester: Spring, 2021

Level: BEd (1.5 Year)

 

ASSIGNMENT No. 2

 

Q.1 "Information Communication Technology has revolutionized the field of instruction". Discuss and elicit its educative value.

Answer: Advances in information technology have revolutionized how people communicate and learn in nearly every aspect of modern life except for education. The education system operates under the antiquated needs of an agrarian and industrial America. The short school day and the break in the summer were meant to allow children to work on family farms. Schools have an enduring industrial mentality placing students in arbitrary groups based on their age regardless of their competencies.Technology has failed to transform our schools because the education governance system insulates them from the disruptions that technology creates in other organizations. The government regulates schools perhaps more than any other organization. Rules govern where students study, how they will learn, and who will teach them. Education regulation governs the relationships of actors in the system and stymies the impact of innovative technologies. Furthermore the diffuse system of governance creates numerous veto points to limit innovation.To overcome these obstacles, we must persuade teachers that technology will empower them and help their students learn. We argue that there are five strategies for successful teacher adoption of education technology and that these principles will help fulfill the potential that Edison saw a century ago:Schools must use technology that empowers teachers. Teachers rightly reject education technologies that divert their attention from instruction. The best education technologies enable teachers to do more with fewer resources. Communication platforms like Twitter, Facebook, or Tumblr enable dynamic communication with students. Teacher-empowering technologies include mobile apps that grade written student work and provide lesson plan databases. School systems need to aggressively track what works for their teachers and put allother unworkable technologies aside.Teachers should treat the adoption of technology as part of lesson planning. One of the major drivers of bad policy is policy churn. New district leaders want to make their mark adopting new policies and jettisoning the old. This constant changing of priorities makes beneficial reforms difficult to implement. Teachers can incorporate technology directly into their practice and insulate their students from the deleterious effects of policy churn. For example teachers can use Khan Academy or other online resources to improve remediation. Systematic adoption of technology at the classroom levels limits the damage of shifting policy maker priorities.

Creativity and Self-Expression

Information and communication technology also plays a role in how students express themselves and reflect on their learning. Aided by the digital recording functions integrated into smartphones, tablets and other electronic devices, students are able to index the world the way they see it and add their own perspective to already existing bodies of knowledge to create original work. With audio, photo and video editing software and the various ways to post self-created media on the Web, students not only access information but contribute to its creation. The ability for students to be active members of the learning community, whether on the small scale of a school's social media site or on the larger canvas of the entire World Wide Web, gives their work broader significance and affirmation.

Communication and Collaboration

Information and communication technology provides students and teachers more opportunities to communicate and collaborate. With Learning Management Systems such as Blackboard and Moodle, many courses have an online space to participate in discussion threads and forums, chats, and video conferences. Collaborative functions in office applications allow students and teachers to view revisions and add comments in real time, making the process of relaying feedback more efficient. Technology further transcends traditional brick-and-mortar settings by providing working adults and parents taking care of children, geographically-isolated students, and the underprivileged the opportunity to connect and interact with learning communities through online schools and educational networks.

Student Achievement and Learning Outcomes

Information and communication technology also plays a role in how administrators assess the achievement of student learning outcomes. Various assessment tools such as standardized tests, student portfolios, rubrics, and surveys yield data that can be collaboratively analyzed by an educational institution to find areas in which to improve. As the data is entered into databases and statistics, charts and graphs are generated, and administrators identify patterns and make decisions involving changes in the curriculum and budget allocations. Technology has a prominent role in assessment and evaluation and helps direct curricula to the greater achievement of students.

 

 

Q. 3 Differentiate between management, control and discipline. It is observed that some teachers do not have to impose discipline in their classroom. What is about their teaching that seems to keep their classes free of disciplinary problems?

ANSWER:

Let's think about the goal of teaching: we want our students to learn!  In order for students to learn, we need to have an effective classroom environment that promotes learning.  If teachers cannot manage a classroom, learning cannot take place.  Thus, one of the first steps teachers should take is to devise a plan that illustrates what they will incorporate into classroom management and discipline.  In order for this to occur, teachers must have a clear and concise understanding of management and discipline.  Management is viewed as the preventative dimension, while discipline is the reactive dimension. If a teacher effectively manages a classroom while having a discipline plan in place, he or she should have a well balanced classroom environment that fosters learning.


Picture

Management

"Management refers to your role as a teacher in creating a classroom environment where success is possible. It refers to how order is established and maintained in the classroom" (Savage & Savage, 2010, p.6).

Discipline

"Discipline is defined as the actions that facilitate the development of self-control, responsibility, and character" (Savage & Savage, 2010, p.8).


Good classroom management is important because it can prevent many discipline problems.  In order to avoid becoming overbearingly bossy, Savage & Savage (2010) recommend that teachers partake in lead management.  As implied in the term, the teacher and students should view the teacher as the leader, rather than the boss.  "In lead management, power among classroom participants is shared and teacher power is used in service to others rather than as something to enhance one's status" (Savage & Savage, 2010, p.7).  Characteristics of teachers with lead management include:

  • Allowing student input when making classroom decisions
  • Communicating clear expectations to students
  • Listening to students

Because there is not a constant struggle for power, students feel a sense of power, influence, and importance to the teacher.  This, in turn, gives the teacher more power and influence (Savage & Savage, 2010).

For example, in the beginning of the year, teachers usually provide students with expectations.  As a form of lead management, teachers can create a classroom contract with the students.  This contract is a two-way contract that is put together by both the teacher and the students.  The teacher can detail what she or he expects of the students, and the students can detail what they expect from the teacher. For example, the teacher will expect that students turn their work in on time. In return, the teacher promises to return their work graded within a week.

As a teacher who desires for a classroom that is conducive to learning, I must make sure that discipline is not an intruding problem.  One of the best ways to prevent discipline problems is to establish effective classroom management.  I will do so by utilizing the lead management style within my classroom.  Another way to do so is through the implementation of discipline within my classroom.

Aspects of management discussed on this website:

  • Authority and leadership
  • Physical environment
  • Mobility and proximity
  • Preferred Activity Time (PAT)

The classroom is not just a place for academic goals.  One of the goals every teacher should have is to help students develop not only academically, but socially and personally as well.  Proverbs 25:28 says, "A person without self-control is as defenseless as a city with broken-down walls."  Self-control is a crucial aspect of humanity and life, an aspect that separates humans from animals and denotes impulsiveness.  Naturally, some students possess more self-control than others, but each student will fall short at one point.  Savage & Savage (2010) recommend that their definition of discipline (namely, helping students develop self-control), should dictate how teachers respond to misbehavior.
Before responding to student misbehavior, teacher's should ask themselves the following:

  • "What action will be the best choice in helping the student move toward self-control?" (Savage & Savage, 2010, p.8).


Because I believe that having adults possessive of self-control, character, and responsibility are vital to the future of America, it is one of my main goals to see students develop and demonstrate self-control.  Therefore, I will always ask myself the above question when dealing with misbehavior.  For example, let us say that a student is talking to his neighbor while I am teaching a lesson.  Rather than immediately putting his name on the board, I will insert his name into the lesson in order to get his attention.  By stating his name, the student will become aware that I know he is not on task.  Thus, he has an opportunity to stop talking to his neighbor before experiencing consequences.

Aspects of discipline to be discussed on this website:

  • Responding to inappropriate behavior
  • Responding to minor problems
  • Limit setting

 

Q. 4 Develop a teacher made achievement test by constructing six items of each, short answer, completion, true false, matching, multiple choice and essay type from class VI Science book being taught in the public sector school.

Answer: Teacher-made test is the major basis for evaluating the progress or performance of the students in the classroom. The teacher therefore, had an obligation to provide their students with best evaluation.

This module presents topic on the steps in constructing teacher-made test, the types of teacher made test as essay and objective, and the advantages and disadvantages. Likewise, other evaluative instruments are being presented.

After completing this module, the students are expected to:

1. identify the types of teacher-made test;
2. draw general rules/guidelines in constructing test that is applicable to all types of test;
3. explain how to score essay test in such a way that subjectivity can be eliminated;
4. discuss and summarize the advantages and disadvantages of essay and objective type of test;
5. enumerate and discuss other evaluative instruments use to measure students’ performance; and
6. construct different types of test.

Steps in Constructing Teacher-Made Test

1. Planning the Test. In planning the test the following should be observed: the objectives of the subjects, the purpose for which the test is administered, the availability of facilities and equipments, the nature of the testee, the provision for review and the length of the test.

2. Preparing the Test. The process of writing good test items is not simple – it requires time and effort. It also requires certain skills and proficiencies on the part of the writer. Therefore, a test writer must master the subject matter he/she teaches, must understand his testee, must be skillful in verbal expression and most of all familiar with various types of tests.

3. Reproducing the Test. In reproducing test, the duplicating machine and who will facilitate in typing and mimeographing be considered.

4. Administering the Test. Test should be administered in an environment familiar to the students, sitting arrangements is observed, corrections are made before the start of the test, distribution and collection of papers are planned, and time should be written on the board. One more important thing to remember is, do not allow every testee to leave the room except for personal necessity.
5. Scoring the Test. The best procedure in scoring objective test is to give one point of credit for each correct answer. In case of a test with only two or three options to each item, the correction formula should be applied. Example: for two option, score equals right minus wrong (S = R-W). For three options, score equals right minus one-half wrong (S = R-1/2 W or S= R-W/2). Correction formula is not applied to four or more options. If correction formula is employed students should be informed beforehand.

6. Evaluating the Test. The test is evaluated as to the quality of the student’s responses and the quality of the test itself. Index difficulty and discrimination index of the test item is considered. Fifty (50) per cent difficulty is better. Item of 100 per cent and zero (0) per cent answered by students are valueless in a test of general achievement.

7. Interpreting Test Results. Standardized achievement tests are interpreted based on norm tables. Table of norm are not applicable to teacher-made test.

Types of Informal Teacher Made Test

I. Essay Examination

Essay examination consists of questions where students respond in one or more sentences to a specific question or problems. It is a test to evaluate knowledge of the subject matter or to measure skills in writing. It is also tests students’ ability to express his ideas accurately and to think critically within a certain period of time.
Essay examination maybe evaluated in terms of content and form.
In order to write good essay test, it must be planned and constructed in advance. The questions must show major aspect of the lesson and a representative samples. Avoid optional questions and use large number of questions with short answer rather than short question with very long answer.

According to Monroe and Carter there are twenty types of essay examination as cited by Calmorin, 1994.

a. Selective recall. The basis is given. Example – Name the four types of evaluation according to their function in the classroom.
b. Evaluating recall. The basis is also given. Example – Name five agencies in the Philippines which have had the greatest influence on the economic development of the country.
c. Comparison of two things (specific). There is one single designated basis. Example – compare traditional school and modern school.
d. Comparison of two things (general). Comparing two things in general. Example – Compare Agriculture in China with that of the Philippines.
a. Decision (for or against). Example – In which in your opinion, can you do better, an oral or a written examination? Why?
b. Cause or Effect. Example – Why is the application of salitre in curring food is prohibited?

c. Explanation of the use of exact meaning of some phrases or statement in a passage. Example – What does this statement mean “Evaluation is not an end in itself but a means to an end”.
d. Summary of some unit of the test or some articles read. Example – Summarize in two paragraphs the advantages and disadvantage of essay test.
e. Analysis. (The word itself is seldom used in the question). Example – What are the characteristics of Muslims, which make you understand why Christians do not make friends with them?
f. Statement of relationship. Example – Why is the study of genetics helpful in studying plant breeding?
g. Illustrations and examples of principles in Science construction in language, etc. Example – From your own experience give three examples of the use of homemaking in your daily life.
h. Classification . Example – To what class does eggplant belong? What are other plants having the same classification with eggplant?
i. Application of the rules or principles in new situations. Example – Why should evaluation be used judiciously?
j. Discussion. Example – Explain briefly the four types of validity.
k. Statement of aim. Example – State the principles involved in the canning of fish.
l. Criticism. As to the adequacy, correctness, or relevance of a pointed statement or student’s answer to a question on the lesson. Example – What is wrong with the statement “Practice makes perfect”.
m. Outline. Example – Outline the rules in constructing matching type test.
n. Reorganization of facts. (a good example of review-question to give training in organization). Example – Discuss the theory-and-practice scheme approach based upon the book, class discussion, outside reading and actual practice.
o. Formulation of new questions, problems and questions raised. Example – What else must be known in order to understand the matter under consideration?
p. New method or procedure. Example – Formulate a plan for improving the income-generating project of the school.

Advantages of an Essay Examination:

a. Easy to construct. In terms of preparation, essay examination is easier to construct thus it saves time and energy.
b. Economical. Economical when it comes to reproduction of materials. It can be written on the board.
c. Trains the core of organizing, expressing and reasoning power. Encourage students to think critically and express their ideas.
d. Minimizes guessing. Guessing is minimized because it requires one or more sentences.
e. Develops critical thinking. Essay exams calls for comparison, analysis, organization of facts, for criticism, for defense of opinion, for decision and other mental activity.

f. Minimizes cheating and memorizing. Essay test minimizes cheating and memorizing because essay tests are evaluated in terms of content and form and that an answer to question is composed of one or more sentences.
g. Develops good study habits. It can develop good study habits in the sense that students study their lesson with comprehension rather than rote memory.

Disadvantages of Essay Examination:

a. Low validity. It has low validity for it has limited sampling.
b. Low reliability. This may occur due to its subjectivity in scoring. The tendency of the teachers to react unfavorably to answers of students whom he consider weak and give favorable impressions to answers of bright students.
c. Low usability. Time consuming to both teacher and students wherein much time and energy are wasted.
d. Encourage bluffing. It encourages bluffing on the part of the testee. The tendency of the students who does not know the answer is to bluff his answers just to cover up his lack of information. If bluffing becomes satisfactory on an easy examination, inaccuracy of the measuring instrument may occur and evaluation of the students’ achievement may not be valid and reliable.
e. Difficult to correct or score. Difficulty on the part of the teacher to correct or score due to an answer consisting of one or more sentences.
f. Disadvantages for students with poor penmanship. Some teachers react unfavorable to responses of students having poor handwriting and untidy papers.

Scoring an Essay Examination:

a. Brush up the answers before scoring.
b. Check the students’ answer against the prepared model.
c. Quickly read the papers on the basis of your opinion of their worthiness and sort them into five groups: 1) very superior, 2) superior, 3) average, 4) inferior, and 5) very inferior.
d. Read the responses of the same item simultaneously.
e. Re-read the papers in each group and shift any that you feel have been misplaced.
f. Avoid looking at the names of the paper you are scoring.

II. Objective Examination

The two main types of objective tests are the recall and the recognition.
The recall type is categorized as to:
a. Simple recall
b. Completion

The recognition type is categorized as:
a. Alternative response
b. Multiple choice
c. Matching type
d. Rearrangement type
e. Analogy
f. Identification

The first three recognition type are most commonly use.

Recall Type

1. Simple recall type. This test is one of the easiest tests to construct among the objective types where the item appears as a direct question, a stimulus word or phrase, or a specific direction. The response requires the subject to recall previously learned materials and the answers are usually short.

This test is applicable in natural sciences subjects like mathematics, chemical and physical sciences where the stimulus appears in a form of a problem that requires computation.

2. Completion test. This test consists of a series of items which requires the subject to fill a word or phrase on the blanks. An item may contain one or more blanks. Indefinite and overmultilated statements, keywords and statements directly taken from the book should be avoided

Recognition Type

1. Alternative Response Test. This test consists of a series of items where it admits only one correct answer in each item. This type is commonly used in classroom testing particularly the two constant alternative test as true-false, plus-minus, right-wrong, yes-no, correct-incorrect, XY, etc.

Others forms may use the three-constant alternatives as true-false-doubtful, constant alternative with correction and modified true-false type.

Suggestion for the Construction of Alternative Response Type:

a. Items must arranged in group of five and each group must be separated by two single spaces.
b. Responses must be simple as TF, XY, etc. and if possible be placed in one column at the right.
c. Avoid lifting similar statement from the test.
d. Language to use must be within the level of students. Flowery words must be avoided.
e. Specific determiners like all, always, none, never, not, nothing, no, are more likely to be false and so must be avoided. Moreover, determiners as may, some, seldom, sometimes, usually, and often are more likely to be true, hence, it should be avoided.
f. Qualitative terms as few, many, great, frequent, and large are vague and indefinite and so they must be avoided.
g. Partly right and partly wrong statement must be avoided. Consider statement that represents either true or false.
h. Ambiguous and double negative statements must be avoided.

2. Multiple Choice Type. This test is made up of items which consists of three or more plausible options. It is regarded as one of the best form of test. Most valuable and widely used due to its flexibility and objectivity in scoring. In teacher-made test, it is applicable for testing vocabulary, reading comprehension, relationship, interpretation of graphs, formulas, tables, and drawing inferences from a set of data.

Rules and suggestion for the Construction of Multiple Choice:

a. The main stem of the test item may be constructed in question, completion or direction form.
b. Questions that tap only rote learning and memory should be avoided.
c. Use unfamiliar phrasing to test students’ comprehension, thus avoid lifting words from the text.
d. Four or more options must be provided to minimize guessing.
e. Uniform number of options must be used.
f. Arrangement of correct answers should not follow patterns.
g. Articles “a” and “an” are avoided as last word in an incomplete sentence. This word gives clues.
h. Alternative should be arranged according to length.

Varieties of Multiple Choice Type:

a. Stem-and-options variety. This is commonly used in the classroom and other standardized test. The stem serves as the problem and is followed by four or more options.
b. Setting-and-options variety. The optional responses are dependent upon a setting or foundation which includes graphical representation, a sentence, paragraph, pictures, equation, or some forms of representation.

c. Group-term variety. Consists of group or words or items in which one does not belong to the group.

d. Structured-response variety. This makes use of structure response which is commonly used in testing natural science subjects. This test on how good the students are to judge statements which are closely related.

e. Contained-option variety. This variety is designated to identify errors in a word, phrase, sentence or paragraph.

3. Matching Type. This type consists of two columns in which proper pairing relationship of two things is strictly observed. Column A is to be matched with column B. It has two forms: balanced and unbalanced, the latter being preferred. In balanced type the number item is equal to the number of option. In unbalanced type, if there are 5 items in column A there are 7 items in column B. Remember, the ideal number for matching type is 5 to 10 and maximum of 15.
In constructing matching type, avoid using heterogeneous materials. Do not mix dates and terms, events and person and many others. the question item should be placed on the left and the option on the right. option column should be in alphabetical order and dates in chronological order.

4. Rearrangement Type. This type consists of a multiple-option item where it requires a chronological, logical, rank, etc., order.

5. Analogy. This type is made of items consisting of a pair of words which are related to each other. It is designated to measure the ability of students to observe the pair relationship of the first group to the second.
The kinds of relationship may be: according to purpose, cause and effect, part-whole, part-part, action to object, synonym, antonym, place, degree, characteristics, sequence, grammatical, numerical and associations.

Advantages of an Informal Objective type:

a. Easy to score. It is easier to correct due to short responses involve.
b. Eliminates subjectivity. This is due also to short responses.
c. Adequate sampling. More items can be included where validity and reliability of the test can be adequately observed.
d. Objectivity in scoring. Due to short and one correct answer in each item.
e. Eliminates bluffing. Since the students only choose the correct answer.
f. Norms can be established. Due to adequate sampling of test.
g. Save time and energy in answering questions. Since the options are provided, time and energy may be utilized properly.

Limitations of an Informal Objective Test:

a. Difficult to construct
b. Encourages cheating and guessing.
c. Expensive. Due to adequate sampling, it is expensive in terms of duplicating
facilities. Questions cannot be written on the board.
d. Encourages rote memorization. It encourages rote memorization rather than memorizing logically because an answer may consist only of a single word or a phrase. A student’s ability to thick critically, express, organize and reason out his ideas is not developed.
e. Time consuming on the part of the teacher.

Other Evaluative Instruments

1. Questionnaire. These consist of questions in which the pupil/student responds to each item by encircling the option or by the use of a checkmark.

2. Checklists. A teacher makes use of a checklist if his pupil/student exhibits a desired behavior or if he neglects certain outcomes.

3. Rating scale. These scales are filled out by teachers for meritorious achievement done by a pupil/student.

4. Performance. The measurement of performance is time consuming because each student is tested individually. A stop watch or an ordinary watch may be used as timing device in observing student’s performance. For instance, when a student is evaluated on his speed and accuracy in typing, dismantling a machine, etc.

5. Cumulative records. These records provide information about pupil/student personality, special talent, scholarship, and family background. Records should show the learner as a developing personality, including positive and negative aspects.

6. Anecdotal records. An anecdotal record is designed to determine what happened and what the behavior of the learner probably means. A teacher’s skillful and continues observation on student’s behavior can become an effective evaluation procedure. Anecdotal records give a complete picture of the child as he develops under the care of the teacher. It is considered as service tools to help the teacher understand and interpret the student’s behavior.

Q. 5 Discuss the initiatives taken by the government for universalization of education. How can public and private sector contribute to achieve this target?

Answer: Punjab School Education Minister Dr Murad Raas has said that his ministry took 16 initiatives in 16 months of the government to introduce reforms in education sector.

Addressing a press conference here on Friday, he started mentioning these initiatives with the e-transfer facility for schoolteachers, saying the initiative not just greatly facilitated the teaching staff but also helped curb corruption amounting to Rs 2 billion to Rs 3 billion within the School Education Department in the name of transfers/postings.

Dr Murad Raas said Insaaf Afternoon programme was launched in 500 primary schools and added the initiative would be expanded with 1,000 more schools from the next academic session. He said the department abolished the grade-5 examination as part of assessment-related reforms. The department is working to improve the assessment mechanism. He added the government was also revamping the model of Daanish schools and unlike the past day-boarders would also be offered admissions.

The minister also talked about Insaaf Primary School and Mobile School programmes to bring the out-of-school-children back to scho0ol and also mentioned licensing of education professionals, saying the same was approved by the provincial cabinet and would be enacted after legislation. Similarly, he said, the government changed medium of instruction from English to Urdu from Class-1 to Class 5 and added English would be taught as a subject from the academic session starting from March 2020. Dr Murad Raas also talked about the School Education Policy, textbook revision, rationalisation of teachers, clean and green campaign in schools, construction of new classrooms, HRMIS, Punjab sports strategy and establishment of 110 model schools in the next academic session.

student councils: Participants in a consultative dialogue on “effective engagements of students on the university campuses” held at Government College University (GCU) here Friday stressed the need for establishing student councils and societies in all educational institutions for producing students with well-rounded personalities and leadership skills.

Eminent academicians from leading public and private sector universities participated in the dialogue.

In his opening remarks, GCU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Asghar Zaidi said heads of all educational institutions had a responsibility to provide conducive and peaceful environment to their students and faculty. He said GCU had more than century old history of student societies led by students as office-bearers, and these societies acted as nurseries to inculcate in the students character-building, team spirit and leadership skills. Prof Dr Muhammad Nizamuddin, former chairperson of Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC), said clashes were erupted when universities’ administrations didn’t adhere to the issues and complaints of students. He believed that students should be given leadership role in organising co-curricular activities on their campuses.

Dr Rauf-i-Azam, former VC of University of Education, raised concerns about the excessive and irresponsible use of social media by youths. He said activities on campuses should be designed to make students responsible citizens and empathetic human beings.

Abbottabad University of Science & Technology VC Prof Dr Mujaddad-ur-Rehman and Women University Multan Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Uzma Quraishi highlighted the increasing depression in youths, saying that cultural, co-curricular activities and sports were also crucial for mental health of students.

Mian Imran Masood, former Punjab Education Minister, said no specific group should be allowed to distort the peaceful environment of universities which was mandatory for healthy debate, academics and research. Gomal University Vice-Chancellor Dr Muhammad Sarwar and Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Suleman Tahir also demanded the government provide funding especially to the newly-built colleges and universities for student activities.

 

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