Catherine

I view education as being key to self empowerment.Education provides every child with a sound foundation for learning which andvances them towards the ultimate goal, which is to acquire skills, values,and attitudes which will prepare them for survival in the real woIrld and to make them useful and productive citizens, who could make a meaningful contribution to society. Education is for all and children should be taught to believe in themselves and to "make the sky their limit" and that no matter how disadvantaged they may feel, they too can succeed.Every child can learn and it is our role as teachers to provide avenues for them to discover their true potential and and to build on it until to reach their ultimate goal. I have decided to label my mental framework "Pathways to Academic Success." I believe that pathways ia a key word because I view the teaching and learning process as a journey which begins from birth and continues into adulthood and that some paths must be taken in order to acquire skills, knowledge and experiences and onward to the target goal which is achieving academic success. I have organised the framework to highlight four major categories which play a vital role and influence teaching and learning namely: pedagogy, school, students and teachers .The arrows point to all the paths because each one has to be taken, as they each have their specific disciplines which complement each other because they are interrelated. I have placed each factor on a circle to show the cyclical nature of learning; that it is ongoing that the sky is the limit and we may not know when or where the end point is. Also the poster on which the title is written is out in the open for all to see, to support the view that education is for all. The tree that the poster is placed on is equated to life because education improves the quality of life of any individual and in many significant ways as noted by John Dewey, "Education is not a preparation for life.Education is life itself." ,

Concepts which support the framework

Chapter 1 - Learning Teaching and Educational Psychology

Action research- conducted by teachers or schools to test methods of teaching. Experimental research- quantitative in nature where variables are manipulated and an investigation is carried out. Scientific research- qualitative in nature and based on observations or experiments. Brain research- although each brain is unique there are some similarities which make it necessary to conduct research. The information can be used for insructional, assessment and curricular decisions. Research categories are placed here because analysis of data can provide concrete findings which can be used in planning and instruction.
 * Path A**
 * Kinds of research

Schools continue to be diverse and students in the classroom differ in terms of language, socio-economic status, ethnicity, race, ability, disability. The NO Child Left Behind Act has made it mandatory that every child is given a place in school. This is important for teachers to consider as it affects instruction.
 * Path B**
 * Diversity

Literal thinking- being able to extract relevant facts and details. Interpretive thinking- the level of thinking which enables us to reason. Creative thinking- we combine our literal and interpretive thinking skills to construct an end product which is orignal. This category could have also been placed in Path D however, while the teacher uses appropriate strategies and activities the onus is on the students to use their imagination and to raise their thinking skills to arrive at creative answers. A good teacher- student relationship is important for effective teaching and learrning. Teachers should know their students and should be aware of the differences among them. This has implications for teaching and assessment. Good teachers need to make the necessary adjustments to meet the needs of their students.
 * Path C**
 * Levels of thinking
 * Path D**
 * A Good Teacher

Chapter 2 - Cognitive Development and Language

Piaget, in his stages of cognitive development proposes that teaching be factored around the stages of development. He describes four stages of development namely: The Sensorimotor Stage, The Preoperational Stage, The Concrete-operational Stage, Formal Operations. Piaget claims that children exhibit specific types of behaviours at each stage and must be developmentally ready before they can carry out certain tasks. This has implications for teaching and learning and hence the reason why this was placed in this category. Vygotsky held a different view from Piaget's theory of development and introduced the idea of The Zone Of Proximal Development. He believed that a child has the capability to carry out a given task at any stage of development once he/she is given some sort of encouragement or assistance. His concept is seen as a vital one in teaching and learning because students are given an extra pushwhich enables them to carry out the given task to completion. Students can then enjoy the satisfaction of success. I have placed this in this category but it could have also been placed in Path C and Path D.
 * Path A**
 * Cognitive theory
 * Sociocultural theory

A well designed curriculum will feature broad objectives which will be used for planning instruction so that teachers can use the various strategies.
 * Path B**
 * Viable curriculum

Assimilation and accommodation are two concepts which emerged from Piaget's theory of stages of cognitive development. Assimilation takes place when a child is able to connect something new with what he has learnt. Accommdation occurs when a child is able to adjust existing schemes to connect with something new. Both of these concepts are important in teaching and learning because when students are able to make connections to their own experiences it fosters comprehension.
 * Path C**
 * Assimilation and accommodation

Scaffolding is considered a powerful tool which can be employed to assist students reach the ZPD. It helps with complex learning and there are various strategies which can be utilised to scaffold such as, providing prompts and cues, modelling, regulating the difficluty. This encourages rapport between teacher and student and profits the teacher the opportunity to provide necessary support. It is important that teachers create opportunities for students to interact and work with their peers. This would enable students to build community, to share with an audience and in so doing lend support to each other.
 * Path D**
 * Assisted Learning-Scaffolding
 * Socially constructed meaning

Chapter 4 - Learner Differences and Learning Needs

Gardner indentified and described eight intelligences namely: verbal, musical, logical,visual,kinesthetic, naturalist,interpersonal and intrapersonal. This theory can be seen as a lens through which we can know our students.
 * Path A**
 * Gardner's theory of multiple intelligence

The school setting plays a role in accommodating learning styles. This can be done by providing various options that students could choose from which suits their learning preference such as, providing quiet areas, bright as well as dark areas, different types of questioning, headphones and ear plugs for audio and others.
 * Path B**
 * Learning and thinking styles

Learning styles /preferences refers to the various conditions or situations that someone finds is most condusive for them to study and learn. This pertains to someone's personal preference. There are differences in learning styles and students should be aware of their preferences because this influences learning. Although there has been much debate as to what Intelligence is, it can generally be described as one's capability to acquire new information and skills to solve complex problems and adjust to new conditions. The debate extends to as to whether nature or nurture is the driving force for one's intelligence. However, most will agree that both phenomenons play a role and the home environment can have a significant impact on a child's intelligence in several aspects. It is essential that a teacher utilises one of the tools available to assess students' learning preferences. That is necessary for making important decisions such as class grouping and also for meeting their individual needs.
 * Path C**
 * Learning and thinking styles
 * Intelligence
 * Path D**
 * Learning and thinking styles

Chapter 6 - Behavioral Views of Learning

Classical conditioning: this involves the association of an involuntary response to a new stimuli. Operant conditioning: this is involves the strengthening and weakening of voluntary behavior by consequences. Although these theories are two different entities,they both have direct links to classroom management, motivation and learning and can be incluuded in all the other **paths.** Learning can be described as permanent change in behaviour or knowledge as a result of experience. : Learning can be accelerated sometimes with reinforcement and rewards.When students efforts are rewarded they are motivated to learn.
 * Path A**
 * Behavioral Learning Theories
 * Path C**
 * Learning

These are very important concepts in teaching and learning which teachers should utilize in designing tasks for diverse learners.
 * Path D**
 * Shaping and successive approximations means reinforcing each small step of progress towards a target goal.
 * Task Analysis means breaking down a complex task into smaller steps.

Chapter 7 - Cognitive Views of Learning

The cognitive view of learning emphasises that knowlegde is learned and changes in knowledge impacts on behavior. The cognitivist sees reinforcement as a source of information which reveals the outcome of behavior that is repeated or changed. Also,it is important to note that the cognitivist asserts that the continued development of the brain plays a pivital role in the cognitive ablities of a child. This is important for teaching and learning because children will be expected to exhilbit certain behaviors and should be able to master certain skills at various age levels.
 * Path A**
 * Cognitive Learning

Working memory : The part of the memory system which holds information temporarily but must be combined with information that has been stored in long term memory for comprehension.
 * Path C**
 * Memory Systems

Long term memory: This is the part of the memory system which stores information for a long time. There are three categories of long term memory that concerns learning: Declarative knowledge - verbal information, facts and awareness Procedural knowledge- deals with performance; knowing how to do something Self regulatory knowledge- managing learning by deciding when to use declarative or procedural knowledge.

Mnemonics: linking concepts with known words or images. Loci method: associating items with specific places. Acronym: using the forat letter of words in a phrase to form a new word which is easy to remember chunking : grouping individual pieces of information into meaningful larger units. Rote memorization: remembering information by repitition e.g lines of a poem Students should be exposed to various means of organising information so that they can retrieve it easily when it becomes necessary, like preparing for an exam, for example.
 * Path D**
 * Techniques for Remembering

Chapter 8 - Complex Cognitive Processes

Metacognitive skills are important factors for thinking and learning namely: Planning- deciding how long a task should take, which strategies to use and how to begin the task etc. Monitoring- self assessment of progress. Evaluating- judging the processes and results of thinking and learning and acting on those judgments.
 * Path A**
 * Metacognition

Creativity requires students to use their knowledge to reconstruct a problem in order to see it in a new way. This is important in getting sttudents to be original in their thinking so that they can document their own ideas. In so doing they will be more motivated to use their skills and talents to be more flexible in the reorganization of ideas. This idea also fits in the Path D category as teachers play a siignificant role in promoting creativity in the classroom.
 * Path C**
 * Creativity and Cognition

Learning strategies involve devising a plan to be used to accomplish learning goals and learning tactics specify the technoques that make up that plan. Although there is a thin line between the two, they can work together and students must be exposed to both. The following principles should be established: 1. Introduce students to a number of different strategies and make tactics specific to particular subjects. 2.Teach students self-regulatory knowledge about when, where and why to use various strategies. 3. Motivation should be considered because it is not enugh for students to know when and how to use strategies, they should be motivated to utilize the skills. 4. Students should be intorduced to the concept of schematic knowlegde. This will enable them to use the appropriate schema to make sense of the respective material to identify the central theme.
 * Path D**
 * Learning Strategies and Tactics

Chapter 14 - Classroom Assessment Grading and Standardized Testing

Measurement describes an event or characteristic in quatitative terms. Assessement involves varous means to sample and observe students' skills knowledge and ablilites. Assessments can be informal or formal and can be designed by the classroom teacher or other agencies such as school district or Educational Testing Service.
 * Path B**
 * Measurement and Assessment

Formative Assessment: occurs before (pretest) or during instruction to guide the teacher in planning and improving instruction in an effort to hel students improve learning. Summative Assessment: occurs at the end of instruction which provides the teacher and students with an overview of accomplishments.
 * Path D**
 * Classroom Assessment

Authentic Assessment: test skills and abilities appropriate for real life situations. Performance Assessment: students are expected to carry out a carry out an activity or create product in order to demontrate thier learning. Portfolio: a collection of the students' work in a specific area which illustrates growth, self-reflection and achievement. Exhibition: students showcase their learning via a performace or demonstration which takes some time to prepare. Soring rubrics: specific guidelined that are used to determine the quality of a student's performance. Teachers need to utilize different types of assessment to give every student an opportunity to showcase their undersatnding of concepts and skills. This would address the differences that exist among students which cannot be ignored when they are being assessed.
 * Alternatives to classroom Assessemnt

The use of grades may have both a positive or a negative effect on students. The manner in which teachers use grades must be carefully examined. High grades may serve as a reward and encourage meaningful learning. On the other hand low grades may have adverse effects on students and cause them to have low self-esteem.
 * Path C**
 * Grades and Motivation

Chapter 10 - Social Cognitive Views of Learning and Motivation

The work of Albert Bandura, concerned with cognitive factors such as beliefs, self-perceptions, and expectations to social learning theory. Social Learning Theory: concerned with learning through observation if others. Triarchic Reciprocal Casaulty: explains behavior that empahsizes the mutual effects of the individual and the environment on each other. Self Efficacy: people's belief of whether they can perform a task at a certain level in a specific area which can have an effect on events that affect their lives.
 * Path A**
 * Social Cognitive Theory

Self regulated learning are influenced by: 1.Knowledge- students need to know themselves, subject, task, strategies for learning and how they will apply the learning 2.Motivation- students who are self-regulated show a keen interest learning becuase they have high regard for learning and they are guided by their goal for studying. 3. Volition: having the willpower to succeed through self-discipline and adopting workstyles that encourage opportunities to attain goals through self-regulated learning. If students are to conquer the goal of self-regulated learning they should learn what may have an impact on it. In that way the possibility of them becoming self-regulated learners will be greater and more successful. The concept of voilition is, in my opinion the most important here.
 * Path C**
 * Self-Regulated Learning

Complex Tasks: Tasks that involve multiple goals .Teachers need to be aware that although tasks set should be challenging to students they should not be too complex to cause frustration. Control: Giving students choices. Teacher should act as a guide and allow students to take control over their learning processes and products.This would help students demonstrate qualities of self-regulated learners as it involves,planning,setting goals, monitoring progress and evaluating outcomes. Self Evaluation: On going activity. Students should be taught to interprete errors as new opportunities for learning. Collaboration: Fosters a climate of community. When students work collaboratively they are better able to tackle challenging assignment. Also students see themselves responsible for each other's learning rather than competing against each other. All these are important points for teachers to make use of to direct students towards the path of self-regulated learning.
 * Path D**
 * Teaching Toward Self-Efficacy and Self-Regulated Learning

Chapter 11 - Motivation in Learning and Teaching

An internal state that arouses, directs and maintains behaviour. Intrinsic Motivation: associated with activiities that are their own reward. Extrinsic Motivation: created by external factors such as rewards and punishment. Locus of Casualtity: the location of; internal or external; of the cause of behavior. Reward: An attractive object or event supplied as a consequence of a behavior. Why have some of our students lost focus? What can we do as educators to motivate them? How can they be intrinsicly motivated?These are crucial questions whose answers present issues which neeed to be addressed in order to help students make the most of their educational experiences. Goal Orientation: Patterns of beliefs about goals related to achievement in school Mastery Goal: A personal intention to improve abilities and learn, no matter how performance suffrers. Task involved learners: Students who are involved in mastering the task or solving problems. Performance Goal: A personal Intention to seem competent or perform well in the eyes of others. These concepts could have also been placed in path D because they concern teachers as well.
 * Path C**
 * Motivation
 * Types of Goals

Learned Helplessness: expectation based on previous experiences with a lack of control that all one's efforts will lead to failure. Master-Oriented Students: students are focused oon learing goals because they value achievement and see ablilty as improvable. Failure-Avoiding students: Students who aviod failure by sticking to what they know,by not taking risks or claiming not to care about their performance. Self handicapping: Students may engage in bahavior that hinders success in order to avoid testing their true ablility. Failure Accepting students: Students who believe that faliures are due to low ability and there is little that they can do about it. I believe that teachers must be aware of these types of students so that when they come into contact with them they will be be able to single them out and be prepared to give them the encouragement that they need or refer them to the relevant person with the expertise to assist them.
 * Path D**
 * Self -worth

1. Emphasize that abilities are not set but always improvable. 2. Teach directly about the difference between learning goals and performance goals. 3. Make the classroom a place where failure is just diagnostic; failure tells what needs to be improved 4.Encourage help-seeking and help-giving. I think that these were very important concept to add to this path of the framework because I know that some students come to school with all sorts of issues from home and they sometimes have such low self esteem, so sometimes we must take on the task of making these students believe more highly of themselves.
 * Encouraging Self- worth

Chapter 12 - Creating Learning Environments

Management of one's own behavior and claiming responsibility of one's own actions. This concept is ideal for this path because students need to be able to take responsiblity for their learning especially the older ones.They need to be focused and to do all in their power to apply themselves so that they can work at their true potential and aspire to reach their learning goals. Time spent actively learning engaged in the learning task at hand. Students tend to spend more time in their leisure activities than being engaged in meaningful school work. Students need to learn that they need to spend more time revising concepts or practicing what they have learnt to deepen their understanding. This goes especially fot the failimg students who do realise that their effort is not good enough. Technigues which are used to foster a positve classroom atmosphere where the teacher is in full control of her class and there is minimal behavior issues. This is a key concept to add to this path. Classroom mamagement plays a key role in preventing discipline problems in classes. If a teacher has poor management skills, then she will definitely lose control of her students, which can cause behavior problems to occur and which will ultimately impact negatively on teaching and learning. 1. Keep students engaged by giving clear and specific instructions,presenting needed materials and monitoring activities. 2. Be aware of inddividual differences, keep students motivated and reinforce positive behavior. 3. Establish Kounin's: -withitness-awareness of everthing happening in the classroom. -overlapping-supervising several activities at once. -group focus- keeping as many students as possible involved in activities. -movement management- keeping the lessons and the group moving at an appropriate and flexible pacee with smooth transitiona and variety. 4. Establish a caring school environment and teach students to use social skills and emotional self-regulatory skills. 5. Help students form connections with school by: -Starting off by setting clear guidelines for academic work and student behavior. -Respecting students' needs and rights. -Showing students that you care by making classes interesting. -Being fair and honest with students. -Ensuring students' understanding of concepts. -Coping with their problems. All of the above tips are essential measures which teachers should embrace to foster a classroom environment that is condusive for learning.
 * Path C**
 * Self management
 * Engaged time/ time on task
 * Path D**
 * Classroom Management
 * Maintaining a good environment for learning

Reference: Woolfolk, A. (2010). //Educational Psychology.// Saddle River, New Jersey: Merrill.