Contekstual Teaching Learning

Summary Analysis of Novice Teacher Implementation of Contextual Teaching and Learning by Research Questions

  1. 1. How does the teaching practice of CTL-trained novice teachers differ from more traditional approaches to teaching the subject matter?
  • •Very different, movement from passive reliance on textbooks, lectures, rote memorization, notetaking, drill and questioning, individual student work, and tests of recall to much more project- and problem-oriented teaching, real-world contexts as sources of knowledge, authentic assessment (portfolios), student presentations, teacher mentoring and coaching, caring and nurturing environment, cultural relevance, learning community, use of community and workplaces as sources of knowledge, and student ownership of learning
  • • Noise, Active - lots of involvement, interactive, fast-paced; students and teachers move around and work together; classroom environment so structured to facilitate movement and group work; students say its fun, imaginative, easier to learn, and that they learn more
  • •Students and teachers offer assistance - community of learners, teams, coaching and mentoring by teacher, peer teaching
  • •More student oriented and focused (as opposed to teacher directed and centered); considers diversity, “sub” populations, and equality; teacher knows students well, respects them and meets individual needs
  • •Multidisciplinary – content “across the disciplines” emphasized
  1. 2. Which CTL strategies do CTL-trained novice teachers use in classroom teaching contexts? Strategies that were seen more commonly
:
  • • Repertoire of hands-on activities and strategies – concept maps, games, simulations, “mirroring the work of scientists and scholars,” experiments
  • • Student collaborations – group or team work, “partners study,” brainstorming, reciprocal teaching, multiple sources of authority, peer tutoring, think-pair-share
  • • Community involvement – speakers, surveys, field trips, “doing it” (i.e., real science), community service, case studies, employment connections
  • • Real-world connections – tests on alcohol, blood, water pollution, disease control, bacteria in school, statistical control, probability, business plan, design a rocket, build a boat, community case studies, sports analysis, build a roller coaster, plant a school garden, and more…
  • • Problem-based learning – real-world problem solving
  • • Project-based learning – creative, collaborative, interdisciplinary, sustaining
  • • Self-directed and inquiry learning – with projects, experiments, division of labor, figuring it out, and “what if” scenarios
  • • Meaningful assessment – portfolios, rubrics, journals and notebooks, external validation, data analysis, reflection papers, oral presentations, teamwork, some student selection
  • • Technology-assisted instruction – networks, problems on www, info search, creative designs, on-line support, calculators, videos, design/testing computer software, accessing materials from a variety of sources
  1. 3. What are the facilitators and barriers to implementation of various CTL strategies in actual classroom practice in school settings?
Facilitators
  • • Teacher’s philosophy – believes it is the best way to teach and students to learn
  • • Positive response from students – engaged, motivated, excited
  • • Time (block schedule)
  • • Support from supervising teacher, principal, peers, mentor, university; encouragement to teach to higher levels of learning; funding; good textbook and resources
  • • Technology
  • • Good training from the University – CTL focus, internships, community experiences, role modeling
Barriers
  • • Subject matter, especially in math and science – harder to think of context and be creative; pressure to “cover material” and stick to the book
  • • Time and hassle - poor time management, 55 minute classes, takes time to develop materials and prepare students, paperwork in arranging [some] CTL activities
  • • Lack of support from supervising teacher, principal, peers; may include lack of funds for additional activities and equipment; “crises” exist in some schools
  • • Student apathy/lack of preparation (e.g., in math and thus impediment to curriculum integration)
  • • State curriculum, textbook, and testing requirements – “stay up with the other teachers,” “keep moving,” “more chapters to be covered,” “teaching the book” “this is on the test,” “real-world problems in book are stupid,” “same day, same page” mandate, “boring
  • • Classroom management – teacher perceives loss of control, especially with tremendous student diversity in classes
  • • Parents – lack of involvement, pressure to prepare for tests
  1. 4. What effect does use of CTL strategies have on student engagement and mastery of subject matter content (i.e., selected measures of student achievement)?
  • • Students stay on task, are more attentive, are more interested, more cooperative, and better behaved
  • • Better recall of material (better assessment scores, better grades)
  • • Students are more motivated, excited, “connected,” and say they learn more
  • • Higher levels of learning process skills – formulating hypotheses, remembering, drawing inferences, generalizing, seeing relationships
  • • Metacognition – making sense out of content, reflection, self assessment

Table 2. Other Findings about Novice Teacher Implementation of Contextual Teaching and Learning

  • • CTL was applied very differently in elective courses then in academics; probably due to both the “nature” of career and technical courses (e.g., explicitly hands-on), pressure to teach to tests and follow curriculum strictly in academic courses, and administrative pressure in academics to increase standardized test scores
  • • CTL strategies are very important to minority cultures – Hispanics, African Americans – tying subject back to home country and community contexts and including projects of relevance to their culture (chef training, dog breeding, blood typing, disease control, statistical relevance); the focus on individual needs of students a strength; consideration of diversity-in a broad sense-valued
  • • Opportunities (e.g., work-based and service-learning) were often missed by novice teachers to use contextual applications, particularly in executing day-to-day lessons
  • • Community-based experiences were limited – may be due to costs, security issues, administrative reluctance to approve, and perceived hassle
  • • CTL approach provides transferability and opportunity in other employment; for example, two novice teachers left for similar, but more lucrative, jobs ─ one in business (training) and one at Center for Disease Control (curriculum development for science); several others acquired summer internships or employment related to their teaching field
  • • These novice teachers performed at a much higher level then might be expected for a typical first-year or student teacher as evidenced by surveys of and interviews with their former students; researchers reporting them as more confident, good classroom managers, student focused, and definitely “not boring”; seemed to know when “not to cross the line” with student-teacher interactions; observers noted strong student respect, engagement, and cooperation with teacher.

Tidak ada komentar:

Posting Komentar