Methods of Teaching

 
l
cite reasons classrooms are difficult environments
 
l
understand why teachers need to move around the classroom during lessons
 
l
know how to record an interaction between a teacher and a child
 
l
know how to phrase directions to students in positive terms 
 
l
understand the importance of grouping children and the various grouping
possibilities in a classroom
 
l
appreciate the value of pairing children for learning. 

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40
UNIT 1
UNIT 4
UNIT 5
UNIT 3
UNIT 6
UNIT 2
UNIT 7
ASSOCIATE DEGREE IN EDUCATION/B.ED. (HONS) ELEMENTARY
Week 3: Sources of complexity in
the classroom
NOTE TO FACULTY: This unit is intended to convey the message that, in many ways, 
classrooms are unnatural settings for learning. During the first week of the unit (week 3) 
Student Teachers are expected to spend two hours observing in classrooms. The first 
session of the week can be used for familiarizing students with the observation procedures 
and answering any questions they might have. The second session of the week can be 
used for reflection on the students’ own experience in school and the extent to which the 
features of classroom life listed below were characteristic of their experiences in school. 
If Student Teachers report a more positive environment for learning than the list below 
implies, they can be guided to hypothesize about reasons. Similarly, if their experiences 
were consistently negative, hypotheses about the reasons are equally important. 
The last session of week asks the Student Teachers to talk about and interpret their 
observations in the classroom. As in Unit 1, they should come to the third class session 
with a two-page summary and interpretation of their observations and the forms they used 
during the observations.
Sub-topics
• Managing a crowded space
• Working with groups and individuals
• Managing different activities occurring at the same time
• Diversity among children
• Managing scarce resources
• Coping with unexpected events 
Week 3, session 3 lesson