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Journal/Reflection week 2

The learning Environment

1.

Why should we stress the need for active learning, instructional equity, awareness of bias and
instructional differentiation?
Learning by doing is giving students chances to appear what they have of knowledge. According to my
experiences in government schools, teachers were not using this strategy a lot, why? Because they think
they have a curriculum to finish and there is no time to do experiments or other activities. However,
privet schools are more likely to use this strategy because they use strategies which depend on students
work. Why teachers in privet schools are depending on using strategies that improve students work? I
think know a days the curriculum changed than the old days, students need to show their knowledge and
build new knowledge by themselves (Teaching Strategies, 2014). In my opinion as a student and future
teacher, I prefer to learn things by different ways such as, experiments support the new lesson, electronic
games and discussions, which it will help me as a teacher to follow the improvements in the education
system. Moreover, using inquiry learning help students to learn by own following the 5Es. From what I
searched for the last years about the 5Es and strongly agree with that First, it raises students level of
skills, such as thinking skills, speaking skills and listening skills. Second, it makes teachers use scaffolding
to push students to think deeply and figure out the possible answers by questions and suggestions. Third,
it allows students to use objects and material to help them to search and discover also to find out a plan
to reach the information to the students with explaining by their selves. Finally, it gives students chances
to learn not only in the school and about the subject; it also helps them to learn from outside school and
can benefit them in their daily life (Peters, K. 2012). How did I know these benefits work? I actually
observed that through teaching practice in RAKESS PYP School and it showed me how much students
learn from each other and buy themselves.
How teacher treat special needs
To discuss an extra topic which is special needs students and how teachers treat them with other regular
students. According to my experiences through the last years that special need students are not different
that the other students, they only need different ways to teach them. In government schools were
focusing on them very much, by preparing a different activities are suitable to their level of learning which
help them to understand what the other are learning. I remember that a principle said if they were our
children we would like to teach them as the same as the other students because they deserve the same
education that students learn. On the other hand, in privet schools (PYP) were separating the special
needs students from the regular students, because they have a different curriculum to teach them. In my
opinion, I totally agree with inclusion classrooms because I think students with disabilities will learn more
and better if they interact with non-disability students. The reason is that if disability students interact
with others that will help them to change their thinking and make them feel that they are not different
from the others but they only need extra attention which teacher can use that to encourage them that
they are special and they can do things different than the others, so that will give them a high self-esteem
and self-confidence (Graves.L, Ward. A, 2012).
Sometimes teachers use different ways to explain the lesson to the students according to the levels of the
students in the classroom, the different language in some private schools and the special needs students.
In government schools all the students are Emiratis so the teachers were not suffer too much with the
language, but she was consider on planning for the level of the students for example, she should make
sure that each student has a worksheet that suitable for their high, medium or low level. Which I think it is
an effective way to make all the students work. However, from what I observed in private schools that
have different nationalities in one class, so the teacher have to make sure to follow a planning strategies
on how to deal with the students. For example, she could bring stories talks about India and their
traditional clothes, in other words engage the students with different cultures. Why would the teacher do
that? Because I think it gives the students confidence and proud, also in this way the teacher will find

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students talk about their cultures and other topic that engaged to the lesson. I liked this method that the
teacher used because in some classes she mentioned some information about my culture which made me
talk and share some ideas about that and the students were interested.
Different nationalities and different genders give them different instructions?
To compare between government schools and private school about mixed and single gender in
classrooms, I would say that obviously government schools are single gender and the private schools are
mixed-gender. Through my experiences in teaching practice that government schools are not finding
troubles in dealing with different genders because they already know how girls or boys react with the
teachers. For example, the teacher know what mostly girls like and what boys like so she would use game,
activities or hobbies that fits with the gender in her class. On the other hand, private schools are mixed.
What might face the teacher through a mixed gender class? From what I observed that the MST didnt
face any trouble with that, I think because she balanced between the two genders by making activities
and games for both genders. I was impressed with that because the teacher was planning carefully for
everything and always has a plan B for the lesson (Damani. B, 2011).
Management and use of materials
2.
What tools did you use to engage students in learning and students
ownership/empowerment?
Teachers always make sure to bring a new ways to make the lesson interesting to the students.
Sometimes they use technology, movies, games, outdoor activities which mostly students prefer. But
my questions are, does that help the teacher? Does it take much time? How would she decide the
appropriate type of the activity? Through my teaching practice in private schools, I observed that the
teacher prefer to use the technology, as she mentioned that they ask the students what they prefer
video, Games, or anything else in the list of activities and the most answer they get is video. I liked this
idea very much because it gives students a chance to see what they like to do in their class. But in my
opinion the teacher should do what she sees best for her students for example, now a days students
are using technology in everything so the teacher should change that and take them away from what
they are used to do in their daily life like reading a book. However, in government schools I saw that
teachers do their own planning and prepare the activities as what she wants her lesson to be.
In addition, in both schools use many ways to make the lesson effective and attractive to the students.
They use the technology, they make an outdoor activity which I always like to do when I have time,
because it change the students mood. I think both schools trying to use the newest methods and
techniques to make the lesson amazing. Using interaction method to improve the lesson helps the
students to understand the lesson and bond them with the concept of the lesson (Theories Based on
Interactive Process, 2013).
Some artifacts through the last semesters showing materials that the schools provide and some
activities that I did in the classrooms and shows how I like my lessons to be like:

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Private and
Government
schools

Safety in the classroom

3. Is there signage? Do the teachers take this seriously? Do students follow safety rules? Is there
safety equipment in the school?
This topic I would like to talk for the both schools private and government schools, because from what
I observed both of the schools takes this topic seriously. There are signage everywhere in the schools
and there are many types of signage such as, fire signs, cleaning signs, playing signs and stairs signs.
First type fire rules signs say DO NOT USE THE ALEVATORS FIND THE CLOSESEST EXIT LEAVE YOUR
THINGS AND WALK TO THE EXIT. These words are simple and help students to read them fast and
know what to do in case there is a fire in the school building. I also saw they used a capital letters,
according to the teacher, is to show students how seriously the problem. The second type says
Through your rubbish in the cycle bin, please dont through anything in the playground. This type
was not followed seriously by the students so the school let some teachers walk in the playground and
watch the students and ask them to through the rubbish in the bin. The last two types are the most
strict rules in the schools, the stairs and the playing signs and rules. Students must not run on the
stairs walk carefully, do not push each other on the stairs and hold the wall when you go up or down.
The rules for playing is sharing the balls, do not push your friend. The school takes it very seriously
because in case something happened to the students the parents will not let the problem to move and
they might complain so students safety is for the school reputation also. My opinion about that,

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signage are very useful for students because when parents leave their children in the school they are
comfortable and sure that their children in a safety hands.

Reference list:

nd

Damani, B. (2011). In a Class of Their Own: Are Single-Gender Classrooms the Answer? Retrieved 22 ,
October, 2014, from
http://www.ascd.org/publications/newsletters/education_update/apr11/vol53/num04/In_a_Class_of_Th
eir_Own@_Are_Single-Gender_Classrooms_the_Answer%C2%A2.aspx

Graves.L, Ward. A. (2012). Special Needs Students in Inclusive Classrooms: The Impact of Social Interaction
th
on Educational Outcomes for Learners with Emotional and Behavioral Disabilities. Retrieved 26 , October,
2014, from http://www.ejbss.com/Data/Sites/1/augustissue/ejbss-12-1134-specialneedsstudents.pdf

Peters, K. (2012). What is inquiry learning? Class notes, October 2012.

Teaching
Strategies.
(2014).
Retrieved
http://pedagogy.merlot.org/TeachingStrategies.html

Theories Based on Interactive Process. (2013). Retrieved 28 , October,

http://currentnursing.com/nursing_theory/theories_based_on_interactive_process.html

27th,

October,

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2014,

2014,

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