Principles of Learning and Teaching in Social Studies

Programme: Master of Teaching and Learning
Module: Principles of Learning and Teaching in
Social Studies
Code: EDH70204
Name:
Supervisor:
Date of Submission:

PART A - INQUIRING INTO OWN PRACTICE (ASSIGNMENT 1 - 30%)
A1
How long have you been teaching?
Answer: 9 years
A2
Since you started teaching, what do you find MOST SATISFYING about it? Why?
(Note: Exclude administrative matters related to the job).
Answer: I can deliver my lessons in effective ways. At the same time creativity is
something which attracts students and develops a feeling of understanding as well as
adapting the learning habit.
A3
Conversely, since you started teaching, what do you find MOST FRUSTRATING
about it Why? (Note: Exclude administrative matters related to the job).
Answer: When students neglect their homework and revision because it certainly develops
habit of learning and increases adapting power of students which are part of their learning
objective. In order to have an insight of subject, homework and revision should go hand in
hand to get better understanding of subject (Woods, Jeffrey, Troman, & Boyle, 2019).
A4
Where do you teach now and for how long have you been teaching at the current
workplace? (Note: Name the workplace).
Answer: Am teaching at Sri Kuala Lumpur for 8 years.
A5
What is the level of education you are currently teaching? (Eg. Primary, Lower
Secondary, Upper Secondary, Tertiary, etc.
Answer: Primary
A6
Name the subject/module you chose in EDH70104. At its core what is/was the
subject/module all about? (Note: (i) Usually this information is concisely captured in
the synopsis of the subject/module. (ii) Do NOT list the learning aims/objectives/
outcomes)
Answer: History.
This subject is about sequential and intellectual importance of happenings in past events
with the patterns of cause and effect occurring. It is about study of life in society which
occurred in past with a detailed reasoning behind what happened, when happened and how
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and why it happened. It is also about background related to religion, political overview,
social perspective and about economic conditions of the nation or people (Boren, 2019).
A7
Who are/were your students taking this subject/module in terms of their background
that is/was critical for you to seriously consider increasing your teaching effectiveness?
Explain. (Note: List only the factors that are/were critically important in their
background)
Answer: Majority students are from Malaysia and they are not familiar with topics,
following are the important factors in the students background:
 Focusing on learning domains.
 Enhanced learner diagnosis through formative assessments
 Improving the organisations of contents (Muijs & Reynolds, 2017).
A8
Why do/did you consider these factors in your students’ background to be important
enough for you to seriously consider increasing your teaching effectiveness? (Note: For
each factor listed in A7, provide the reasons)
Answer:
 Curriculum should be related to all the subjects in the curriculum and there
interrelationship where the focus from contents only has to be shifted for significant
effectiveness in teaching
 Less emphasis should be paid on theoretic prospectus which should be replaced by
physical education.
 Involvement of the students has to be increased where different learning methods
could be opted for better effective teachings such as discovery learning and
experimental learning (Scott, 2017).
A9:
What is/was the class size for this subject/module? Do you think class size can/had
impact/impacted on your effectiveness in teaching this subject/module? Why?
Answer: 30 students. No, class size have not affected effectiveness in teaching as this
subject needs understanding and creativity in teaching methods to make it more interesting
and develop effective learning ability which definitely does not depend on the class size
(Westwood, 2018).
A10
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Generally, do you consider yourself to be an effective teacher? Why? (Note: List the
criteria you use to evaluate yourself as a teacher and provide reasons for using each of
this criterion).
Answer:
 Experience: As a teacher, I have a strong record of teaching since last 9 years due to
which I have undergone not so much but know how to deal in every situation and
students.
 Thorough command: With experience one also gains command over what they are
pursuing since last many years which makes one having clarity in thoughts with an
aura of self-confidence.
 Lead discussions: I can stimulate, channelize and pace interactions with the whole
class and can judge whether class is able to get what is been taught with a sensitive
student motivation (Chaplain, 2016).
A11
Before enrolling in EDH70204, typically what teaching approach did you use? Why?
(Note: (i) Be specific in answering. Do not just answer ‘Because it is effective’. If it is
effective, describe how it is effective and then provide your reasons for the
effectiveness. (ii) Read up on the meaning of teaching approach as opposed to a
teaching method before answering).
Answer: Banking model of education is a teaching approach used as it refers to pouring
knowledge into students as a container as a transmission process where the purpose of
learning is memorizing the facts and absorbing information which is an effective approach
used by teachers of history (Tarhini, Masa’deh, Al-Busaid, Mohammed, & Maqableh, 2017).
A12
Before enrolling in EDH70204, typically under the teaching approach you mentioned
in A11, what teaching method did you typically use? Why? (Note: (i) Be specific in
answering. Do not just answer ‘Because it is effective’. If it is effective, describe how it
is effective and then provide your reasons for the effectiveness. (ii) Read up on the
difference between a teaching approach and a teaching method before answering).
Answer: The lecture method is been used to pursue approach of banking model in teaching
as this method is a formal approach towards teaching based on events, facts, principles while
exploring the problem. This method is effective as it saves time and permits adaptability and
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