Cambridge International Certificate in Teaching - Unit 1 Reflection

This assignment is a reflection on Unit 1 of the Cambridge International Certificate in Teaching and Learning, focusing on understanding the principles of learning and teaching. The student provides their personal understanding of learning, discussing cognitive development stages (Piaget) and learning cycle theories (Kolb). They identify various teaching methods and learning activities, such as role play and jigsaw methods, and explain the purposes of formative and summative assessments. The reflection also analyzes the key features of an effective lesson observed by the student, including planning, development of learners, independent learning, and modeling. The student evaluates the impact of the new learning on their practice, emphasizing the use of AFL strategies, ICT, and collaborative learning, to improve their lesson planning and teaching strategies.

4164 Cambridge International Certificate in Teaching and Learning
Evidence of Learning and Reflection
Your context
Candidate requirements
Please provide information about how you meet the
candidate requirements.
Please
complete
Comments/Details
Are you a full- or part-time teacher? Full-time
What kind of educational institution do you teach in? Primary
School
How many weeks do you teach for, over a full academic
year?
How many hours per week do you teach?
How many learners do you teach?
Are you responsible for planning and facilitating the
learning activities of your learners? Yes
Do you have the regular support of at least one mentor? Yes
Please provide some brief information about your educational context:
Your professional background including your experience as a teacher
Your current role and responsibilities including the subject(s) and the stage (e.g. primary) you
teach
Your school or institution
The Winchester School, Jebel Ali
Your learners
My learners are 7-8 year old, all nationalities studying in National curriculum of England

4164 Cambridge International Certificate in Teaching and Learning
Unit 1 Understanding principles of learning and
teaching
Learning outcomes
Candidates will engage with principles and concepts of learning and teaching. They will also
explore what makes an effective lesson so they can:
 A explain their understanding of learning and how people learn
 B review teaching methods and learning activities that engage and motivate learners to learn
 C explain their understanding of the purposes of assessment
 D identify and explain key features of what they think makes an effective lesson, and evaluate
the impact any new learning will have on their future professional practice.
Candidates will:
 observe an experienced practitioner teaching a group of at least six learners for 40–120
minutes
 observe the experienced practitioner’s practice, accompanied by their mentor
 Discuss with the mentor the key features of what makes an effective lesson.
Evidence of learning
 Explainyourpersonal understanding of learning and how people learn.
 Identify the teaching methods and learning activities you think engage and motivate learners
to learn, and explain why you think this.
 Explainyour understanding of the purposes of assessment.
Learning is a continuous process of acquiring new information from the moment we are born until
the time we take exit from the world. Factors like places, people, opportunities and incidences shaped our
learning. The more we gain experience from the outside world, the more it helps us in our endeavour to
survive and thrive.
In order to identify the best teaching methods for engaging and motivating learners, it is important
to have an idea of the stages of cognitive development proposed by Piaget. According to Piaget, a learner
goes through different stages of cognitive development that follows a sequence. These include the
Sensorimotor stage, Pre-operational stage, Concrete operational stage and Formal operational stage. The
first stage that is the Sensorimotor stage is characterized by a child’s ability to use his senses to observe
and feel everything around him (Siegler 2016). The child experiences cognitive development when he
discovers his abilities to move and speak. At the Pre-operational stage, the chid develops the ability to
compare and imagine. This stage is also characterized by the enhancement of the child’s ability to use
language properly. In the third stage, which is the Concrete operational stage, the child is able to provide
logical reasoning, have a coherent thinking and the ability to categorize understanding into multiple facets.
The final stage of Formal operational stage witnesses the child developing abstract thinking ability and
demonstrates mature interpretation.
Another important theory that enables teachers to identify the learning capabilities of learners is
Kolb’s Learning Cycle Theory. According to Kolb, learning involves the process in which “knowledge is
created through the transformation of experience”. The learning cycle involves four stages that show how
learners learn and relearn: Concrete experience, Reflective observation, Abstract conceptualization and
Active experimentation. Kolb stated that learning develops with every new experience people gain and
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4164 Cambridge International Certificate in Teaching and Learning
work at and expands with the knowledge that we attain (Barker, Lencucha and Anderson 2016).
Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, on the other hand, is a motivational theory that attempts to
understand the basic human needs in order to motivate them. Abraham Maslow believed that motivation
plays a key role in achieving the needs of people. His hierarchical model consisted of five tiers – Self-
actualization, Esteem, Love or belonging, Safety and Physiological. In the field of teaching, we could
utilize this model by motivating the learners through their different needs (Gawel 1997). The needs of
students vary and as teachers, we have limited access to their lives in order to understand their needs.
However, once at school and under our guidance, we could assess students’ needs and then adapt our
instruction based on their needs.
As teachers we must first try to understand whether each student has met his or her physiological
need that is whether each of them are physically fit and healthy. Then, we must check if they live and
study in a safe environment. After that, we must see whether they are loved and have a sense of belonging.
Finally, we must assess whether they feel good about themselves or not that is what they feel about their
self-esteem.
Teaching methods and activities:
Role Play is a useful activity for students of 7 to 8 years age to gain experience through learning. Children
acquire the role of any specific character and play the role.
Jigsaw method is another efficient learning method. The child is given an individual task and then works
with other children to combine the various pieces of the task and complete it.
Think‐ Pair‐ Share develops child’s ability to work in a team. The child is given a topic to build upon,
find a solution and develop an idea along with the team. This results in an efficient solving of the problem.
Flipped classroom assists children in getting the background of the study that could be applied in the
classroom. In this activity, teachers take on the role of facilitators who allow children to learn on their
own.
Purposes of Assessment:
Formative assessment is an activity that provides learners with feedbacks that assesses their progress
during the process of learning and notifies the method of their upcoming steps in learning. They are
examined through collaborative work, research, displays, feedbacks and presentations.
Summative assessments allow us to measure the degree to which the child has learned after the
completion of the program. Summative assessments are conducted at the end of the study program.
Assessments are effective means for learning because:
 Assessments enable teachers to measure the things a learner has achieved at every stage and
provide them motivation (Fidalgo-Blanco et al. 2016).
 Reflective remarks and set targets give feedback to students to assist them in advancing to their
next stage of development.
 Assessments replicate the teacher’s success in teaching and enable them to sharpen their teaching
skills and dwell upon techniques that are better than the previous.
 These act as milestones within a community of learning or within a school and even to check the
progress throughout different schools.
 Assessments provide students with the added knowledge about the abilities and skills they have
acquired or are yet to acquire through the learning program (Nilson 2016).
References:
Barker, D.J., Lencucha, J. and Anderson, R., 2016. Kolb’s learning cycle as a framework for early
fieldwork learning. World Federation of Occupational Therapists Bulletin, 72(1), pp.28-34.
Fidalgo-Blanco, Á., Sein-Echaluce, M.L., García-Peñalvo, F.J. and Conde, M.Á., 2015. Using Learning
Analytics to improve teamwork assessment. Computers in Human Behavior, 47, pp.149-156.
Gawel, J.E., 1997. Herzberg's theory of motivation and Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Practical
Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 5(11), p.3.
Nilson, L.B., 2016. Teaching at its best: A research-based resource for college instructors. John Wiley &
Sons.
Siegler, R.S., 2016. Continuity and change in the field of cognitive development and in the perspectives of
one cognitive developmentalist. Child Development Perspectives, 10(2), pp.128-133.
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4164 Cambridge International Certificate in Teaching and Learning
Word limit:800 words Word count:
Evidence of reflection
 Identify and explain the key features that you think make an effective lessonby reflecting on
the experienced practitioner’s lesson and subsequent discussion with your mentor.
 Evaluate the impact the new learning and experiences in Unit 1 will have on your practice as
you prepare for Unit 2.
Effective lesson plan - Key features:
Planning and sharing of the lesson objective – The experienced colleague was very calm and confident
and knew the things she wanted the students to learn. The colleague managed to bring about the objective
of the lesson from the students.
Development of each learner – I remember when I taught a lesson on instructional texts in my class; I
found that few of my learners had not made a good progress. When I received an opportunity to observe
my experienced colleague, I felt happy because it helped me understand my areas of weakness and the
things I need to improve. I observed that she asked a higher ability student to lead the starter activity,
which was a presentation on the topic done in class. I realised how I could too use my higher ability
children to lead a part of the lesson (Dunlosky et al. 2013). The students explained the entire lesson. Then,
he asked question regarding the lesson, which had to be answered by the students on the white board.
Every correct response from the students got thumbs up from the teacher. I observed that he made great
use of the AFL strategy (Strayer 2012).
Independent learning – The teacher allowed the children to engage in practical learning thus making them
feel independent and confident (Clark and Mayer 2008). He gave them whiteboards and magnets of
fractions with which the children did additions and subtractions. An active learning atmosphere was
clearly visible and the children seemed confident enough to use their own reasoning to find solutions (Van
den Bergh, Ros and Beijaard 2013).
Modelling – The teacher made good use of active learning. I observed that the students were asked to stop
the task by the use of a red card and start a task by the use of a green card. The teacher also made great use
of ICT by organizing an online quiz game (O’Neill and McMahon 2005). It attracted students’ attention as
they were engaged in knowing the answers and whether those were right or wrong. I also observed that the
students were helping each other in understanding the given tasks, which showed a healthy collaborative
atmosphere within the classroom. In addition, the teacher was seen helping the student group with low
ability. He guided them throughout the task.
Reflections – I received immense help from observing the experienced colleague’s class as it helped me
reflect upon my strategies in preparing lessons for my class. The teacher also made use of the mind map to
let students delve upon the learning achieved at the beginning of the unit. The use of mind map by the
teacher helped the learners connect to what they had learnt throughout the unit.
Although I have prepared a good lesson plan to involve every learner, it still is a very challenging task for
me. Reviewing the experienced colleague’s lesson, I was able to realize that modelling tasks helps
students with low ability to understand the lesson thoroughly.
I plan to develop a lesson through which all learners could be able to learn easily. I would add an
anticipatory set in my lesson plan to engage the students in the lesson to let them have a prior
understanding of the topic.
References:
Clark, R.C. and Mayer, R.E., 2008. Learning by viewing versus learning by doing: Evidence‐based
guidelines for principled learning environments. Performance Improvement, 47(9), pp.5-13.
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4164 Cambridge International Certificate in Teaching and Learning
Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K.A., Marsh, E.J., Nathan, M.J. and Willingham, D.T., 2013. Improving students’
learning with effective learning techniques: Promising directions from cognitive and educational
psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), pp.4-58.
O’Neill, G. and McMahon, T., 2005. Student-centred learning: What does it mean for students and
lecturers.
Strayer, J.F., 2012. How learning in an inverted classroom influences cooperation, innovation and task
orientation. Learning environments research, 15(2), pp.171-193.
Van den Bergh, L., Ros, A. and Beijaard, D., 2013. Teacher feedback during active learning: Current
practices in primary schools. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 83(2), pp.341-362.
Word limit:400 words Word count:
References:
Learning outcomes
Candidates will explore the practice of teaching and learning so they can:
 E plan a lesson that has clear aims and objectives and a coherent structure
 F teach a lesson that builds on the learners’ existing learning to develop new learning, with
suitableteaching methods, learning activities and resources
 G assess, in a lesson, the learners’ learning at appropriate stages, using suitable methods
 H evaluate a lesson, using feedback from an observer and their own reflection to develop
futurepractice.
Candidates will:
 plan and teach a lesson
 arrange for the lesson to be observed and formatively assessed by a mentor to provide
formative feedback for reflective practice.
Your context
Tell us briefly about the learning group you are teaching for your observed lesson. Tell us their
age range, gender, the group size, range of ability, learning needs and any other information
which you think is significant.
Evidence of learning
 Explainhow you structured the lesson so it was coherent.
 Explainhow the teaching methods, learning activities and resources that you used helped to
develop the learners’ learning.
 Describe how you assessed the learners’ learning.
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4164 Cambridge International Certificate in Teaching and Learning
Word limit:600 words Word count:
Evidence of reflection
 Analyse the effectiveness of the lesson; highlight the aspects that went well and explain why
you think they went well.
 Evaluate your existing teaching practice; identify which aspects need further development
and explain how you intend to change and develop these in your future practice.
Word limit:600 words Word count:
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4164 Cambridge International Certificate in Teaching and Learning
References:
Please ensure that you reference a minimum of 3 sources. We advise you to use the Harvard
reference system.
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4164 Cambridge International Certificate in Teaching and Learning
Unit 3 Facilitating active learning through effective
teaching
Learning outcomes
Candidates will further explore the practice of teaching and learning so they can:
 I plan lessons that are coherent and have clear links to previous learning
 J teach lessons, using an appropriate range of approaches to teaching and learning
 K assess in lessons to monitor learners’ learning and progress
 L evaluate lessons, using feedback from a variety of sources to identify strengths and areas
forfurther development in professional practice.
Candidates will:
 plan and teach a lesson
 arrange for the lesson to be observed and formatively assessed by their mentor.
Your context
Tell us briefly about the learning group you are teaching for your observed lesson. Tell us their
age range, gender, the group size, range of ability, learning needs and any other information
which you think is significant. If your learners are the same as for Unit 2 please state this, but do
not leave blank.
Evidence of learning
 Explain how you structured the lesson so it was coherent and linked to previous learning in
order to help learners achieve the intended learning objectives or outcomes.
 Explain why you used the range of approaches to teaching and learning.
 Explain how the lesson was inclusive.
Word limit:400 words Word count:
Evidence of reflection
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4164 Cambridge International Certificate in Teaching and Learning
 Explain how you used formative assessment to monitor the learners’ learning and progress,
and evaluate how effective the formative assessment was.
 Analyse your existing teaching and learning practice to identify strengths and aspects that
need further development.
 Evaluate the new knowledge and skills you have developed in Module 1 and explain how this
will help you to develop your future professional practice so that your learners will learn more
effectively.
Word limit:800 words Word count:
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4164 Cambridge International Certificate in Teaching and Learning
References:
Please ensure that you reference a minimum of 3 sources. We advise you to use the Harvard
reference system.
10 4164 Evidence of Learning and Reflection for assessment in 2018 and 2019