COMPILATION AND REFLECTION

ABOUT DIFFERENT PEDAGOGICAL APROACHES,

METHODS

AND

TECHNIQUES

CURRICULUM APROACHES
The manners we teach a language can be approached in several
different ways, each of which have different implications for the
curriculum design. Three curriculum approaches are described and
compared. Each differs with respect to when issues related to input,
process, and outcomes, are addressed.

1. Forward design:
CONTENT
OUTCOMES (objectives).

PROCESS

(methodology)

You choose the methodology based in the content you are

going to teach.

2.

Central design:
PROCESS

3.

Backward design:
OUTCOMES

OUTCOMES
CONTENT

PROCESS
CONTENT

Fist you choose the activity,

and then fit the content and
outcomes in it.

First you design which

objectives you want to achieve,
and then, the methodology and
content

Each of this three curriculum approaches differs with respect to when

issues related to input, process, and outcomes, are addressed.

Forward design has been the major tradition in language curriculum

development. Resolving issues of syllabus content and sequencing
are essential starting points with this approach.
Meanwhile, Central design begins with classroom processes and
methodology. Issues of syllabus and learning outcomes are not
specified in detail in advance and are addressed as the curriculum is
implemented. This approach was very popular during the 80s and
90s, period in which lots of innovative methods appeared.
However, nowadays, The Common European Framework of Reference,
followed by many language teachers around Europe in particular and
the rest of the world in general, is focus on the backward design,
which n starts from a specification of learning outcomes and decisions
on methodology and syllabus are developed from the learning
outcomes.
Wiggins and McTighe (2006:15) give an illustration of this process
with an example of a typical forward-design lesson plan:
The teacher chooses a topic for a lesson (e.g. racial
prejudice)
The teacher selects a resource (e.g. To Kill a Mocking-bird)
The teacher chooses instructional methods based on the
resource and the topic (e.g. a seminar to discuss the book
and cooperative groups to analyze stereotypical images in
films and on television)
The teacher chooses essay questions to assess student
understanding of the book.

Clarks description of the features of progressivism captures the

essence of central design:
It places less emphasis on syllabus specification and more
on methodological principles and procedures.
It is more concerned with learning processes than
predetermined objectives.
It emphasizes methodology and the need for principles to
guide the teaching learning process.

 It is learner-centered and seeks to provide learning

experiences that enable learners to learn by their own
efforts.
It regards learners as active participants in shaping their
own learning. 16 RELC Journal 44(1)
It promotes the development of the learner as an
individual. It views learning as a creative problem-solving
activity.
It acknowledges the uniqueness of each teaching-learning
context.
It emphasizes the role of the teacher in creating his or her
own curriculum in the classroom (Clark, 1987: 49-90).

According to Tyler and Taba, the process of backward design consists

of:
Step 1: diagnosis of needs
Step 2: formulation of objectives
Step 3: selection of content
Step 4: organization of content
Step 5: selection of learning experiences
Step 6: organization of learning experiences
Step 7: determination of what to evaluate and of the ways of doing it
(Taba, 1962: 12).

TPS TECHNIQUE
Think, peer and share is a technique that can be used for many
activities in the classroom. It is focused on the fact that every student
should have time to think about a proposed issue and should have the
opportunity to share his/her ideas with at least another student which,
in turn, increases their sense of involvement in classroom
learning. Therefore, students have time to think about it individually,
and then they work in pairs to solve the problem and share their ideas
with the class.

I think that this technique can be very useful in many stages of the
class and used for several activities with different purposes such as:
concept
reviews,
discussion
questions,
partner
reading,
brainstorming, quiz reviews, topic development, etc.
Moreover, I believe that TPS helps students develop conceptual
understanding of a topic, develop the ability to choose information
and create their own conclusions, and develop the ability to consider
other points of view.

INSTRUCTIONAL SCAFFOLDING
There are many techniques focused on scaffolding which is a learning
process that follows a stronger understanding taking into account the
students needs and achieving a deeper level of knowledge going up
through different phases or levels.
Instructional scaffolding is a learning process designed to promote
a deeper level of learning. Scaffolding is the support given during the
learning process which is tailored to the needs of the student with the
intention of helping the student achieve his/her learning goals
(Sawyer, 2006).

According to Sawyer, Instructional Scaffolding is the provision of

sufficient support to promote learning when concepts and skills are
being first introduced to students. These supports may include the
following:

resources

a compelling task

templates and guides

guidance on the development of cognitive and social skills

Moreover, in my opinion, techniques based on scaffolding give

students greater independence in the learning process, as well as, it
is a helpful method to used to bridge learning gaps.

In conclusion, it is such as important aspect of education that I think

we all, as teachers, have it in mind when planning the teaching
learning process.

NLP (NEURO-LINGUISTIC PROGRAMMING)

This is a Cognitive educational principle. It is connected with the
process in which students obtain the knowledge. In fact, NLP deals
specifically with the various ways in which they do that.
In order to obtain knowledge, students have to process information,
and NLP effectiveness in helping students gain a better understanding
of the way they learn.
As Richard Bandler and John Grinder said; NLP shows us how
language and behaviours are really structured, and that this structure
can be 'modeled' or copied into a reproducible form.
In addition, these techniques are closely connected to the theory of
multiple intelligences due to the fact of taking into account the
different ways that different students learn (visual learning, auditory
learning or kinaesthetic learning). Therefore, some teachers are
apliying NLP in the classroom for the benefit of all kind of learners.
I think that having into account not only the concepts or contents to
be learned but also the process in which these is acquired, is essential
when we are aware of the different types of learners we have in our
classroom.

THEORY OF MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES

"Multiple intelligences is a psychological theory about the

mind. It's a critique of the notion that there's a single
intelligence which we're born with, which can't be
changed, and which psychologists can measure. It's based
on a lot of scientific research in fields ranging from
psychology to anthropology to biology. It's not based upon
based on test correlations, which most other intelligence
theories are based on. The claim is that there are at least
eight different human intelligences. Most intelligence tests
look at language or logic or both - those are just two of
the intelligences. The other six are musical, spatial,
bodily/kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and
naturalist. I make two claims. The first claim is that all
human beings have all of these intelligences. It's part of
our species definition. The second claim is that, both
because of our genetics and our environment, no two
people have exactly the same profile of intelligences, not
even identical twins, because their experiences are
different."

Howard Gardner

As we can see, the theory of multiple intelligences proposes a big

transformation in the way our schools are run. Due to the fact that.
Traditionally school education is mostly focus on linguistic and
mathematical intelligences.
Dr. Gardner suggests that teachers
should be trained to present their lessons in a wide variety of ways
using music, cooperative learning, art activities, role play, multimedia,
field trips, inner reflection, and much more.
I completely agree with this point of view, because when you are a
teacher, you easily perceive that not all your students learn through
the same way. Therefore, on the one hand, you should have into
account the different intelligences there are in your class and, on the
other hand, you have to have a clear idea about the contents and the
concepts you want the students achieve in order to provide them with
the biggest range of different activities focused in these multiples
intelligences to cover all their needs.

PPP METHODOLOGY
The PPP is a method that consists of 3 stages:
The first stage is the presentation of an aspect of language in a
context that students are familiar with.
The second stage is practice, where students will be given an
activity that gives them plenty of opportunities to practice the new
aspect of language and become familiar with it whilst receiving
limited and appropriate assistance from the teacher.
The final stage is production where the students will use the
language in context, in an activity set up by the teacher who will be
giving minimal assistance.
This is a traditional method that has received lots of criticisms.
However, I think that sometimes this kind of methods allows teachers
to control the direction of the learning process, which is necessary
when you must follow a curriculum.

ESA METHODOLOGY
ESA: Engage, Study, and Activate.
This is an alternative method of the PPP proposed by Jeremy Harmer
in How to Teach English (Longman Publishing 1998) ESA: Engage,
Study, and Activate. However, the stages of ESA are roughly
equivalent to PPP, though ESA is slightly different in that it is designed
to allow movement back and forth between the stages. Thus, each
stage is similar to the PPP stages in the same order.
This method tries to focus the learning process on the motivation and
the engagement of the learners.
I believe that we, as teachers, must be aware of the different
situations and context that our students come from. That means,
sometimes it is very difficult that certain students have the intrinsic
motivation they need for a natural and positive learning. Therefore
this kind of methods that chase to reach their engagement through

games and stimulating activities are a very useful tool to achieve our
goal as teachers.

DESIGN THINKING
This term comes from the business and design world.
This processwhich has been called design thinkingdraws on
methods from engineering and design, and combines them with ideas
from the arts, tools from the social sciences, and insights from the
business world. Stanford Universitys dschool webpage
However, in general terms, it is considered as a human-centered
method that focuses on people rather than products or technologies
to solve problems, that is, it could be defined as a methodology for
practical, creative resolution of problems or issues.
Therefore it could be considered a method to be applied not only in
design and business but also in education. Solving problems with
solutions reached through creative agreements result of collaborative
work is always a very powerful tool when talking about education.
However, I am not very sure if it is an appropriate method to all levels
or in a young age range of learners. Because I think that, to go
through this process, learners should have enough cognitive maturity
and self-confidence to deal with certain steps of it.

INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNIQUES; DIFFERENCIATION

Differentiation refers to an educational strategy that consist on the
adaptations made by a teacher in his/her lessons to let the whole
group of students, in an assorted class, achieve the pretending goals
depending on their levels.
We all know that, in a same group class there are always several
learning levels, as well as, different learning needs or different
abilities, even when the group is a common and heterogeneous class.
Therefore, teachers should be aware of this fact and increase
flexibility (using several instructional methods, adapting the lessons
plans and using different kind of activities) to be sure that all students
master essential knowledge, concepts, and skills.
It is obvious that we, as teachers, must take into account the different
needs of our students. But, sometimes, we find this extremely difficult
either because we have too many students in one class or because a
lack of personal and technological resources.

However , there is a famous educator and writer called Carol Ann

Tomlinson who wrote in her book to Differentiate Instruction in MixedAbility Classrooms, the differentiation is the practice of varying
instructional techniques in a classroom to effectively teach as many
students as possible, but it does not entail the creation of distinct
courses of study for every student (i.e., individualized instruction).
The conflation of differentiated instruction and individualized
instruction has likely contributed to ongoing confusion and debates
about differentiation, particularly given that the terms are widely and
frequently used interchangeably
I agree with reflection, but I think that, to do so, we need to be trained
in how to deal with. We should have specific training to manage
different levels at the time, which is not easy, especially, when we
have a numerous class group or different graders.

CLIL
The term CLIL was coined by David Marsh, University of Jyvskyl,
Finland (1994):

"CLIL refers to situations where subjects, or parts of

subjects, are taught through a foreign language with dualfocused aims, namely the learning of content and the
simultaneous learning of a foreign language."
According to this definition of CLIL we, as teacher of the bilingual
programme, can be considered CLIL teachers due to the fact that we
teach subjects such as Science or History through a foreign language.
When developing CLIL we need to:

Choose appropriate content

Develope intercultural understanding

Use language to learn/learning to use language

Make meanings that matter

Scaffold the knoweledge.

For learners, CLIL can be more interesting and more motivating than
other traditional methods because it provides opportunities to use a

new language for learning new knowledge but in different ways from
in conventional grammar-based lessons. It makes good use of time
since both subject area content and languages are being learned
together.

The 4Cs Framework

Coyle, D. (1999) developed the 4Cs Framework. The 4Cs framework
for CLIL starts with:

content (such as subject matter, themes, cross-curricular

approaches) and focuses on the interrelationship between
content (subject matter)

communication (language)

cognition (thinking)
culture (awareness of self and otherness)

To work on integrating learning (content and cognition) and

language learning (communication and cultures).

KWL; READING METHOD

KWL is a very useful technique for reading and studding in a
meaningful way, that can help you to understand better a text.
It is composed of only three stages that reflect
a worksheet of three columns with the three letters:

What we

Know

What we

Want to
know

What we

Learned

1. K stands for Know

think about previous knowledge and make a list of it.
This advanced organizer provides you with a background to the
new material, building a scaffold to support it.
2. W stands for Will or Want
The second stage is to list a series of questions of what the student
want to know more of the subject, based upon what you listed in K.
3. L stands for Learned
The final stage is to answer the questions,
as well as to list what new information the student has learned.