Hughes-C_22191148_effective_communication_assignment_1_short_response

Part A Question 1

Teaching at all levels requires the development of a comprehensive set of pedagogical skills
and an ongoing commitment to effective literacy practices that respond to the diverse needs
of students in order to achieve the optimum outcome. The curriculum specialisation English
particularly emphasises the medium of language and communication in teaching making the
notion of all teachers as teachers of literacy and all students as literacy learners especially
salient (Bellert, 2015 ). The delivery of effective teaching practices is predicated on assessing
the literacy levels and consequent demands of students so that teaching strategies can be
implemented to reflect the accessibility of texts in both receptive and expressive modes.

In analysing the literacy demands of students at a secondary level it is important to gain an

insight into foundational literacy levels from year 6 achievement records using transition
information from primary schools, formal testing and teacher observation and judgement. As
there will inevitably be notable variability in in the reading and comprehension capabilities of
different students entering year 7. Early identification of students with low levels of literacy
achievement or requiring literacy support enables individual students to obtain in appropriate
contexts, additional support that explicitly addresses their particular literacy learning needs
(Successful interventions 2001). In an increasingly multicultural society in which student
diversity may include those for whom English is a second language, variant literacy levels
will reflect different modes of learning and therefore require flexible approaches to teaching.
Delivering effective literacy teaching practices in secondary English in order to meet the
diverse learning needs of students requires the use of texts that are appropriate for students
literacy-level. The selection of texts used in the classroom may therefore call for adjustments
to be made as learning occurs best when the content is both achievable as well as
challenging (Bellert 2015). The distinctive and specific strategies required for secondary

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English teaching while significantly focussed on the English language must also
acknowledge a students level of digital literacy. Students must therefore be given fresh
opportunities to develop and demonstrate literacy skills using information communication
technologies (Successful interventions, 2001). Once identified, under the English Curriculum,
classroom practices and strategies designed to support the literacy needs of individual
students begin with the selection of appropriate reading materials. Second these materials
must be presented via purposeful, engaging and sustained reading and writing activities with
consistent and detailed monitoring of students progress with frequent feedback reports.
Third, acknowledging and responding to literacy practices via one-on-one student support
through opportunities to work in a variety of whole class and appropriate small group settings
including beyond the school.

Having determined the literacy level of secondary school students, the accessibility of texts
used in the English curriculum has significant bearing on learning outcomes and as such, the
selection of appropriate material plays a vital role in literacy and texts must therefore be set at
an appropriate level of comprehension within the framework of the secondary. As the English
curriculum relies heavily on textual analysis, the literacy demands of students operate firstly
from the receptive in which students ability to listen, read and view set texts is critical in
understanding the content. As student modes and levels of learning are far from
homogenous, teaching strategies must be attuned to the diversity of reception to a given text
so that effective literacy teaching practices support students in their reading of the text by
using comprehension strategies to support understanding (Bellert, 2015). Techniques
include previewing the given text, discussing key words, technical terms and concepts and
breaking the text up into sections and going through each one (Bellert 2015). While every
subject requires expressive modes, demonstrating comprehension of English texts is heavily

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predicated on the students ability to articulate via writing, speaking or otherwise

constructing responses that meet the curriculum criteria.

The efficacy of teaching strategies and learning activities in secondary English rely not only
on the type but on text structure, the nominated of which consequently clarifies a sense of
the particular social purpose that the text is intended to convey. In general English texts are
loosely classified as imaginative, informative or persuasive, with a great degree of overlap
and fluidity among them. Secondary English relies on imaginative texts to stimulate creative
use of literary elements by recognising form, style and artistic or aesthetic value drawn
from traditional visual and literary fiction, poetry, plays and multimedia texts (Bellert,
2015). Less integral in English classes but nonetheless applicable, are Informative texts that
contain content that provides factual information and knowledge include various publications
deemed culturally important for their role in everyday society (Bellert, 2015). The use of
persuasive texts in the English curriculum is particularly prevalent as they are utilised to
present a point of view that persuades students via the receptive mode and form a significant
part of modern communication in both print and digital environments. Imaginative and
Persuasive texts are at the core of improving the literacy level of student written work
(Bellert, 2015, mod 1, p 5) and are best presented to students via the scaffolding approach to
extended writing tasks. This approach acts as a advance organiser requires students to
present an exposition or written explanation of the text and is an effective literacy support
strategy and operates via an explicit or systematic approach to writing in which teachers and
students are both familiar with the purpose, type and structure of a text and utilise the same
terminology to articulate it. By establishing basic understanding of the text as well as
familiarisation with its language features and grammar, teaching practices in English
naturally embody a literacy focus and therefore meet the diverse learning needs of students
by developing appropriate literacy skills that meet the required standards.
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Question 3- part B
A lot has changed since the days when teachers used to stand at the front of a class and
deliver a lesson with little to no student participation. Now students are encouraged to voice
their opinions and contrite to the learning process and it is for this reason that we, as teachers
we must support students to develop effective questioning and thinking skills. Educators aim
to have student become active creators of their [own] knowledge and frameworks of
interpretation (McGuinness, 1999, p4). Reading logs and oral linking are two learning
activities drawn from the Project for Enhancing Effective Learning (PEEL) data-base that I
believe would work well in my curriculum specialisation (English) to help encourage student
question and thinking skills. Golding (2008) states that educators can assist students to
develop effective thinking skills by asking them to contrast and compare ideas, requesting
them to explain their answers, especially those that are unclear and by recognising positive
steps toward better thinking and questioning skills.
Oral linking would be a useful tool when revising a topic and it could also be used to
establish what students already know about a topic. During this activity students are each
given a term from the topic they then pass the ball to one another and as they do so they need
to make links between their term and that of the person before them. For example if the topic
was hamlet the first term could be murder the ball is then passed to someone with the term
Polonius who say Polonius was murdered by Hamlet. This is an activity that could easily be
modified depending on what needs to be revised such as if the aim is to revise English
techniques from a text the first person could say a quote, the next would say the technique
used and the third person would state the effect of using this technique. This activity would
not only be fun for the student as it incorporates movement but by noting down everything
that is said also allows the teacher to establish what parts of the topic need to be revised. If
using this activity to establish what students already know about a topic than student would
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not be designated a term but rather make up their own. By dividing the class into smaller
groups this could also be turned into a competitive activity with the winning group being the
one that makes the most links.
A reading log could be used as an assessment/homework activity or as a way for students to
create comprehensive study notes. Whilst reading a text student will regularly take notes and
record observations. This could include but is not limited to chapter summaries, questions
both complex and simple, predictions about the text, important quotes and a reflection once
the text is complete. By creating and answering their own questions rather than those that are
provided to them, student can become more engaged in their reading (Rosenshine, Meister &
Chapman, 1996). This is due to the students having to students having to actively engage in
their own learning process by identifying key theme in the text and creating the links between
them. This activity encourages student to think about what they are reading and cause them to
slow down and engage in the text rather than simply skimming through it. Students will not
be able to understand a text unintentionally. If they are not engaged in the text, not
intentionally drawing significance from it or not providing a cognitive effort to knowledge
construction, then only limited understanding can occur (Guthrie and Wigfield, 1999 cited in
Kouider, 2002, p. 251). Reading logs can also help students develop self-reflective
questioning skills by making them draw meaning from the text and create connection with
their own life events. By reading through the logs, in particularly the students questions, the
teacher will be able to establish reoccurring question and draw conclusions on parts of the
topic that require further discussion and revision.
Activities which involve thinking about how to approach a task and considering the progress
towards the end of a task are metacognitive in nature (Livingston, 2003). Classrooms
centred on the students allow for more opportunities for students to reflect on their own
learning and thinking processes. 21st century students are being encouraged to take
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responsibility for their own learning with the learning process becoming a communal activity
that involves both students, teachers and peers interacting with one another. Francis Hunkins
(1995) notes that questioning is no longer about a right or wrong answer but are a way of
actively processing, thinking about, and using information productively. (Hunkins, 1995,
p4). The two Peel activities, reading logs and oral linking encourage students to question
their work and create connection between the topics they have learnt. They also will provide
me as the teacher insight into what the student has learnt and what needs to be revised.

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Part B-Question 1
The implementation of philosophy inquiry and integration of metacognition skills into the
student learning process is a novel but significant tool which has the capacity to push
boundaries in thinking teaching and learning. As such metacognition can be seen as a border
pedagogy, which encourages dialogic interactions between teachers and students and students
with each other (Scholl, R., Nichols, K., & Burgh, G. 2009). Metacognition encourages
students to learn independently and provides insight into ones own thoughts. It is important
that the curriculum and teachers sees metacognitive thinking skills as a way of providing
pupils with the skills and confidence that [encourages] them to manage their own learning
and empowers them to be inquisitive and zealous in their pursuits (Paris & Winograd, 1990,
p. 22 Cited in Koider 2002).Two teaching and learning strategies that one could implement in
the classroom to develop metacognition skills are reflective journals and three before me.
The three before me technique involves the student to use three different resources to try and
find the answer to a question before asking the teacher. Students are required to
independently search for the answers to their question rather than relying on a teacher to
provide quick solutions. This activities would be effective as it requires the student to take
responsibility for and actively engage in their own learning process. Also, as the student must
research their question it also teaches them to think about the best way to find the information
they need, this could include internet research, a book or asking a fellow class mate who
understands the topic to help. If the student can still not find the answer to the question then
the teacher would provide it or alternately they could suggest the best place to find the answer
as this will help further develop the students research skills. This technique will also allow
the teacher to have more time to answer more imperative question rather than having to
constantly answer questions such as when is the assignment due again?. This technique
encourage students to delve into their own knowledge of a topic and recall past information.
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Also as the students has to search for the answer themselves they will be more likely to recall
it at a later date than if they had someone else find the answer. I believe this strategy is
dramatically more effective in engaging students in their own learning process than what it
would be to have a teacher simply tell them an answer and it is for this reason I think that it I
an effective strategy to develop metacognitive thinking skills.
The challenge of getting a student to thinking critically about his/her learning and
understanding the learning process as a coherent, unified developmental process
(Zubizarreta, 2004, p 10) is an important part of developing metacognitive thinking skills
within your classroom . Reflective journals are one method that could be used to help develop
these skills with the ability to be able to reflect on ones work being linked with higher level
of learning (Cited in Zubizarreta, 2004, p 10). Reflective journal could be used as a
homework assignment in which the students must reflect on what they have learnt about the
topic that week. The journal could be done in various ways depending on the students
learning style for example one student may choose to write a short essay while another could
take a different approach and draw a poster of the key themes from that weeks lesson,
providing the topic allows for this. The students could also be required to fill in a PMI (Plus,
minus, interesting) chart as a part of their reflection or it could include a question they have
regarding the topic. This activity requires the student to deeply think about what they have
learnt, make links between key themes and analyse their own work. It will also provide the
teacher valuable information on what they are doing well in a class and what parts of a topic
may need to be revised in a different way in order to better develop the student knowledge.
Paris and Winograd (1990) state that metacognition is an ability to understand cognitive
states which can be shared between others whilst still expanding the construct to include
affective and motivational characteristics of thinking (Paris & Winograd, 1990 p. 15 cited in
Kouider Mokhtari and Carla A. Reichard, 2002). Two of the main benefits of students
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learning to use metacognitive thinking skills include; student themselves becoming

responsible for monitoring their learning and positive self-perceptions, affect and motivation
among students" (Jones & Idol, 1990, p 15). The two strategies, reflective journals and three
before me encourage students to stop and think about their work and it is for this reason I
would use them in my classroom to help develop students metacognition skills.

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1.1 Oral linking

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1.2-1.3 Reading logs

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References
Bellert, A. (2015). Module 1: literacy Skills Student Communication [study guide].
Retrieved from Southern Cross University Effective Communication in the classroom
blackboard site.

Golding, C. (2008) Philosophy for children: Notes and materials.pp. 1-39. Retrieved from
http://digitisation.scu.edu.au/scu/bundles/5498c9276c7ab33c5d000001

Howie, D. (2011). Teaching students thinking skills and strategies. London: Jessica Kingsley
Publishers.

Hunkins, F. P. (1995). Teaching thinking through effective questioning (2nd Ed.).

Boston: Christopher-Gordon Publishers.

Jones, B., & Idol, L. (1990). Dimensions of thinking and cognitive instruction. Elmhurst, Ill.:
North Central Regional Educational Laboratory.

Livingston, J. (2003). Metacognition- An Overview. Retrieved from

http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED474273

McGuiness, C. (1999). From thinking skills to thinking classrooms. Great Britain, Dept. for
Education and Employment.

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Mokhtari, K., & Reichard, C. (2002). Assessing students' metacognitive awareness of reading
strategies. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94(2), 249-259. doi:10.1037//00220663.94.2.249

Rosenshine, B., Meister, C., & Chapman, S. (1996). Teaching students to generate questions:
A review of the intervention studies. Review of Educational Research, 66(2), 181.
Retrieved from
http://ezproxy.scu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/214118250?accou
ntid=16926

Scholl, R., Nichols, K., & Burgh, G. (2009). Philosophy for children: Towards pedagogical
transformation. Refereed paper presented at Teacher education crossing borders:
Cultures, contexts, communities and curriculum the annual conference of the Australian
Teacher Education Association (ATEA), Albury
http://atea.edu.au/ConfPapers/2009/Refereed/Scholl.pdf

Walsh, J., & Sattes, B. (2005). Quality questioning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Zubizarreta, J. (2004). The learning portfolio. Bolton, Mass.: Anker Pub. Co.

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