The Changing Classroom
Differentiating Curricula through the Arts: A Learning Journey
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Ulrik Strodl, Reesa Sorin
This Collaborative Autoethnography reports on a teacher’s journey into planning and implementing arts-based pedagogy to meet the learning needs of students with learning differences in a school in Singapore. According to the Dyslexia-SPELD Foundation, a specific learning disability is generally recognised as resulting in the child (or adult) ‘learning differently’ and so this term is used to avoid negative labeling of students at this school. In 2016, the Rain Tree School (pseudonym) began to trial arts-based pedagogy as a way of engaging students and helping them to succeed with their studies. This included the addition of an arts-integration teacher to the staff (Ulrik), whose brief was to teach, and to help classroom teachers to teach all curriculum areas using arts-based pedagogy. Through collaborative autoethnography with a university academic also involved with the school (Reesa), the challenges of differentiating learning and working in collaboration with teachers of varying arts-based pedagogical abilities and appreciation are explored and reflected upon. With the current school focus of arts-based pedagogy for Mathematics and Literacy, the researchers reflect on lessons learned, the effectiveness of various arts-based approaches and techniques, and the way forward to best meet the needs of this group of ‘different’ learners through the Arts.
Multimodal Learning Environments to Enhance Intermediate Phase Learners’ Communicative Competence in English First Additional Language
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Margaret Malewaneng Maja
Multimodal learning environment is particularly significant for enhancing learners’ communicative competence in English First Additional Language (EFAL) in time of austerity. Teachers have to serve the needs of the learners creatively in these times of social turbulence. This study narrates the story of a teacher who used multimodal texts in the Intermediate Phase (Grades 4-6) in one of the township primary schools in Tembisa. This township school was purposively selected as the narrator used to teach the EFAL in grade 5. The findings indicate that a teacher with high teacher efficacy can bring transformation in the teaching and learning environment by skilfully facilitating or encouraging the learners to participate in the interaction that would achieve the communication competence. Recommendations were made on how EFAL teachers can use the classroom learning centres, scaffolding, scripting, posters, and diaries to enhance learners’ communicative competence in the target language.
Classroom Interaction in the Teaching of English to Non-English Speakers
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Masilonyana Motseke
The teaching of English as a First Additional Language (EFAL) in the historically disadvantaged schools in South Africa is serious challenge for teachers. A study was conducted to determine the extent of classroom interaction in the teaching of English in the intermediate phase (Grades 4, 5 and 6) in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Four African teachers were visited in their classes while they were busy teaching English. It was found that teachers spoke most of the time while learners passively listened to the teacher, except when they occasionally answered a question ‘in a chorus’ (all learners speaking at the same time). The teacher read a text for the learners, explained the text read, and asked short-answer questions (which enabled answering in a chorus). The conclusion drawn was that a two-way interaction between the teachers and learners was too minimal. Attempts to train teachers who participated in the study in classroom interaction were to be considered.
