Course Description
This course builds students’ observation, planning and teaching skills to create or support meaningful learning opportunities in response to diverse learning styles. Using a common set of values, students will explore several teaching strategies and how these match with different learners' needs.
Course Content
The following global ideas guide the design and delivery of this course:
- Teaching and learning are interdependent processes which are integral roles of behaviour interventionists and classroom and community support practitioners. Teaching is the act of providing opportunities for learning; learning is the adaptation to changes in situations, information and interactions.
- Teaching and learning are lifelong activities which occur across all life domains and environments.
- Individuals are unique in how they teach and learn. Practitioners can enhance the teaching and learning processes by identifying, recognizing, respecting and responding to learning characteristics of the people they support.
- Effective practitioners plan strategies to maximize the learning potential of each situation, adapt and use unforeseen opportunities and experiences, and rely on their intuition in responding to changing contexts. Their awareness of their personal teaching and learning styles increases field effectiveness.
- Observing, recording, interpreting and reporting are the basis of effective teaching and learning.
- Planning, implementing, evaluating and revising are integral elements of teaching and learning. Positive approaches, methods and language are bases for skill building and enhancing individual self esteem, self worth and self -confidence.
- The principle of caring underlies practitioners' actions and interactions in all aspects of teaching/learning and supporting individuals as they become active, participating members of their communities.
Learning Activities
Face-to-Face
- Lecture
- Group Work
- Audio / Video Presentations
- Case Studies
- Hands-on Practice
Online
- Recorded Lecture
- Online Group Discussions
- Audio/Video Presentations
- Case Studies
- Individual practice activities
Means of Assessment
This course will conform to Douglas College policy regarding the number and weighting of evaluations. Typical means of evaluation would include a combination of:
- Tests / Quizzes
- Online contributions
- Individual assignments
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Describe a variety of factors which influence teaching and learning
- Identify values related to learning
- Identify environmental and biological factors related to learning
- Discuss learning preferences of self and others
- Describe several theories of learning, e.g. Social Cognition, Brain-based, Behaviourism
- Demonstrate understanding of individualized teaching and learning strategies
- Think critically when planning support
- Write clear objectives in observable terms
- Write clear and complete task analysis
- Describe techniques for teaching task analyzed skill, e.g. positive and negative reinforcement, total task, forward and backward chaining, shaping, etc.
- Describe techniques for providing and fading assistance, i.e. various prompt fading strategies
- Describe various error correction procedures
- Outline strategies for implementing and revising plans, using a decision making process for effective support
- Recognize components of a complete learning plan
- Apply a variety of observation and recording techniques to collect and evaluate data/progress toward teaching objectives
- Practice a range of observation and recording techniques, e.g. techniques to measure duration and frequency, use of time sampling and narrative methods
- Match specific techniques to purpose and individuals' settings
- Recognize own biases and filters
- Record and evaluate progress toward teaching objectives using repeated measures