Read the text and do the tasks
Autonomy in learning is encouraged
1. Learners are given and accept increasing amounts of responsibility for their own learning. This happens in a number of different ways – by collaborating with others, by working on self generated problems, and by the forming and testing of hypotheses, for example.
2. From what we know about constructivism and about pedagogy it might be reasonable to consider that a pedagogy that emphasises communication in its widest sense, and also encourages communal, collaborative and cooperative work that leads to the joint construction of new knowledge and understanding is something which teachers should be encouraged to develop. Indeed, many teachers do use this approach, to some extent or another.
3. A pedagogy that embraces social constructivism and, with the help of internet-based technologies, takes it further and develops the use of information and the scope for social interaction that would not in other ways be easily accessible is a positive, theory based and practically tested approach to teaching, which can be promoted in classrooms in the knowledge that it is a sound and potentially successful approach. This is not to say that all other pedagogies reliant on other theoretical standpoints should be banished. We will see later that there are good examples of effective learning that are predicated on, for example, lone working and semi-behaviourist principles. In these examples, however, the introduction of basic metacognitive thought, the encouragement of a small measure of discussion and the recognition by teachers that the work might be further improved in a variety of ways related to social constructivist ideas point to the probable value of a varied approach to pedagogy, though with a strong emphasis on what is known about constructivism.
4. One point that has been raised over the years is that teachers seem to be more effective when working in ways which, in some way, suit them. That is, teachers who are experienced in and comfortable with a particular way of working tend to be more successful than when they use an approach that they do not have experience of and do not feel comfortable with. This is in no way an argument for a no change scenario, but it must be remembered that in some cases teachers need to gain experience of new approaches gradually, and an approach to teaching that encompasses a variety of approaches and pedagogies is not altogether a bad thing.
(Alan Pritchard : Effective Teaching with Internet Technologies. – The UK : Paul Chapman Publishing, 2007. – P.11)
Define the statement which corresponds to the contents of the text.
It is clear from the text that it is the teacher who is able to provide his students with the tasks where they can display their autonomy.
The author assures us that the choice of certain teaching methods is affected by the subject being taught.
The author disproves the idea that teachers should develop collaborative and cooperative work as it leads to the joint construction of new knowledge and understanding.
According to the text effectiveness of teachers’ work depends upon both their skill in their approaches to teaching and their contentment with them.