Questões de Concurso

Technology in schools: Future changes in classrooms

Technology has the power to transform how people learn - but walk into some classrooms and you could be forgiven for thinking you were entering a time warp. There will probably be a whiteboard instead of the traditional blackboard, and the children may be using laptops or tablets, but plenty of textbooks, pens and photocopied sheets are still likely.

The curriculum and theory have changed little since Victorian times, according to the educationalist and author Marc Prensky. "The world needs a new curriculum, " he said at the recent Bett show, a conference dedicated to technology in education. Most of the education products on the market are just aids to teach the existing curriculum, he says, based on the false assumption "we need to teach better what we teach today". He feels a whole new core of subjects is needed, focusing on the skills that will equip today's learners for tomorrow's world of work. These include problem-solving, creative thinking and collaboration.

'Flipped' classrooms

One of the biggest problems with radically changing centuries-old pedagogical methods is that no generation of parents wants their children to be the guinea pigs. Mr Prensky he thinks we have little choice, however: "We are living in an age of accelerating change. We have to experiment and figure out what works."

"We are at the ground floor of a new world full of imagination, creativity, innovation and digital wisdom. We are going to have to create the education of the future because it doesn't exist anywhere today." He might be wrong there. Change is already afoot to disrupt the traditional classroom. The "flipped" classroom - the idea of inverting traditional teaching methods by delivering instructions online outside of the classroom and using the time in school as the place to do homework - has gained in popularity in US schools. The teacher's role becomes one of a guide, while students watch lectures at home at their own pace, communicating with classmates and teachers online.

(Available in:https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30814302. Accessed on May 18st,2019. Adapted. Author: Jane Wakefield.)

The “Social Practice” of Teaching

Examining teaching from the context of a ‘social practice’ may provide us with fresh insights that will challenge the accepted ways of seeing the world of teaching with important implications for faculty development. First, we will look at what we mean by a social practice and then see how teaching falls into that category. A social practice needs to be understood in terms of purpose, context, and a complex array of norms. A social practice is, first, a form of activity that has grown out of common needs in a community to accomplish certain purposes.

A system of etiquette and a means for communication serve to make human society more civil. Second, a social practice involves shared and mutually understood ways of behaving or acting. Third, the patterns of action are guided by a complex array or norms that we might call rules, standards, principles, precepts, and unwritten policies. These norms have authority (people comply willingly), and they are created and recreated in and through the interactions of those involved in the practice (Case,1990; Selman, 1989; MacIntyre,1984; Taylor,1983). The norms provide reasons for the actions or behaviors of individuals. As in etiquette using particular forms of address, handshaking, and removing or wearing particular headwear are the behaviors that constitute the practice.

The behaviors have meaning only in terms of the context of that particular community and purpose and can only be explained in relation to the guiding norms. The feature of a social practice (they develop out of the common needs of the community) is clearly consistent with what has already been said about the purposive nature of teaching. Teaching is an activity that has grown out of the need in a community to pass on its knowledge, mores, and behaviors and in medical schools these are formulated as mission statements which include educational aims. To view teaching as a social practice is to acknowledge, first and foremost, the expectations society has for teaching, or in other words, the particular purposes of teaching.

(Available in: D’Eon, M., Overgaard, V., & Harding, S. R. (2000). Advances in Health Sciences Education,5(2),151–162. Accessed on May 18st,2019. Adapted.)

The Regional English Training Centres (RETC) project – new approach to teaching English already shows results

September 30,2018 08:00 By The nation

British Council and the Thai Education Ministry have joined hands to modernise the teaching methods of 17,000 English-language teachers in the kingdom, moving from the “grammar-vocabulary” memorisation system to focus on communication.The UK cultural and education international body’s Regional English Training Centres (RETC) project aims to improve the skills of teachers at primary and secondary schools across Thailand.

Some 75% of English teachers in Thailand are ranked at the A2 elementary level in the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), representing an IELTS score of 3.5 to 4, according to the statement issued by British Council on Friday.The RETC Boot Camp project was first introduced in 2015 to improve overall English teaching proficiency. After two and a half years,15,300 English teachers, or 90%, have improved their confidence in teaching English and using it in classrooms.

As the next step, an assessment and evaluation system is to be considered to assist in the adaptation toward the communicative approach.

Education Minister Teerakiat Jareonsettasin said the development of Thai students’ English skills is crucial and needs serious improvement. Each Thai student studies English for at least 12 years at primary and secondary school, however most are unable to communicate in English which is the main obstacle to global competition, he said. Two main challenges that need to be addressed are Thai teachers’ English skills and their teaching approach. “By focusing on language accuracy and the memorisation method rather than the communicative approach, most Thai students cannot communicate effectively in English, ” he said.

Many Thai students also have a poor attitude towards English classes. Andrew Glass, director of British Council Thailand, said since the start of the project,15 RETCs have been established and that 17,000 out of 40,000 of Thailand’s English teachers have been trained and mentored in the communicative approach. Additionally, more than 30 teachers have been intensively trained to become TMTs. They work with British Council trainers to mentor and transfer knowledge to teachers and school directors, creating academic networking opportunities with regional supervisors to improve their follow-up sessions.

After completing the project, the research clearly indicates that 90% or 15,300 English teachers have more confidence in teaching English in the communicative approach and more confidence in using English in their classrooms. Besides,72 of English teachers improved their lesson planning and were able to give clearer instructions, while 94% improved their lesson management. In addition,93% of English teachers have improved their English subject knowledge. Sutthiwat Sutthiprapa, one of the Thai master trainers and a full-time English teacher at Khor Wittayakom in Nakhon Phanom Province, said all the knowledge he gained from the RETC project can be applied in his English classes. “It significantly changes the atmosphere of the classroom and the students’ attitude towards English. "Students are eager to attend the class and make every effort to participate in class activities. I believe that if every English teacher in Thailand exploits the RETC concept, Thai students’ English ability will increase considerably, " he said.

(Available in: https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1548446/british-council-helps-train-thai-english-language-teachers.Accessed on May 18th,2019. Adapted.)

The Regional English Training Centres (RETC) project – new approach to teaching English already shows results

September 30,2018 08:00 By The nation

British Council and the Thai Education Ministry have joined hands to modernise the teaching methods of 17,000 English-language teachers in the kingdom, moving from the “grammar-vocabulary” memorisation system to focus on communication.The UK cultural and education international body’s Regional English Training Centres (RETC) project aims to improve the skills of teachers at primary and secondary schools across Thailand.

Some 75% of English teachers in Thailand are ranked at the A2 elementary level in the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), representing an IELTS score of 3.5 to 4, according to the statement issued by British Council on Friday.The RETC Boot Camp project was first introduced in 2015 to improve overall English teaching proficiency. After two and a half years,15,300 English teachers, or 90%, have improved their confidence in teaching English and using it in classrooms.

As the next step, an assessment and evaluation system is to be considered to assist in the adaptation toward the communicative approach.

Education Minister Teerakiat Jareonsettasin said the development of Thai students’ English skills is crucial and needs serious improvement. Each Thai student studies English for at least 12 years at primary and secondary school, however most are unable to communicate in English which is the main obstacle to global competition, he said. Two main challenges that need to be addressed are Thai teachers’ English skills and their teaching approach. “By focusing on language accuracy and the memorisation method rather than the communicative approach, most Thai students cannot communicate effectively in English, ” he said.

Many Thai students also have a poor attitude towards English classes. Andrew Glass, director of British Council Thailand, said since the start of the project,15 RETCs have been established and that 17,000 out of 40,000 of Thailand’s English teachers have been trained and mentored in the communicative approach. Additionally, more than 30 teachers have been intensively trained to become TMTs. They work with British Council trainers to mentor and transfer knowledge to teachers and school directors, creating academic networking opportunities with regional supervisors to improve their follow-up sessions.

After completing the project, the research clearly indicates that 90% or 15,300 English teachers have more confidence in teaching English in the communicative approach and more confidence in using English in their classrooms. Besides,72 of English teachers improved their lesson planning and were able to give clearer instructions, while 94% improved their lesson management. In addition,93% of English teachers have improved their English subject knowledge. Sutthiwat Sutthiprapa, one of the Thai master trainers and a full-time English teacher at Khor Wittayakom in Nakhon Phanom Province, said all the knowledge he gained from the RETC project can be applied in his English classes. “It significantly changes the atmosphere of the classroom and the students’ attitude towards English. "Students are eager to attend the class and make every effort to participate in class activities. I believe that if every English teacher in Thailand exploits the RETC concept, Thai students’ English ability will increase considerably, " he said.

(Available in: https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1548446/british-council-helps-train-thai-english-language-teachers.Accessed on May 18th,2019. Adapted.)

Why 'Run' Is The Most Complex Word in the English Language

BY EMILY PETSKO

English can be hard for other language speakers to learn. To use just one example, there are at least eight different ways of expressing events in the future, and conditional tenses are another matter entirely. For evidence of the many nuances and inconsistencies of the English tongue, look no further than this tricky poem penned in 1920. (For a sample: “Hiccough has the sound of cup. My advice is to give up!”)

As author Simon Winchester wrote for The New York Times, there’s one English word in particular that’s deceptively simple: run. As a verb, it boasts a record-setting 645 definitions. Peter Gilliver, a lexicographer and associate editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, spent nine months sussing out its many shades of meaning.

“You might think this word simply means ‘to go with quick steps on alternate feet, never having both or (in the case of many animals) all feet on the ground at the same time, ’” Winchester writes. “But no such luck: that is merely sense, and there are miles to go before the reader of this particular entry may sleep.”

This wasn’t always the case, though. When the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was published in 1928, the word with the most definitions was set. However, the word put later outpaced it, and run eventually overtook them both as the English language's most complex word. Winchester thinks this evolution is partly due to advancements in technology (for instance, “a train runs on tracks” and “an iPad runs apps”).

He believes the widespread use of run—and its intricate web of meanings—is also a reflection of our times. “It is a feature of our more sort of energetic and frantic times that set and put seem, in a peculiar way, sort of rather stodgy, rather conservative, ” Gilliver told NPR in an interview.

So the next time you tell your boss you "want to run an idea" by them, know that you’re unconsciously expressing your enthusiasm— as well as all the other subtleties wrapped up in run that previous words like set failed to capture.

(Available in: http://mentalfloss.com/article/582820/run-most-complex-word-in-english-language. Accessed on May 17th,2019. Adapted.)