Professional Development Unit, The Learning Centre

This book takes the stance that purposeful reflection contributes to success in teaching and learning. It is by thinking about and questioning how and why we do what we do that reflective practice, together with deferred or ruminative reflection is possible. The process of reflection requires training and practice. Hence, this easy-to-digest book presents a number of practical, tried-and-tested strategies to help you. This book presents a structured method for examining your teaching and learning practices, with a view to personal improvement. After reading this book you would no longer view reflection as another unnecessary obligation or burden, but as a useful practice that occurs simultaneously with your other parts of teaching and learning. Quotations by well known persons in the public domain serve to anchor your thoughts in preparation for the contents of the corresponding section. Shareware graphics interspaced in the text not only break possible monotony but serves to engage and stimulate your thought and in many instances bring you comic relief.

The benefits of remediation are transformative! Remediation allows you to get an edge in your planning efforts and take your progress to the next level. Remediation can promote expansion of intellectual abilities, learner attentiveness, engagement, autonomy, critical thinking and responsibility, to mention a few worthwhile qualities. This book presents very simple-to-implement remediation techniques that are intended to improve teaching and learning in a phenomenal manner. As an instructor, here’s an opportunity to turn your hard-earned efforts into a meaningful investment towards your personal professional development. Learners get to take ownership of the learning process with enhanced metacognitive awareness of their own progress. Providing food for thought and helping to internalise the ideas presented, the text is deliberately interspaced with carefully selected quotations from the public domain. Relevant shareware graphics, operating under the Creative Commons Copyright licenses serve as stimulants for further engagement and pleasure. Carrying pseudonyms for confidentiality and anonymity, stories from my own students detail their personal experiences with remediation.

Whenever we think about professional development we often think about groups, and rarely about individuals, despite the fact that groups are made up of individuals. What we experience in a group is not only the sum of the idiosyncrasies of the individuals in the group, but a host of intermingling factors that come into play whenever a group meets.  While it may be more cost effective to host professional development that caters for groups, there are numerous advantages to be derived from individualised professional development. This book therefore seeks to share some of the experiences that three of my faculty members had with individualised professional development. You’ll read of humorous stories, sad stories, happy stories, not so happy stories and many more that would leave you transfixed with wonder, amused with laughter or simply silent. Moreover, you’ll learn that one experience may be perceived in different ways by different individuals. Oftentimes, it’s all about perception and circumstances. Travel with me along this exciting journey as we explore tried-and-tested methods that you will find useful in your professional practice.

‘There is a time for everything under the sun’ is a well-known ecclesiastical saying that stands the test of time. Because human beings are first individuals before they become part of any group, there is a place for individualised teaching and learning. Indeed, human beings are individuals both at birth and death; the beginning and end of earthly life! Just as there is a place for individualised teaching and learning so there is also a place for teaching and learning en masse. Yes; there is a place for one-size-fits-one and one-size-fits-all. Drawing from over 40 years of clinical experience this book discusses the challenges and successes of twelve selected characters. Readers are taken on a roller coaster ride into their individualised lives. This book is a comprehensive how-to guide to individualised teaching and learning for success. You can’t afford to miss this one!

This book brings assessment to the easy reach of any person who is unfamiliar with the area. Assessment is far reaching and what we have in this book is but the tip of the iceberg. Nevertheless, this book would be a true companion to any teacher who is desirous of knowing more about assessment. Upon successful completion of this book, the reader would be able to explain what assessment is in layman’s terms, list common types and features of such assessments, and explain some assessment best practices. Readers can have a number of valuable take-aways that they may wish to use.

With the continued proliferation of alternative assessments has come increased focus on what constitutes best practices in performance assessment.  Teachers are left on their own to decide what is most appropriate for their students. The result has been performance assessments that leave much to be desired, high levels of student discontentment, and questions regarding validity and reliability of performance assessment. What makes this book ‘different’ from others on the current market is that it devotes itself primarily to addressing performance assessment, although other forms of assessment are mentioned. Instead of having to thumb through volumes of texts on assessment and do elaborate time consuming Internet searches, this book promises to save you much time, energy and effort. Having a text solely dedicated to performance assessment gives you ready access for much needed, maximally self sustaining information at a moment’s notice, without presenting a one-size-fits-all approach. This book addresses the needs of individuals across the continuum of abilities including exceptional cases: gifted and challenged. It focuses on best practices in performance assessment based on current research findings that emphasise student-centredness and evaluate individualized knowledge, growth, development, and personal experiences in keeping with the individual’s developmental stage. The graphics interspaced in the text not only break the possible monotony usually experienced by many readers but serve to engage and stimulate thought and in many instances bring comic relief. This book could complement primary instructional resources for undergraduate or graduate students especially in the field of education. Educators working in K-12, teacher training and adult learning environments would find this book of special interest. I personally recommend this book for practicing educators especially those who have challenges with performance assessment. Additionally, practitioners involved in professional development would most certainly find this book with step-by-step directions to be an invaluable resource. This one-stop-shop-kind-of-book is for everyone who needs to know about performance assessment and make it a success.

With constantly changing demands at the workforce more than ever students need to be able to respond adequately to present day challenges. Although standardized tests have a place to play in the overall assessment process, they cannot fully measure what a student learned and how that student would be prepared for the world of work. We need a kind of assessment that gives students sufficient latitude for exploration, expansion, self development, empowerment and simultaneously caters for self interests. That kind of assessment must allow sufficient time for students to feel relaxed and be able to explore creative ways of self expression without having to feel pressured by those around. Portfolio assessment answers the call. This book is devoted to exploring best practices in portfolio assessment based on current research findings. Using a constructivist approach we present practical tried-and-tested ways of accomplishing specified goals and objectives in keeping with the student’s learning style and personal interests. We show how student reflection is embodied in the collection of entries, assignments, tests, quizzes, games, homework, and any other relevant supporting documents.

Preparing and managing any project could be a horrendous task. Workshops are no exceptions! Given the magnitude of the task you can easily get frustrated and give up. Knowing how a workshop can be managed expeditiously would make a world of difference to you. The contents of this book promise to make your task become lighter and more enjoyable as you learn your way around the mazes that tend to get you discouraged. This book is intended to raise awareness of some best practices and provide you with detailed guidance on the preparation, execution and aftermath management of a workshop. You may find many of the checklists invaluable for your personal use. These checklists may generate additional ideas for many of your other activities. The author draws information from over 40 years academic experience. She presents tried-and-tested methods that have helped her in the delivery of workshops, with participant evaluation rating of over 90%. This book puts project management to the test.  It would help you to navigate your way through the nuts and bolts of workshop management. It is a must-read for persons in educational institutions and industry.

The work empirically establishes an association between self assessment (SA) and academic achievement (AA) in an attempt to validate current and future studies in the literature that speak to relationships between SA and AA. SA was defined as the involvement of students in identifying standards and/or criteria to apply to their work and making judgments about the extent to which they met these criteria and AA was defined as ‘task oriented behavior that allows the individual’s performance to be evaluated according to some internally or externally imposed criterion that involves the individual in competing with others, or that otherwise involves some standard of excellence. Five hundred and fifteen participants (15-17 years old) drawn from 10 high schools spanning all levels of AA comprised the sample. Validation of this empirical relationship establishes a foundation and may act as a catalyst for accelerating future research in this much needed area.

With an ever changing clientele there is urgent need to attempt unconventional, innovative strategies that positively influence what happens in educational institutions. Readers are provided with tried-and-tested models that can be adapted to suit their personal needs. The book aims to energize and catapult readers into a new dimension of innovation and encourages them to experiment in classrooms and reflect on their practices as they seek to improve themselves as professionals.

Evidence-based and engagingly written, this book draws from over 40 years academic experience in education.  Having written at all levels of the education system the author provides you with strategic, comprehensive, multi-sourced, purpose-driven, down-to-earth tips that are culturally, linguistically, developmentally and individually appropriate. This is the most practical ‘how-to’, ‘go-to’, ‘turn-back-the-clock’ book that is well worth your time. In addition to learning, the book is applicable to just about every other human activity. It is tailored for all individuals at any stage of their lives: professionals, education practitioners, specialists, administrators, parents, guardians, students and significant others, to mention a few. Weblinks provided were current at the time of writing and Microsoft shareware graphics are used for illustration, mental stimulation and simplification of explanations. If you are not interested in the theoretical underpinnings behind the educational practice and you cannot be bothered with reading the research findings you may skip straight to Chapter 3 to find many tried-and-tested tips to help you take responsibility for your own learning.

The ideas presented in this book are drawn from close to 45 years in academia, practising across all continents and operating at all levels: early childhood, primary, secondary and tertiary. Such wealth of experience inevitably presents numerous successes and failures that have both influenced this text. This user friendly book offers tried-and-tested strategies and techniques that help you teach for success in the most efficient and cost effective manner, with minimal resources. Being purposeful about your actions and mindful about your ‘no-one-fits-all’ experiences as you journey along your personal learning curve, you’ll encounter a wealth of information tailored to suit your individual needs. You’ll see how to clarify your student expectations; have better set inductions and tailor your instruction to suit your student needs; reformulate your questioning techniques; flip your classroom; engage in games; use instructional aids; role play; problem solve; use teachable moments; rearrange your learning spaces; reorganise your assessments; encourage reflection; and use a myriad of teaching and learning techniques, to mention a few. Happy teaching for success!

No sooner are we faced with the inability to learn than we realize that learning is much more than what we often think about. This user friendly book serves as a guide to teaching learning. It’s all about teaching how to learn. It offers tried-and-tested strategies and techniques that help you to learn and teach how to learn in the most efficient and cost effective manner, with minimal resources. Being purposeful about your actions and mindful about your ‘no-one-fits-all’ experiences as you journey along your personal learning curve, you’ll encounter a wealth of information tailored to suit your individual needs. You’ll explore a number of different learning paradigms, together with their related learning theories. You’ll see yourself as the 21st Century educator reviewing your context, learning outcomes, and course content; welcoming your learners; reformulating your questioning techniques; engaging in humour; flipping your classroom; rearranging your learning spaces; embracing physical activity, games, and manipulatives; reorganizing your assessments; encouraging reflection and using a myriad of  teaching and learning techniques, to mention a few. Happy teaching to learn!

Teaching how to think is both a science and an art! This book presents material based on empirical research. At some point in time everyone pauses to think for a while. Oftentimes we procrastinate about providing a response because we wish to ‘give it a think’. We wish to make sense of what is happening around us. We wish to give our observations personal meaning and purpose. Since thinking seems to be at the very core or heart of our being, teaching how to think assumes prominence. Exactly what is involved in the process of thinking? How does thinking take place? What is the purpose of thinking? Can thinking allow us to make reliable predictions? Can thinking help us to accomplish our goals? Can thinking help us to make sensible plans for the future? When does thinking occur? What are the optimal conditions that facilitate thinking? What is the research telling us about thinking?  How do we teach learners how to think? What kinds of strategies and techniques may we use to accomplish such a task? When is the best time to teach how to think? What skills do we need in order to teach how to think? These and many more questions are answered in this book.

In attempting to determine how Business Management Technicians from State-run Technical Institutes fared on the Labour Market the study found its genesis. Semistructured interviews, opinionnairs,academic records and a mailed questionnaire were the survey instruments utilised for data collection.

Pertinent criteria called Dependent Variables examined were: Time taken to obtain present job, Job Relatedness, Job Preparedness, Job Satisfaction with kind of work done, physical work environment, salary received and career opportunities, Job Stability, Academic Aspirations, Recommendations for improvement of the present job and finally Future Area of specialisation.

The action and interaction of Independent Variables as they impinged on the above mentioned Dependent Variables were carefully examined.  Independent Variables included for example Age Cohort, Sex, Present Job Status, etc. A total of 35 variables were used as the basis for the statistical analysis. Varying significant relationships were noted amongst the variables taken one at a time. 

Arising from the analysis, pertinent recommendations were made including the integration of Computer applications to the Business Management programmes offered at State-run Technical Institutes, the establishment of a State-run Technical Institute in Tobago to meet the needs of the nationals there, the proper nationwide recognition of the role of the technician in our present society and as such the incorporation of incentives for mastery at that level without necessarily seeing the urgency to be certified with a university degree.

‘You’ll know it when you feel it’; ‘No pain, no gain’; ‘You have to experience it to know about it’.  These and many more commonly heard sayings speak to the power of experiential learning. The common theme seems to indicate that regardless of what an individual is told or what that individual learns, it is only when the individual actually has an experience with something that the individual is truly educated.  Having an experience seems like a combination of the cognitive, affective and the psychomotor (kinesthetic), all intertwined at once to produce an indelible impression on the individual, never to be forgotten. This book is all about assessing the experiences of a selection of students from around the world. Moving from theory to practice is often difficult for many persons. Somehow, experiential learning forces one to make that transition seamlessly. As you read, you’ll hear surprising ways of assessment of experiential learning, some of which you may have used before but in a different manner. Certainly, at the end of this book you cannot help but agree that, ‘You’ll know it when you feel it’; ‘No pain, no gain’; ‘You have to experience it to know about it’.

In a world of uncertainty and competition, where do you find help for adult learners?  Knowing how to assess adult learning, and report those results on an ongoing basis, is the key to providing adults with a greater sense of direction, purpose, motivation and self confidence.  This practical, step-by-step book answers questions such as:
• What kinds of assessments meet the needs of adults?
• How do I arrange my assessments to cater for adult needs?
• How do my assessments align with andragogy?
This book also shows you how to make learning a lifelong process. Quotations from the public domain and shareware graphics scattered throughout the text are meant to engage the reader and simplify the concepts discussed. This book is most suitable for adult learners and their educators. It is a must-read!

With more and more focus on accountability and standards a lot of effort has been placed on assessment at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels, with very little attention to what happens in early childhood. Just like a house needs a sound foundation in order to withstand the test of time, so assessment at early childhood needs your support. Carefully planned and executed assessment can lay the foundation for future intervention, critical to your child’s survival. Drawing from over 40 years experience and having written at all levels of the education system; pre-primary, primary, secondary, higher education and adult education, the author provides you with strategic, comprehensive, multi-sourced, purpose driven assessment instruments that are culturally, linguistically and individually appropriate and would provide ongoing information about your children across developmental domains. This is the most practical ‘how-to’, ‘go-to’, ‘turn-back-the-clock’ book for early childhood providers, caregivers, practitioners, specialists, administrators, parents, guardians and significant others.

Educators are searching for more authentic ways of assessing learning that mimic what occurs in real life situations. Simultaneously, stakeholders are demanding transparency and accountability from educators. This book is therefore timely and seeks to fill that gap by clarifying what authentic assessment is and providing readers with step-by-step live examples. Teachers can learn to assess the kinds of skills and knowledge that students need in real life situations. Instead of having to scan through tomes of information, this book takes you right to the heart of authentic assessment, thus saving you precious time and energy. Issues regarding validity and reliability are addressed and readers can select from the examples provided which authentic tasks they wish to use. The ideas presented in this book are drawn from over 45 years in academia, practising across all continents and operating at all levels: early childhood, primary, secondary and tertiary. Using a constructivist paradigm, students are able to experience personal growth and development; make sense of their own experiences; and find endless opportunities to self express and self actualise.

The ideas presented in this book were drawn from over 45 years in academia, practising across all continents and operating at all levels: early childhood, primary, secondary and tertiary. This book aims to equip teachers with the skill sets, competencies and motivation to enable them to function comfortably in differentiated environments. Chapter 1 addresses differentiated teaching, individualised teaching, and streaming together with differentiating content, process, product and the learning environment. Chapter 2 addresses key issues in differentiated teaching: administrative support; teacher preparedness; teacher buy-in; student readiness; student interest; and learning spaces. The final chapter details tried-and-tested strategies. Some of these include setting personal learning goals; set induction; building on what students know; grouping; flipping the classroom; games; instructional aids; teachable moments; tiered assignments; model thinking processes; assessment strategies; reflection and facilitating success. The hope is that the reader would have a wide assortment of take-aways to enable him to expertly treat any situation with the comfort of knowing he is fully equipped.