How to Take the Muslim Hajj
By jamesbankston
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca that all able Muslims are required to take during
their lifetimes.
Step1
Be aware that the Hajj is one of the "five pillars" of Islam, duties that are expected of every Muslim. The only Muslims exempted from the Hajj are those physically or financially unable to make the trip. The Hajj is considered the greatest joy a Muslim can experience on earth. The rituals of the Hajj commemorate events in the life of the prophet Ibrahim (Abraham).
Step2
Prepare. Only Muslims are allowed into the holy city of Mecca. Before Muslims enter the city the men change into seamless white garments and the women into white dresses and scarves. This symbolizes the equality of all human beings before God, the erasure of all barriers of race and class. Pilgrims are expected to be on their best behavior during the Hajj, avoiding arguments, violence and sexual relations.
Step3
Day One. The Hajj begins on the eighth day of the lunar month of Dhu al-Hijjah. Pilgrims arrive from the town of Mina, go to the Sacred Mosque. In the center of the courtyard of the mosque is a cube-shaped stone building, the Kaaba. Pilgrims make seven counter-clockwise circuits around the Kaaba, the first three running, the last four walking. They try to kiss the Black Stone, which is embedded in the wall of the Kaaba, but if a pilgrim cannot get through the crowd, he can merely touch it or point in its direction. After this pilgrims offer two prayers, they go on the "Lesser Pilgrimage," where they run seven times back and forth between the hills of Safa and Marwah, to symbolize the frantic search of Ibrahim's wife Hajar for water for her son Ismael. After this pilgrims drink water from the well of Zamzam, which miraculously appeared at the thirsty child's feet.
Step4
Day Two. Pilgrims spend from noon to sunset on Mount Arafat in prayer and contemplation. This is the "Greater Pilgrimage" and the most important part of the Hajj. Afterwards they go to Muzdafilah to collect forty-nine pebbles.
Step5
Day Three. The pilgrims participate in the ritual of "Stoning the Devil." This symbolizes the three times the Devil tried to tempt Ibrahim and the three times he refused. Pilgrims throw pebbles at three walls, seven pebbles per wall. After this the pilgrim offer an animal sacrifice, either in person or with a proxy, to symbolize the animal God allowed to sacrifice in lieu of his son.
Step6
Day Four. The pilgrims return to Mecca and make another circuit of the Kaaba. Then they return to Mina and stone the walls again, seven pebbles per wall.
Step7
Day Five. The pilgrims stone the walls again.
Step8
Day Six. The pilgrims make one last circuit around the Kaaba. After this some pilgrims head on to Medina to visit the tomb of the prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
Tuesday 9 December 2008
PS 4207 MOT Computer Studies
SULTAN HASSANAL BOLKIAH INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
PROGRAMME: POST GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN EDUCATION
Course code: PS 3207
Course title: Methods of teaching secondary computer studies I
Type of course: Core
Units: 3 Contact hours: 4
Year: 1 Semester: 1
Prerequisites: Nil
Lecturer: Dr Leong Yong Pak and Dr See Kin Hai
Aims
This course is the first of two which aim to provide student teachers with the essential knowledge, skills and aptitudes to teach secondary computer studies effectively and with confidence.
Content
Curriculum: The Brunei secondary computer studies curriculum, its aims and its structure. Comparisons with computer studies curricula in other countries.
Theories of learning: General principles of teaching and learning and their specific application in computer studies.
Pedagogical theories and strategies: Aims and objectives, lesson planning specific to computer studies. Classroom and laboratory organisation and management. Specialised teaching strategies. Cooperative learning. Case studies of teaching and learning in computer studies.
Assessment and evaluation: techniques used in computer studies, the special nature of project selection and evaluation. Moderation.
Language issues: Questioning strategies, specialised vocabulary, classroom discourse management.
Teaching of selected topics: Applications of computers and their social and economic implications. Generic software, office suites. Hardware, systems, standard components; performance and characteristics of peripheral devices and storage media.
Assessment and weighting:
60% coursework
40% examination
References
References
Garrison, D. R., & Anderson, T. (2003). E-learning in the 21st Century. New York: Routledge Falmer.
Lawson, J. (1997). Information Technology. London: Addison-Wesley Longman.
Shelly, G. B., T. J. Cashman, G. A. Waggoner & W. W. Waggoner (1997). Discovering Computers: A link to the future. Course Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
Thorsen, C. (2006). TechTactics: Technology for Teachers. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
[LB 1028.5, T52]
Journals
Computer Education
Computers and Education
\PS 3207
PS 3207: METHODS OF TEACHING SECONDARY COMPUTER STUDIES I
Lecturer: Dr Leong Yong Pak
Office: DOSME 1.20; TP 2.41
Tel. 249001 x 1537, x1560
Email: leongyp@ubd.edu.bn, leongyp2007@gmail.com
Week 1–2
Curriculum: The Brunei secondary computer studies curriculum, its aims and its structure. Comparisons with computer studies curricula in other countries.
Computer Studies teachers’ needs: Knowledge, skills and competences.
Week 3–4
Theories of learning: General principles of teaching and learning and their specific application in computer studies.
Week 5–7
Pedagogical theories and strategies: Aims and objectives, lesson planning specific to computer studies. Classroom and laboratory organisation and management. Specialised teaching strategies. Cooperative learning. Case studies of teaching and learning in computer studies.
Assignment 1 (20%): An essay with presentation on “Methods of teaching computer studies”.
(Based on observation of and direct instructional activities in secondary computer science classes.)
Week 8¬–9
Assessment and evaluation: techniques used in computer studies, the special nature of project selection and evaluation. Moderation.
Week 10–11
Language issues: Questioning strategies, specialised vocabulary, classroom discourse management.
Class Test (20%)
Week 12–14
Teaching of selected topics: Applications of computers and their social and economic implications. Generic software, office suites. Hardware, systems, standard components; performance and characteristics of peripheral devices and storage media.
Assignment 2 (20%): A detailed plan for a one-hour lesson with presentation.
(Planning lessons with other teachers, and writing tests and laboratory exercises.)
SULTAN HASSANAL BOLKIAH INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
PROGRAMME: POST GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN EDUCATION
Course code: PS 4207
Course title: Methods of teaching secondary computer studies II
Type of course: Core
Units: 3 Contact hours: 3
Year: 1 Semester: 2
Prerequisites: PS 3207
Lecturers: Dr Leong Yong Pak and Dr See Kin Hai
Aims
This course is the second of two which aim to provide student teachers with the essential knowledge, skills and aptitudes to teach secondary computer studies effectively and with confidence.
Content
Curriculum: Trends and issues in computer studies and computing. Culture, language and history as determinant of curriculum content.
Theories of learning: Constructivism and its implications for computer studies, situated learning, motivation and affective values in computer studies.
Pedagogical theories and strategies: Investigations, projects and their selection, design, implementation and evaluation. Supervision of projects.
Language issues: Diagnosing and remediating language difficulties, further classroom discourse management.
Teaching of selected topics: Standard techniques and routines for established forms of data processing. Collection, verification and validation of data. A D and D A conversions. Data typing and data structures and their representation. Systems and communications. Systems analysis. Algorithmic design and organisation of data.
Assessment and weighting:
60% coursework
40% examination
References
References
Garrison, D. R., & Anderson, T. (2003). E-learning in the 21st Century. New York: Routledge Falmer.
Lawson, J. (1997). Information Technology. London: Addison-Wesley Longman.
Parker, C. S. (1994).Understanding Computers & Information Processing. Forthworth, Texas: Dryden Press. [QA76.5 P318]
Shelly, G. B., T. J. Cashman, G. A. Waggoner & W. W. Waggoner (1997). Discovering Computers: A link to the future. Course Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
Thorsen, C. (2006). TechTactics: Technology for Teachers. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
[LB 1028.5, T52]
Journals
Computer Education
Computers and Education
\PS 4207
PS 4207: METHODS OF TEACHING SECONDARY COMPUTER STUDIES II
Week Topic
1 – 2 Course briefing
Curriculum trends and issues in computer studies and computing at upper secondary level.
Culture, language and history as determinant of curriculum content.
Task 1: Compare the upper secondary computer science curriculum offered in Brunei with that in the United States, Canada and Australia.
3 Metacognition; Theories of learning & strategies: Constructivism, situated learning, motivation, affective values.
4 – 5 Investigating and assessing student learning and understanding in a topic.
Identify and model problem-solving strategies for secondary computer science instruction.
Task 2:
2.1 Select appropriate materials and models for teaching secondary computer science.
2.2 Identify resources to enrich the teaching of computer science.
6 Pedagogical theories and strategies
Investigations, projects and their selection, design, implementation and evaluation. Supervision of projects.
7 Multi-strategies for learning difficulties
Task 3: Resource and develop instructional strategies for dealing with different learning styles and diverse populations.
8 Language issues: Diagnosing and remediating language difficulties, further classroom discourse management.
Effective methods of assessment and evaluation and use appropriate feedback techniques.
Task 4: Demonstrate the uses of computers and related technologies as teaching tools for secondary computer science instruction.
9 – 11 Design, develop, and evaluate laboratory activities and demonstrations for the computer science classroom.
Developing website resources for teaching topics in upper secondary computer studies.
Task 5: Develop a teacher’s blog for instructional resources.
12 Methods and skills appropriate to management of a secondary computer science lab.
Demonstrate laboratory management skills and techniques necessary to support computer science classroom instruction and activities.
Task 6: Peer teaching
13 – 14 Presentation of blogs and activities for teaching upper secondary computer studies.
Note: Each task carries 10 percent of marks.
ISTE Program Review Document Secondary Computer Science Education
3.0 Professional Preparation.
Professional studies culminating in computer science education endorsements provide studies of and experiences in the methods, techniques, and strategies related to teaching computer science at the secondary level. (It is recommended that these experiences be equivalent in depth to at least the level achieved in three or more semester hours of instruction. However, the specific number of hours recommended should not be construed as a requirement.)
3.1 Materials, Methods, and Resources for Teaching. Candidates will use appropriate materials, methods, resources, and curricula for teaching secondary computer science.
Performance Indicators - Candidates Will:
3.1.1 identify and model problem-solving strategies for secondary computer science instruction.
3.1.2 demonstrate the uses of computers and related technologies as teaching tools for secondary computer science
instruction.
3.1.3 select and use appropriate materials and models for teaching secondary computer science.
3.1.4 identify resources to enrich the teaching of computer science.
3.1.5 describe the secondary computer science curriculum and its relationship to the K-12 curriculum and the college
computer science curriculum.
3.2 Professional Development. Candidates will engage in practices that reflect their roles as teaching and computing professionals.
Performance Indicators - Candidates Will:
3.2.1 discuss guidance roles and plan enrichment activities for secondary computer science students (e.g., computing career guidance, preparation for college, fundamental skills, and extracurricular activities such as computer clubs and organized competitions).
3.2.2 identify and describe professional computer science and computer education societies that provide opportunities for professional growth of the computer science teacher.
3.3 Classroom and Instructional Management Methodologies. Candidates will use appropriate materials, methods, resources, and curricula for teaching secondary computer science.
Performance Indicators - Candidates Will:
3.3.1 identify and present secondary computer science content.
3.3.2 develop and implement instructional strategies for dealing with different learning styles and diverse populations
(e.g., populations with special needs).
3.3.3 apply effective methods of assessment and evaluation and use appropriate feedback techniques.
3.3.4 model behaviors that reflect knowledge of gender, ethical, and multicultural issues in computer science education.
3.3.5 demonstrate techniques for teaching students about the legal and ethical issues surrounding the uses of computers in society and for promoting ethical behaviors in students.
3.4 Laboratory Management. Candidates will apply methods and skills appropriate to management of a secondary computer science lab.
Performance Indicators - Candidates Will:
3.4.1 design, develop, and evaluate laboratory activities and demonstrations for the computer science classroom.
3.4.2 demonstrate laboratory management skills and techniques necessary to support computer science classroom activities.
DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
PROGRAMME: POST GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN EDUCATION
Course code: PS 3207
Course title: Methods of teaching secondary computer studies I
Type of course: Core
Units: 3 Contact hours: 4
Year: 1 Semester: 1
Prerequisites: Nil
Lecturer: Dr Leong Yong Pak and Dr See Kin Hai
Aims
This course is the first of two which aim to provide student teachers with the essential knowledge, skills and aptitudes to teach secondary computer studies effectively and with confidence.
Content
Curriculum: The Brunei secondary computer studies curriculum, its aims and its structure. Comparisons with computer studies curricula in other countries.
Theories of learning: General principles of teaching and learning and their specific application in computer studies.
Pedagogical theories and strategies: Aims and objectives, lesson planning specific to computer studies. Classroom and laboratory organisation and management. Specialised teaching strategies. Cooperative learning. Case studies of teaching and learning in computer studies.
Assessment and evaluation: techniques used in computer studies, the special nature of project selection and evaluation. Moderation.
Language issues: Questioning strategies, specialised vocabulary, classroom discourse management.
Teaching of selected topics: Applications of computers and their social and economic implications. Generic software, office suites. Hardware, systems, standard components; performance and characteristics of peripheral devices and storage media.
Assessment and weighting:
60% coursework
40% examination
References
References
Garrison, D. R., & Anderson, T. (2003). E-learning in the 21st Century. New York: Routledge Falmer.
Lawson, J. (1997). Information Technology. London: Addison-Wesley Longman.
Shelly, G. B., T. J. Cashman, G. A. Waggoner & W. W. Waggoner (1997). Discovering Computers: A link to the future. Course Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
Thorsen, C. (2006). TechTactics: Technology for Teachers. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
[LB 1028.5, T52]
Journals
Computer Education
Computers and Education
\PS 3207
PS 3207: METHODS OF TEACHING SECONDARY COMPUTER STUDIES I
Lecturer: Dr Leong Yong Pak
Office: DOSME 1.20; TP 2.41
Tel. 249001 x 1537, x1560
Email: leongyp@ubd.edu.bn, leongyp2007@gmail.com
Week 1–2
Curriculum: The Brunei secondary computer studies curriculum, its aims and its structure. Comparisons with computer studies curricula in other countries.
Computer Studies teachers’ needs: Knowledge, skills and competences.
Week 3–4
Theories of learning: General principles of teaching and learning and their specific application in computer studies.
Week 5–7
Pedagogical theories and strategies: Aims and objectives, lesson planning specific to computer studies. Classroom and laboratory organisation and management. Specialised teaching strategies. Cooperative learning. Case studies of teaching and learning in computer studies.
Assignment 1 (20%): An essay with presentation on “Methods of teaching computer studies”.
(Based on observation of and direct instructional activities in secondary computer science classes.)
Week 8¬–9
Assessment and evaluation: techniques used in computer studies, the special nature of project selection and evaluation. Moderation.
Week 10–11
Language issues: Questioning strategies, specialised vocabulary, classroom discourse management.
Class Test (20%)
Week 12–14
Teaching of selected topics: Applications of computers and their social and economic implications. Generic software, office suites. Hardware, systems, standard components; performance and characteristics of peripheral devices and storage media.
Assignment 2 (20%): A detailed plan for a one-hour lesson with presentation.
(Planning lessons with other teachers, and writing tests and laboratory exercises.)
SULTAN HASSANAL BOLKIAH INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
PROGRAMME: POST GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN EDUCATION
Course code: PS 4207
Course title: Methods of teaching secondary computer studies II
Type of course: Core
Units: 3 Contact hours: 3
Year: 1 Semester: 2
Prerequisites: PS 3207
Lecturers: Dr Leong Yong Pak and Dr See Kin Hai
Aims
This course is the second of two which aim to provide student teachers with the essential knowledge, skills and aptitudes to teach secondary computer studies effectively and with confidence.
Content
Curriculum: Trends and issues in computer studies and computing. Culture, language and history as determinant of curriculum content.
Theories of learning: Constructivism and its implications for computer studies, situated learning, motivation and affective values in computer studies.
Pedagogical theories and strategies: Investigations, projects and their selection, design, implementation and evaluation. Supervision of projects.
Language issues: Diagnosing and remediating language difficulties, further classroom discourse management.
Teaching of selected topics: Standard techniques and routines for established forms of data processing. Collection, verification and validation of data. A D and D A conversions. Data typing and data structures and their representation. Systems and communications. Systems analysis. Algorithmic design and organisation of data.
Assessment and weighting:
60% coursework
40% examination
References
References
Garrison, D. R., & Anderson, T. (2003). E-learning in the 21st Century. New York: Routledge Falmer.
Lawson, J. (1997). Information Technology. London: Addison-Wesley Longman.
Parker, C. S. (1994).Understanding Computers & Information Processing. Forthworth, Texas: Dryden Press. [QA76.5 P318]
Shelly, G. B., T. J. Cashman, G. A. Waggoner & W. W. Waggoner (1997). Discovering Computers: A link to the future. Course Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
Thorsen, C. (2006). TechTactics: Technology for Teachers. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
[LB 1028.5, T52]
Journals
Computer Education
Computers and Education
\PS 4207
PS 4207: METHODS OF TEACHING SECONDARY COMPUTER STUDIES II
Week Topic
1 – 2 Course briefing
Curriculum trends and issues in computer studies and computing at upper secondary level.
Culture, language and history as determinant of curriculum content.
Task 1: Compare the upper secondary computer science curriculum offered in Brunei with that in the United States, Canada and Australia.
3 Metacognition; Theories of learning & strategies: Constructivism, situated learning, motivation, affective values.
4 – 5 Investigating and assessing student learning and understanding in a topic.
Identify and model problem-solving strategies for secondary computer science instruction.
Task 2:
2.1 Select appropriate materials and models for teaching secondary computer science.
2.2 Identify resources to enrich the teaching of computer science.
6 Pedagogical theories and strategies
Investigations, projects and their selection, design, implementation and evaluation. Supervision of projects.
7 Multi-strategies for learning difficulties
Task 3: Resource and develop instructional strategies for dealing with different learning styles and diverse populations.
8 Language issues: Diagnosing and remediating language difficulties, further classroom discourse management.
Effective methods of assessment and evaluation and use appropriate feedback techniques.
Task 4: Demonstrate the uses of computers and related technologies as teaching tools for secondary computer science instruction.
9 – 11 Design, develop, and evaluate laboratory activities and demonstrations for the computer science classroom.
Developing website resources for teaching topics in upper secondary computer studies.
Task 5: Develop a teacher’s blog for instructional resources.
12 Methods and skills appropriate to management of a secondary computer science lab.
Demonstrate laboratory management skills and techniques necessary to support computer science classroom instruction and activities.
Task 6: Peer teaching
13 – 14 Presentation of blogs and activities for teaching upper secondary computer studies.
Note: Each task carries 10 percent of marks.
ISTE Program Review Document Secondary Computer Science Education
3.0 Professional Preparation.
Professional studies culminating in computer science education endorsements provide studies of and experiences in the methods, techniques, and strategies related to teaching computer science at the secondary level. (It is recommended that these experiences be equivalent in depth to at least the level achieved in three or more semester hours of instruction. However, the specific number of hours recommended should not be construed as a requirement.)
3.1 Materials, Methods, and Resources for Teaching. Candidates will use appropriate materials, methods, resources, and curricula for teaching secondary computer science.
Performance Indicators - Candidates Will:
3.1.1 identify and model problem-solving strategies for secondary computer science instruction.
3.1.2 demonstrate the uses of computers and related technologies as teaching tools for secondary computer science
instruction.
3.1.3 select and use appropriate materials and models for teaching secondary computer science.
3.1.4 identify resources to enrich the teaching of computer science.
3.1.5 describe the secondary computer science curriculum and its relationship to the K-12 curriculum and the college
computer science curriculum.
3.2 Professional Development. Candidates will engage in practices that reflect their roles as teaching and computing professionals.
Performance Indicators - Candidates Will:
3.2.1 discuss guidance roles and plan enrichment activities for secondary computer science students (e.g., computing career guidance, preparation for college, fundamental skills, and extracurricular activities such as computer clubs and organized competitions).
3.2.2 identify and describe professional computer science and computer education societies that provide opportunities for professional growth of the computer science teacher.
3.3 Classroom and Instructional Management Methodologies. Candidates will use appropriate materials, methods, resources, and curricula for teaching secondary computer science.
Performance Indicators - Candidates Will:
3.3.1 identify and present secondary computer science content.
3.3.2 develop and implement instructional strategies for dealing with different learning styles and diverse populations
(e.g., populations with special needs).
3.3.3 apply effective methods of assessment and evaluation and use appropriate feedback techniques.
3.3.4 model behaviors that reflect knowledge of gender, ethical, and multicultural issues in computer science education.
3.3.5 demonstrate techniques for teaching students about the legal and ethical issues surrounding the uses of computers in society and for promoting ethical behaviors in students.
3.4 Laboratory Management. Candidates will apply methods and skills appropriate to management of a secondary computer science lab.
Performance Indicators - Candidates Will:
3.4.1 design, develop, and evaluate laboratory activities and demonstrations for the computer science classroom.
3.4.2 demonstrate laboratory management skills and techniques necessary to support computer science classroom activities.
PS 0128 MOT ICT 1 Course Structure
Department: Dept of Math and Science Education Course Code: PS 0128
Course Title: Methods of Teaching ICT I
Programme: Diploma in Education (Inservice)
Type of Course: Option
Year: 1 (Semester 2)
Units: 3 Contact Hours: 3 hrs/wk
Prerequisite(s): Nil
Lecturer(s) / Coordinator: Leong Yong Pak and Dr See Kin Hai
Aims / Objectives / Rationale:
This course aims to provide student teachers with the essential knowledge, skills and aptitude to teach Information and Communication Technology (ICT) effectively and with confidence.
Course Content:
Critical analysis of the ICT curriculum in Brunei Darussalam. The curriculum, its aims and its structure will be examined. Students will examine and compare the ICT curriculum in Brunei with those in other countries.
Students will study and apply theories of learning to the teaching of ICT. Teaching strategies appropriate for ICT classes are examined and practised in simulated class environments. Students will practise planning, designing and writing ICT lesson plans. Also included are classroom and laboratory organisation and management.
Specialised teaching strategies such as cooperative learning and case studies of teaching and learning ICT will be studied. This includes the use of demonstrations, practicals and project work in teaching and learning.
The role and importance of assessment and evaluation techniques that can be used in monitoring learning in ICT will be discussed. Students will study and practise the special nature of practicals and project work, and their evaluation and moderation.
Students will study the role and importance of language issues in ICT education. They will learn effective questioning strategies, specialised vocabulary, and classroom discourse that can contribute to the development of knowledge and communication skills in learners.
There will be opportunities to plan and design learning environments and experiences supported by technology for ICT topics. Students will design developmentally appropriate learning opportunities and instructional resources on CDs and the Internet to support the diverse needs of students and teachers.
Assessment:
Coursework: (60%). Projects on instructional design (20%); development of ICT resources (20%); and designing websites for ICT learning and teaching (20%).
Examination: (40%). A 3-hour written examination paper.
References
Brock, P. A. (1994). Educational technology in the classroom. New Jersey: Educational Technology Publications.
Kementerian Pendidikan Negara Brunei Darussalam. ICT guides and computer studies syllabus and textbooks. Ministry of Education
Loveless, A., & Ellis, V. (Eds.) (2001). ICT, pedagogy, and the curriculum: Subject to change. London: Routledge Falmer.
Shelly, G. B., Cashman, T. J., & Waggoner, G. A. (1997). Discovering computers: A link to the future world wide web enhanced. Cambridge, Mass: Course Technology.
Suggested Topics by Week
Week 1-2
Critical analysis of the ICT curriculum in Brunei Darussalam. The curriculum, its aims and its structure. Students will examine and compare the ICT curriculum in Brunei with those in other countries.
Week 3-4
Students will study and apply theories of learning to the teaching of ICT. Teaching strategies appropriate for ICT classes are examined and practised in simulated class environments. Students will practise planning, designing and writing ICT lesson plans.
Week 5
Classroom and laboratory organisation and management.
Week 6-7
Specialised teaching strategies such as cooperative learning and case studies of teaching and learning ICT will be studied. This includes the use of demonstrations, practicals and project work in teaching and learning.
Week 8-9
Students will study the role and importance of language issues in ICT education. They will learn effective questioning strategies, specialised vocabulary, and classroom discourse that can contribute to the development of knowledge and communication skills in learners.
Week 10-11
The role and importance of assessment and evaluation techniques that can be used in monitoring learning in ICT will be discussed. Students will study and practise the special nature of practicals and project work, and their evaluation and moderation.
Develpoment of resources for teaching ICT.
Week 12-14
Presentation, feedback and evaluation of students’ projects (developmentally appropriate instructional resources on CDs and the Internet to support the diverse needs of students and teachers).
Coursework: (60%).
1. Projects on instructional design (20%) – Lesson Plans;
2. Development of ICT resources (20%);
3. Develop blogs for ICT learning and teaching (20%).
Examination: (40%). A 3-hour written examination paper.
Course Title: Methods of Teaching ICT I
Programme: Diploma in Education (Inservice)
Type of Course: Option
Year: 1 (Semester 2)
Units: 3 Contact Hours: 3 hrs/wk
Prerequisite(s): Nil
Lecturer(s) / Coordinator: Leong Yong Pak and Dr See Kin Hai
Aims / Objectives / Rationale:
This course aims to provide student teachers with the essential knowledge, skills and aptitude to teach Information and Communication Technology (ICT) effectively and with confidence.
Course Content:
Critical analysis of the ICT curriculum in Brunei Darussalam. The curriculum, its aims and its structure will be examined. Students will examine and compare the ICT curriculum in Brunei with those in other countries.
Students will study and apply theories of learning to the teaching of ICT. Teaching strategies appropriate for ICT classes are examined and practised in simulated class environments. Students will practise planning, designing and writing ICT lesson plans. Also included are classroom and laboratory organisation and management.
Specialised teaching strategies such as cooperative learning and case studies of teaching and learning ICT will be studied. This includes the use of demonstrations, practicals and project work in teaching and learning.
The role and importance of assessment and evaluation techniques that can be used in monitoring learning in ICT will be discussed. Students will study and practise the special nature of practicals and project work, and their evaluation and moderation.
Students will study the role and importance of language issues in ICT education. They will learn effective questioning strategies, specialised vocabulary, and classroom discourse that can contribute to the development of knowledge and communication skills in learners.
There will be opportunities to plan and design learning environments and experiences supported by technology for ICT topics. Students will design developmentally appropriate learning opportunities and instructional resources on CDs and the Internet to support the diverse needs of students and teachers.
Assessment:
Coursework: (60%). Projects on instructional design (20%); development of ICT resources (20%); and designing websites for ICT learning and teaching (20%).
Examination: (40%). A 3-hour written examination paper.
References
Brock, P. A. (1994). Educational technology in the classroom. New Jersey: Educational Technology Publications.
Kementerian Pendidikan Negara Brunei Darussalam. ICT guides and computer studies syllabus and textbooks. Ministry of Education
Loveless, A., & Ellis, V. (Eds.) (2001). ICT, pedagogy, and the curriculum: Subject to change. London: Routledge Falmer.
Shelly, G. B., Cashman, T. J., & Waggoner, G. A. (1997). Discovering computers: A link to the future world wide web enhanced. Cambridge, Mass: Course Technology.
Suggested Topics by Week
Week 1-2
Critical analysis of the ICT curriculum in Brunei Darussalam. The curriculum, its aims and its structure. Students will examine and compare the ICT curriculum in Brunei with those in other countries.
Week 3-4
Students will study and apply theories of learning to the teaching of ICT. Teaching strategies appropriate for ICT classes are examined and practised in simulated class environments. Students will practise planning, designing and writing ICT lesson plans.
Week 5
Classroom and laboratory organisation and management.
Week 6-7
Specialised teaching strategies such as cooperative learning and case studies of teaching and learning ICT will be studied. This includes the use of demonstrations, practicals and project work in teaching and learning.
Week 8-9
Students will study the role and importance of language issues in ICT education. They will learn effective questioning strategies, specialised vocabulary, and classroom discourse that can contribute to the development of knowledge and communication skills in learners.
Week 10-11
The role and importance of assessment and evaluation techniques that can be used in monitoring learning in ICT will be discussed. Students will study and practise the special nature of practicals and project work, and their evaluation and moderation.
Develpoment of resources for teaching ICT.
Week 12-14
Presentation, feedback and evaluation of students’ projects (developmentally appropriate instructional resources on CDs and the Internet to support the diverse needs of students and teachers).
Coursework: (60%).
1. Projects on instructional design (20%) – Lesson Plans;
2. Development of ICT resources (20%);
3. Develop blogs for ICT learning and teaching (20%).
Examination: (40%). A 3-hour written examination paper.
Thursday 4 December 2008
Friday 28 November 2008
Saturday 22 November 2008
Current Issue - Why American Currency still strong after the onslaught of the financial crisis and Islamic Banking system
Bretton-Wood Monetory System for World Money Exchange
Traditionally world (global) money was the gold, but in a 1944 Bretton-Wood convention has reduced a rating of gold, by making world(global) currency, alongside with gold, dollar. Under this convention were created International monetary fund (IMF) and International bank for Recons ruction and Development (IBRD). The system of stabilization of the exchange rates was accepted.
The international bank for Recons ruction and Development - international bank organization, which is the property of countries - participants of International monetary fund. More often it name as world(global) bank.
All countries - participants have agreed to support the course, fixed in dollars, of the currency called as parity course.
Each country, under the convention, should have a dollar store as backup currency and to use it for a purchase of the currency, when cost of dollar falls. For want of increase of course of dollar the own currency is sold.
The exchange rate of currencies was fixed through tripartite arbitration. For example, if parity cost of English pound made 2,00 dollars, and French franc - 0,25 dollars, the exchange rate between pound and franc the tripartite arbitration defined(determined) as:
Pound/franc = dollar/franc / dollar/pound = 2/0.25 = 8.00
Today in the international payments have received development the currency clearing, that is accounts between countries on the basis of offset of the mutual requirements according to the international conventions.
Islamic Banking System.. The Ideal One?
Posted: Oct 25, 2008 9:39 AM
Reply
After most countries were hit by the global financial crisis, writers and economists started calling for revising the global financial and banking system and the ideologies it was built on. Many of the western intellectuals are asking for adopting a new ideology that do not have such deviations that the capitalism have.
The Islamic financial and banking system is the one with most popularity now. The following are sayings by some western economists and writers:
- Roland Laskine, Editor in Chief of Journal des fienance: "Is it time now for adopting the principles of Islamic Sharia'h in Wall Street? If our leaders are really looking for limiting the financial speculation that caused the crisis, then simply the solution is to apply the principles of Sharia'h."
- Beaufils Vincent, Editor in Chief of The Challenger: " I think that in the spite of such crisis, we need to read Quran to understand what happened to us and our banks because if the managers of such banks tried to respect and apply what the Quran contained from teachings and orders, such crisis would have not existed and we won't have being in such miserable situation as money does not breed money!."
Some economists called for making the interest rate equal to 0 % which simply is the same as the Islamic principle of forbidding the collection of interest on money given out as loans.
Islamic banking & finance system follows some principles such as:
1 - Prohibition of usury and Cornering
2 - Prohibition of fraud
3 - Prohibition of injustice and inequity
4 - Prohibition of gambling
5 - Sharing in the profit and loss
6 - Prohibiting the sale of cash money
7 - Prohibiting the sale of debt
Dr Mahathir's comment on US dollars and Malaysian Pegging of Ringgit
1. I am not in the business of advising the Government. When I mentioned the advisability of pegging the Ringgit, it was in answer to a question posed by a reporter. If the Government noticed the report I would feel flattered.
2. Pegging currencies is not as easy as it sounds. The whole thing must be studied very carefully. Even getting agreement by a select panel is not easy. A decision made on the spur of the moment that pegging is not possible cannot really reflect the assessment made together with experts in consultation.
3. Pegging need not be always with the US Dollar. But the fact that the US Dollar is currently not stable is no reason why the idea should be summarily dismissed.
4. There can be other options. Other more stable currencies can be used or a basket of currencies may be used to reduce extreme volatility.
5. The US Dollar is backed by nothing, not even reserves in foreign currencies and gold which other countries hold in order to back their own currencies. The US is a bankrupt nation which means it is not in a position to provide foreign currency backing for its money.
6. The gold in Fort Knox has been depleted long ago and the pegging to gold of a certain amount as agreed to at the Bretton Woods has been done away with by President Nixon. No more gold standards. Yet the US Dollar still commands a certain value in the market. It is still being used for trade payments. This in fact gives the US Dollar a certain value even though the value, in exchange rate terms may change.
7. If the US Dollar is not used in international trading, it will have no value at all. This will of course hurt a lot of countries including Malaysia which carry substantial sums of US Dollar as reserves. Countries like China, Saudi Arabia and tiny Singapore would want to support trade payments made in US Dollar. They do not want their huge reserves of US Dollar to become worthless.
8. What we see here is the importance of international trade payments in sustaining the value of a currency.
9. Long, long ago I suggested the use of a special currency for trade. The currency should be equal in value to a fixed amount of gold. It should not be used domestically as each country would have its own currency pegged to the special trading currency.
10. The price of gold may go up and down but we know that the price of gold today is more than, say, 30 years ago. If we keep gold long enough we will eventually see it appreciating. It is not as volatile as currency notes.
11. So gold is an ideal standard for a trade currency. Effectively we would be going back to the Gold Standard, both for the trading currency and the domestic currency. For the domestic currency the rate against gold can change in keeping with inflation.
12. It was suggested that we call this trading currency the "dinar". Transactions would of course not be in solid gold dinars but with equivalent papers. It is not practical to carry around so much gold dinars but this will not be necessary if a country's export to another country and its import from that country is fairly balanced and only the difference need to be paid.
13. I am not an expert in this area but we can get experts to study whether pegging or the gold dinar are feasible. I would not dismiss the eficacy of these so easily.
14. Perhaps I can make a ridiculous suggestion. Why not make all Malaysian trade payments in Malaysian Ringgit?
15. We are a big trading nation. We export more than 200 billion Ringgit worth of raw material and manufactured goods and we import slightly less than that. Traders cannot just ignore us or boycott us. They need our exports and they need to sell their products to us.
16. All we need to do is to demand payment in Malaysian Ringgit for our exports. We can require payment for our imports in Ringgit according to the current value in an international trading currency or gold.
17. If we do this there will be a constant demand for Ringgit and this will keep the value of the Ringgit at a certain level which we can fix, taking into consideration factors which influence its value.
18. This may sound like a ridiculous suggestion. But not being a trained economist or financier I can allow myself the privilege of unorthodox thinking.
Why America Facing the Financial Crisis?
As the 21st century began, the United States experienced its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. The crisis came to a head in 2008 when the nation saw its largest bank failure and the near collapse of the investment banking industry. The crisis required an extraordinary intervention by the Federal Reserve System and the Department of the Treasury as the bank failures led to a virtual halt in lending by the financial industry. At the urging of the Fed and the Treasury Department, the U.S. Congress passed legislation authorizing a $700-billion bailout package to restore liquidity to the system.
To many observers, the crisis began as a result of a “bubble” (risky speculation) in the housing industry. As housing prices continued to climb year after year, many lenders began offering so-called subprime (below market rate) mortgages and adjustable-rate mortgages. In addition, beginning in the 1970s, banking institutions for the most part no longer held onto mortgages as they had in the past but instead sold them to other institutions. These institutions in turn grouped mortgages together and repackaged them as mortgage securities, a process known as securitization.
When housing prices began to decline, many homeowners found that they owed more on their homes than their homes were worth, and they ceased making payments, sending the homes into foreclosure and leaving the holders of mortgage securities with worthless assets. Subprime mortgages had often been made to people who would not ordinarily qualify for a mortgage. When they experienced financial difficulty through the loss of a job or higher interest rates, they, too, faced foreclosure.
Further complicating matters was uncertainty over the reliability of mortgage securities, since no one actually knew how many bad mortgage loans were involved in these securities. As the housing market crumbled, the nation’s sixth largest bank, Washington Mutual, with $307 billion in assets, saw many depositors begin to withdraw their money in panic. The Federal Reserve seized the bank and arranged for it to be acquired by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. It was the largest bank failure in the nation’s history.
Soon after Washington Mutual failed, the Fed also had to rescue the banking operations of Wachovia Corporation. With this action, the U.S. banking industry was further consolidated into only three major banks—Bank of America Corporation, Citigroup, and J.P. Morgan Chase—that controlled about 30 percent of all bank deposits in the United States.
By October 2008 Congress had passed and President George W. Bush had signed the largest bailout plan in U.S. history. The banking rescue plan initially gave the Treasury Department the power to use $350 billion in taxpayer funds to buy up the failed mortgage securities. It gave the secretary of the treasury, Henry Paulson, wide powers to negotiate the cost of these purchases with the ultimate authority to spend up to $700 billion. In addition, to reassure bank depositors, Congress increased deposit insurance guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation from $100,000 per depositor to $250,000.
The crisis promised to spark a sweeping reassessment of government regulation of the banking industry. Congressional inquiries began into the bank failures, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opened formal probes to determine if fraud was involved in any of the failures. Some economists argued that a “shadow banking system” had emerged in which commercial, or depository, banks played only a minor role in providing credit. Instead, nondepository institutions, such as the failed investment banks Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, assumed huge debts that were not backed by savings deposits and provided credit through complex financial instruments known as derivatives. These derivatives had escaped regulatory control and thus imperiled the entire financial system. See also Investment Banking.
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2008. © 1993-2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Traditionally world (global) money was the gold, but in a 1944 Bretton-Wood convention has reduced a rating of gold, by making world(global) currency, alongside with gold, dollar. Under this convention were created International monetary fund (IMF) and International bank for Recons ruction and Development (IBRD). The system of stabilization of the exchange rates was accepted.
The international bank for Recons ruction and Development - international bank organization, which is the property of countries - participants of International monetary fund. More often it name as world(global) bank.
All countries - participants have agreed to support the course, fixed in dollars, of the currency called as parity course.
Each country, under the convention, should have a dollar store as backup currency and to use it for a purchase of the currency, when cost of dollar falls. For want of increase of course of dollar the own currency is sold.
The exchange rate of currencies was fixed through tripartite arbitration. For example, if parity cost of English pound made 2,00 dollars, and French franc - 0,25 dollars, the exchange rate between pound and franc the tripartite arbitration defined(determined) as:
Pound/franc = dollar/franc / dollar/pound = 2/0.25 = 8.00
Today in the international payments have received development the currency clearing, that is accounts between countries on the basis of offset of the mutual requirements according to the international conventions.
Islamic Banking System.. The Ideal One?
Posted: Oct 25, 2008 9:39 AM
Reply
After most countries were hit by the global financial crisis, writers and economists started calling for revising the global financial and banking system and the ideologies it was built on. Many of the western intellectuals are asking for adopting a new ideology that do not have such deviations that the capitalism have.
The Islamic financial and banking system is the one with most popularity now. The following are sayings by some western economists and writers:
- Roland Laskine, Editor in Chief of Journal des fienance: "Is it time now for adopting the principles of Islamic Sharia'h in Wall Street? If our leaders are really looking for limiting the financial speculation that caused the crisis, then simply the solution is to apply the principles of Sharia'h."
- Beaufils Vincent, Editor in Chief of The Challenger: " I think that in the spite of such crisis, we need to read Quran to understand what happened to us and our banks because if the managers of such banks tried to respect and apply what the Quran contained from teachings and orders, such crisis would have not existed and we won't have being in such miserable situation as money does not breed money!."
Some economists called for making the interest rate equal to 0 % which simply is the same as the Islamic principle of forbidding the collection of interest on money given out as loans.
Islamic banking & finance system follows some principles such as:
1 - Prohibition of usury and Cornering
2 - Prohibition of fraud
3 - Prohibition of injustice and inequity
4 - Prohibition of gambling
5 - Sharing in the profit and loss
6 - Prohibiting the sale of cash money
7 - Prohibiting the sale of debt
Dr Mahathir's comment on US dollars and Malaysian Pegging of Ringgit
1. I am not in the business of advising the Government. When I mentioned the advisability of pegging the Ringgit, it was in answer to a question posed by a reporter. If the Government noticed the report I would feel flattered.
2. Pegging currencies is not as easy as it sounds. The whole thing must be studied very carefully. Even getting agreement by a select panel is not easy. A decision made on the spur of the moment that pegging is not possible cannot really reflect the assessment made together with experts in consultation.
3. Pegging need not be always with the US Dollar. But the fact that the US Dollar is currently not stable is no reason why the idea should be summarily dismissed.
4. There can be other options. Other more stable currencies can be used or a basket of currencies may be used to reduce extreme volatility.
5. The US Dollar is backed by nothing, not even reserves in foreign currencies and gold which other countries hold in order to back their own currencies. The US is a bankrupt nation which means it is not in a position to provide foreign currency backing for its money.
6. The gold in Fort Knox has been depleted long ago and the pegging to gold of a certain amount as agreed to at the Bretton Woods has been done away with by President Nixon. No more gold standards. Yet the US Dollar still commands a certain value in the market. It is still being used for trade payments. This in fact gives the US Dollar a certain value even though the value, in exchange rate terms may change.
7. If the US Dollar is not used in international trading, it will have no value at all. This will of course hurt a lot of countries including Malaysia which carry substantial sums of US Dollar as reserves. Countries like China, Saudi Arabia and tiny Singapore would want to support trade payments made in US Dollar. They do not want their huge reserves of US Dollar to become worthless.
8. What we see here is the importance of international trade payments in sustaining the value of a currency.
9. Long, long ago I suggested the use of a special currency for trade. The currency should be equal in value to a fixed amount of gold. It should not be used domestically as each country would have its own currency pegged to the special trading currency.
10. The price of gold may go up and down but we know that the price of gold today is more than, say, 30 years ago. If we keep gold long enough we will eventually see it appreciating. It is not as volatile as currency notes.
11. So gold is an ideal standard for a trade currency. Effectively we would be going back to the Gold Standard, both for the trading currency and the domestic currency. For the domestic currency the rate against gold can change in keeping with inflation.
12. It was suggested that we call this trading currency the "dinar". Transactions would of course not be in solid gold dinars but with equivalent papers. It is not practical to carry around so much gold dinars but this will not be necessary if a country's export to another country and its import from that country is fairly balanced and only the difference need to be paid.
13. I am not an expert in this area but we can get experts to study whether pegging or the gold dinar are feasible. I would not dismiss the eficacy of these so easily.
14. Perhaps I can make a ridiculous suggestion. Why not make all Malaysian trade payments in Malaysian Ringgit?
15. We are a big trading nation. We export more than 200 billion Ringgit worth of raw material and manufactured goods and we import slightly less than that. Traders cannot just ignore us or boycott us. They need our exports and they need to sell their products to us.
16. All we need to do is to demand payment in Malaysian Ringgit for our exports. We can require payment for our imports in Ringgit according to the current value in an international trading currency or gold.
17. If we do this there will be a constant demand for Ringgit and this will keep the value of the Ringgit at a certain level which we can fix, taking into consideration factors which influence its value.
18. This may sound like a ridiculous suggestion. But not being a trained economist or financier I can allow myself the privilege of unorthodox thinking.
Why America Facing the Financial Crisis?
As the 21st century began, the United States experienced its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. The crisis came to a head in 2008 when the nation saw its largest bank failure and the near collapse of the investment banking industry. The crisis required an extraordinary intervention by the Federal Reserve System and the Department of the Treasury as the bank failures led to a virtual halt in lending by the financial industry. At the urging of the Fed and the Treasury Department, the U.S. Congress passed legislation authorizing a $700-billion bailout package to restore liquidity to the system.
To many observers, the crisis began as a result of a “bubble” (risky speculation) in the housing industry. As housing prices continued to climb year after year, many lenders began offering so-called subprime (below market rate) mortgages and adjustable-rate mortgages. In addition, beginning in the 1970s, banking institutions for the most part no longer held onto mortgages as they had in the past but instead sold them to other institutions. These institutions in turn grouped mortgages together and repackaged them as mortgage securities, a process known as securitization.
When housing prices began to decline, many homeowners found that they owed more on their homes than their homes were worth, and they ceased making payments, sending the homes into foreclosure and leaving the holders of mortgage securities with worthless assets. Subprime mortgages had often been made to people who would not ordinarily qualify for a mortgage. When they experienced financial difficulty through the loss of a job or higher interest rates, they, too, faced foreclosure.
Further complicating matters was uncertainty over the reliability of mortgage securities, since no one actually knew how many bad mortgage loans were involved in these securities. As the housing market crumbled, the nation’s sixth largest bank, Washington Mutual, with $307 billion in assets, saw many depositors begin to withdraw their money in panic. The Federal Reserve seized the bank and arranged for it to be acquired by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. It was the largest bank failure in the nation’s history.
Soon after Washington Mutual failed, the Fed also had to rescue the banking operations of Wachovia Corporation. With this action, the U.S. banking industry was further consolidated into only three major banks—Bank of America Corporation, Citigroup, and J.P. Morgan Chase—that controlled about 30 percent of all bank deposits in the United States.
By October 2008 Congress had passed and President George W. Bush had signed the largest bailout plan in U.S. history. The banking rescue plan initially gave the Treasury Department the power to use $350 billion in taxpayer funds to buy up the failed mortgage securities. It gave the secretary of the treasury, Henry Paulson, wide powers to negotiate the cost of these purchases with the ultimate authority to spend up to $700 billion. In addition, to reassure bank depositors, Congress increased deposit insurance guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation from $100,000 per depositor to $250,000.
The crisis promised to spark a sweeping reassessment of government regulation of the banking industry. Congressional inquiries began into the bank failures, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opened formal probes to determine if fraud was involved in any of the failures. Some economists argued that a “shadow banking system” had emerged in which commercial, or depository, banks played only a minor role in providing credit. Instead, nondepository institutions, such as the failed investment banks Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, assumed huge debts that were not backed by savings deposits and provided credit through complex financial instruments known as derivatives. These derivatives had escaped regulatory control and thus imperiled the entire financial system. See also Investment Banking.
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2008. © 1993-2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Thursday 20 November 2008
Wednesday 19 November 2008
PS 0267 Past Year Question 2006
PS 267 2006-2007 Exam paper
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PS 0267 Past Year Question 2005
Final 267 2005-2006 Exam Paper
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Tuesday 18 November 2008
PS 0267 Past Year Question 2007
2007-2008 PS 267 Exam paper
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Thursday 13 November 2008
PS 4305 3.19 Question 20
LISt the strategies you would use so that the students will not feel bored and depressED.
In teaching and learning mathematics there are many issues that teachers must consider.
1) Teaching methods
2) Resources and teaching aids
3) The language of the learner
4) Multiple intelligences of pupils
Students
Ÿ Young children learn mathematics in different ways and they are not only dependent on the types of learning that requires them to just "sit and listen" to teacher-talk.
Ÿ Students can learn by :-
¬ practicing skills on their own
¬ conducting discussion between them
¬ playing games
¬ doing puzzles
¬ doing practical
¬ problem-solving
¬ finding things by themselves
Ÿ In the classroom context, students need the opportunities to use different kinds of learning as it :-
ð provides motivation
ð improves their learning skills
ð provides variety
ð enabled them to learn things more quickly
Teaching methods
1. Presentation and explanation by the teacher
Ÿ This is a formal teaching method that allows the teacher to present and explain mathematics to the whole class. It can be difficult because you have to ensure that all students understand. This can be a very effective way of :
Ä teaching a new topic to a large number of students
Ä trying to make everyone understand certain stages of the topic
Ä summarizing what has been learnt
2. Drill and practice
Ÿ It is essential that students have the opportunity to practice what they have learnt as well as to develop their understanding by applying new ideas and skills towards the new learning materials.
3. Games
Ÿ Games can help to create an enjoyable, exciting and interesting lesson. Games provide opportunities for the students to take part in learning actively. Moreover, it also allows students to experience success and satisfaction, which later build their confidence and enthusiasm.
Ÿ The benefits of games :
" Help students to understand mathematical concepts
" Enable students to develop mathematical skills
" help students to know mathematical facts
" help students to learn the language and vocabulary of Mathematics
" help students to develop ability in mental mathematics
Ÿ For instance,
i. Go on a Geometry Scavenger Hunt
ii. Sandbox Math Sticks
(Examples of games that can be found in the internet)
4. Practical work (always involve resources)
Ÿ Practical work refers to three things :
a. Using materials and resources to make things which involve using mathematical skills of measuring and estimating as well as the knowledge of making spatial relationships.
b. Marking a solid model of mathematical concept or relationship.
c. Using mathematics in a practical, real-life situation for instance in markets, planning trips and organising event.
Ÿ Benefits of using resources:
a. actively involves students
b. motivates students
c. makes ideas concrete
d. gives hands-on experience
e. makes group work easier
f. gives opportunities for language development
Ÿ According to Huetinck and Munshin (2004) some students are kinaesthetic learners, thus touching objects may enhance their learning needs. An object that can address the concepts in mathematics through visual and kinaesthetic senses is being referred as manipulative.
5. Problems and puzzles
Ÿ This kind of method encourages students to learn mathematics through solving problems and puzzles which have definite answers. The key point of this method is it allows students to work out the solution by themselves.
Ÿ Puzzles develop students’ thinking skills, where problem solving helps to develop the skills of selecting the appropriate method and apply it to the given problem.
6. Investigating mathematics
Ÿ This can be done by setting students with challenge which leads them to discover and practice by themselves. The teacher should find suitable challenges for the students and the challenges should also be matched to the students’ ability.
Ÿ The investigations should encourage students to make their own decisions on :
a. where to start
b. how to deal with the challenge
c. what mathematics they need to use
d. how they can communicate this mathematics
e. how to describe what they have discovered
Portman, J and Richardson, J (1997)
7. Creating a new and fun environment of learning
Ÿ It would be nice if the teacher would bring along the pupils to a mathematic convention or event. This would give them more exposure. Not only that, the children will learn that mathematic is actually fun and very useful in their lives.
8. Active learning
Ÿ Meyers and Jones (1993) define active learning as learning environments that allow “students to talk and listen, read, write, and reflect as they approach course content through problem-solving exercises, informal small groups, simulations, case studies, role playing, and other activities -- all of which require students to apply what they have learnt ”.
Ÿ Many studies show that learning is enhanced when students become actively involved in the learning process. Instructional strategies that engage students in the learning process stimulate critical thinking and a greater awareness of other perspectives
9. Cooperative learning
Ÿ Cooperative Learning is a systematic pedagogical strategy that encourages small groups of students to work together for the achievement of a common goal. The term 'Collaborative Learning' is often used as a synonym for cooperative learning when, in fact, it is a separate strategy that encompasses a broader range of group interactions such as developing learning communities, stimulating student/faculty discussions, and encouraging electronic exchanges (Bruffee, 1993).
Ÿ When integrating cooperative or collaborative learning strategies into a course, careful planning and preparation are essential. Understanding how to form groups, ensure positive interdependence, maintain individual accountability, resolve group conflict, develop appropriate assignments and grading criteria, and manage active learning environments are critical to the achievement of a successful cooperative learning experience.
10. Integrating Technology (use of ICT) in the lesson.
CONCLUSION
In short, by taking into account all of these strategies before starting a lesson, teachers will therefore be able to make students enjoy the lesson and not feel bored and depressed.
Compiled by: Dk Muhyidatul, Nur Farahana, Nur Ridzwannah, Mufidah, Ak Alif
PS 4305 3.18 Question 19
Explain why Malay pupils perform badly in Brunei PSR and PMB examination?
There is no doubt that Bruneian youths are having difficulties in scoring good grades in PSR and PMB examination especially in Mathematics subject.
The main reasons are:
1. The negative classroom environment.
Classroom learning environment refers to the overall climate and culture of the classroom itself - the communication patterns, the design or the classroom layout (the seating arrangement), the organization of physical space and the teacher’s ability to manage students’ behaviour in the classroom.
It can be a powerful teaching instrument to the teacher. The classroom learning environment needs to be supportive so that students will learn to respect each others and their ideas. Moreover, a positive classroom learning environment helps to provide a safe, secure and stimulating climate for children learning and to perform their best (Fraser, 1998). Teachers in Brunei did not find this very important.
The above picture shows the usual seating arrangement that can be found in any Mathematics classroom in Brunei Darussalam. When teachers consciously develop a plan for setting up the classroom and consistently apply this plan by organizing the seating arrangement shown, teaching and learning of Mathematics lesson in the classroom will therefore become ineffective.
Beside, the most common feature of a typical Bruneian classroom is that the walls and bulletin boards are always left empty without posters or pictures being hanged on the wall.
2. Teaching and learning styles -included covering syllabus issue, mixed abilities and language issues.
Most Mathematics teachers in Brunei usually practised “chalk and talk” approach, where it does not emphasize understanding concepts of ‘how’ to get the solution and ‘why’ the rules work. The teachers are only concerned about covering the syllabus and also preparing the students for the upcoming assessments.
Other than that, students of different abilities may have different standard of English. Those who achieve low scores may have problems in understanding English. Thus, teachers need to explain complicated words using simple English so that the whole class may understand the question. This will result in students being too dependent on teachers’ assistance.
In order to overcome this problem, teachers should be creative in their approach. Teachers should teach their students for understanding rather than just using chalk and talk method. Beside that teachers should take into account students’ different ability levels.
Compiled by:
(Dk Muhyidatul Syifa, Nur Farahana, Nur Ridzwannah, Mufidah, Ak Alif Wira Putra)
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