Description of the course

I am a second year student of the Westminster International University in Tashkent in Master's degree and I have been finishing the (ILT) Innovative Learning and Teaching and experimental pedagogy module. Now I should write coursework task (module description) and I was told to write a reflection and  description a short online course which I have created in LMS. The purpose of my course is teaching English online to 9 -10 years of students. The main material in this course is teaching all aspects of English through gammar teaching and vocabulary. Besides, students will work autonomously working on their speaking and fluency. Additional reading materials which I have created in variety of       LMS platforms help students stay motivated and engaged. There are many advantages of online education like flexibility, increased collaboration and time management skills. However, without face - to -face communication it is really hard to engage in and create a sense of community during the classroom. So, that I tried to implement variety of LMS platforms in the form of games, puzzles, vocabulary and individual reading tasks. I hope technological tools which I have used will motivate and create a good sense of interaction and rapport building with me.  Here is the link for my online class.\

https://classroom.google.com/c/NjMxMTE5NzU5NTk1?cjc=h3lymci 

https://classroom.google.com/c/NjMxMTE5NzU5NTk1?cjc=h3lymci 

  In this page I will describe my online course through articulating the learning outcomes. Then I will discuss the motivation theory, because motivation is one of the key element in student learning and progress. Learning theories like connectivism, social constructivism, behaviorism and UDL will also be discussed in this paragraph. 

  Every lesson is created to reach to specific learning objectives. The students are different with variety of learning abilities and needs. Some students will immideately involve in the topic or task, but others are ready to participate stright away. However, other learners loose their interst because of cognitive and physical effort involving in the learning process.  Thus, UDL firstly talks about variability and it is considered as a dominant feature of learners nervous system. ( Meyer et al., 2014; Cast, 2018). AI Presentations and videos are the best tools to teach visual learners and listening tasks are better suits to auditory learners. Through matching the needs and abilities of students is creating lessons based on different instruction design and propose multiple ways for learners to illustrare their learning (Tomlinson. 2017 ) Diversity in the classroom can help increase academic outcome and critical thinking. The main aim intended to diversify methods and approaches of teaching which is used in the classroom. In that manner, teachers (we) can promote productive and effective learning experience for our learners. I believe that, exchanging different ideas with interaction can help students to reach mutual benefits. Inclusive classroom facilitation can maintain diversity in the classroom and we as a teachers should create interesting and motivational learning environment for our students.

   1. First topic -The food is here

In this topic teacher should explain Present simple and present continuous tenses. The lesson is linked with types of food. Students Firstly should learn topic vocabulary about food. The purpose of this task is to feel free while speaking.  Following this in ex 2 they should make a dialogue. Making dialogues cultivates interaction between peers and inspires new ideas about the topic. By following they will work with handouts and the students will try out multiple question task in Edpuzzle.com.  Multiple questions help to see how students reacted by certain situation by answering the questions. ( Ishihara and Cohen 2010) Here all learners firstly should watch a short cartoon and translate the sentences. When they watch a second time they will try to answer to given question. This a group work that's why all learners should be involved.  In order to encourage collaboration and cooperation of students,  Vygotsky's (ZPD) is emphasizes great number of abilities that students can get with the help of adults help and they cannot do independently. In ex 4 students read and circle present simple sentences and write a short text on Jamboard. The purpose of this task is to be able to use LMS platforms to learn present simple tense and use the present tense words correctly.

https://jamboard.google.com/d/1g47kIF0f2VKz6taZAJRBA_PreORO5EgGM_RO-VhKJjM/viewer?f=0

https://edpuzzle.com/media/656b8944ab63be41bc2da716

Then they have to do flashcard grammar task with interactive game in Quizlet.com. Their task is putting appropriate word in an empty place. To design my course I have created the games for my learners on educational platform Quizlet. The integration correlates with Connectivism learning theory. According to George Siemens this principle is essential framework in our modern era of technology Siemens 2005. Competition this types of games can develop social interaction among learners. 

The third program that I used during my class was Twee.com. I have found it interactive to create grammar materials for free and in different context. this a group work task and students should firstly discuss in small groups and write answers. Group work can help students to feel independent. Student participation in group working is essential in terms of learning outcome.(Elgort, Smith & Toland, 2008) I want to connect this part of my lesson with the Vygotskiy's perspectives that the nature of social constructivism can be built with the help of group work 

Loom video recording tool is a good program for creating video explantion of any topic. It helped me to teach lessons , record presentaions and sharing the content to others. I chose this program for explaning Present simple tense to my students. It allowed to record my screen and explain the lesson with visual content and learners have a clear understanding about the audio and the image of the topic. Visual aids can stimulate curiosity of learners and explain the content easily for educators. Learning with visual aids is tightly linked to cognitivism theory. (Ermer and Newby, 2013) Quizzes and multiple choice tasks develop critical thinking and analyzing the word by its meaning.( Shute and Wang, 2016)

 2.Second topic- We had a concert 

The purpose of this lesson to teach Past simple tense through lms platforms and motivate them to learn grammar. The level of students motivation reflects how they are contributed and engaged in the environment of learning. Active and motivated students are not expect external reward but they automatically engage in lesson procedure.(Skinner and Belmont 1993). There are several components that increase motivation: curiosity, fantasy, competition and others that are presented in games. (Malone and Lepper 1987.) Students worked in the Google forms of Blank Quiz with a great interest and motivation. 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1oOKzcNmJXDnb15WBrtQtOGKV4jIhDJPhs2GobRp6sn4/edit?pli=1

 

3.Third topic Revision.

In this lesson, students should revise the Present and Past simple through Twee.com progam. Personally, I really like this tool because it create many opportunities for creating, editing and sharing different activities. Behaviorism theory which involve repetition of the information and the task is learned until the result could be reached spontaneously. (Gagne 1985) My students worked with AI driven games to revise  and repeat the grammar knowledge. 

4. Fourth lesson - possessive pronouns 

Here my students have a chance to involve in the next interactive platform called Googe Jamboard where they can write their opinion like a school whiteboard but in Digital version. My learners should brainstorm the types of posessive pronouns with their own examples. Brainstorming technique is linked to constructivism. It helps students to learn from their mistakes (Ikshumelu& Oyibe, 2014)

https://jamboard.google.com/d/1pcZWWX8aLRnNjqVZBQfpYjKwUyYMeaM9nEo1c61tOKo/viewer?pli=1

5. Fifth topic- Independent Reading

Reading is an essential part of each knowledge and it develops language skills and vocabulary. Reading also helps skimming and skanning techniques and good writing ability. Students worked firstly with the given handouts. They should complete the reading comprehension handout task with sub activities. Following this, they had a task in Genially.com They should play a game about Santa. From this lesson my learners can develop Learner Autonomy, because they work independently. By nurturing the autonomy, I can supply my students with necessary skills and help to overcome the challenges they face. Gleave, (2008)

6. Sixth topic- Speaking.

Wordwall.com speaking task all about answering the personal questions about my students. It is a random wheel task. With this task learners can boost their confidence to express their own opinions. Here is the link:

https://wordwall.net/resource/65177780/speaking-questions

6. Topic-7 Adjectives. 

Here my learners task is to learn the types of adjectives and use it in the next exercise. Firstly, short description about the adjectives is being introduced by myself and students should do a mini role-play about the weather.. Role - plays  helps learners to develop social skills, helps to speak free in the classroom, boost confidence. Students who are not confident in the use of language should increase communicative learning strategies in order to interact freely. Game on Jeopardy Labs can enhance vocabulary skills. Connectivism emphasizes the importance of networks, to encourage learners to be involved in a great number of ideas and interaction with people. on the contrary, Cognitivism learning theory deeply emphasizes inner and mental process of people, how brain gets, stores and retrieves the given information and in connectives theory knowledge is not delivered to learners but it creates through collaboration and cooperation (Haslam 2023.) 

https://jeopardylabs.com/embed/?jeopardy_id=65925072

Next I prepared a task in Quizlet.com and students should work individually on quiz vocabulary. and test.

https://quizlet.com/231056127/test

To conclude, I would say that all learning theories with I have used are worth mentioning. Behaviorism, connectionism, constructivism, cognitivism, motivation and diversity in the classroom are linked with the course which I have created. I hope that learners can take advantage of my short online course. 

Reference list

CAST. (n.d.). Read Universal Design for Learning: Theory and Practice for Free in Clusive! [online] Available at: http://udltheorypractice.cast.org [Accessed 11 Dec. 2023].

Gagne, R. M (1985) The conditions of learning and the theory of instruction (4 th ed.) Holt, Rinehart and Winston

Elgort, I., Smith, A.G. and Toland, J. (2008). Is wiki an effective platform for group course work? Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 24(2). doi:https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.1222.

E.A. Skinner and M.J. Belmont, “Motivation in the Classroom: Reciprocal Effects of Teacher Behavior and Student Engagement across the School year”, Journal of educational psychology, 85, 4, 571 (1993)

Ertmer, P,A and Newby, T.J (2013). Behaviorism, Cognitivism: Comparing Critical Features From an Instructioal Design Perspective. Perfomance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), pp 43-71

 Ikwumelu, B., & Oyibe, Y. (2014). The Comparative Effects of Simulation Games and Brainstorming Instructional Strategies on Junior Secondary School Students’ Achievement in Social Studies in Nigeria. African Research Review, 5(3).doi:10.4314/afrrev.v5i3.67342  T.W. Malone and M.R. Lepper, “Making learning fun: A taxonomy of Intrinsic motivations for learning”, Aptitude, learning, and instruction, 3, 223-253 (1987).

Meyer, A., Rose, D., and Gordon, D., (2014 )  Universal Design for Learning: Theory and practice. http://udltheorypractice.cast.org/.

Shute, V. J and Wang, L. (2016). Measuring problem- solving skills via stealth assessment in an engaging video game. Computers in Human Behavior, 63, pp. 106-117.

Tomlinson, C.A. (2017). How to differentiate instruction in academically diverse classrooms. 3rd ed. Alexandria, Va Ascd.