ESL/EFL online lesson development (based on Skyeng practices and techniques)

The article presents an attempt to infer the key stages of creating an effective online English lesson based on corporate teaching practices and techniques of Skyeng online school. There have been revealed some important aspects that are to be taken into consideration when working out an online lesson structure and content. Having analyzed various theoretical courses on communicative language teaching methods and having combined them with the incorporated Skyeng practice in teaching English as a Second Language or English as a Foreign Language (ESL/EFL), we have come up with a certain algorithm which we advise to apply in lesson modelling: focusing on achievement aims rather than procedure aims, choosing the correct lesson structure, evaluating the studying materials and content, formulating methodological sections to aid the teachers. There have been presented some language management techniques currently used in Skyeng lessons, such as the correct formulation of the instructions, balancing teacher talking time and student talking time and the technique of a guided discovery. The practical application of Blooms’ taxonomy is illustrated in the example of additional speaking tasks and their correct development. There have been described such notions as: achievement aims, materials’ evaluation, TTT and STT balance, guided discovery, lesson content units, Blooms’ taxonomy, lesson structure. The article contains practical examples of how these notions are realised in the lessons developed in Skyeng online school. Though all the examples are shown in the paradigm of an online lesson, the same algorithm presented in the article is highly recommended when developing offline lessons which are traditionally held in a classroom. Thus, there has been made an attempt to work out a single algorithm for modelling effective online and offline ESL/EFL lessons.

DEVELOPING AN INQUIRY AND HANDS-ON TEACHING MODEL TO GUIDE STEAM LESSON PLANNING FOR KINDERGARTEN CHILDREN

When contextualizing educational methods, teachers can focus on constructivism to develop inquiry materials as STEAM subject matter for use in schools. However, there is little research concerning what STEAM teaching resources teachers view as inquiry with hands-on STEAM instructional material for use in kindergartens. Therefore, this research used a spiral developmental course design with action research to apply a teaching inquiry and hands-on STEAM model focusing on lesson development for kindergarten children via a one-year workshop. The lesson development process of this research included a total of six stages, allowing 24 participating teachers to analyse the STEAM elements from their original lesson plans, then make revisions according to a model, including: prediction, do/observation, quiz/discussion, and explanation/ transfer (PD/OQ/DE/T). After the initial lesson plan was completed, teaching experiments were conducted, and the lesson plan was adjusted through reflection and revisions based on the suggestions of domain experts during the implementation process. Finally, 48 PDOQDET inquiry and hands-on based STEAM lesson plans were developed. Thus, it is proposed that the inquiry and hands-on i-STEAM modules developed using the PDOQDET approach can represent exemplars illustrative of an enriched design constructivist paradigm to support students’ i-STEAM learning in kindergartens. Keywords: early childhood education, hands-on learning, inquiry teaching, lesson plan design, STEAM

From “We Didn’t Do It” to “We’ve Learned Our Lesson”: Development of a Typology of Neutralizations of Corporate Crime

When corporations are faced with accusations of crime, they usually find it necessary to justify their actions to the public, the media and their shareholders. Corporate self-defense, aimed at protecting a corporation’s image and legitimacy, belongs to a broader category of offenders’ denials and neutralizations. The objective of this article is to compile and discuss literature that is of value for an understanding of neutralizations of corporate crime and, by means of this literature and our own empirical studies on corporate denials, to outline a typology of corporate neutralizations. The typology distinguishes between a wide variety of corporate responses to allegations of crime and exemplifies how these techniques have been used. We also discuss the function of corporate neutralization techniques and argue that corporate accounts mediate action; they influence both other actors and future corporate actions.

Observation of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) in a Year 3 Primary School in Johor Bahru

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) has a long history in an English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom. It is an approach which focuses on developing learners’ communicative skills in a meaningful context. However, the application of communicative language teaching (CLT) in an English language classroom has recently been debated extensively. Teachers still find it difficult and challenging to adopt CLT effectively in the classroom. This paper aims to report the application of CLT in a Year 3 English language classroom during a 90-minute lesson. Specifically, the study intended to observe and describe whether or not the teacher focused on CLT in terms of lesson development and implementation. Data was collected using an observation checklist and field notes in accordance with the objective of the study. The collected data was analysed using content analysis and validated by interrater reliability. The findings have indicated strengths and weaknesses in the lesson conducted. This can be seen in certain features of the observation towards CLT such as pair or group work activities, fluency of the language, error correction implemented by the teacher and the role of the teacher. It can be concluded that CLT approach should be given importance in the classroom by teachers in the learning process.

An Algebra Teacher's Instructional Decision-Making Process With GeoGebra

This chapter shares results of a classroom-based action research study on instructional decision-making when teaching a unit on linear functions with GeoGebra, a dynamic algebra environment. The TPACK / Student Knowledge Matrix developed by provided a structure for unit planning and lesson development. The matrix combines the three categories of teacher knowledge – technological, pedagogical, and content – with four levels of student knowledge – declarative, procedural, schematic, and strategic. While implementing the four-week unit, the algebra teacher used multiple data sources to document day-to-day decision-making. Data analysis revealed decisions were guided by the need to improve clarity, to increase interactivity, to highlight connections between representations, and to use GeoGebra as a tool to increase understanding. Throughout the unit, GeoGebra became a tool for computation, transformation, data collection and analysis, and error checking.