Sharon Martin								1602214
This essay focuses on three specific teaching strategies and how they support  teaching methods. The first strategy is ‘Constructivism which ‘Watson 2000 pg 140-141’ places the education in the child’s hands, ‘Watson’ mentions a study that took place in a special education unit and the effects of ‘Constructivism’ used in that unit. ‘Watson also states that there are 3 cycles and goes on to explain what they are. ‘Teachers Toolbox 2017 pg1’ lead on from that stating that new material given to children should follow on from the previous information and should re-enforce information from the previous lesson. They go on to mention the danger of ‘surface learning’ and they state the benefit of children having enough food, rest, and outdoor activities.(Jigsaw Classroom 2000-2017 pg 1-2) The next strategy is ‘Jigsaw’ which commenced in America and focuses on small groups being given different parts of the same subject which should encourage team work and also links in with ‘Constructivist’ strategy. (POPAT 2017 p1)The final strategy is the language strategy ‘Programme of Phonic Awareness’ otherwise known as POPAT. It is a language strategy that puts control in the child’s hands, the programme moves at a pace decided by the child ensuring full understanding of the subject before moving on to something new. 










The first strategy is ‘Constructivism’, according to an article by ‘Watson 2000 pg 140-141’ children that struggle academically tend to look to others for solutions rather than trying to work it out for themselves. ‘Watson’ states that using sensory materials in the classroom may encourage interaction between peers – for many it may be the only way they can express their views. ‘Watson 2000 pg 140-141 mentions an anecdote regarding a 12 year old boy that attended a ‘special education needs’ facility – he along with a few of his peers were tasked with building a go-cart from a set of parts, initially the teacher was going to provide a model for them to follow. However, she changed her mind and just provided them a set of verbal instructions, this confidence in her students was well founded the students organised the parts, tested construction throughout the process made necessary adjustments and at the end of the process the child was able to explain the process to his classmates. ‘Watson 2000 pg 140-141’ goes onto state that before introducing a new subject the teacher should first discover what the children already know before the teacher provides their own views – teachers that habitually impose their own ideas before engaging their pupils in active thinking are more likely to inhibit the children from making their own views. ‘Teachers Toolbox 2017 pg1’ are of the opinion that new material should follow on from the previous lesson. They also state that teachers should not teach ‘parrot fashion’ as this can lead to ‘surface learning’ and does not mean that the child will understand the subject matter. ‘Teachers Toolbox 2017 pg1’ also states that in order for children to get the best education they should be well rested, intake water throughout the day, and partake in physical exercise. These steps could result in students focusing more on the task in hand. In my own setting there is a marked improvement in a child’s concentration following Physical Education, or outside play.





The next strategy is ‘Jigsaw’, ‘Jigsaw Classroom 2017 pg 1-2’ which commenced in Texas America in the 1970’s advocates integration and inclusion regardless of race - prior to the introduction schools in the area were segregated and students were struggling with the change. ‘Elliot Aronson’ created the strategy to encourage team work – he states that the class should be split into groups of 5-6 students and that each student is given a different part of the same subject. They then need to conduct independent research before re-grouping to present their findings – this concept should mean that they use active listening regarding each other’s findings or be faced with the possibility of failing the subject. One person in each group is appointed ‘expert’ and they are tasked with meeting up with the other ‘experts’ from different groups to discuss their research which should ensure they are all on the right track before convening in their groups. ‘Reading Rockets 2017 pg 1’ states that the ‘Jigsaw’ strategy could be used to aid children learn to read – they go onto say children should be arranged in groups of 3-5 mixed ability children. Each child should be assigned a different chapter of the same book, they state that ‘expert’ groups should consist of a student from each group all tasked with the same chapter – they should gather information before re-grouping to check facts before going back to their groups. This strategy links in with ‘Constructivist’ in as far as the child is in control of their learning which should result in the child understanding the subject and negate the possibility of ‘surface learning’.
‘Melissa Elizondo 2012 pg1’ encourages the use of Jigsaw strategy, she states;
“Using the Jigsaw teaching strategy in your classroom can encourage your students to take responsibility for their own learning. It can also enhance how well your cooperative groups work. When using this strategy, students have to work in groups to understand the material”
This thinking melds with the information from ‘Jigsaw Classroom 200-2017 pg2’ and ‘Reading Rockets 2017 pg1’ in that to encourage children from different backgrounds and abilities to work together they should be placed in small groups and given different parts of the same subject, in order to pass the subject they have to listen to each other’s findings. ‘Hallam, Ireson, and Davies 2004’ wrote an article regarding the benefits of group working as a strategy. They state that having mixed-ability groups not only aided the less able but enhanced the students skills. Overall it resulted in an increase to social interaction and self-esteem. They identified three sections of group work;
Joint Group Work – Pupils are assigned different task that all stem from the same subject.
Seated Group Work – Pupils are assigned different subject matters but they all work at the same table’
Cooperative Group Work – They all have the same task, they have to all come up with ideas and discuss the best plan of action.
‘Hallam et al 2004’ found that joint group work was mostly used in Art classrooms, it was also used in ‘general studies’ but not in relation to basic skills. Cooperative group work was rarely used, and overall group work was used as an organisational strategy.













The final strategy is ‘Programme of Phonic Awareness Training’ otherwise known as POPAT is a teaching aid that can be used as a language strategy in teaching children how to read and write from a young age, it is a ‘bottom up’ programme that teaches children how to blend and sound out words. ‘POPAT 2017 pg1-2’ teaches children how to recognise phonic sounds and promotes active listening, it is a child led programme that encourages children to find out the origin of words, hopefully giving them a love of reading. The child is in control of the difficulty of the session which should prevent failure and assist in building self-esteem – the standard programme uses sound pictures to explain phonemes, games are used to identify consonant sounds. The child should advance swiftly through the stages going from sound pictures to the introduction of vowels through letter cards. Leaners are encouraged to reflect on the previous session to ensure understanding before moving onto the next part of the programme. The read and write section starts with easier words and they are embedded in sentences to give the child context it encourages the child to remember sentences using pictures and sounds.















To conclude, the three strategies were, ‘Constructivism’ which put the focus back on the child, ‘Watson 2000 pg 140-141’ wrote that teachers should check the level of understanding the child has before imparting their own views. ‘Teachers Toolbox 2017 pg1’ that the new material should follow on from prior knowledge and that teachers should not recount facts ‘parrot fashion’ as this can lead to ‘surface learning’ and the child will not truly understand the subject. ‘Watson 2000 pg140-141’ also recounted an anecdote regarding a special education needs class that was tasked with building a go-cart using verbal instruction only, this resulted in the children testing each step and concluded in them constructing a go-cart and being able to verbally recount their efforts to the class. The next strategy is the ‘Jigsaw’ strategy – ‘Jigsaw Classroom 2017 pg 1-2’ was conceptualised in 1971 by and American who worked at a school that had recently been de-segregated, he suggested that classes should be split into small groups of 5-6 students and that they should each be given a part of a subject to research. They then had to recount their findings to their group members which should have encouraged integration. ‘Reading Rockets 2017 pg 1’ advocated the use of the ‘Jigsaw’ strategy when teaching children to read – they state that the class should be split into mixed ability groups of 3-5 students all tasked with a different part of the same book, the children should then research independently and then reconvene in the group to relay their findings. ’Hallam, Ireson, and Davies 2004’ wrote an article advocating the benefits of group work in the classroom, and mixed ability groups benefit all class members they concluded that the mixed ability class was used mostly in Art sessions and general studies. The final strategy was a language strategy called ‘POPAT’, ‘POPAT 2017 pg 1-2’ is a teaching programme that teaches children to read and write, the child is at the centre of the programme and the child decides how quickly they progress through the different stages. POPAT encourages children to reflect on the previous session so that the knowledge is embedded before moving on to new material, they then move onto learning how to write.