Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Introduction
Child- centered /Student-centered learning is an instructional approach in which students influence the
content, activities, materials, and pace of learning or the child centered approach is defined by Mayer
(1998) cited in Barbara (2007) as a learning process whereby learners work individually or in small
groups to explore, investigate, and solve authentic problems and become actively engaged in seeking
knowledge and information rather than being passive recipients. This learning model places the student
(learner) in the center of the learning process. The instructor provides students with opportunities to
learn independently and from one another and coaches those in the skills they need to do so effectively.
This simple student activity book is mainly developed to test the different topics in
In addition, Student-Centered Learning (SCL) is an “environment that allows learners to take some real
control over their educational experience and encourages them to make important choices about what
and how they will learn. In Child-Centered Learning Approaches, teacher’s primary role is to coach and
facilitate student learning and overall comprehension of material, and to measure student learning
through both formal and informal forms of assessment, like group projects, student portfolios, and class
participation. In the student-centered classroom, teaching and assessment are connected because
student learning is continuously measured during teacher instruction.
The main purpose of these activities is to develop students learning through different experiences and
techniques of learning. Furthermore, each activity focuses on developing learning skills in different
ways. Student’s skills and knowledge’s can be tested through giving them home works, test, class
activities, assignments, projects, debate and practical. Therefore, through these different learning skills
students will be able to acquire more information about the unit and understand the learning outcomes
of each lesson taught.
Three (3) activities are written under each of the five (5) different learning approaches. They are
constructivist learning approach; inquiry based learning approach, cooperative learning approach,
experiential learning approach and socio-cultural learning approach. These theories are described in
the context of this activity book with the activities.
School: Margarima Secondary School Grade: Eleven (11) Subject: Geography Resource: Gr 11
Advance Geography textbook, Upper Secondary School Syllabus, and Teachers guide
TOPIC: LOCAL WINDS (NB: Topic for the following 3 learning activities)
PNG is located along the Equator where the permanent climate type is cold and hot. Coastal areas are normally
hotter than the highlands areas. In group of 3-4, discuss how you feel while at coastal areas and highlands areas.
Students who have already been to coastal places like Lae can share their experiences to other classmates or
group members of how they feel while at those places. Having discussed this fact, each group is assign to do the
following question.
Students are advice to utilize the library to do a research on land and sea breeze. After your reach, answer the
following questions in your designated groups. Correction of your findings shall be done in class. First Group will
be doing a research on land breeze and second group on
sea breeze. Group # two (2):
Beside the diagram of a land breeze
Group # one (1): attached, discuss and explain your findings?
Beside the diagram of a land breeze
Beside the diagram
attached, of aexplain
discuss and land breeze
your findings?
attached, discuss and explain your findings?
________________________________________
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Marking Guide
Strictly, marks will be given according to the marking criteria given below
Areas to be assessed Marks
Brief definition of land and sea breeze with detail explanations ______/4marks
Use of examples and discussion of experiences ______/6marks
Overall outlook of the discussion ______/5marks
Total _____/15marks
Basing on the discussion in activity two and the information given below, students shall do a presentation.
Students are to appoint a talking person for each group to present what they have discussed.
In this presentation, students are to construct new ideas from how they understand the diagram attached.
Also, discussion in activity two will be of helpful in preparation of their presentation.
Altitude
Altitude is also called ‘height above sea level’. How high the land is, is measured from the sea level up. Sea level is
always at 0 meters but, different location will have different heights as you move from a flat land area at sea level
to high ground. At sea level the temperature is warmer than the mountain top.
Below are some of the key questions to consider for the presentation:
1. What do you think the temperature will be like at the coastal areas? Hot/wet. Give reason for your answer?
2. What do you think the temperature will be like in highlands areas? Hot/wet. Give reason for your answer?
The presentation will be strictly assessed according to the marking criteria given below.
This Debate is based on activity one and two. Students shall do a debate on the topic “Is coastal areas
good and safe for living?” This debate calls for students to think beyond and construct new ideas on the
facts that they know from the discussion in activity one and two.
The teacher shall separate the class into two groups and appoints a talking person for each group. Make
sure all members of the group must actively participate in group discussion before the presentation. The
talking person for each group will be presenting the main ideas discussed and other group members are to
participate in questioning.
In both groups, discuss the following points to present in the class debate.
o Do you think coastal areas are good and save for living? Yes/No
o Why do you think coastal areas are good and save for living?
o Why do you think coastal areas are not good and safe for living?
o What conclusion can you make from your own understanding?
NB: Group one are to go for the topic and the other group shall against the topic.
This task will be strictly assessed according to the criteria given below.
Inquiry-based learning (IBL) is pedagogy which best enables students to experience the process of
knowledge creation and the key attributes are learning stimulated by inquiry, a student centered
approach, a move to self-directed learning and an active approach of learning. Students should develop
research skills and become life-long learners. Inquiry based learning is a constructivist approach where
the overall goal is for students to make meaning out of what they are learning. While teacher may guide
the inquiry to various degree and set parameters for a classroom inquiry, true inquiry is internally
motivated. In this type of learning the students are actively involved in constructing understanding
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through hands-on experiences, research, processing and communicating their understanding in various
ways. Learning takes place in a social context, that is, students learn from each other, together with
others and from those outside of the classroom.
Inquiry-based learning is a form of active learning, where progress is assessed by how well students
develop experimental and analytical skills rather than how much knowledge they possess. It helps
students become more creative and independent. Inquiry-based learning provides more opportunities
for students to develop problem coping, solving and researching skills. Lipowski (2008) explains that
inquiry-based learning involves asking questions, gathering and analysing information, generating
solutions, making decisions, justifying actions and taking further actions. Thus, Inquiry learning
approaches is a learning that mostly student dominant through asking questions, analyzing and come up
with own solutions rather than teachers provide information to the learners.
Inquiry-based learning refers to a transformation of the traditional classroom. Students are encouraged
to take part in group work to learn from their peers and participate in forms of guided learning, which is
delivered by an instructor. This form of learning enhances comprehension-rather than memorizing facts
and taking notes, students are now encouraged to discuss ideas among their peers. This form of learning
also allows students to take ownership of their learning and increases their engagement with the
content. This theory also provides students opportunities to participate and practice the skills and
processes involved in effective action (Edelson, 2001).
Based on some above mentioned understanding, inquiry model is a method used in the learning
process so that students have the ability to ask questions, examine, or investigate something. This
involves the entire student’s ability to search and investigate in a systematic, critical, logical, analytical,
so that they can formulate their own.
Topic: The Hydrosphere (Topic for the following three learning activities)
Read the information about the importance of water below and answer the questions as follow. Ask
questions to your class teacher or class mates for help if you are still in doubt.
Water is one of the most important substances on earth. All plants and animals must
have water to survive. If there was no water there would be no life on earth. Apart
from drinking it to survive, people have many other uses for water. Water is a
renewable resource. This means that if water is used and managed properly it can be
replaced or renewed. Water moves through the atmosphere, land, rivers and oceans in
the water (or hydrological) cycle. It involves the processes such as condensation,
precipitation, infiltration and runoff, evaporation and transpiration.
Do a little research in the library about water cycle and neatly label the process represented by arrows in
the diagram below. Also, discuss and explain the processes involved. Correction shall be done in class the
next day before lesson begins.
Marking Criteria
According to (Johnson, et al., 2008), Co-operative learning Theory is defined as the instructional use of
small groups to promote students working together to maximize their own and each other's learning. The
Cooperative learning is an educational approach which aims to organize classroom activities into
academic and social learning experiences. Students must work in groups to complete tasks collectively
toward academic goals. Unlike individual learning, which can be competitive in nature, students learning
cooperatively can capitalize on one another's resources and skills (asking one another for information,
evaluating one another's ideas, monitoring one another's work, etc.). Furthermore, the teacher's role
changes from giving information to facilitating students' learning. Everyone succeeds when the group
succeeds. Ross and Smyth (1995) describe successful cooperative learning tasks as intellectually
demanding, creative, open-ended, and involve higher order thinking tasks. Cooperative learning has also
been linked to increased levels of student satisfaction.
Cooperative learning is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students of
different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject.
Cooperative learning is an approach to teaching that fits well within the tradition of learner centred
pedagogy, dating back at least to the writings of John Dewey at the turn of the 20 th century.
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Underpinning cooperative learning are two core principles that are common to the writings of leading
authors on the topic, principles that should be applied whenever learners work together in pairs or groups: a)
Positive interdependence: For an activity to be truly cooperative, group members must work as a team towards a
shared goal, not in competition with each other, so that they sink or swim together. b) Individual accountability:
Group success depends on contributions from all group members, making each learner accountable, both for their
own learning, and for contributing to the group as required.
'Success' may be interpreted in many ways, including completion of a task, answering a review question, or success
in a class quiz, taken individually after the team has prepared together.
TOPIC: CLIMATE
Read your notes on climate and discuss with your peers to answer the following questions.
o Define weather and climate and discuss their differences?
o Why do places on earth receive different amount of sunlight?
o What instrument is used in measuring the temperature of a place?
o Name the climate that is more appropriate in Papua New Guinea?
o Note: Will go through the correction in class in a manner of class discussion.
All geography students together with the class teacher will visit Lake Jamali on Friday 12th Oct, 2020
from 9:00-10:30am. Students are advice to take not of the following questions while on the site.
How do you fell, what is the temperature like around the lake? Is it too cold or hot?
Why are you feeling very hot or cold?
Discuss with your friends and write a short story explaining the above questions after visiting Lake
Jamali?
Topic for the role play is on climate. We refer to climate when we say “PNG is always hot and wet”.
The climate of any particular place is influenced by a host of interacting factors. These include latitude,
elevation, nearby water, ocean currents, topography, vegetation, and prevailing winds.
Divide the class into two big groups, one represents hot and another group represents cold. Select at least
five students and give them a nick name like the one shown in the example below. Jenny will be
representing “distance from the sea” for cold and Joeblow will represent “Topography” for hot. Selected
students for each group will be defining the factor they represent and explain how it influence cold or hot
in Papua New Guinea while presenting their role play in class.
Experiential learning approaches comprises of learning activities, both inside and outside
the classroom that are designed to actively engage students to learn by doing, and then reflecting on
the process and experience and actively creating their own understanding. Experiential learning makes
teaching more effective. Engage with learners in direct experience and focused reflection in order to
increase knowledge, develop skills and clarify values. Facilitated and guided practice, reflection and
evaluation are all essential components of this transformative method of learning.
Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory (Kolb, 1984) defines experiential learning as "the process whereby
knowledge is created through the transformation of experience. Knowledge results from the
combination of grasping and transforming experience. Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory presents a
cycle of four elements, Concrete Experience, Reflective Observation, Abstract Conceptualization and
Active Experimentation. The cycle begins with an experience that the student has had, followed by an
opportunity to reflect on that experience. Then students may conceptualize and draw conclusions about
what they experienced and observed, leading to future actions in which the students experiment with
different behaviors. This begins the cycle again as students have new experiences based on their
experimentation (Robinson, 2004).
Experiential learning is the process of making meaning from direct experience with the environment. It
is the process of learning through experience, and is more specifically defined as "learning through
reflection on doing". Hands-on learning can be a form of experiential learning, but does not necessarily
involve students reflecting on their product. Experiential learning is distinct from rote or didactic
learning, in which the learner plays a comparatively passive role. Experiential learning is learning
Topic: Earthquake
On 26 February 2018, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck Papua New Guinea (PNG), triggering landslides, killing
and burying people and houses, affecting water sources and destroying crops. The PNG Government declared a
state of emergency on 1 March for Hela, Southern Highlands, Western and Enga provinces. Hela and Southern
Highlands Provinces were the worst affected. At least 170 aftershocks were recorded, including one of 6.7
magnitudes in the same area and one of 6.8 magnitudes off the coast of New Ireland, both on 8 March. Some 544
000 people were affected with 270 000 in need of immediate humanitarian assistance. Access to clean drinking
water, food, shelter, medicine and health services were the immediate concerns. At least 18 000 people were
displaced and living in informal camps or other evacuation facilities, often without adequate water and
sanitation. Damaged airfields, bridges and roads, coupled with security threats related to inter-communal
violence, complicated the response in some affected areas. A third of all health facilities in Hela and Southern
Highlands Provinces closed in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake.
Source: WHO
With experience from the 7.5 magnitude earthquake in 2018, define the term earthquake from your own
words and discuss the good and bad effect that you have noticed in groups.
Earthquake? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Good-Effect?
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_____________________________________________________________________________
Bad-Effect?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Note; students are advice to share their personal experience during the 7.5 magnitude earthquake in the discussion.
Note: Your assignment in activity 3 is related to this home work. Therefore, students are asked to participate in
group discussion, share their experiences and answer the questions.
i. What is your future suggestion on how best you can deal with earthquake related effects?
ii. Discuss what the government can do to minimize earthquake related disasters in the future?
iii. Did the government and appropriate authorities respond well during the 7.5 magnitude earthquake?
Yes/No. Explain your answer by providing an example to support your discussion.
Marking criteria
In the sociocultural theory, students and teachers form relationships in the classroom to help the student
learn. The relationships help facilitate social interaction and active participation in the learning tasks.
Students learn through observation, listening and talking through their tasks.
Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of learning explains that learning occurs during social interactions
between individuals. It is one of the dominant theories of education today. It believes learning happens
first through social interaction and second through individual internalization of social behaviors.
Sociocultural learning theory grew from the work of seminal psychologist Lev Vygotsky, who believed
that parents, caregivers, peers, and the culture at large were responsible for developing higher-order
functions. According to Vygotsky, learning has its basis in interacting with other people. Once this has
occurred, the information is then integrated on the individual level. Socio-cultural learning theory focuses
not only how adults and peers influence individual learning, but also on how cultural beliefs and attitudes
affect how learning takes place. According to Vygotsky, children are born with basic biological
constraints on their minds. Each culture, however, provides "tools of intellectual adaptation." These tools
allow children to use their abilities in a way that is adaptive to the culture in which they live. Vygotsky
(1934)
Vygotsky’s also suggested that human development results from a dynamic interaction between
individuals and society. Through this interaction, children learn gradually and continuously from parents
and teachers. However, this learning varies from one culture to the next. It's important to note that
Vygotsky's theory emphasizes the dynamic nature of this interaction. Society does not just impact people;
people also affect their society.
Migration can be defined as the movement of people, especially of whole groups or individuals from one place, region, or coun try to another.
The people leave their place of birth where they have been living and move to another place to take up residence th ere. Human migration
can be seasonal or periodic depending on the factors that cause the people to migrate. People can be forced to migrate or can be attracted
to migrate. Attractions in an area that lures people to migrate to an area are called pull factors. Unpleasant conditions in an area that forces
people to migrate to other places are called push factors.
The geography students will be taken to Tatape villages to interview elders or old people on how they
came to reside or live in their current place of residence. Below are some of the key questions to ask
the elders during their time of interview.
a. What were first people to reside in your village?
ECS 418-MAJOR PROJECT, SEM2, 2020
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b. Where did they come from?
c. How did they come to settle?
d. What forces them to come and settle in your village?
e. What attracts them to come to your current place of residence?
Task: Basing on their interview, Students are required to write a brief history of how the ancestors came
to settle in Tatape village? Your story should be one and a half pages long.
Task: In groups of three, discuss the following questions. Students are required to fully participate in the
group discussion and share personal houseman stories on how their ancestors come to settle in their own
villages.
1) Share brief story of your ancestors came to settle in your respective place of origin.
2) How did they come there?
3) Why did they come to settle there?
4) What influences them to come there?
5) If some of your tribesmen are living in other places, why did they go there?
NB: Take note that not all students are coming from the village where they access cultural histories of
their ancestors. Therefore, students in each group are advice to help each other and share their cultural
histories among the group members.
*After the discussion, each group must elect a talking person so he/she may present what they have
discussed so far. Students are also advice to ask question to other groups basing on the key questions
stated above.
Reminder; try to cooperate and answer this task in group because your assignment in activity 3 will base
on activity 1 and 2.
3. Discuss the reasons for the growth of squatter settlements in major cities and towns in Papua New
Guinea?
_________________________________________________________________________________5 mrks
4. Briefly explain push and pull factors that forces people to migrate. Provide 2 examples each
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________6mrks
What will happen to the population of a country if more of its people emigrate?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________3mrks
1) Barr, R., & Tagg, J. (1995, Nov/Dec.). From teaching to learning. A new paradigm for
undergraduate education. Change, 13-25. Retrieved 22nd Oct, 2020
2) Kolb, D. 1984. Experiential learning. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Retrieved 23rd Oct, 2020
3) O'Brien, N. (2003). Greenwood Dictionary of Education. Westport, CT: Greenwood. Retrieved 24th
Oct, 2020
4) Vygotsky L. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
5) Vygotsky LS, 1987. Thinking and Speech. Minick N, Trans. New York: Plenum Press; (Original
work published in 1934). Retrieved 29th Oct, 2020
6) Weimer, M. (2002). Learner-centered teaching: Five key changes to practice. San Francisco: Jossey-
Bass Publishers
7) Whistler, J. (1997). The learner-centered classroom and school: Strategies for in-creasing student
motivation and achievement. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
8) Wilson, G., (2004), Experiential learning, in M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning,
teaching, and technology. Retrieved 27th Oct, 2020