Universidad de Dagupan

SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
MAJOR IN EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT
ACTIVITY 1

INSTRUCTION:
 Give a detailed response to the following questions. Your answers should be coherent essays
demonstrating a mastery of the subject matter. Answer only the subjects you enrolled this semester.

DELM 214 - CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION, AND ASSESSMENT

1. Discuss the following approaches and methods of teaching:
a. Cooperative Learning
Cooperative Learning is an approach to teaching that makes maximum use of cooperative
activities involving pairs and small groups of learners in the classroom. It involves learners working
together on activities or learning tasks in a group small enough to ensure that everyone participates.
Learners in the group may work on separate tasks contributing to a common overall outcome, or
work together on a shared task.

b. Integrated Approach
Integrated approach to teaching and learning means creating learning experiences that enable
learners to draw meaningful connections across their learning experiences and between their learning
and life experiences. It helps them understand how concepts and skills are linked and can be applied
in different situations or contexts. Creativity, adaptability, critical thinking, and collaboration are
valuable skills in this environment. To foster these skills in the classroom, an integrated learning
approach is an effective method for helping learners develop multi-disciplinary expertise and grasp
the importance of interconnections in the real world. This approach prioritizes learning within the
curriculum and emphasizes the connection of concepts and experiences, allowing for the application
of knowledge and skills to new and complex problems. The integrated curriculum focuses on
establishing meaningful connections between subjects and skills that span multiple areas of study,
leading to a more enriching learning experience.

c. Direct Demonstration Method

Direct Demonstration Method is defined as giving a demo or performing a specific activity or
concept. In other words, it is a teaching-learning process carried out in a very systematic manner.
Demonstration often occurs when learners have difficulty connecting theories to actual practice or
are unable to understand the application of theories. It is a direct teaching strategy as the teacher
disseminates information (presentation), asks the learners questions to check to understand
(recitation), and finally asks questions to integrate knowledge. It is a teacher-centered strategy as the
teacher is the principal provider of information,relating examples of an abstraction being taught.
 d. Metacognitive Approach
Metacognition goes beyond simply pondering the idea of thinking. It requires learners to
“externalize mental events” (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000, p. 67) and examine what is
required to accomplish a specific learning outcome. In addition to developing thinking strategies, the
learner must have a “critical awareness” of both themselves and the task at hand. Learners must
consider their strengths and weaknesses and develop strategies to compensate for any areas of need.
Teachers can facilitate metacognition by modeling their own thinking aloud and by creating
questions that prompt reflective thinking in learners. Explicit instruction in the way one thinks
through a task is essential to building these skills in learners. Therefore, teachers must not only
incorporate questions about thinking into their lessons, but model for learners what responses to
these questions might be by playing the role of both a successful and unsuccessful learner.
Metacognitive strategies fall into three categories: planning, monitoring, and evaluating one’s
thinking. In the planning stage, learners engage in practices that deal with the question, “How will I
accomplish the desired learning outcome?” While monitoring their thinking, students ask, “How am
I doing in my execution of my plan and in my understanding/execution?” And either at intervals
throughout the learning process or at the end, students evaluate their thinking and consider, “What
went well and what could I do better next time?”. Metacognitive strategies can be transcend into
multiple categories, especially as one considers the idea that learning is a constant pursuit that
sometimes requires backtracking, revision, and amendment, and therefore flows fluidly through
cycles of planning, monitoring, and evaluating.

e. Constructivist Approach
Constructivism is a learning theory that emphasizes the active role of learners in building their own
understanding. Rather than passively receiving information, learners reflect on their experiences, create
mental representations, and incorporate new knowledge into their schemas. This promotes deeper learning
and understanding. It is an approach to learning that holds that people actively construct or make their own
knowledge and that reality is determined by the experiences of the learner (Elliott et al., 2000, p. 256). In
elaborating on constructionist's ideas, Constructivism believes in the personal construction of meaning by
the learner through experience and that meaning is influenced by the interaction of prior knowledge and new
events (Arends, 1998).

Cognitivist teaching methods aim to assist learners in assimilating new information to existing
knowledge, and enabling them to make the appropriate modifications to their existing intellectual framework
to accommodate that information. According to Social Constructivism, learning is a collaborative process,
and knowledge develops from individuals” interactions with their culture and society. It is also a way of
teaching where instead of just telling learners what to believe, teachers encourage them to think for
themselves. This means that teachers need to believe that learners are capable of thinking and coming up
with their own ideas.

2. Why is it important to know the nature of assessment?

Assessment plays an important role in the process of learning and motivation. The types of
assessment tasks that we ask our learners to do determine how learners will approach the learning task
and what study behaviors they will use. It will help the learners understand their errors, understand the
feedback received on their errors, and help them improve. Assessments may also provide another
opportunity to assimilate the new information and re-do the exam to improve performance.