TPN2603 STUDENT NO.

:
UNIQUE NO.: 787642 DUE DATE: 15/04/2020

1. MY TEACHING PHILOSOPHY:
Once, while I was browsing around on the internet, I came across a quote that said,
“If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn.”
This specific quote by Ignacio Estrada represents my own personal teaching
philosophy. Teaching and education are not one size fits all. My teaching philosophy
is grounded in the idea that students’ minds are not empty vessels waiting to be filled
with knowledge. Each learner brings their own particular brand of genius to the
classroom, and my most important job, as a teacher, is to discover and empower that
genius.

The prospect of becoming a teacher has never been doubtful to me, I’ve always
known that I have a passion for working with other people – specifically children –
even more specifically teenagers. I feel especially connected with children between
the ages of 13 and 16.
My own time in school, especially my teenager years, proved to be very frustrating
due to the lack of communication (and a lack of understanding) between student and
teacher. I found that doing self-study was more often than not more insightful than
asking a teacher for a further explanation. In becoming a teacher, I want to remind
the education world that teaching is a passion, not a pay check. I enjoy being a part
of the learning experience, and to help students understand that with knowledge
comes power. It also brings me great pleasure to have children (especially
teenagers) feel comfortable around me, feeling free to ask questions and to take part
in classroom activities. School shouldn’t be a pain in the neck. I want to show
learners that learning and having a passion for something can be fun.

I’ve always had a natural affinity with languages, English and literature specifically. It
brings me great pleasure to influence others to develop a love and – dare I say – a
passion for languages. To confront the confusion around commas, put an end to
puzzling parenthesis and stop the struggle with spelling.

It is my own personal opinion that the best way to gain new knowledge is to use as
many of the human senses simultaneously as possible.
I strongly believe in the aspects of interactive classrooms. A learner must physically
and mentally partake in what is being taught in the classroom. You see something
interactive (be it a slideshow or whatever the teacher is writing on the board), write it
down and make notes, listen to what the teacher says and finally ask questions.
(Now you only have to smell knowledge and all 5 senses would be included in the
learning process.)

Asking learners questions and relating the knowledge to real-life instances makes the
lessons you teach more memorable.
Being a teacher might be one of the most thankless professions there is, but you
don’t become a teacher because you want acceptance from others, you teach
because you want to inspire tomorrow's world leaders, because you are passionate
about developing the self-confidence of every student in your classroom and
because you believe in the potential of every single person. In the time of a teaching
practice, a seasoned teacher told me, “Without teachers, there’d be no doctors or
 lawyers.” And I wholeheartedly agree. You need to learn your 1, 2, 3’s before you
can learn to become a heart surgeon. You teach because it matters, because it is the
most important profession in the world.

Teachers influence a child’s mind more than one would think.

A teacher has the power to inspire, influence, encourage, lead and even help a
learner rebuild him/herself as a new and stronger person.
Just in showing that you believe in the potential a learner has within them can unlock
a plethora of greatness in the world.

Imagine if teachers could unlock the potential of every learner they come into contact
with?

2. CAPS ACTIVITY:
2.1. What is the first General Aim of the South African curriculum?
The National Curriculum Statement [Grades R – 12] highlights knowledge, skills and
values that are expressed to be worth learning. It ensures the acquisition and
application of these skills and the knowledge gained in meaningful ways that can be
applied to everyday life. Thus, the curriculum promotes the idea of “grounding
knowledge” in local contexts, while being sensitive to global imperatives.

2.2. The NCS aims to produce learners who are able to…
- Identify and solve problems and make decisions using critical and
creative thinking;
- Work effectively as individuals and with others as members of a team;

2.3. What is the time allocation for the subject you are teaching in the
Intermediate Phase?
The teaching time for Home Language is 6 hours per week. All language content is
taught within a two-week cycle (12 hours).

2.4. What is Section 4 of the document about?

SECTION 4 of the CAPS document entails all the specific details about assessments
of the subject at hand. It involves information about both formal and informal
assessments, their specifications and rubrics on allocating marks.

2.5. Which minister signed the curriculum into implementation?

The Minister of Basic Education of 2012 (when CAPS was implemented), Minister
Angie Motshekga.

2.6. The National Curriculum Statement is made up of three (3) documents.

What are they?
- Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements for each approved school subject as
listed in the policy document National policy pertaining to the programme and
promotion requirements of the National Curriculum Statement

- The policy document, National policy pertaining to the programme and promotion
requirements of the National Curriculum Statement Grades R – 12 which describes
the number of subjects to be offered by learners in each grade and the promotion
requirements to be obtained
 - The policy document, National Protocol for Assessment Grades R – 12 (January
2012) which standardises the recording and reporting processes for Grades R – 12
within the framework.

3. CO-TEACHING
3.1. Which two (2) co-teaching styles do you recommend for the school where
you will (or have already done) your teaching practice? Why do you say
so?
One Teach, One Assist: One person would keep primary responsibility for teaching
while the other circulated through the room providing unobtrusive assistance to
students as needed. This is a fast and effective way to assess whether the learners
understand the concept being taught. It’s also a more effective way to identify the
learners in a classroom who have a hard time understanding concepts. (or those with
learning barriers)

Station Teaching: In this co-teaching approach, teachers divide content and students.
Each teacher then teaches the content to one group and subsequently repeats the
instruction for the other group. This is a helpful and effective way to divide the
workload between teachers. In the instance of language, for example, one teacher
teaches literature and the other teacher teaches the language section of the subject.
By dividing the workload, less stress is placed on the teacher and the teachers can
enjoy a lighter workload.

3.2. List three (3) advantages of co-teaching.

- As before mentioned, co-teaching relieves some of the work-load, and in turn –
stress, from the teachers involved.
- It’s easier to assess the learners when there are more people involved in the
teaching process. Problems are easier to identify.
- Diversity is beneficial, because sometimes learners relate to one person’s approach
to an educational theme better than another person’s approach.

3.3. List three (3) disadvantages of co-teaching.

- The vast differences in the different teachers’ teaching styles can cause certain
amounts of confusion and problems in the classroom’s structure. (in the event of
Station Teaching)
- Co-teaching can be very time consuming for the teachers (in contrast to lifting some
of the work load) due to constant collaboration and preparation in order to make
sure each group is on the same track and doing the same work in order not to
disadvantage one of the groups of learners.
- Different teachers have different teaching styles and in turn, different ways of
allocating marks. The marking of assessments can sometimes differ from individual
to individual where one’s own opinion influences the mark. (take language essays
for example). Without proper and thorough moderation and a straight-forward,
specific rubric, marks can differ from one group to the other due to the difference in
personalities of the teachers involved.

3.4. How did/do you think the learners will/did feel about being taught by two
teachers at the same time?
The vast differences in teaching styles in one subject can tend to cause confusion
and unstable intake of information in the learners’ case when taught by two teachers
at the same time.
On the other hand, learners can also benefit from being taught by multiple (two)
teachers at the same time, because if the learner doesn’t identify with the one
teacher’s approach, they can identify with the other teacher’s approach.
Learners can also greatly benefit from co-teaching in the assistant teaching style. It’s
easier for the teachers to identify learning problems and possible barriers in the
learners and help them on a more individual basis in a non-intrusive way. The
learners can ask for help or be helped when they’ve made a mistake faster.

3.5. Would you continue to use co-teaching during your teaching career? Give
reasons for your answer.
Yes. I feel that certain co-teaching styles are greatly beneficial for both the learners
and the teachers. If used correctly and correspondence between teachers are regular
efficient, the workload can be lifted from both teachers greatly, relieving stress.
Learners benefit due to being helped more individually while teaching is in progress.
The sooner a mistake is corrected, the faster the learner could implement the
knowledge gained correctly.

Co-teaching can be greatly beneficial, but can also be catastrophic. It depends on the
participants in order for it to be successful.

3.6. What was (or do you think will be) the most challenging and most
interesting part of co-teaching while on teaching practice?
Even if you’re a seasoned teacher, you can still learn new things. Two heads are, in
fact, better than one. Co-teaching provides the opportunity to have more interesting
and creative ideas brought forth to the classroom, to make teaching more interesting
and memorable for the learners.

Problems and problem areas can be pointed out due to an extra opinion. In turn
problem areas can be fixed, because there is an extra person.

A challenge in co-teaching is when the two teachers don’t see eye-to-eye or if they’re
unwilling to share information and ideas with one another. Co-teaching can only be
successful if each participant brings their all to the table to make the experience as
exciting and beneficial for the children as possible.

Another challenging aspect in co-teaching is trust.

Trusting that the other person is capable and knows what they are doing is
sometimes difficult. It’s not easy to give another person control, and therefore being
open with one another and trusting each other and playing open cards is essential if
you want to make a success out of co-teaching.

Learners react differently to different teachers. You can’t expect learners to react to
your own individual style of teaching the same as they would to your co-teacher’s
style. Learners identify with each teacher on a different level and interact differently
with each teacher as well. This is another reason why correspondence between
teachers is very important, in order to keep a well-formed system in the classroom so
that the learners might benefit from the experience as mu