PME 2 -Thesis
PME 2 -Thesis
How does a learner’s education frame their own ideologies on gender and on their own self-worth?
Abstract
How does a learner’s education frame their own ideologies on gender and on their own self-worth, a discussion on how gender is approached in the Irish Educational system.“As has long been observed, men are people, but women are women” (Fine, 2012, p.223). The author of this thesis examines the above quote and its impact on the female gender in schools. Supporting literature on the topic of gender will be discussed, highlighting the inequalities between genders that exist not only in schools but throughout our world.
Using a quantitative and qualitative mixed methods approach, the author aims to question how the influence of traditional gendered stereotypes impacts learners. In the form of a case study the author will be focusing on technological subjects namely; Construction Studies (Woodwork), Engineering (Metalwork), Home Economics and Technology. The author takes a look at the gender imbalance within these subjects to question why the appearance of traditional gender roles remains prevalent. Working with female senior cycle learners within these subjects the author puts forward a fresh perspective and provides a voice for the 21stCentury learner in an aim to examine the impact of such imbalance and the division of gender within the classroom. Learners are also asked to consider the influence on them of internal school media in the form of their subject textbooks and external media that they encounter online, on television and in magazines.
The author through discussions with female learners aims to gain a greater understanding of the extent of how much gender in education impacts on their sense of self-worth.
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Research
Early development, exposure to teaching methods:
Interestingly enough the teachers that influenced me most in my education were not my art teachers, they were my Biology and English teachers. The most effective method of learning applied their classroom was their use of Cognitive Psychologist Jerome Bruners’ three modes of representation, namely Iconic, Symbolic and Enactive.
Jerome Bruner (1915-2016) believed that curriculum should foster the development of problem-solving skills through process of inquiry and discovery. He believed that subject
matter should be represented in terms of the child’s way of viewing the world. He also thought that curriculum should be designed so that the mastery of skills leads to the
mastery of still more powerful ones. He also advocated teaching by organising concepts
and learning by discovery (Study.com,2018)
This concept of learning through discovery has become an intrinsic element in my own learning and translates into my teaching which will be made further apparent in the following paragraphs. A conversation emerges in the following paragraphs between my identity as an artist in my undergraduate and applying these skills in my post primary school placement.
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PME 2 -Reflective Essay
Eisner discusses a worrying trend of pushing for standardisation, “...the push towards uniformity- uniformity in aims, uniformity in content, uniformity in assessment, uniformity in expectation. Of course, for technocrats uniformity is a blessing; it gets rid of complications-or so it is believed” (Eisner, 2002, p.7). This statement is flawed for a number of reasons, the main one being the repeated term “uniformity”. Uniformity meaning everyone is equal, every learner is at the same level. The belief that curriculum, assessment and content can be standardised is entirely theoretical. There cannot be a ‘One size fits all’ approach to teaching as no two learners are the same. Differentiation is the setting of work to support and challenge all learners within the class related to their ability. I feel the importance of outlining differentiation within your classroom by embedding it in the unit of learning is crucial to the overall learning that occurs.
The new reformed junior cycle has laid out its main objectives for learners:
• “The need to recognise a wide range of learning.
• A requirement to considerably reduce the focus on one terminal examination as a means of assessing our students.
• The necessity of giving prominence and importance to classroom-based assessment.
• Greater professional collaboration between teachers to be a feature of our schools.” (NCCA, 2015, p. 2)
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PME 2 -Curriculum & Assessment Essay
All Videos
Group Project Statement:
Reflect and Confess: An interactive project that urges the viewer to disclose their online behaviour.
The influence of religion and traditional forms of worship have been transported to a digital platform upon which youth culture has access to an uncensored arena. Language on social media can either bring a community together or tear it apart. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram can lead to a false sense of security when expressing ones online thinking. Social media provides the opportunity to voice opinions and create online content without repercussions. This could further develop a disconnect between collectivism and individualism.
As users of social media, we depend greatly on these social networks to give power to our words. This project asks the viewer to confront their online actions and reflect on them through the process of writing.
We invite the user to write and post their online sins onto our confession wall. Making them take account for their otherwise weightless words
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PME 1 -Development Education
Action Research Gallery Module
One cannot understand and, therefore, develop appropriate interventions for helping better educate refugee children if one isolates the different players within this context; that is, the child, the school, the family, the community and the service providers. (Hamilton,2004, p. 95)
Although this quote was written to raise awareness about refugees seeking asylum and their integration into a new society, the same must also be true for any child regardless of their age, race, gender, religion or sexual orientation, creating a feeling of inclusion. “Broadly speaking, for healthy psychological development, a child or adolescent needs three things: a sense of security, a supportive social network and opportunities to flourish and develop” (Hamilton, 2004, p. 12)
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PME 1 -Gender and Religion in Schooling Essay
Teachers must be concerned with many elements of instruction in addition to the lesson itself.
They must attend to methods of adapting instruction to students' levels of knowledge, motivating students to learn, managing student behaviour, grouping students for instruction, and testing and evaluating students. (Slavin, 2008, p. 166)
Thankfully the above statement is being implemented in schools across the Republic of Ireland with the introduction of the Junior cycle however this manner of teaching has not always been common practice. The Irish educational landscape of today is in stark contrast to that of the 1900’s. Over the last century Ireland has seen the abolishment of corporal punishment, the primary cert leading to the free education for all scheme by then Minister Donogh O’ Malley. Although much progress has been made, Ireland is constantly trying to improve the education system for future generations, this can be seen clearly in the introduction of the Junior Cycle and the importance placed on student wellbeing.
Over the following paragraphs a discussion will be made on the key turning points in relation to the Irish educational system from abolishing the primary cert to free education to the current educational framework. How the role of the teacher and the view of the child have altered will form the basis for this discussion. The 1960’s was a time of substantial advancements particularly in the education sector, the various people who ensured a change would be brought about is central to this advancement. The evolution of the life of the student we can therefore say has altered dramatically as a result of the changing educational system and its implementation.
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PME 1 -History and Philosophy of Education Essay
Curriculum Development: An Analysis of Contemporary Initiatives in Ireland
‘In this life, we want nothing but Facts, sir; nothing but Facts!’ The speaker, and the schoolmaster, and the third grown person present, [...] there arranged in order, ready to have imperial gallons of facts poured into them until they were full to the brim.’ (Dickens, 1995, p.6). Here Dickens reinforces the views of the famous American psychologist Burrhus Skinner that the child is born an empty vessel, a blank slate that the teacher would fill up with knowledge. Skinner was a behaviourist who insisted on observable and quantifiable results and as a newborn child was presumed to have no knowledge obtained whilst in the womb; the psychologists’ theory remained probable. The world has advanced in many ways since this behaviourist theory. Our world has been largely influenced by the introduction and rapid advancement in technology, this progression has spilled over into our education system.
Throughout the following paragraphs a discussion will commence on the changes in curriculum including the introduction of the revised Junior Cert now referred to as the Junior Cycle Specification. The key concerns that led to a reform in 2ndlevel education are imperative to understanding the necessity of the development in curriculum across both junior and senior cycle. An overview of the introduction of key concerns in an aim to better equip the learner leaving 2ndlevel will also be discussed. Taking an in-depth look at societal shifts and the people now responsible for setting curriculum in comparison to the state of play in 1992, the year the Junior Certificate was introduced will form the basis for this discussion.
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PME 1 -Curriculum Development: An Analysis of Contemporary Initiatives in Ireland Essay
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