5210 Project Group 0064c.docx, class project assignment

This is a class project assignment for EDUC 5210.

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Improving Student Performance
A case study of Sunnydale School
Project Group 0064C
By Juliet Goje and Aaron S. Wilson
The University of The People
EDUC 5210: Learning Theory and Implications for Instruction
Instructor: Daniel Ayala
May, 14
th
2022

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Rationale
Learning a way to learn is a difficult task, and so is maintaining student engagement
within the classroom. The way we plan our lessons and also the form of lesson delivery confines
a positive or negative impact on the result of learning within the classroom. As clearly stated by
Toth, (2021), “to know how one can immerse students, teachers need an understanding of the
way to engage students effectively during lessons, the benefits of such engagements, the various
varieties of engagement, the advantages of such engagements and therefore the psychology of
the engagement process”. A teacher's philosophical viewpoint of teaching may affect student
engagement in an exceeding classroom. Most teachers employ different teaching strategies
which can either be student-led, teacher-led or in some cases, both. Furthermore, the importance
of proper lessons to meet the varied sorts of learners within the classroom must be taken into
consideration. The flexibility attached to the various learning forms of the students in an
exceeding classroom shows the ability of a teacher to know to plan from the attitude of their
students.
Using the Grapevine School as a case study, a series of classroom observations have been
disbursed by our team. Our findings will be presented to the management board with areas of
advice on improving student engagement within the classroom by focusing on creating a learner-
centered environment that encourages more student participation during learning which will
enrich a learner’s experience in the classroom, using appropriate classroom management styles
of positive reinforcement and applying the Gagne's nine events of instruction for effective lesson
planning which provides a step by step analysis of the areas to focus on for effective lesson
planning to improve the educational performance of the students within the Grapevine School.

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Student Engagement
Teaching students isn't as easy as it seems. As a teacher, being held accountable for
transmitting knowledge to students requires effort, and inspiring children to remain engaged
during lessons is even harder. They get distracted by various things in their environment easily.
Accordingly, students can hardly learn anything just by sitting in the classroom, looking at the
teacher before the classroom, and completing assignments with ready answers or through rote
learning. One of the main components of learning is Engagement (Cujba, 2017). During
teaching, it's easy to work out when a student lacks interest or isn't motivated. During such
occasions, teachers struggle with finding ways to enhance student engagement within the
classroom, which may successively affect classroom management.
What is Student Engagement?
Before understanding the way to engage students within the classroom, we must define
what student engagement means. Consistent with Dr David Sousa (2016, p. 17), an academic
neuroscience expert, he defines student engagement as "the amount of attention, interest,
curiosity, and positive emotional connections that students have after they are learning, whether
within the classroom or on their own''. From his definition, we understand that students engaged
in their learning have high levels of participation and motivation. Such students find great joy in
achieving set learning goals, never surrender when challenged and always want to acquire
something new to improve their understanding. The Glossary of Education Reform (2016) sees
student engagement as "the methods employed by school leaders, educators, and other adults to
"engage" learners more fully within the control and decision-making processes in class."

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Students are actively involved in making decisions about what they learn, and how they learn it.
Trowler (2010) also sees student engagement as a “balanced effort and resources invested by
both students and their institutions to create a student’s learning experience which is more
unforgettable to enhance the educational outcomes and develop student engagement
Types of Student Engagement
How do students engage within the classroom? There are three sorts of student
engagement; emotional engagement, cognitive engagement, and behavioral engagement
(Appleton, Christenson, & Furlong, 2008; Marks, 2000; Reschly, Huebner, Appleton, &
Antaramian, 2008; Skinner, Kinderman, & Furrer, 2009).
Emotional Engagement: Emotional engagement looks at how the learner feels about his
learning experience. Is it something they enjoyed learning? Were there emotions of confusion
because the lesson went on, or did they find their lessons meaningful enough? Skinner and
Belmont (1993) defined emotional engagement as “a student's feelings of interest, happiness,
anxiety, and anger during achievement-related activities”
Cognitive Engagement: Cognitive engagement sees how a learner is ready to use their
knowledge within the classroom to make meaning with their learning or assigned tasks.
Cognitive engagement translates the boldness and confidence of the learner to complete tasks
assigned. Can the learner work independently, or will they require assistance? Are they able to
understand their learning and apply the skills? “Cognitive engagement refers to the benchmark of
student engagement whereas mere effort refers to the number of their engagement within the
class” (Pintrich, 2003, p. 105)

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Behavioral Engagement: Behavioural Engagement talks about how the learners are working
within the classroom during instructions. Are they only merely listening or actively listening
because they see the importance of what's being taught? Are they actively engaged by answering
questions within the class during lessons, making meaningful contributions during class
discussions ,or simply not interested as the lesson progresses?
Learner-centered Environment
Creating a decent atmosphere within the classroom where learners enjoy learning results
in more student engagement. Schunk, (2012) pg.3, in his book “Learning theories: an academic
perspective 6th ed.” gave a definition of learning as “a permanent change in behavior, or within
the capacity to behave during a given fashion, which ends from practice or other kinds of
experience” This definition shows learning as a continual process that should practice over and
over to realize mastery which may cause change within the learning experience of a learner.
Schunk went further and checked out learning against 3 criteria namely
1. Learning involves change: It involves a change in our perception of certain
aspects of life encouraging us to take on new learning experiences while drawing
from what we already know.
2.Learning endures over time: We keep learning and never stop learning as the
world continues to evolve. New learning experiences come up daily and never
end
3.Learning occurs through experience: the amount of time invested in learning will
cause a learner to master certain aspects of their area of study. Being able to put
that learning into practice shows how much mastery we have.

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A learner-centered learning environment encourages students to fully engage in their
learning, develop meaningful conversations within the classroom and show understanding for
what they have learned by self-reflection. (Weimer, 2002). In astudent-centeredd environment,
the teacher is seen as a helper that directs learners into building their conclusions from their
learning, making their learning experience more meaningful to them. Students in these
environments learn through active participation in the classroom. The foundation of learner-
centered teaching is embedded in a constructivist framework of learning theory. “Constructivists
assume that humans are perceivers and interpreters who build meaning from new and prior
experiences” (Jonassen, 1991).
Background Information on Grapevine School, Abuja.
Grapevine School is a Primary School located in the citycentere of Abuja, Nigeria. It is a primary
school that delivers education to children from ages 5 to 11. The school operates a British
Curriculum with a staff strength of fifty teachers. Each class has 20 children, with a total number
of 483 children. Sunnydale School has, over the years, produced excellent reports in their
Cambridge Checkpoint exams in Year 6. They have been rated and considered one of the best
schools in Abuja by the Association of Private School Owners (APSO). After the Covid 19
lockdown, the school resumed back to physical school activities and has noticed that children are
very disengaged and not interested in learning. Their half-term assessments showed an enormous
drop from 80% to 30%. The disciplinary board has received reports of unruly behavior from
different teachers across the school, especially in Year 3 Giraffe. The school is seeking ways to
improve its standards to acceptable levels. Parents are beginning to withdraw their wards from
school due to the drop in student performance.

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Observations will be carried out by the team to suggest areas of improvement to the school
management.
Observation Chart
Name of Class: Year 3 Giraffe Date: 11th May 2022
Number of Students: 22 Class Teacher: Mr. ZainSubject: History
Lesson Objective: To discuss the effects of the change of the Nigerian currency after
independence
Observations
At the beginning of the lesson, M.r Zain stood backing the class and spoke to the children about
the area of focus as he wrote on the board. He read page 16 of his teaching notes for about 5 mins,
writing short notes at intervals for the children to copy as he read the book. As M.r Zain read page
16, all the students looked at the board and were more focused on coping with the notes written on
the board. The class was quiet, and I observed that it was how he wanted his classroom to be
because no one asked a question as he read. When he was done reading, he asked, “Do you
understand?” and no one said a word. .Mr Zain continued his lesson as he assumed they
understood. I also noticed that most of the children in the class looked very disinterested in the
lesson. Some students that were sitting at the back of the class were slowly falling asleep. The
sitting arrangement in the class saw the very short children sitting at awkward spots in the
classroom. I noticed a particular child getting up to have a look at what was written on the board.
When a child got up and tried to ask a question about the meaning of the colonizationion from the
text, Mr. Zain ignored the child and instead insisted that the child was not listening to the lesson

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because if he was, he would have picked up the meaning from the text read.
Next, Mr. Zain shared a worksheet that expected the children to go back and re-read the text
independently to answer the questions. As I walked around the class, I noticed that all the children
were given the same work to complete. There was no form of differentiation in the outcomes of
what he expected. It was clear to see the students that were struggling. Mr .Zain sat at the
teacher’s table and then set a timer for 20 mins for the children to complete. He reminded them
not to talk to anyone during the task meant the class had to be silent.
As the timer began to wind down, each student walked up to M.r Zain to submit their tasks. Mr.
Zain wrote down their feedback in terms of scores and did not explain why he had done so. As the
class ended, M.r Zain gave the students homework asking them to go home and summarise 2
pages about Colonisation. He insisted that it would account for 10% of their total score at the end
of the term. The Bell went off for a break, and he asked again, “Any questions? And all the
students shouted “No” in chorus. He then walked out of the class as he led the students to the
dining table for lunch.
Findings from the Observations
1. Teacher Practice and Children’s behavior: It was clear to see from the observation that Mr.
Zain liked to be the lead in his class where he expected his students to play a passive role and he
does all the talking. The communication between teacher and students was a one-way
communication with the teacher passing on all the information to the students without the
students engaging in the lesson. The delivery of the lesson only appealed to the side of the brain

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which is the auditory cortex because the children were only listening and copying the notes. The
auditory cortex is the domain of the temporal lobe that processes spoken communication. It is a
part of the auditory system, functioning in hearing (Pickles, 2012). M.r Zain would have
presented the lessons using various other media such as acolorfull PowerPoint which will make
the students much more interested in the lessons from the pictures included in the PowerPoint.
Also, including hands-on resources such as print out of the different types of currency used in
Nigeria and using them to create a timeline of events would have made the learning experience
of the students more contextual than conceptual.
Diagram 1
Source: https://www.sociallysavvy.com/news/content-marketing-versus-context-marketing
The diagram above shows how knowledge is acquired when information received is put into
context where an individual can make connections to daily lives, making the learning experience
much more meaningful. Secondly, encouraging the students to discuss amongst themselves to
share their ideas would have made the lesson more interesting and engaging. "Classes that
incorporate classroom discussions amongst students can help sustain students’ focus. As students
talk about their answers, they get diverse options from their peers about the topic” (Ibalio, 2015).

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2. Lesson Planning and Organization: From the lesson delivery, Mr Zain did not refer to the
previous lessons and what the children had learned. His lesson plan lacked organization and
provision for differentiating the outcome of the children according to their abilities. When
individual tasks assigned to students are differentiated, each child in the class will display the
appropriate levels of understanding to complete their work. With differentiation, a teacher may
identify the children in the class that requires more challenging work and those that may need
more support. Having a detailed lesson plan will help show a clear progression of the steps
needed to follow and also, lessons can be presented by a substitute teacher using the same
document when Mr Zain is not at school. “With a well-organised lesson plan, teachers can teach
their students in a way that acknowledges their different learning styles, which leads to the
children excelling in the subject (Kurt, 2021). Gagne's nine events of instructions give a clear
definition of the areas to include in lesson planning. These include
●Being able to gain the attention of the students at the beginning of a lesson by using
short quizzes, games and more will get them excited before the lesson.
●Informing the learner of the objective: talking about the objective of the day in clear
terms that the learner understands and begins to connect with.
●Stimulating recall of prior learning: draw the learner's attention to topics discussed in
the last lesson to make connections with the new topic about to be discussed.
●Presenting the content: present the lesson using different media and resources to appeal
to the different learners in the classroom. Put the children in teams to discuss their work.
●Providing learning guidance: offer one to one for children struggling with the concept of
the day.

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●Eliciting the performance: offer children their individual tasks to complete. Ensure
tasks are differentiated according to the learning level of the students.
●Providing feedback by going through the work of children in the class, giving them
feedback on their performances and still offering more support for them.
●Assessing the performance
●Enhancing retention and transfer
3. Teacher’s Philosophical Approach: As the lesson progressed, and as identified by the
demeanour of the students, it showed clearly that the teacher wanted only his voice to be heard.
The teacher’s approach to teaching was more teacher-led. To improve student engagement in the
class, Mr Zain should explore and incorporate other student-based philosophical approaches to
make the children more active participants in the classroom such as Progressivism and Social
reconstruction philosophies. Advantages of incorporating student-led philosophies in the
classroom include making the class more flexible and encouraging problem-solving where
children are encouraged to work together to come up with solutions to their learning. Student-led
philosophies also encourage exploration where students are allowed to find their own way
through learning with the teacher acting as a guide. (Lynch, 2016).
RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION
After observing and presenting our findings above, we recommend the following actions take to
be considered as measures to improve student engagement in Sunnydale school.

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1.Teachers should encourage students to participate more in lessons through class
discussions, team tasks, and incorporating hands-on activities during lessons to make the
learning process more meaningful.
2.Restructure the lesson plan progression highlighting the areas discussed using Gagne’s
nine events of instruction.
3.Teachers to take a less active role in the class to encourage the students to freely
comment or contribute to the lesson to build their critical thinking which will encourage
ownership of learning.
4.Employ other media when presenting a lesson to appeal to the different learning styles of
the children in the classroom to encourage every student to participate.
5.Ensure there is adequate provision for differentiated work to meet the needs of the
different learning abilities of the students in the classroom.
6.More training for the teachers on how to incorporate student-led teaching approaches into
their classrooms.
7.Have a clear system of rewards and punishment in the classroom where the students
understand the expectation of what is required in the classroom.
Aaron’s Observations
The assessment of Teachers’ English at Morning Star Elementary and Junior High School
Liberia
What did you see in class, in terms of teaching methods and student behavior or
performances? Observing the 10th grade English class at Morning Star Elem and Junior High
School Liberia, several noteworthy observations were made regarding the teacher's approach to

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instruction and the student’s behavior and performance in response. First, the teacher would
conduct her entire lesson from the front of the classroom. There was little interaction between the
teacher and the students, or amongst the students themselves. As a result, several students have
been observed dozing off, focusing their attention on other sections of the classroom, or
participating in distracting behavior such as loudly tapping pens and pencils on desks and chairs.

What is the theoretical approach of the teacher? Is the teacher employing many students?
What makes you think that? What evidence do you have?
This classroom's teacher seems to be largely using social cognitive theory as a theoretical
approach. Much of the instruction was done through vicarious learning methods, such as looking
at visuals and text shown on the screen or listening to the teacher talk.
Learning was mostly accomplished through observation, which did not appear to hold the pupils'
attention as they were spotted dozing off-task and conversing with one another.
Not only was there a lot of observation going on, but there were no reinforcements to keep the
pupils' attention spans up (Schunk, 2012).
Is the current theoretical framework working? What changes would you recommend?
While some aspects of the social cognitive theory are beneficial, teenagers will learn
more effectively if constructivist learning theory is used in conjunction with social cognitive
theory. As a result, students should become active learners who build knowledge for themselves
and on their own terms. Students who can generate knowledge for themselves and via
interactions with one another have a lot of power. This will aid in the growth of the emotive
domain, which will only help the cognitive domain improve.

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Are the domains of learning demonstrated by not only was there a lot of observation going
on but was the teacher also appropriate for the class's learning objectives? Is there a wide
range of complex hierarchies? What evidence do you have? What advice would you give
the teacher?
The affective domain is underrepresented in the class's learning objectives.
Furthermore, the lower three levels of the cognitive domain's taxonomy receive insufficient
attention. The teacher advances too fast through the cognitive domain, leaving them with
insufficient time to prepare for the cognitive domain's analysis, synthesis, and evaluation stages.
Furthermore, the cognitive domain's knowledge, comprehension, and application stages are
difficult to completely realize due to a lack of focus on the affective and psychomotor domains
(Kasilingam, et al., 2014).
This instructor may benefit from additional emotive domain inclusion, as they appear to
struggle with motivation as a result of the significant volume of off-task activity. If the instructor
insists on largely teacher-led education, she might want to include more emotive development.
This can involve adding extra audio or video, bringing guest speakers or teachers, or offering
professional examples of how what the students are learning in class can be applied to their life
(Kasilingam, et al., 2014).
Given the neuro-maturational state of the students and their biological ages, how would
you assess the appropriateness of the teacher’s practices? Are the teacher’s strategies
aligned with brain-based research about adolescent learners?

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The pupils in this class range in age from fifteen to sixteen years old. Adolescents can
perform as well as adults at this age if there are no social or emotional variables interfering with
their performance. However, expecting these forces to remain absent from the classroom is
unreasonable (Armstrong, 2016). In working with adolescents, the tactics that this instructor has
implemented are ineffective. Because the teenage brain does not yet have a fully developed
frontal cortex, the amygdala, which is responsible for many of the brain's emotional and
impulsive decisions, does much of the reasoning (Sun Protection Outreach by Students, n.d.). I
saw that this teacher made an effort to assist children in learning and use the method of infusing
emotion. While this teacher had a great sense of humor, he used sarcasm in an unsuccessful
manner with this group of kids. Some of the kids were visibly angered by the sarcastic humor
and were distracted from the class as a result. He had the right idea because generating emotion
in the classroom can be very beneficial to teenage learning. His execution was absolutely
unsuitable (Sun Protection Outreach by Students, n.d.).
References
Armstrong, T. (2016). The power of the adolescent brain: Strategies for teaching middle and
high
school students. Retrieved from https://www.weareteachers.com/wp-content/uploads/ASCD-2
Book-Sample-PoweroftheAdolescentBrain.pdf
Darrin, D., & Darrin, D. (2017). Behavioral vs Cognitive Perspectives on Learning Theories.
Retrieved September 16, 2020, from
https://educationalresearchtechniques.com/2015/02/03/behavioral-vs-cognitive-perspectives-on
learning-theories/

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Kasilingam, G., Ramalingam, M. & Chinnavan, E. (2014). Assessment of learning domains to
improve student’s learning in higher education. Retrieved from
https://www.jyoungpharm.org/sites/default/files/10.5530-jyp.2014.1.5.pdf
McLeod, Saul. (2018). Jean Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development. Simple Psychology.
Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/simplypsychology.org-Jean-Piaget.pdf
Northern Illinois University. (n.d.). Gagne’s 9 Events of Instruction. Retrieved from
https://www.niu.edu/facdev/_pdf/guide/learning/gagnes_nine_events_instruction.pdf