Pedagogical Methodology Analysis

This is where the rubber meets the road. A pedagogical methodology is the application process of curriculum delivery. A school does not have to use just one methodology as each subject can lend itself to several different methodologies and even a hybrid methodology can be integrated and made up of several different methodologies it’s only limited by the imagination of administrators and teachers. For example, combining a Systems & Design Learning Program with the highly creative Art Integration Teaching & Learning methodology could produce a very energized motivational pedagogy. In the section on pedagogical methodologies several of the most popular methodologies are examined (see: Pedagogical Methodology Models). They include:

 

Teaching and Learning Platforms

Each of these methodologies can be presented in a variety of teaching platforms depending on the school and teacher’s instructional sensibilities (see: K-12 Teaching & Learning Platforms). Within the methodologies and teaching platforms can be found innovative learning environments which can be used to bridge the methodologies, teaching platforms and the curriculum (see: K-12 Curriculum Development).

 

Motivation and Engagement

As with all applications i-pel analyzes existing pedagogical methodologies through the lens of student motivation and engagement. (see: Achievement Motivation & Engagement) Working with school administration and teachers i-pel’s team make recommendations for change or redesign the school’s methodologies in total. The objective is to increase student success by personally motivating them through the use of highly engaging learning materials delivered in a fun environment which is a creative hybrid of pedagogical methodologies. A big challenge is getting a personalized learning system to work within a traditional K-12 school model (see: Personalized/Blended-based Learning).

The goal of innovative education and learning is to produce students with “higher-order skills” who are able to think independently about the unfamiliar problems they will encounter in the information age; who have become “problem solvers;” have “learned how to learn;” and who are on their way to becoming “critical thinkers” and “lifelong learners.” The method advocated for achieving these “higher-order skills” is “discovery learning,” by which students solve problems and make decisions on their own through “inquiry” and “independent analysis” of “real-world” projects. What Kilpatrick in the 1920s called the “project method” is now called “discovery learning” (p. 129) (see: Innovation Education and Learning).

 

Classroom Management and Design

WikiEducator Attribute Resource (2008) tells us that students learn best when their minds are engaged and their bodies are moving. People learn through experimentation with the real world authentically (See: Innovative Authentic Learning), rather than by memorizing a list of rules. This statement has implications for the design of instruction. Learning opportunities should be based, as much as possible, on real tasks and rich environments, and include opportunities for reflection and application. This is what the CTE learning is all about (see K-12 Curriculum Development).

Because the application of pedagogical methodology is found in sound classroom management, i-pel includes recommendations for creative classroom management to augment the implementation of all methodology strategies and designs (see: Innovative Classroom Management).

Research has told us that as much as 20% of student learning ca be attributed to the physical layout of the classroom. Education technology has had a lot to do with the current innovations in a classroom environment (see: below). The i-pel team works with administrator and teachers to design learning environments that stimulate and invigorate learning in a safe space.

 

Education Technology

Ever since humans first decided to formally educate their children they have been looking for ways make the job not only more efficient but also relevant. Sometimes the latest technology served a dual purpose like the horn book which served as an instrument to both teach the alphabet and to “paddle” unruly students (see: History of Education Technology).

Today technology in the classroom offers more teaching and learning efficiencies in K-12 education than ever before (see: eLearning Technology in the Classroom). Digital technology has not only offered promise in the delivery of personalized learning (see: Integrated Personalized Learning and Personalized/Blended Learning) but also the ability to real-time assess a student’s progress. Although classroom technology has become quite ubiquitous the secret to its effectiveness is that it has to be as invisible as possible. The goal will always be about both measured and non-measured learning and technology should only be one of many tools to that end.

The i-pel team analyzes, designs and applies education technology solutions to facilitate a school and classroom’s chosen pedagogical methodologies. In conjunction with school administration and staff a learning management system (LMS) is installed to support the flow of education content and communication between admin, teachers, students and parents (see: Learning Management Systems).

 

Technology and the Future

i-pel is constantly looking for ways to improve education through the use of non-invasive technology. To that end we participate experimental programs to advance personalized learning through advance data collection techniques. Such programs are referred to as the Internet of things (IOT) or “stylized” internet, which is the internetworking of physical devices, vehicles (also referred to as “connected devices” and “smart devices”), buildings, and other items – embedded with electronics, sensors, actuators and network connectivity that enable these objects to collect and exchange data. There’s a tradeoff between loss of privacy and benefits of personalization – what’s the right point in that curve, that is both socially acceptable and can improve learning? Our question is whether there is value for teacher in observing the unobservable, even in smaller classroom sets.