Table R4.1 Features of a TESS-India Teacher Development OER.
|What this unit is about
||Introduces the teaching approach and the curriculum topic of the unit
|What school leaders can learn in this unit
||These are learning expectations for the teacher and highlight the key opportunities for learning in the unit.
|Why this approach is important
||This section explains why this approach is important, with the aim of supporting the teacher in applying their learning to different curriculum contexts.
||These are activities to be carried out by the teacher. Most of them are activities for them to do in the classroom, with their students, but some involve working collaboratively with colleagues, or preparing for classroom activities. The activities help the teacher to enact practices that position learners as knowledgeable, promote dialogic interactions and provide structured learning experiences taking account of prior learning. It is through undertaking the activities that traditional practices will be disrupted and the teacher is supported in developing new understandings about teaching and learning.
||These are first-hand accounts, by teachers, of their experience of carrying out the activities described, similar activities, preparatory activities or follow-up activities. The case studies are used to show how teachers respond to some of the challenges facing teachers in India such as large, multilingual and multigrade classes, and a lack of resources in authentic contexts. In particular they demonstrate inclusive practices, how to elicit prior knowledge, and how to make the teaching relevant to students’ lives. The case studies model mutuality – that is, the negotiation of meaning to support participation.
|Pause for thought
||This encourages the teacher to reflect purposefully on their existing practice or experience, or on what they have noticed when carrying out the activities or discussing the case studies. It is this sort of reflection that will lead to learning for the teacher.
||The narrative reinforces the benefits of the approaches and techniques that are the focus of the OER. It shows how different aspects of the approach link together and complement each other. The purpose of the narrative is to support the teacher in being able to transfer their learning to different curriculum contexts.
||This provides a brief review of the technique covered in the unit.
||These contain material to support the teacher in carrying out the activities. They may contain more detail about the approach (such as one of the key resources), support for subject knowledge development, classroom resources, links to the NCF or further examples of similar classroom activities.
||These are intended to empower the teacher by encouraging them to take their learning beyond the OER and to engage with other resources to support their developing professional practice. In particular, this is an opportunity to support subject knowledge development and to raise awareness of resources available in India and internationally.
||These include references used by the authors and other recommended readings for the teacher to extend their academic understanding of the issues highlighted in the unit.