Investigating Learners’ Previous Experiences (ILPE)
Introduction
Educators have come to the realization that students do not go into classrooms blank and empty. Notably, students have past psychological, social and learning experiences that have been gathered throughout their lives. These experiences help students to construct meaning and understanding of what is taught at the present. This recognition has led to the formulation of the constructivist theory of learning whose focus of the learning process is student centered. The theory is the basis of various constructivist methods used in teaching such as Investigating Learners’ Previous Experiences (ILPE). The ILPE method emphasizes the use of an assessment in form of questions to assess the students past experiences and knowledge on a certain topic. This could also be done through brainstorming, where the teacher acts as the leader. In the use ILPE the teacher leads the students on brainstorming about a particular topic and thereafter use the students’ response to gauge their prior knowledge and experiences on the topic (Gabler & Schroeder, 2003).
The initial assessment in ILPE enables the teacher to know where each student stands in terms of knowledge on a particular topic. The method uses multi-level questions that are not only used for assessment, but also as initiators of active thinking and curiosity that will spur the students towards developing their own form of understanding (constructing their own knowledge). The Assessments in ILPE also help a teacher during the development of a lesson plan (Gabler & Schroeder, 2003). Based in the preliminary evaluation the teacher is required to define the right point of starting the lesson on a particular topic based on his/her assessment of the students’ understanding. Personally, I find this to be a challenge because the experiences that students have are greatly varied and no single student has the same level of experience. Therefore, it is not easy to structure learning according to each level of experience portrayed by the assessment.
However, the assessment provides an important tool that can identify areas of difficulty as well as those that may require more emphasis. Good teaching strategies start with the end in mind, objectives should be set to be achieved in the learning process. However, the ILPE method seemingly lacks focus on the end because it relies on the students to determine the flow of the learning process. This can be quite hectic because at times students cannot easily construct meanings for new concepts that have never been encountered before. ILPE may be effective in teaching concepts and ideas that have already been encountered before, building on the already acquired experience. However, it may be of least significance in teaching new topics. Thus for new topics and ideas, the teaching process should be guided by the teacher and directed in a manner that will ensure the objectives are attained. Students also have a future and thoughts and dreams for the future which the ILPE method does not put into consideration.
The future also shapes learning because students tend to focus on topics and subjects that they deem relevant for their future and it is good to also learn about the students’ future aspiration when trying to learn and design the learning process. Gabler and Schroeder offer a good explanation on how to administer an assessment test prior to a lesson, however; they fail to state what one should do with the information obtained. It is common to a get a widely varying level of ability amongst students and designing the teaching methods and lesson plan content cannot be adapted to all these variations. Thus it is more realistic to let the teaching process be dictated by objectives set out before the teaching starts. Starting with the end in mind is more practical rather than exploring the ability levels and starting on an average level that you deem fit for the students. Additionally, there is a chance that the selected level may be way above the level of experience or understanding of some of the students.
Another problem with ILPE is the basic requirement that teachers have to outline in clear details all that they have to do, say or ask in the classroom as they start a lesson up till the end of the lesson (Gabler & Schroeder, 2003). This conflicts the central principle of the method that requires teachers to focus their teaching process on the students’ interests and be driven by questions put forth by students. A clear outline of all that will de done is actually not a question or student driven method of delivering the lesson. The fact that ILPE recommends that a teacher should base his or her lesson on questions, must include a means of validating student responses for the design of the teaching process to be effective. Conclusively, the ILPE methodology is effective in promoting curiosity in the learning process, developing critical thinking and enhancing a life-long learning desire. However, for it to be more effective it must be applied with other teaching practices with pre-tests, well defined learning objectives, post-tests, regular assessments, technology use and differentiation.
References
Gabler, I. C. and Schroeder, M. (2003). Constructivist methods for the secondary classroom: Engaged minds.Boston, Massachusetts: Pearson Education Publishers
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