I don’t even want to talk about the last week as it has honestly been filled with stress. The WIL module co-operative learning project is taking up a lot of my time and has become very frustrating as I am the group leader and we have one member in our group that is just not submitting her tasks etc on time. We have constantly to remind her and then when she does send something in it’s just the bare minimum done to say that she has submitted. I am hoping that over the next few days it sorts itself out as I honestly don’t think it’s fair on anyone to have to work in a group with a member who does not contribute and holds everything back.

Other than that my week has gone well and I feel that I am learning a lot in all of my modules.

I found this study unit to be very informative and it was really interesting to delve into play more as I think a lot of people know that it’s important but they don’t understand exactly why. It was so interesting to learn about the different types of plays. I would say the one part of the study unit that stood out for me is the 7 elements of play as it really taught me to think about play differently.

Reflection

• What possibly made some learners uncomfortable during these activities?
  • Singing the song that is not in their mother tongue – they are not sure how to pronounce the words and might feel embarrassed when trying.
  • Passing the stone – the children who battle with multitasking might battle to sing and pass the stone.
  • Dancing in a circle – the shy or more reserved children would not like this as it would draw attention to themselves. They might not enjoy performing in front of the group.

• Why were some learners uncomfortable?
  • Singing the song in Zulu – as they did not understand the words or what they were singing.
  • Dancing in front of the boys due to religious reasons.

• Can you think of ways to address these issues in future? What will you change?
  • Singing in a different language – translate the song for the children before expecting them to sing, dance or perform to it.
  • Allow the children time before performing or dancing etc. to talk to you alone if they have any concerns.
  • Be aware of any concerns previously spoken about it a take those into account when preparing a lesson.
  • Find out about any religious or personal restrictions the students may have at the beginning of the year from the children, office or previous teachers.

• How can we accommodate diverse learner profiles in our classrooms? What must we beware of?
  • We need to be aware of any religious or personal restrictions that the children may have when they first start in our class.
  • Plan lessons that can accommodate these e.g. the girls could have been in one group and the boys in another or that girl could always be in a group with other girls when it comes to dancing.
  • Be open and willing to hear from the children if they do have something that might restrict what and how they do it.