Hi Everyone!

I hope you are all doing well and serving through this semester. We are at the end of this year now and just need to push for a bit longer. Also, this is our last blog, YAY!!

QUESTIONS:

1. Please share your story as an LSKM 221 student by comparing your knowledge, skills, experiences, abilities and attitude towards music education from the start of the semester to the end of the semester.

I definitely feel that I have learnt a great deal through this module.  At the beginning of the semester I didn't know too much details about music but now I feel that I am much more knowledgable about it.  I feel confident that I can teach music lesson well.  I further feel that I am aware of the benefits of integrating music in Foundation Phase and that I have learnt many different ways how to implement music into the daily routine at school.

2.  What was your experience of the role of individual reflection as part of the teaching and learning process? Use the following prompts to reflect on your blogging experience and the role that individual reflection played (or not) in your teaching and learning experience this semester:

• What did you learn from your individual reflections?

I feel that the individual reflections really helped me drive deeper into this module.  I believe that I wouldn't have learnt as much or given as much attention to this module if we weren't expected to do the individual reflections.  The individual reflections also helped me to apply the content and I really enjoyed that.

• What did you find challenging?

I found time management a bit difficult because I feel that this module had many tasks compared to other modules.  But as the semester went by, I found a routine and managed well.  Other than that I didn't find anything else challenging.

• Did you find the individual reflections meaningful? Please motivate your answer.

Yes, I found the individual reflections meaningful.  As I mentioned above, the reflections helped me to understand the content better.  I also feel that they pushed me to apply the content with I found really helpful because I believe it is going to make me a better teacher.

• What would you change if you had the opportunity in future?

I wouldn't change anything!

3. Please share what you would change in the LSKM221 module if you had the opportunity. The following prompts can guide your reflection:​​​​​​​

• What did you find interesting and meaningful?

The most meaningful part of the module for me was learning about the benefits of integrating music into Foundation Phase.  I feel that knowing those benefits now has made me more aware of how important music is to young children.  I further feel it is vital that all teachers should learn about those benefits. 

I further found the strategies of how to implement music into other subjects so meaningful to my teaching career.  I feel that learning about strategies helped me learn ways I can integrate music into my class.

• What challenged you, and what do you still struggle to understand?

I didn't find anything challenging as I feel that the content wasn't difficult and it was explained in great detail so it was easy to understand.

• What didn’t you find valuable for your future teaching practice?

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​I didn't really find the group assignment valuable for my teaching.  I feel that teachers don't work in groups at a school to decide on games for their classes.  I further feel it is frustrating working in groups with so many people that live far away from each other and have different time schedules.

All in all, I enjoyed LSKM 221 a lot more than I thought I would.  I further feel that I learnt a great deal more than I thought I would.  

Thank you Mrs Rina Francis for the lovely module.

I have learned that working together as a group from different background ,environments, diversity and level of understanding  helps to learn a lot.

What I found challenging the most is network problem. I was unable to communicate in time with my team. Time was not on my site because of low network supply. The interruption that was happening during the discussion but at the end we have managed to reach our goal.

Working as a team is very challenging but its very important as it opens the mind and learn new things in different ways. Every opinions were discussed in the good way and much appreciated.

In future I would like to have a longer period to make our collaboration work because some of us struggle with network  and we come from different provinces with different challenges as well. LSKM module educate us many things I hope in future we are going to be creative teachers and set a good example by being unique and effective as well. 

I will accommodates all the learners diverse backgrounds, their culture, how they dance and sing and will assess all the learners abilities and it will be a continuous practice so that the adjustments can be made to teaching and to help learners to be made to teaching and help them to learn. The assessment will  be oral and we will use rubric.

According to my understanding there is nothing to be changed , but we can just add on what we already have. Adding of more and different instruments will make music more fun and interesting and it will help learners from advantages families to be familiar with different instruments. It will also help learners to be creative and like music even more

1. What possibly made some learners uncomfortable during these activities?

• As the song was in other language that the learners could not understand because at home they never talked that language, it can be discouraging and if you pronounce the words incorrectly there is this fear that your peers will be making fun of you.
• Dancing in a circle where all eyes are on you can be frightening for learners. Learners start to become more aware of their surroundings and become self-conscious of what they do and how their actions will be received.
• There are learners who struggles to do two things at the same time, like passing a ball while singing can be difficult for some.

2. Why were some learners uncomfortable?

• The song – even though the teacher was very good at explaining the pronunciation of the words to the learners, especially to those whose mother tongue is not Zulu, but unfortunately she did not explain what these words meant in English. If the words are not explained in the language the learners understand it can make learners feel uncomfortable as they don’t understand what they are singing about.
• The games – playing a game like passing the stone allows all eyes to be on the learner that ends up with a pile of stones in front of them. This might make them feel embarrassed as they are unable to keep up with the rest of the learners making them feel as if they are unable to do what their peers can do.
• Dancing – As all learners come from different cultural and religious backgrounds dancing in front of someone else might not be accepted and allowed. So if this is the case it could make them feel uncomfortable.

3. Can you think of ways to address these issues in future? What will you change?

• The teacher can give the learners background information about the song. They can explain that it's normal to be nervous and that we don't make fun of one other but rather exchange knowledge and have a good time.
• Learners can also use translation papers to help them understand what they are reading. The teacher can give the learners bilingual lyrics of the songs.  The teacher can explain that learning another language is beneficial because it gives you the ability to communicate with different people.
• When it comes to the dancing, the instructor may choose to form groups and ask the learners what would make them feel comfortable. Interaction is critical because it helps learners function better in the areas of socializing, cognitive, and physical coordination

4. How can we accommodate diverse learner profiles in our classrooms? What must we beware of?

• Form choices to address the different learners learning profiles and strategies to assist learners to understand their learning profiles in your professional classroom topics. Different learner profiles may be accommodated by using different learning styles, cultures, gender, and intelligence preferences that vary among individuals.
• Arrange the classroom to suit the needs of the learners. Achieve a positive learning experience for all students. Approach modified education depending on the interests of students. When planning a lesson we need to ensure that personal beliefs are taken into account and we need to accommodate the lesson for change.
• If there is a learner that we notice who is feeling uncomfortable it is important to ask questions and allow them to do something else. Get to know the learners on a personal level so that you know them and understand their backgrounds.

1. Vygotsky’s development theory pulls care to the socio-culture dynamics that influence cognitive development and stresses the importance of social communication and language development. Vygotsky believed that the social environment influences cognition through tools and that adults teach children these tools.

2. Erikson's stages of psychosocial developmental theory specifically focuses on the influence of social interaction and relationships to learning.

Piaget's theory of cognitive development stresses the idea that children learns best when interacting with other people and they build new knowledge based on existing skills and prior knowledge.

Co-operative and discovery learning is part of Vygotsky learning theories and it motivates the meaning of planning teaching and learning activities.

3. Holistic development: Imagination. Logical thinking. Cognitive skills. Creative Skills. Emotional. Language Skills. Physical Skills. Spatial Awareness. Self-Awareness. Social Skills.

4. Because many people children’s development agree that learning to play music is very important. Learning music encourages a children's cognitive development. Motor skills and has a full-control effect on the whole brain.

5. Research shows that exposure to music can also improve children's ability to learn. Music and movement instruction has been shown to improve children's memory, cognitive development, learning skills and expressive ability.02 Feb 2017

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&nfpr=1&sxsrf=ALeKk00zOo4dGy8Q15WAA2YDTjYtXrKNpQ:1629038350255&q=create+music+activity+which+will+support+various+developmental+areas+of+foundation+phase&

In Mathematics clapping of hands 3 times ,making a rhythm, stamping your feet 4 times and counting out loud.

6. Different learning suggestions of Erikson's theory are thinkable depending on the age group of the learners and the responsibilities they are expected to complete. Allowing children to play with different resources, and role-playing for the expression of fantasy and imagination. The Piaget's theory educational implications that the reworking of instruction to the learner's development level. It is very important that the contented education needs to be reliable with the developmental level of the learner. An existing educational application of Vygotsky's theory is teaching used to improve student’s ability to learn. Teachers and students co-operate in learning and working with the key skills: brief, searching, illustrative, and predict.

My name is Lebohang Getrut Masiteng and I am a second year B.Ed Foundation Phase Distance student. I am from the small village called Qwaqwa in the Free State. I am a mother of 2 beautiful girls ,11 years and 7 years old. I am am an educator at the primary school. I am very passionate to help others and I love to learn new things. I enjoy working with children. Becoming a teacher mean so much to me because I am making a difference in childrens life. I am an outgoing person and I love to experience new things.

 I chose to study Foundation Phase because I like working with the small children and to build their future. I am very excited about the second semester and happy for LSKM 221 module. I love music and I am having feeling that this module is going to be the best and I will learn more about music. Music is very important and people love it. I am expecting to learn more in this module about music. Music and movement improves children's ability to learn. I am really going to enjoy this module

Until next time.

Thank you.