FROM THE VICIOUS CIRCLE TO THE VIRTUOUS CIRCLE

FROM THE VICIOUS CIRCLE TO THE VIRTUOUS CIRCLE Ahmet Özkan Gözde Uludağ Jonathan Smith Mine Derince Sevgi Vatandaş Sezen Bayhan

Vicious Circle of Failure Preoccupation with passing the exam (rather than learning) Motivation to only exam Failure

Learners’ Attribution of Reasons for their Failure “Real” Cause(s) (as we see it) Lack of self-awareness

Factors Contributing to Failure Lack of effort/study? Lack of learning strategies? Approach of teacher/program/material? Social, physical, health, financial? Unrealistic expectations?

Approach to Assessment • “Gate-keeping” or “Identifying support” • “Outcome” or “Process” Our learners are so examoriented! • • Do we create the failure? Who is failing? But then so are we. . . !?

Strengths/Flexibility Addressing the causes of failure and tailoring the program to meet the “individual” and “group” needs

Attention and Involvement Support before they fail rather than after Autonomy Project Work / Portfolio Work Ø Learner development (e. g. self-evaluation/reflection, experiencesharing sessions with peers and testimonials from repeat students who have succeeded, support including academic and non-academic issues)

Separate or not Separate? ØTime for consolidation ØNot starting from scratch ØLeaving room for individualization ØTogether with students who have experienced success S 1 S 2 A 2 + A 1 A 2 A 2+ B 1

Ø Smaller class size Ø Less class hours Ø More time for the individual study Ø Free up teacher to give more tutorial support Ø Individual attention ØAssessment for learning not of learning

Course materials: Ø 70 -80% standard materials and 20 -30% tailored to the learners’ needs allowing flexibility Ø Either students come up with texts or offer students a bunch of materials to choose from Ø Involving them in classroom decision making process Ø Not free floating process, they can’t reject until they try and if they do they have to justify it.

Virtuous circle Progress Success Motivation

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