Smart Schools First paragraph (provide evidence that smart schools are being implemented in Malaysia) When was

it introduced? How many schools were involved in the pilot project? How much was spent on the smart schools? How many Smart Schools are there now? What is the present status of the Smart Schools? E.g. How many Smart Schools are there now? In terms of infrastructure (e.g. computer laboratory, software etc), what is difference between the Smart School and the normal schools? (Dun talk about teaching-learning yet) Second paragraph (provide evidence that smart schools are cognitivist in nature) How is teaching and learning carried out in Smart Schools? Here you MUST make the LINK to cognitivism where ever the opportunity arises. Example: NOTE: Please note that you can copy sentences from what your read. It is okay. Just change one or two words in the sentences AND you MUST give the CITATION. Otherwise it is plagiarized work. However, the hard work that you have to write your self is establishing the LINK to behaviourism or cognitivism. The following is an example how this can be done:

Lets just say you take a paragraph from the following article for your second paragraph:

You can then put in your links (the yellow parts) either directly (Example 1) or at the end (Example 2): Example 1: According to Smart School Project Team (1997), the Smart School pedagogy seeks to make learning more interesting, motivating, stimulating and meaningful; involve the childrens minds, spirit and bodies in the learning process. Because it emphasizes on meaningful learning and involves the childrens minds, the Smart School is cognitivist in nature. The smart school will also help build basic skills to prepare children for greater challenges over time; and cater for a range of needs and capabilities among the students. The pedagogy should use an appropriate mix of learning strategies to ensure mastery of basic competencies and promote holistic development, accommodate individual learning styles so as to boost performance and foster a classroom atmosphere that is compatible with different teachinglearning strategies. This is another evidence that the smart school is cognitivist in nature because the smart school practices different teaching-learning strategies including cognitivist approaches such as discovery learning and expository teaching. The Smart School Project

Team adds that the Smart School also seeks to ensure that children are educated with critical and creative thinking skills and inculcated with appropriate values. To be critical thinkers children will need to develop their cognitive processes. As such, teachers cannot simply depend on behaviourists stimulus-response for this. This implies that the smart school uses cognitivist approaches in its pedagogy. Thus in total, it can be said that the Smart School is largely cognitivist in nature. Example 2: Alternatively, you can put the link at the end of the paragraph so that the borrowed text is not affected. However, this may involve you repeating some of the things in the text: According to Smart School Project Team (1997), the Smart School pedagogy seeks to make learning more interesting, motivating, stimulating and meaningful; involve the childrens minds, spirit and bodies in the learning process; build basic skills to prepare children for greater challenges over time; and cater for a range of needs and capabilities among the students. The pedagogy should use an appropriate mix of learning strategies to ensure mastery of basic competencies and promote holistic development, accommodate individual learning styles so as to boost performance and foster a classroom atmosphere that is compatible with different teaching-learning strategies. The Smart School Project Team adds that the Smart School also seeks to ensure that children are educated with critical and creative thinking skills and inculcated with appropriate values. Based on the description above, it can be seen that the Smart School is cognitivist in context. This is because it emphasizes on meaningful learning involving childrens minds in the learning process. Further, the Smart School practices different teaching-learning strategies which obviously would include cognitivist approaches such as discovery learning and expository teaching. The cognitive nature of Smart Schools can also be seen in its desire to produce critical thinkers. To be critical thinkers children will need to develop their cognitive processes. As such, teachers cannot simply depend on behaviourists stimulus-response for this. This implies that teachers should use cognitivist approaches. Note: You can use any of the approaches above but the bottom line is that YOU MUST PROVIDE THE LINKS (Thats what is highlighted in yellow). Concluding Paragraph for each section For the concluding paragraph for each section, sum up your points before writing your stand. You can use any one of the examples below: Example 1: Based on the arguments above, it can be seen that Smart Schools are being implemented in Malaysia. The arguments also show that Smart Schools are cognitivist in nature. As such, in the context of Smart Schools, it would not be wrong to say that a teacher who practices behaviourist principles would not be effective in the Malaysian classroom.

Example 2: In the section above, I have provided evidence as to the implementation of Smart Schools in Malaysia. I have also argued that Smart Schools are cognitivist in nature because of its emphasis on meaningful learning, application of cognitivist teaching approaches and desire to produce critical thinkers. Therefore, from the point of view of Smart Schools, one can infer that a teacher who practices behaviourist principles would probably not be effective in the Malaysian classroom.

Examples of how to link to cognitivism; use any one of these: Discovery learning Meaningful learning Rote learning is behaviourist because not meaningful Self-access learning is cognitivist in nature. This is because for students to do self-access learning, they will need to be independent and process the information on their own. Rote learning will not be sufficient; Link to behaviourism: Because it practices punishment and rewards, it is behaviourist in nature. Because it practices stimulus-response, it is behaviourist in nature.