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Ass 5

Looping is a teaching structure where students stay with the same teacher for multiple years. It is considered a promising idea for improving instruction because it allows for stronger relationships between students and teachers to develop over time. Looping can create more intimate relationships as teachers and students spend more time together, helping improve engagement. It also saves valuable time at the start of each school year as teachers and students are already familiar with each other. Looping further allows teachers to better address student needs and tailor instruction to learning styles from the previous year.

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Eman Ibrahim
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43 views

Ass 5

Looping is a teaching structure where students stay with the same teacher for multiple years. It is considered a promising idea for improving instruction because it allows for stronger relationships between students and teachers to develop over time. Looping can create more intimate relationships as teachers and students spend more time together, helping improve engagement. It also saves valuable time at the start of each school year as teachers and students are already familiar with each other. Looping further allows teachers to better address student needs and tailor instruction to learning styles from the previous year.

Uploaded by

Eman Ibrahim
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Chapter 5 Assignment

Organizing and Evaluating Instructions

Knowledge-Based Question # 4

What is looping? Why is it considered a promising idea in improving instruction?

The quest for improving the vertical and the horizontal plan in schools and the various styles of
instructions has always been in the core interest of educators. It's a continuous effort for solving the
educational issues that dictate change. As educators, we're very much concerned with creating the
best possible student-teacher matching through a strong bond based on mutual trust and
understanding. When attaching the right student with the right teacher, the results are likely to be
more constructive. Looping is a structure plan that seeks to establish a stronger and longer
relationship between students and teachers.

Looping is a teaching - learning style where students stay with the same teacher for two or more
consecutive school years (Nicolas, 2002). A typical example of looping is students in Class A, grade
one, for instance, move to Class A, grade two with the same teacher and the same students. Looping
is not a new concept. It started as a necessity, particularly, in rural areas in many countries including
Egypt. Looping is one way of trying to establish a long and beneficial student-student, student-
teacher ties. Looping has obviously many advantages. Careful and considerate implementation of
looping, I believe, can make a promising idea since it can be beneficial for students, teachers, and
parents as well. Looping can create more intimate relationships for all parties. When teachers,
students and parents spend more time together, they get to know each other better. Staying with
the same teacher and the same group of classmates can help improve students' and parents'
engagement in school since the classroom becomes more comfortable, and cozy relationships can
emerge. Parents, from my experience, prefer to deal with the same teacher particularly when their
child is a slow-learner or shy or introvert.

Looping can also save valuable time. As teachers, we are always on the rush. We often hear teachers
complaining about 'there was no time', even after considerable time management planning in a
lesson. At the beginning of the school year, students rush in the classroom and meet the teacher for
the first time. Both the teachers and the students need time to understand and evaluate
personalities. Traditionally, teachers introduce themselves and their field of specialization. Students
introduce themselves one at a time when they are already involved in the teaching - learning
process. Little time is available for teachers and students to get acquainted enough to each other.
Students don't know, yet, the teaching styles of their teachers, nor do they know what's exactly
expected from them. Teachers don’t know the learning styles of their students either. Considerable
time is spent trying to get on the same page and match styles. Looping, therefore, can save this
valuable time and put students and teachers on the same track since teachers were with the same
students the previous year, and can consequently adapt their teaching styles to the needs of the
students (Denault, 1999). The direct result is likely to be a quick blast off with education, better
educational achievement, less disruptive behavior and better satisfaction of parents.
Furthermore, Looping can address students' special needs and make time for remedial teaching.
Teachers already know the progress pace, and are well acquainted with their students' weaknesses
from the previous year. Teachers, with parents' collaboration, can address the weaknesses of
students even before the school year starts with a study course or an assignment or a project during
the summer holiday in order to improve the student in that particular area.

Looping can also promote teachers' skills (Skinner, 1998). When teachers meet the same class, they
can't just keep repeating themselves and their techniques over and over. They will have to think of
new projects, new games, new activities for better students' engagement. Teachers will also try to
learn new technologies and apply new ideas in order to add variety to the teaching - learning
process. Classroom engagement is an important element in the success of students. Looping can
achieve better classroom management. When the teacher starts the new year with the same class,
he / she knows exactly what works best with their students. Teachers will also know which students
work best in which group therefore teachers can group students together in the best way for a
positive learning environment.

Students, on the other hand, know what is expected and what can be tolerated so they don't cross
the line. The direct result of looping is likely to achieve better classroom management, better
attendance, less disruptive behavior and less disciplinary interference.

Looping, however, has a number of challenges that must be dealt with. The most obvious are; 'an
incompetent teacher', or 'unwilling teacher' or lack of exposure to styles for students. When the
previous challenges are dealt with in a proper way, the benefits of looping outweigh its concerns. As
an HOD, and a member of the school board, I always support looping specially in the early stages.
When we put some extra effort and create a strong bond between the trinity of education; the
teachers, students and parents, looping can be very useful and an answer to big educational issues.

References:

Denault, L. E. (1999). Restructuring? Keep it simple...consider looping. The Delta Kappa Gamma
Bulletin, 65(4), 19-26.

Nichols, J. D., & Nichols, G. W. (2002). The impact of looping and non-looping classroom
environments on parental attitudes. Educational Research Quarterly, 26(1), 23.

Skinner, J. S. N. (1998). Looping versus nonlooping second-grade classrooms: Student achievement


and student attitudes. University of Missouri-Columbia.

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