Question 1 (Marks: 50)
Life Orientation as a subject differs from other subjects, in that teachers must focus on a combination of cognitive-academic, emotional and behavioural learning, whereas teachers of other subjects have to focus predominantly on developing cognitive learning (Gous & Roberts, 2015). As such, the pedagogy of Life Orientation is founded on principles and teaching strategies that are geared towards reaching the learner in a holistic way: mind, body and spirit.

Cooperative learning is a teaching strategy that is very useful in the Life Orientation classroom. In a formal essay, explain how cooperative learning reflects the principles of the pedagogy of Life Orientation, using suitable examples from the classroom context.

Make sure to include the following in your response:
• A description of cooperative learning
• A selection of pedagogic principles, with an explanation of how they can be achieved through cooperative learning
• Suitable classroom examples

Your essay should be about 1500 to 2000 words long. NB – Your lecturer will not mark beyond the maximum word count for the question.
As this is a formal essay, there should be a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. Make use of appropriate paragraphing.
Ensure that you make use of at least two additional, credible academic sources in addition to your prescribed textbook and reference correctly throughout your essay.

Use the rubric provided to guide your response.

Question 2 (Marks: 50)
Nelson Mandela is famously quoted as saying: “do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.”

In the form of an essay, discuss the importance of teaching resilience in the Life Orientation classroom. In your essay, make sure you discuss the strategies you would use to teach resilience in your classroom. Critically discuss the pitfalls of a resilience-focused approach to teaching.

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Answer 1: Cooperative learning is an important approach of learning that emphasizes collaboration, communication and mutual support within students. The principles of pedagogy of life orientation on the other hand is based on the principles of developing life skills, social and emotional competencies within a student. The cooperative learning approach encompasses the principles of pedagogy of life orientation in a number of ways. One such example of cooperative learning indicating the pedagogy principles of life orientation is students working in groups.