3。2 On the features 12

3。3 On the functions 12

4。 Conclusion 13

4。1 Brief summary 13

4。2 Some inspiration of the study 13

4。3 The limitations of this study 13

References 14

1。 Introduction

1。1 Background

    Under the influence of the traditional examination-oriented education system, most teachers and students blindly run after the scores rather than what they feel interested。 Take English class as an example, in order to better fulfill the teaching tasks, teachers spend much time on teaching vocabulary and grammar but seldom pay attention to whether students are interested in the knowledge and whether they can grasp what they learn and apply them into the real life。 Teachers, as the organizer, facilitator, consultant and promoter of the class, should have taken all the factors into account which may have effect on students, but they deliver cramming lessons in which much more knowledge is given than students themselves can digest, to achieve a more striking teaching results。

   However, with the development of economy and politics, quality education is attached more importance than teaching results。 And the new curriculum standard specially stresses that students are the subjectivity of learning, and examination is not the only way to check what students have learned any more。 What is more important should be that students can understand the communicative situation and apply the knowledge they have learned in the class into real life。 Under this circumstance, cramming lessons need to have a change。

1。2 Research questions

    This research is aimed at studying four lead-ins of classic classes in the 11th National Middle School English Classes Competition(NMSECC) and four lead-ins of classes given by teachers in Xianghu Middle School(XHMS) from the perspective of constructivism。 And after that, a comparative analysis is made between them。 It strives to find out why the lead-ins in classic classes are more effective than the lead-ins in common classes, and in what way teachers can design a better lead-in。

1。3 Research method

    In this study, the author adopts literature research, case study and comparative method in analysis。 The author has collected four videos of classic classes in the 11th National Middle School English Classes Competition(NMSECC) and study the lead-ins in these classes。 At the same time, the author has been to Xianghu Middle School(XHMS) to observe four classes given by teachers there and study the lead-ins in their classes。 After that, the author will analyze the lead-ins in these two kinds of lessons from the perspective of constructivism and compare them to find what kind of lead-in is more effective in a class。

1。4 Research schedule

    Oct 20, 2016- Nov 5, 2016          Thesis Subject 

    Nov 5, 2016- Nov 20, 2016         Outline and References 

    Nov 21, 2016- Dec 7, 2016         Thesis Proposal 

    Dec 7, 2016- Jun 5,2017             Draft Writing 

    Jun 26, 2017- Mar 1, 2017          First Revision of the Draft 

    Mar 1, 2017- Mar 25, 2017        Second Revision of the Draft and the Final

1。5。 Literature review

    1。5。1 Constructivism 

    This study on cases of lead-in in middle school English classes is based on constructivism。 The first major contemporaries to develop a clear idea of constructivism as applied to classrooms and childhood development were Jean Piaget and John Dewey (1916)。 Piaget's constructivism is based on his view of the psychological development of children。 In a short summation of his educational thoughts, Piaget called for teachers to understand the steps in the development of the child's mind。 The fundamental basis of learning, he believed, was discovery: "To understand is to discover, or reconstruct by rediscovery, and such conditions must be complied with if in the future inpiduals are to be formed who are capable of production and creativity and not simply repetition。"(1971) Review the main principles of constructivism in the context of education, we could say that constructivism emphasises learning and not teaching, encourages learner autonomy and personal involvement in learning。 Numerous researchers, educators and authors are actively engaged in using constructivist principles to design and implement new learning environments showing that theory can effectively guide educational practice。