This is going to be my final post before I hand in this assignment to Mr Wan.Today was our last topic in class and since we only discussed about classroom management very briefly during the previous class,Mr Wan went into more detail during this class.
Mr Wan asked us what we have to do in order to manage a class.We gave our ideas.I said that teachers need to know the psychological needs of the students which he said was very true.He also added that every teacher should know how to help those who are quick at learning and the slower ones.He also mentioned something I never really thought about in order to help a teacher manage a classroom and that is for students and teachers to discuss together about the rules of the classroom.I think this is a great idea.Usually we students do not get a say in what rules are being implemented but if we students have a say,we are more likely to follow those rules.
Someone once said,"Children now love luxury,they have bad manners,contempt for authority,they show disrespect for their elders,and they love chatter in the place one exercise.Children are now tyrants,not the servants of the households."
Mr Wan explained this quote from some anonymous person to us but I do not think this is entirely true.First of all,everyone loves luxury.No one wants to live a hard life and not all of them have bad manners or show disrespect for their elders.I think these are just stereotypes older people are creating for us younger generation.Now,for a class to be managed well.a teacher must start on time.Mr Wan said some teachers only walk to their classrooms once the bell rings which is true but if they do that they will be wasting precious time.What if they were to do that for a whole year?Or if they were to teach the same students for 3 years.I have had a teacher who taught me for 3 years.The students would be missing out on a lot of lessons.Moving on,students need to know the classroom procedures and I think it is the teacher's job to tell them about the procedures.Teachers also need to understand who to teach for mastery.They need to relate their topics with something their students know.They need to have a set induction for their students.I think our education system focuses way too much on test scores instead of mastery.Watch this talk by Sal Khan and you will get what I mean.
We are more focused on scoring A's than actually learning something.Teachers also need to have high expectation for students' success.Teachers need to believe in their students and motivate their students.Students are people too and they need encouragement for them to believe in themselves.Being in an Asian culture,it is quite rare to find students from encouraging families who support them very much.Hence,I think we could start a trend by actually encouraging and supporting those students to achieve their dreams.Then they could end up like this little girl :)
-You can do this by gathering students around and asking them what they think could actually wreck the classroom and discuss what they can do to solve or avoid the problems.
There are a few guidelines for good classroom management.A teacher can maintain a good classroom environment through arranging student's seating arrangement which will affect their interaction with their classmates but sometimes this does not always work.It depends on the type of students because some students learn better when interacting with their classmates.Teachers should also consider seating patterns which affects interaction between students and teachers.The noisy,naughty and talkative students should sit in front.So,that the teachers can have an eye on them.The seating arrangement should also be convenient for the teacher's mobility.A teacher cannot just stand at one spot during the entire lesson,he or she has to move around the classroom to make sure that all her students understand what she is trying to deliver.
There are many ways a teacher can establish a good psychological environment through their voice tone.I remember a lecturer I had in Segi College who spoke so softly in class,that only the students in the from role were able to hear him.When we asked him to speak up,he said he is not going to talk loudly because he has been talking to whole day but no matter how good you are in teaching if your students cannot hear you,then what's the point?A teacher should also have respect for their students.I believe one of the core virtues every teacher needs to have is to have respect for their students.I have met so many teachers think they are so much above their students.I heard of a story from a friend of mine in Segi College,that her lecturer shouted at her friend for not giving a presentation up to the lecturer's high expectations.The lecturer then bragged than she has a masters degree and that the student who gave the presentation had no qualification at all.Excuse me!That is why she is attending university right?To get the best education she can possibly get.Some people are really such snobs.If you are a snob and you like to look down on your students,I highly suggest you change your profession.It puts people down when you insult them.Teachers are suppose to build you up not bring you down.Moving on,every achievement should be valued by the teacher,no matter how high or how low.If the teacher puts in effort,encouragement should be given.This world has too many judgmental people,why don't be an encourager?
What is a good classroom management?In my slides,a good teacher is like a good manger who manages the classroom which is true in my opinion because teaching a class is like being a CEO or manager in you own company but instead of guiding employees,you are guiding students.A teacher like a manager or CEO has to state the rules of the company but make sure those rules are not too strict or unreasonable.I remember a primary school teacher I had who punished a student by asking him to carry a wooden chair for not doing his homework.That was abuse.That shouldn't be a way of punishing a student.Some teachers really have no heart at all.The teacher like a CEO should be good at strategising.They should arrange the students' seat to minimise disturbance.If I were a teacher I would ask those smart students to sit with the weaker students so that they can learn from each other.Some people say that smart students do not have anything to learn from the weaker ones but you make be surprise some smart students are quite proud and they could learn things like humility from the weaker ones.Lastly,a teacher must know the name of all his or her students.Mr Wan told us that he used to ask the class monitor to pass him the seating plan of the students of the class he was teaching so that he wouldn't forget their names.I remember an Add Maths teacher that I really hated who did not even bother to remember our names.He said that the only way we could make him remember us is by being really smart or outstanding or being really terrible.
Why is classroom management important?A well organised classroom is the fist step to an effective teaching environment.If you are someone who gets easily distracted like me and if you have a short attention span which is something I have too,then a teacher who is good at managing the classroom is highly needed so that you can focus in class.
How does a teacher organise academic content and instruction?First, a teacher needs a lesson plan.Well for me I have met teachers without a lesson plan but they still teach very well but those are the really experienced teachers if you are a novice or a trainee teacher then I highly suggest you have a lesson plan to have a clearer vision of your goals and objectives.Even super experienced teachers need lesson plans to help themselves run the class more smoothly.A teacher also needs to create a good learning environment.One that is not too strict to the extent that the students are afraid to approach the teacher to ask questions.One that is not boring either or else the students would fall asleep and won't bother learning.Lastly,a teacher needs to generate motivation and provide clear introduction to all aspects for their lesson to run more smoothly.
It is the 9th Week and we carried on with micro teaching today.I didn't do mine of course because I did it the previous week but let me tell you my thoughts on my friend's micro teaching.Today in class,Razdi,Rita and Stanley did their micro teaching.
Stanley went first.He taught English and he was really nervous.He was sweating a lot but you cannot blame him since it is his first time.We all start from somewhere and you can see that he really is trying his best.He taught us about adjectives and started by asking us to give examples about adjectives and form sentences with them.I find this a good way to warm up.He continued by showing us various examples of adjectives in a book he bought.There is one constructive criticism that I was to give him and that is that he should really use Powerpoint or the white board to teach his students.I couldn't see what those examples were from the activity book he bought and I wasn't too far from him.In an actual Malaysian classroom,you're going to have 40 students in a classroom and you cannot show them an example with an activity book.He even gave us exercises to do which is a good thing because we need to reinforce our knowledge but the answers were never discussed.We wouldn't know where we went wrong or where we went right.All in all,I think he did put in a lot of effort into his micro teaching and I believe he would one day be a really good teacher with more practice.
Razdi was the next one and he taught my most hated subject,Sejarah.He used a video to start his class and he continued by using his slides to teach us.He was really confident but majority of what he did was reading from the slides and he did not try to relate what he was teaching with what we knew.I think he should try to relate the topics taught with the latest news or anything young people are into these days.I think he did not teach to many things and it was just enough for the students to absorb.He also gave us some exercises but it only had 3 questions which was too little for me and he also did not discuss the answers with us.
Moving on,we had Rita.Rita taught Bahasa Malaysia.She was a really active teacher.She constantly asked us to give examples of what she was teaching and that was good.It keeps the class alive and students active but my she taught way too much.She had 35 slides and I could not absorb everything she was trying to teach.Not many students have very long attention spans and I think her one lesson should be divided into many lessons because there was just too much to learn.I couldn't cope and she too did give exercise but did not discuss.
Mr Wan was sick today.Hence,he only briefly went through the classroom management topic with us.Classroom management is the provisions and procedures necessary to create and maintain an environment in which teaching and learning can occur.This is what my slides said and it is true.I have been in a noisy classroom before and I could not concentrate when the teacher was teaching because the students were making so much noise.It was not a good environment for me to learn.According to my slides here are the guidelines for good classroom management practice:
1.seating patterns which affects peers interaction
This is something very common done even in primary school and it actually helps but sometimes not entirely.I used to sit next to a friend of mine who we discussed everything with even schoolwork but teacher said we talked to much to each other.Hence,she switched our seats.I did talk less to my new seat mate but whenever there was a question I wasn't sure about or did not know how to do my homework.I did not ask my new seat mate for help but it did make the class a little bit more quiet for the other students to concentrate.
2.seating patterns which affects interaction between students and teacher
There a few students who are very talkative in my class,and they were often placed in front so that the teachers will be able to catch them talking.When they were placed in front of the class,their behaviour changed because teachers were able to keep an eye on them.They did their homework,paid attention and spoke less.Sometimes they even participate in class.
3seating arrangement for teacher mobility
This is a good idea so that teachers can keep an eye on all the students to make sure they are doing their work
4.equipment and materials
5.rooms arrangement
Moving on,there are also ways of establishing the psychological environment through voice tone.Mr Wan mentioned this before.He said that we need to speak loudly in order for students to hear what we are saying.None of them are bionic people who have the capability of listening to really soft sounds.This reminds me of the time I was studying in Segi College.The lecturer spoke so softly,we couldn't hear what he was trying to say and there were so many students in class,not everyone could have sat in front.Furthremore,organisation is important.I love Unitar but sometimes the slides given to us and the notes given to us regional centres are all over the place.It isn't concise or concrete and sometimes there were grammatical errors in the notes.Other than that,respect is extremely important.As I have said in my numerous posts,I hated my secondary school.One of the main reason was that I did not get the respect I wanted from my teachers.They saw me as a slow and weak student who did not have much of a future but this gave me the motivation I needed in order to succeed and prove that wrong.The main reason why I have decided to do my practicum in my former school is because I want to prove to my former teachers,how much I have improved and how talented I am in my field which is English and then they will be sorry for ever looking down on me.Every student's achievement is also to be valued in order to create a psychological environment.My Physics teacher,Mr Kent once told me that he did not care if I did not do well in my SPM.How could he say that?As a teacher you are suppose to care for your students.Full inclusion is also needed for good psychological environment which is not what every teacher did.I had a Sejarah teacher who made me feel so excluded in class.She handed out our test scores from the lowest to the highest and she read our marks in front of the whole class.I was at the bottom of the class and she made me feel so inferior by doing what she did.
What exactly is good classroom management then?A good teacher is one who is a good classroom manager.She must have a set of rules maintain discipline and arrange the classroom carefully to minimise disturbances and provide students with a sense of confidence.I have complaint a lot about my secondary school teacher but I want to tell you about teachers I really love who have changed my life and how I saw myself.First of all,my piano teacher.She is an amazing woman that I hope to be like one day.I am a slow student and I do not catch up as fast as other students but my piano teacher told me to never give up and not to compare myself with others.She always told me that I am capable of anything I put my mind to and is extremely patient with me.It has boost my self-esteem and given me the confidence to actually sit for music examinations.Same goes to my vocal teacher who has always encouraged me to sit for exams.She will always tell me whenever I am making improvements and she always believes in my capabilities.Other than that,teachers need to know the names of all the students in class.My add maths teacher did not even know my name.It made me feel as if I was not important.He told us that if we want him to remember us we have to either be extremely smart or extremely terrible.It sounded like he did not care about the average students like me.
In conclusion,I think a teacher needs to organise an academic content and instruction well through having a clear instructional plan,creating an environment to learn at the beginning of the lesson(don't be like my secondary school teachers who have created hell on earth for me) and generate motivation and provide clear introduction.
It is week 8 and we did not exactly have class today but I still did learn something.In class,3 of my other classmates and I did our micro-teaching.I did mine first and it went great.I used many pictures so that my students would know how the different kinds of foods look like and I even went to the supermarket the night before to buy some of the food that I was teaching them about.I am not going to lie,the price of the food I bought was rather steep but I did it for the sake of my students learning because I think that students will remember what I teach them more when they can actually see the object.
In class,I was the first to start my micro teaching and it went quite smoothly.I began my lesson by asking them questions about their favourite kinds of food to warm them up and I even showed them a video of people sharing about their favourite foods and they enjoyed it and found the video amusing.I continued with a spelling test which was actually a bit of a mistake.Mr Wan told me that I should not have a pop spelling test because students will be unprepared which really shows in the results of the spelling test because the highest was 7 out of 10 followed by my friend Lovelyn who scored a 3/10 and Razdi who scored 2/10 and Angela who scored a zero.I think if I were to give a pop test to my students,they will not do so well and it will cause them to believe that they are dumb and it will affect their self-esteem but I never really thought about it that way before till Mr. Wan mentioned about it.Moving on,I continued my explaining each of the words mentioned during the spelling test through pictures,videos and food.I ended the lesson by asking my students what they learnt and showed them a video for them to reflect upon as their homework.Mr Wan said that other than my pop spelling test,he thought that I did really good.He would give me a score of 8/10.I was really happy because I worked hard but he asked me to change my lesson plan according to his advice.
Obviously I was not the only one who did my micro teaching.Three of my other friends did theirs too.Hannee,Lovelyn and Angela.Hannee taught English Grammar.I thought her micro teaching was really good actually.She taught at a slow spaced which is really good because she takes in those weaker students in consideration.This was something my teachers in secondary school did not consider.She even had activities for us so that we could apply the knowledge we have learnt and I think this is a good way to learn actively and reinforce the information learnt.I did not see any problem with her micro teaching but Mr Wan did say that the lesson was not so organised and that it has to be organised so that students would not be confused which is quite true because during my time studying in Unitar,I've actually received a ton of slides and notes that were are jumbled up and not well organised.
Moving on,my friend Lovelyn taught Form 1 Mathematics.She was really patient with us and she explained in detail.She would ask us whether we understood a certain topic before she carried on which is a good thing for teachers to do because we need to learn progressively.One cannot learn to walk without crawling first.Mr Wan did give her some advice though.He said that she should teach a little slower for those weaker students because not everyone is good in Mathematics and to split her lesson into two lessons because there was two much information.I think splitting the lesson into two lessons is a good idea because sometimes there is just so much a student can absorb.We do not learn through osmosis(HAHA biology joke).That is pretty much all I have to say for today.Till next time.
It is week 7 and today during we had a test.Hence,there was no teaching in class but I am going to tell you about my progress for my assignment.So far I think I am making a lot of progress.I had done three lessons plans.Two single period lesson plans and one double period lesson plan.For my first lesson plan,I am going to teach my students about the various types of foods but not those ordinary foods that they often hear about on a daily basis like chicken or potatoes.That is way to simple.I am going to ask them to sit for a spelling test about the different kinds of food and I will make sure I find words that people often misspell or words that are not often heard of like parsley or coriander.I also decided to add videos from famous Youtubers like the Fine Brothers to get my students attention.For my second lesson plan,I have decided to teach about the difference between British English and American English.This is because I notice my friends usually get confused with the two and use them interchangeably.We used to live under the British ruling.So,I think it is best we use British English.
Obviously you cannot learn something without applying it.Hence,I will have tests in my lesson plans or exercises.For my third lesson plan,I have decided to design a class whereby students are to watch an inspiring video about Nick Vujicic about this spirit of never giving up.I want my future students to think critically and creatively jus like how I was taught in youth ministry.I believe that active learning if much more effective as compared to passive learning.To video I am going to show them is down below.
.I followed the example given my the course leader for my lesson plan and thank God she has given us multiple examples or else I would be absolutely lost.I have selected my lesson plan about the various foods to be taught during my micro teaching next week.I am going to show them the videos below to make the class more interesting.Here,you can watch them too.I think you will find them entertaining and you will learn a thing or two.
Will update you bloggers on my micro teaching.Till then and wish me luck.
References
Cite a Website - Cite This For Me. (2016). Fanaru.com. Retrieved 29 November 2016, from http://fanaru.com/harry-potter/image/114403-harry-potter-harry-andquot-winkingandquot.gif
FAVORITE FOOD (REACT: Opinions #4). (2016). YouTube. Retrieved 29 November 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lU5-AeI9S1I
KIDS vs. FOOD #2 - VEGEMITE. (2016). YouTube. Retrieved 29 November 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igeUz4cjB5w
Never give up by Nick Vujicic. (2016). YouTube. Retrieved 29 November 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kxSrPD__BA
Oh my gosh.I cannot believe I am half way done with the semester.Anyway,today's class was not very long but we did learn many things.Our topic was about the conceptual foundations for planning a lesson.Mr Wan said when you fail to plan,you are actually planning for failure.He then told us that pedagogy can be divided into two parts which are what and how.Basically it is the study of ways to deliver a subject and what you need to know.For example,what do you need to know?You need to know the content of the subject you are teaching inside out.As I have said before,you will have a really hard time teaching a subject if you are not an expert on it.It is like the blind leading the blind.Mr Wan also asked us why it is necessary to have a lesson plan.My classsmates gave answers stating that the lesson plan acts as a guide for us and Mr Wan said it was right.It is for us to achieve our objectives.There are many other reasons as well.For example :-
1.Substitiutes teachers are able to teach a class with the provided lesson plan as a guide line.
This was something I actually never really thought about till that lesson.Usually teachers who are absent have a substitute teacher to come and sit in for a class and let us do absolutely anything we want and eventually by the end of the day we did not learn anything.What a waste isn't it?But with a guided lesson plan,students do not need to experience the loss of learning.
2.Time management
If you are an extremely forgetful person like me,then I suggest you have a lesson plan to keep track of time.Some teachers are extremely passionate about teaching which is a good thing but sometimes they get to carried away and are basically in their own world to the extent they lost track of time and are not able to focus other material for their students.
3.Confidence
Sometimes,when you are a novice in the classroom,you may lack confidence as compared to some super experienced teachers.Hence,you need a lesson plan so that you are able to keep track of things and not go off topic.A lesson plan prepares you for a class and you are able to reflect upon it to make improvements.Hence,the lesson will go much more smoothly(Another reason to have a lesson plan)
Moving on,we learnt about the instructional action planning.A teacher has to identify the learner preparation activities and get the classroom ready.Furtheremore,teachers need to create personal prompts.They have to be creative in teaching a class so that students would not be bored.A students attention span is really short,just for the record.A teacher also needs to list support technologies.They need to be proficient in things like microsoft excel and powerpoint to help the students learn more because these are excellent tools for learning.They need to be up to date with the latest technologies because young people will not be as interested if you use old technology or old resources to teach them.If you do not believe me,take a look at this video to see how up to date children and teenagers are and how much they despise old technology.
I think that if you are born in this modern era,for example if you're a millennial or born in the 2000s you will not have much problem with modern technology but sadly the older generation have some problems.
Maybe some of you younger people will experience this when teaching your parents how to use technology.I love my father but this is absolutely true when it comes to teach your parents about modern technology.Watch the video below.
But with time slowly but surely even the older generation will be good at using technology.They need to learn because with an ordinary blackboard and chalk,students are not going to interested anymore.
I also suggest teachers continuously update themselves with Youtube videos online.Young people these days spend a lot of their time online and having great educational Youtube videos in class would be a good way of getting their attention.Mr Wan said that maybe one day in the future,students would not need to bring any books in class.Since everything can be found online,all they need to do is bring their laptops.This reminds me of a video I watched on Youtube.Here is it is :
I think you will see the connection.Moreover,teachers need to list feedback instruments.I have said it before and I will say it again.We teachers need feedback,without feedback the room for growth will be so little.There also needs to be detailing follow-up activities.Summative and formative tests should be given to test a students capabilities.With the results,teachers can help themselves improve on their teaching methods.They will be able to see which topics are the topics students are often confused about and reflect upon their teaching method to help them improve.
Other than that,we talked about writing lesson plan goals,objectives and strategies.First of all,goals and objectives are different things.Goals are more on a bigger scale and objectives are on a smaller scale.For example,the targeted level of achievement you want your students to achieve in a YEAR is classified as goals but when it comes to the targeted achievements of a lesson,then it is objectives.Every lesson plan needs goals and objectives.
Moving on,there are also some prerequisites when it comes to planning lessons.Prerequisite or pre-requirements are helpful for weak students.It helps to consider the readiness of students and it helps teachers not teach materials that are too difficult for students to understand.Prerequisite allows teachers to replicate lesson plan to make sure the students meet the lesson objectives.Teachers need to make sure that the possibility of students achieving those objectives are very high because a student's self-esteem can affect his or her performance.We also discussed about the materials in class.It helps a teacher determine how much time they need to prepare their students,management involved in carrying out the plan,materials,books,equipment and resources they will need to have ready.Materials are very much needed for a lesson.You can even say it is the MVP of the lesson.Without materials what would students learn?A lesson plan also needs a lesson description,it provides an opportunity for the author of the lesson to share some thoughts,experience and advice with teachers.It tells people what is unique about the lesson planned,how much did the students like it and what the level of learning is covered by the lesson plan.There is also the lesson procedure,it provides a detailed,step-by step description of how to replace the lesson and achieve the lesson plan objectives.This is usually to provide suggestions to teachers on how to proceed with the implementation of the lesson plan.It can be divided into several components:-
1.Introduction
2.Main activity
3.Closure/Conclusion
4.Follow-up lesson/activities
The follow-up activities is for the teachers to evaluate the students and help students apply the knowledge they have learnt in class.I am currently doing my lesson plan for my assignment and it involves a set-induction,main activity,closure and follow-up activities.I like to ask my students to reflect on videos to jog their creativity and help them think critically.Sometimes I ask them to form groups with their friends to share their thoughts.I would ask them to present their sharings during the next lesson so that I can evaluate them.
Finally,the final subtopic of chapter 9,assessment and evaluation.This is extremely vital not just for students but for students to ensure that they are using the right teaching methods.Without an assessment how would students improve?During my secondary school days,my friends and I often complain about the people who invented examinations and that we hate them for ruining our lives.The funny thing is,the people who created examinations were the Chinese and I went to a secondary school which was predominantly Chinese.So basically we were complaining about our ancestors.I find it funny.Back then,if a student was caught cheating in an exam,they will face harsh punishments like being thrown into jail.I do think assessments are important but sadly it has become more of a bragging tool instead of an evaluation for teachers to help students learn.In my secondary school,when some proud students did well they often put down those students who did not do so well(that includes me) and our self-esteem will usually deteriorate.Some teachers even return test paper scores from the lowest to the highest in front of the whole class.It is a great moment for those who did well but what about those people who do poorly like me?It really affects our self-esteem.Teahcers do not know but there are lots of really proud people in my class who look down upon the weak students.I went home crying so many times because of being looked down upon.I was even called stupid once because of my test scores.Assessments and evaluations are important but I think these days,the education system and society has taken it far too seriously.This needs to change.
References
KIDS REACT TO OLD COMPUTERS. (2016). YouTube. Retrieved 22 November 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF7EpEnglgk&t=102s
TEENS REACT TO ENCYCLOPEDIAS. (2016). YouTube. Retrieved 22 November 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7aJ3xaDMuM&t=43s
TEENS REACT TO WINDOWS 95. (2016). YouTube. Retrieved 22 November 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ucCxtgN6sc&t=141s
When Parents Use Technology. (2016). YouTube. Retrieved 22 November 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSRNvNkThGk&t=190s
Hi fellow bloggers.This week there was no pedagogy in Education class because of the Deepavali holidays.Hence I have decided to do my assignment instead.I went to the bookstore to buy a few lower secondary English reference books for my own reference.We were asked to design three different types of lesson plans and I referred to the example given by the course leader as my guideline.I printed it out and it was really straightforward.I went to the bookstore and tried to find some English references books to help myself with designing my lesson plan.I came across a book about grammar,an book filled with SPM past years questions and also an activity book for SPM English Paper 2.I then decided I wanted to design two 30 minute lesson plans and one 60 minute lesson plan.I tried to remember the activities and things my English teacher asked me to do as a student which really helped me as a student.Then,it suddenly hit me.I remembered my teacher giving us all sorts of words that were outside of our vocabulary or at least my vocabulary and I had a really hard time spelling them out.Hence,I did not do very well during that spelling test but I did learn a whole lot of words.So I have decided to add a spelling test in two of my lesson plans.I also understand that I have to train my students in the future to know the format of the SPM examination inside out.Hence,I wanted to add SPM questions into my lesson plan as well.I want to guide them on how to answer objective questions,explain to them words they do not understand and also give them ideas and tips on writing an essay.Not to toot my own horn but I did score an A1 for my English SPM 1119.Hahaha.I also wanted to make sure that I always ask my students what they have learnt during the end of the lesson just to make sure I taught them right and also I would also want to ask them on ways I can improve my teaching.This not only helps me become a better teacher but it also helps my students speaking and thinking skills.Without constructive criticism how can we improve?Teachers can learn from students as well.I also want to start every lesson by asking my students questions to improve their speaking skills and I want to expose them to the four wives one husband questions because they are going to face a lot of those type of questions in the future.I have written a rough sketch of my lesson plan and I am going to make sure that pictures are used as one of my teaching aids.I will also show students videos and ask them to reflect upon them.Sometimes students get tired of listening to their students talk.So,it is time for the computer to talk.Haha but seriously I want my students to constantly reflect on things and talk to themselves.This helps them think creatively and think of new perceptions and ideas to improve on certain things.People think talking to yourself is crazy but I am pretty sure Mark Zuckerberg did a lot of thinking and talking to himself when he started Facebook.We need to ask ourselves questions to boost the creative mind and a creative mind is needed to write good essays.To do well in an English examination is not just about getting every single sentence grammatically correct but it is also about being creative in expressing yourself through your writing.Do you think people like Nicholas Sparks or J.K. Rowling would be who they are today if they were not creative.I am very sure they have a good grasp of the English Language but creativity plays a huge role.That is all from me for today.I will update you all about my next class and also about this particular assignment.
Esther Lee is back with your weekly reflection of her Pedagogy in Education class.Goodness gracious,time has passed by so fast.
We discussed about the cognitive domain.Basically it is about how you process information.Mr Wan told us about Jean Piaget.I have remember him briefly from a topic I studied during my foundation days but as I got to know more about him today,I have a higher respect for Jean Piaget.
The picture above is him,for those of you who do not know.He had pretty cool glasses.
He is actually a pretty cool guy.He believes that we human beings learn through experience specifically through assimilation and accommodation and that is true experience means everything to me.Experiences makes people who they are.I shall use myself for an example,not to brag but I do think that I am somewhat pretty good in public speaking.This is not something self-proclaimed,quite a number of people have told me this.I think it is because of my background,although I went to a Chinese primary school and a secondary school which majority of the students spoke mandarin,I received sufficient training in my English Language skills at home.My mother came from a mission school,so she has is really fluent and proficient in the language.She does not speak to me the way most Malaysians speak English.There were no two-word phrase such as 'Can lay' or 'okay la' in our house.My mother took language pretty seriously and I owe her a lot because she has planted the love of English in me.Hence,I am here in Unitar University,studying to become and English teacher.That is one of my experiences which has build up my confidence and competency in public speaking but other experiences include being in a youth ministry in church.When you actively serve in a ministry,communication is the key for activities to run and at many times we were asked to give our reflections on bible verses or give a testimony during a gathering.It has helped me and taught me to learn from my mistakes and make amendments to be able to get the audience's attention.
I am not quite done.Experience is the key for doing well in anything.Now that I have mentioned what I am good at,I shall now mention what I am terrible at to not seem like an arrogant person.For your information,the above example was not to boast about my skill.Now I shall tell you about my cooking skills.I am not a good cook.I can cook very simple food.To me,it is more like survival food but do not get me wrong,I am not a spoiled brat who cannot even cook a packet of instant noodles or cook an egg,I can cook enough to survive but my food is not something you would find in a restaurant.I cook food that is convenient to whip up.This is because I was too focused on my studies in secondary school to the extent that I did not bother cooking and because I almost rarely step foot in a kitchen,my cooking skills are not good.This proves Jean Piaget's theory that people learn through experience and I think he is right.
Piaget also talked about the four stages of human development.My lecturer has explained in very detail about the stages but I wanted to know more from the Internet.So,I went on Youtube to look for some videos.
This theory really makes sense now that I think about it.I was honestly pretty skeptical about this theory till I watched the second video and I then I tried to remember my childhood.I had a little flashback and when I was around the age of the children in the video,I most probably could not have given the right answer and a lot of my thinking was very illogical when i was in the pre operational stage(age 2-7 years old) and I did only think about myself without much empathy or compassion for other people.I was egocentric child at most times.Moving on the the concrete stage(age 7 to 11) is when the child can think logically.Recalling back,at this age I started to care more about other people and not just myself.My mother told me this was the age when I started to change and become a more well behaved child.Jean Piaget must really knew what he was doing when he did this research.Lastly the formal operational stage(age 11-16 years old),in the second video,it states that around this age children are able to think about the future and we have more rational,flexible and systematic thoughts.We have more complex thinking.I cannot stress how true this is to me because I am a person who likes to plan ahead and when I tried recalling when did I start being this way,it traces back to when I was 11 years old.At 11 I was already dreaming of studying in a top university in a foreign country and being a English teacher or a lecturer and till this day I still have that dream.
Moving on,we learnt about Lev Vygotsky.The Russian psychologist and I have never heard of him before.NEVER but he seems like another awesome person.His theory is that people learn through socialisation and that is true.I am in extrovert.I learn joining activities,clubs or any social event to learn from people.Some people may believe that you can only learn from someone who is more intellectual than you but has a higher academic background but I say this is false.First of all,it would be a lie if I said that everyone is intellectually equal.I do not believe that but I do believe that everyone is capable of many things if the put their minds to it.Some people just learn things at a slower pace but that does not mean they are dumb but even if someone does not learn things as quick as you or does not have as many diplomas are certs as you,you can still learn from them because I believe everyone has something to teach you.I have a friend who enjoys travelling very much and he recently came back from South Africa where he made many new friends who do not have any university qualifications or whatsoever but he learnt so much from them because despite being so poor living in South Africa,they are still so filled with joy.They are so grateful for what they have which is contrary to us Malaysians because we Malaysians complain about EVERYTHING.When you listen about stories of the poor from the poor themselves,it changes your outlook about life and it will make you feel really guilty about constantly complaining about what you do not have.Another one my philosophy is to try to meet as many people as you can because you can learn from them.Some people rather have a small number of friends than a large number of friends but the term friends is very subjective.To some people those two people are friends but to some they may just be acquaintances but I believe getting to know more people is important because we need to grow.So many people often stay away from having many friends because they do not want to tolerate with any drama but let me tell you something,when you grow up and work in the working world,you have to tolerate a lot of drama and conflicts because you are going to deal with people from all walks of lives.Learn through socialisation,it helps build you to be more ready for the world.
Furthermore,we learnt about Bloom's Taxonomy.We actually were taught about this during the first semester by another lecturer.I went to Youtube to find out more about Bloom's Taxonomy and it really helped me a lot.I will have the video posted below.
It really gave me a lot of clarification and guided me on the stages of how our brains learn new things.I have been learning my whole life and I never knew that there were stages to learning.I really had an epiphany when I learnt about the Bloom's Taxonomy.After reflecting upon Bloom Taxonomy,I really do learn according to that stage.Let me give you an example.I will talk about the cognitive domain,since our lesson covered a lot about cognitive domain on the fourth week.There are 6 stages and the example I am giving you to prove that this theory is correct is the stages of how I learnt mandarin.I rarely spoke mandarin at home but I went to a Chinese school where everyone spoke mandarin and the teachers taught mandarin and spoke in mandarin.Let us go through the process of how I was able to learn mandarin step by step.
1.Knowledge
I received the knowledge about new mandarin words everyday from my friends and teachers.My teacher explains it on the blackboard and shows us how to write mandarin characters.
2.Comprehension
I tried my best to comprehend those words even though I was young because a lot of the subjects in Chinese school were in mandarin so I had to try to understand those words.I tried finding out the meaning of those words from my friends and family members.I found a video on Tedx about a woman associating mandarin words with drawings and pictures.Take a look.Many people are able to use her method during their comprehension stage.
3.Application
I began speaking mandarin everyday in school and with my father so that I can practice at home.Slowly,my mandarin speaking skills improved.
4.Analysis
After having a certain proficiency in mandarin,I was able to make an analysis on my own between what is a good mandarin essay or a bad mandarin essay or a fluent speaker in mandarin and a not so fluent speaker in mandarin.
5.Synthesis
Using my mandarin knowledge that I have now I am able to write mandarin essays on my own without the guidance of anyone.
6.Evaluation
I am now able to evaluate not only my own essays but essays of other people who are not as proficient as me in the language and give them constructive criticism on how they can improve.
That is the end for Topic 2.I know it is a lot but we covered a lot of chapters today and now I shall give you my reflection on Topic 3.
In this topic we learnt about the famous scholars of behaviourism.Behaviourirsm is a reward and punishment theory.We have learnt about this before.I have actually already given my reflection about this topic but it is good to have a recap in class about this topic.I do believe that behaviourism molds the thinking of children.It reminds me of the time I scored straight A's for PMR.The reason why I wanted to get straight A's was because I wanted people especially my friends to praise me and respect me and see me as their equal.Hence,I worked really hard to get good results and eventually I did manage to get straight A's.
Other than that,we learnt about psychoanalysis which is more towards the unconscious motivations of human behaviour which has brought to our lecturer explaining about the Maslow's hierarchy of needs which I have learnt during my foundation days but can barely remember till my lecturer brought it up.
I reflected on this hierarchy starting from the bottom which is the most basic needs.Let me break this pyramid into parts so that it is easier to understand.
1.Physiological
Reflection:This is definitely the number need of all human beings.Without food,water or sleep we will not be able to survive.We are designed this way and without it we would die.
2.Safety
Reflection:We all want to be healthy.We need a sense of security to be at peace with ourselves.We need to know that our families are safe and that we are safe to move on with our daily activities.
3.Love/belonging
Whether we know it or not,we all want to be loved.It is the deepest desire of every human being.But this stage of the pyramid also covers the desire of friendship.As for me,I do not believe that EVERYONE wants to have a lot of friends because there are people who prefer having a small number of friends.There are introverts in this world and maybe they like having a smaller social circle but it is no doubt I believe everyone desires friendship but the extent of it is very subjective.
4.Esteem
We all want to be respected by others.No one wants people to look down upon them.We human beings need good self-esteem to be able to chase our dreams and aspirations.I used to have really low self-esteem till I started joining church activities and there are times when I still do feel so insecure but with my new found confidence which is more constant that before,I believe that I am able to chase my dreams but there is a difference between being confident and being boastful.Be sure not to cross the line.
5.Self-actualization
This is when people learn to accept certain facts about themselves.It is when people realise what they want to do with their lives and chat their passion and fulfil their intellectual or creative dreams.I believe that we need this in our lives.We all have dreams and aspirations and we need to realise what our passions are,the challenges we have to face to get there and try our best to succeed.
Hope you are not getting too bored with this long post because I am now going to touch on humanistic approach and human psychology which was touched in class this week.
Humanistic approach is important because it promotes
a)value clarification
We all need positive value clarification because values are what makes our life worth living.For example,having hope that things will get better is a good value to have.Helping those who are less fortunate is a good value to have.If there was no value clarification,there will be no advocate for world peace or advocate for ending world hunger.The world is still a broken place but we do have many people who are filled with compassion for a better world.
b)moral and character education
We need moral education so that students will be able to differentiate between right and wrong but my sentiments are that the Malaysian education system has a very bad approach when it comes to teaching moral especially for the upper secondary school students.Students are told to memorise 36 moral definitions instead of focusing more on practicing those 36 moral values themselves.I remembered having such a hard time memorising those values during my upper form days and I do not think it has made me a better person.I believe I became a better person although I am still working towards being an even better person was when I was taught in church and brought by my youth leaders to visit those who are less fortunate like the cancer patients and people in the old folks home.This is what moral education should be about.
c)multiethnic education
It is important for a students to know about their roots and the sacrifices the people in their ethnic group has made for the country so that they are able to continue maintaining the culture.There are many cultures that have died in this world but through knowing the uniqueness of their own ethnic group I am sure they will be more motivated to maintain their culture so that future generations with appreciate and keep the culture alive.
Humanistic psychology has many strong points.It focuses on a person's potential and growth.It also removes some of the stigma of going for therapy.We live in an asian culture whereby a lot of people are against going for therapy because they think it makes them seem weak or crazy but let me tell you something,everyone has problems and when someone has a problem they should speak up about it if not how would anyone know how to help them.When I become a teacher I will encourage my students to ask me questions if they had any problems,so that I will know how to help them.It is important for teachers to know humanistic psychology because it applies to their students because their students are human after all and they will be able to create a better learning environment for their students with their knowledge of how the students minds work.For example,I know for a fact that we human beings cannot absorb facts as efficiently for more than 30 minutes.So if I were to teach,I make sure there is a break every 30 minutes for students to rest.
We are now half way there.Our lecturer discussed about Topic 5 which is cooperative learning.Like many chapters it started with the definition of learning.The five elements of learning were touched on as well which were
1.Knowledge
2.Behavior
3.Skills
4.Values and preferences
5.Synthesizing of different types of information
When my lecturer reached to the point about skills,it reminded me about what my younger brother had asked me.My brother asked me that if I were to have no qualifications at all right now what would I do for a living.I asked the same question to Mr.Wan.He said that the chances of getting a job would be pretty tough and my friend mentioned about Oprah Winfrey,who did not even go to college but is a multimillionaire.As for me I think that there are certain jobs that do not require certain qualifications if you are extremely skilful and super motivated to learn by yourself.People like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg do not have qualifications but they are really smart and creative people.Not everyone are like them.
That is why I still believe that the vast majority of us need to go to school.Mr Wan also said once we have better education our preferences change.We want better things.I believe this is true but I also have this philosophy that once I have better qualifications I still want to remain humble and not spend so lavishly on unnecessary things.
Next,my lecturer talked about the four dimensions in learning.I heard about these dimensions during the semesters before but it was good to do a recap to remind ourselves.Mr Wan said that if we are left handed we use the right side of our brain but if we are right handed we use the left side of our brain more.I do not know how true this theory is because I read somewhere that we actually use both sides of our brain just as much.There is a saying from the theory that a person who is left-brained think more logically and analytically.There are more good at subjects like Mathematics but I am right handed which is assumed by the theory that I am left-brained but I am not as good as Mathematics as I am in English.My conclusion for the theory is that I am not sure how true it is.This theory I mentioned about above is from the physiological dimension of learning.
As for the psychological dimension of learning it covers about self-concept,locus of control or whether you are an introvert or an extrovert.There are people who like learning in groups and there are some who like learning alone.I like them both but I do think it is important to mix around with a lot of people to learn from them and improve communication skills.So a person cannot always learn by themselves,although it is much easier now due to the many resources of the Internet but it is just not the same when it is compared to talking to someone face-to-face.As for doing revision,I believe that at most times it is better to study on your own to avoid distractions.
Moving on to topic 5 which is about cooperative learning,we are half way there.I used to be someone who thought that I did not need much help from people and I did not like cooperative learning because I did not want people to know what I knew.I did not like sharing information with others because I did not want them to be better than me.I feel ashamed of how I was before and I now an advocate for cooperative learning.Cooperative learning helps students learn from each other.Some people may say that those who perform academically well do not have much to learn from those who do not perform as well but that is not true.There is so much in life that we can learn from other people.Cooperative learning also helps students with communication skills and teach them how to work as a team.As the saying goes,no man is an island.The forms of cooperative learning were also touched on.There are all great forms of learning which helps students with their interpersonal communication skills which is highly important.
We were also taught the elements of cooperative learning.
I reflected upon the many times I was taking part in cooperative learning with cooperative team members of course.We all agree to rely on each other.Hence there was a positive interdependence.There were some face-to-face interaction but now most of our conversations and discussions were using WhatsApp because sometimes we find it difficult to meet up.We learned to be accountable for each other whenever something went wrong and also for our own work when tasks were divided.We sharpened our interpersonal and small group skills whenever a conflict or problem arises.At last,we as a group look at each other's strengths and weaknesses and we process all the information we have to improve ourselves as a group.I think it is highly vital for us to work in groups in university because we have to work with other people once we are in the work force and sometimes with people we do not like but cooperative learning in university trains us for these types of situations.
Our lecturer even taught us Chapter 6 which was about discovery learning.We touched on the purpose,characteristics,the forms of discovery learning and what made an effective discovery learning.As for me,discovery learning is a great tool.I do it all the time especially in university.In university,lecturers do not spoon feed you with all the information.Hence,I use the Internet to help myself gain more knowledge.I watch videos on Tedx to help myself improve my communication skills and get more ideas for my presentations.To me,discovery learning promotes independency and curiosity and when we discover things on our own,we are able to form forms of discovery learning like generalising,getting to know facts,concepts and rules and laws.
Discovery learning is not solely about the students.Teachers have to do their jobs and facilitate as well.That is why there are steps that guide them for effective discovery learning.When preparing for the discovery learning,a teacher needs to think critically the purpose of the lesson and find as many resources as possible to help them hunger for knowledge.During the lesson,give students a challenging situation that promotes discovery learning like games or quizzes.You can even having your own Amazing Race competition in your school and to pass each level,students have to answer questions based on school curriculum or discover the solution to any problems by themselves.Teachers have to monitor students at all times to make sure they know what they are doing or just in case they are completely lost but if a teacher wants to have an activity like the Amazing race,I suggest she get help from other teachers or senior students who have been guided about the agenda of the competition.Lastly,teachers need to organise whatever information the students have learned and give them opportunities to use their information.For example,in a test or quiz because when information is applied,it stays longer in their brains.
Finally,the last chapter.Chapter 7 is about teaching and learning styles:Constructivism and theory based instruction..I actually told my lecturer to stop at Chapter 6 and give us a break to avoid us from having a breakdown.Basically this chapter talks about the definition of teaching which is molding behaviour you wish students to reflect.
We learnt about constructivism and what a constructivism learning environment requires students to do.I think a constructivism learning environment is a good environment for students to use the knowledge they have and apply them because it shows a teacher whether a student really understands a topic to the extent that they are able to form their own theories and concepts.Teachers have to be there at all times to facilitate.
Sir Wan even mentioned the founders of constructivism which are John Dewey,Jean Piaget,Mia Montessori and Lev Vygotsky.I especially agree with Mia Montessori's theory at a child's mind is like a sponge,it absorbs information and tries to make sense of the world around him or her.At a young age children are able to pick up languages,sports and musical instruments much quicker than many adults.If I were to have children in the future,I would speak many languages to them and ask them to attend music lessons so that they will be able to master them as an adult.
The purpose of constructive learning was also mentioned and so were the characteristics.So,I have reflected upon the times I have been in a situation when constructive learning was present.According to the slides,active learning is one of the purposes and yes when I construct any new concept,I try to use the information needed and apply that to create a new concept.Secondly,I think more concretely than abstractly which is also in the notes.Concrete thinking is very important especially when you work in a company that is very particular about details.In the slides it is also stated that one of the purpose of constructive learning is to help students bridge thoughts and new knowledge and information.This is important not just for teachers who need to relate their topics with information that students are familiar with but also for people in the technology industry or media industry.People like Steve Jobs,Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates have high constructive thinking,using the information they already know to create amazing products.This is because they are able to link what people in this generation wants with the knowledge they have about technology.
The last part of the lesson was about theory-based instruction which describes how teachers put to use with what is known about learning to help students learn academic content in a straightforward way.There two types are mastery learning and direct instruction system for teaching and learning.
Mastery learning was something I learnt before from Mr Wan but I am not sure whether I have written about it on my blog.Hence,I shall tell you more about it and what I think about it just in case I did not state my reflection about this type of teaching.Basically it is about checking the understanding of students,giving them guided practices and if they do not understand try teaching them again.This is something like progressive learning which is really good but I think this should be done with a small class with students of an equal academic ability level or one-to-one tutoring which to me is the best choice for mastery learning.This is because when a student is slower than another student,a teacher will not be able to progress because of the slower student.They will be stuck helping the slower student till the student has mastered the topics and I advice teachers to always reflect on their teaching methods when students do not understand the lesson delivered.Ask yourself questions like,'Where did I go wrong?','Was I being too fast?' or 'Was I being very boring?'.
As for the direct instruction system for teaching and learning(DISTAR),this system according to my notes is more for weak students or special needs students.Basically the concept of DISTAR is that no child is left behind.It is carefully strutted,high verbal,patterned drill and practice.In my notes,it is said that any teacher can use it and obtain the same result.Teachets teach them following principles of learning theory.I did not know much about this type of teaching because we did not cover much about this and it was my first time learning about this type of teaching.
I came across this video which helped me understand DISTAR more and it has changed my concept about DISTAR.This is really an amazing way of teaching.There are so many children in this world with disabilities like dyslexia,autism and down syndrome.The very famous Daniel Radcliffe who acted in Harry Potter has dyslexia.People who have disabilities are able to achieve anything normal people can achieve.If you do not believe this statement of mine.Take a look at this video.
Still skeptical?Then here is another one.
All people with disabilities need is a different method of teaching to help them and teachers are responsible to help them.Teachers who teach students of special needs should always encourage them to chase their dreams and tell them to never let their disabilities as an obstacle.They too are capable of many great things.Let me remind you of this famous person.
Just in case you do not know who he is,he is Stevie Wonder,25-time Grammy Award Winning artist.
That is all from me.I hope you liked this week's reflection.
References
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