Class Reflection Week 3

Hi.Esther here with my reflection of week 3.

Our lecturer explained in more detail about our second assignment.He taught us the various ways of designing a lesson plan with the examples given by the course leader.He told us that it very important to have self-reflection in our lesson plan to know our strengths and weaknesses especially the weaknesses because we can know where we went wrong and improve ourselves.We also learnt about the arts and science of pedagogy once again which I think is a good idea to have our memories refresh especially for myself since I am a very forgetful person.When I become a teacher,I will definitely repeat certain information so that my student will not forget about important facts so easily.We basically learnt about the presentation outline that day.We covered topics like cognitive school of thought,behaviourist school of thought,humanistic school of thought and other topics as well which I will cover later on in this post.We learnt about the importance of knowing cognitive theories,behaviourist theories and humanistic theories.For example,heavy subjects in school like Mathematics and Science should be taught in the morning when student's minds are still alert.This is a cognitive theory.When teachers know all these theories,they will be able to apply it in they teachings and I believe the more theories a teacher know the more skilful he or she is in teaching.He or she will know every trick in the book because these theories were made by people with experience and have done research of their own.Classical and operant conditioning were also taught during the lesson.I am no stranger to operant conditioning because my parents raised me in such a way.Whenever I did well in an examination,my parents would treat me to my favourite meal.Good food was my motivation to do well in my studies.

This is positive reinforcement.I feel that positive reinforcement is a very good way of motivating students to do well in their studies.I will definitely apply this method in my classroom.There is also negative reinforcement.I feel that negative reinforcement is good to a certain extent.If the punishment is too cruel then I do not see the point of it at all.I was always very afraid in primary school about forgetting to do my homework because I was afraid of receiving punishments from my fierce teachers but it made me in constant fear when I was in school and I built a lot of anxiety during those moments.I was afraid to go to school at times and would pretend to be sick.A school is suppose to be a place where students feel safe and are able to learn.Certain rules and punishments are needed but schools and teachers should not be too cruel towards students.If a student arrives late to class,tell them to attend detention.Do not make them stand under the hot sun for an hour.That is ABUSE!If a student did poorly for their examination,do not yell at them in front of the whole class.That would give them low self-esteem and they would think they are not capable of ever changing.As a teacher it is a moral responsibility to build a student's self-esteem.This reminds me of a quote from J.K Rowling."I think you have a moral responsibility when you are given more than you need,to do wise things with it and give intelligently".I feel that this strongly applies to teachers as well.Teachers are so rich in knowledge and they should give and share their knowledge with students wisely.

Self-confidence is so important when it comes to achieving your goals and dreams.Some people have self-esteem because their teachers were so harsh on them to the extent they do not bother having any goals or aspirations because of the harsh words they received from teachers.I believe that teachers have the power to hold students into being great people but it is their choice whether they want to do so or not.

Social learning was also touched during the lesson.I believe that everyone undergoes this sort of learning especially young children.I believe teachers are role models and we have to be good role models for students but for students to follow good examples I believe teachers have to be kind and loving to their students.This was also touched during the lesson.Our lecturer mentioned that it is important to know some personal knowledge about their students.For example,their names and background.NAMES!DO NOT EVER FORGET A STUDENT'S NAME.Our teacher gave us an example of how we can remember the student's name by having a copy of the class seating arrangement and try to memorise it doing our free time.Students will feel that their teacher actually cares about them and is not only there to help them because it is their job.I have a lot of teachers who have told me that they do not care whether I do well in my examinations or not because by the end of the day they still receive their monthly income.

Knowing students' interest is very important because then teachers will be able to teach the class using the student's interest to relate to class material.There are many ways of learning.FUN WAYS of learning that are contrary to the old classroom teaching.To be honest,classroom teaching has not changed much over the years although there has been a ton of reformations.I believe this is because teachers find it very time consuming.Take a look at this video and you will understand what I mean that the education system has not changed much.

Every student is different with different strengths and different weaknesses.This is why a teacher should not teach using the same method.Teachers should use different types of methods.When a teacher receives a new class to teach,he or she should have all their students sit for a quiz to find out what they learning style is.Howard Gardner said there are multiple types of intelligence.

Here's a video for deeper understanding.

No student is dumb and each have great potential.It is just that they learn in different ways.If everyone was the same,the world would be so BORING!Diversity is the key.Teach in many different ways because there are many different students.For teaching to be more effective,I feel that the education system should ask schools to implement smaller class sizes and divide students according to their different learning styles.This way it is easier to pay attention to students and the whole lesson can be delivered with the students' preferred learning style to maximise the learning experience.

Moving on,mastery learning was covered during the lesson and I feel that mastery learning is somewhat is progressive learning and this is a really good way of teaching for me.I believe that if you want to learn a certain skill,you need to know the fundamentals.When you have the fundamentals,the rest of the process will seem less daunting.This is especially good for weak students.Whenever a teach delivers a lesson,he or she has to make sure that the students understand the whole lesson because if they do not what is the point of teaching right?The whole point of teaching is so that students can learn something.Questions should be asked to test students' knowledge on the topic but if I were the teacher I will not ask them questions in class in front of all their classmates.I feel that if they are not able to answer the question asked if would really ruin their self-esteem and I do not believe in embarrassing my students in front of their classmates.I would give pop quizzes for my students to evaluate their understanding.After analysing their test results,topics whereby students are weak in should be repeated for a clearer understanding.

Furthermore,I learnt during the lesson that effective teachers think,reflect and implement and of course the five propositions of accomplished teaching.Let me give you my reflection about each of the proposition.

1.Teachers are committed to students and their learning.

This is absolutely true!My advice for teachers who are lazy and impatient is to not take teaching as a career.Researchers have shown that it usually takes 10,000 hours for someone to be a master something.They have researched about people who are world-class athletes,top notch musicians and nobel prized winners.These people are so amazing at what they do because they spend more than 10,000 hours training for what they are good at.So you cannot really ever blame a student for being slow.You are a teacher to instill knowledge to help students grow.If a teacher cannot understand that every student is different then I guess teaching is not the profession for him or her.If you want a job that constantly criticises people and destroys their self-esteem,then I suggest you give Gordon Ramsay a call.Ask him whether there is vacancy for an assistant judge.

There are enough critics in this world.Let us be an encourager.

2.Teachers know the subjects they teach and have necessary pedagogical knowledge.

This is something I strongly agree on.As the saying goes,you cannot give what you cannot have.Hence how can you give knowledge to students when you have little knowledge about the subject.Although teachers usually have a university degree,the learning does not stop.It NEVER STOPS!Teachers have to constantly learn to improve themselves to help their students.They need to know the subject inside out and relate the subject with real issues or with the latest trends.This is how young people like to learn.Learning everything by the book is boring and is a old-fashioned method used by teachers before.Teachers need to creatively find ways to make students hunger for knowledge.Get to know your students favourite singers or Yotubers or actresses and actors.Fun activities such as games would be a good idea.They can even use the format of tv shows like Are you smarter than a 5th Grader or Who wants to be a millionaire.Students will be looking forward to lessons but you cannot carry out an interesting class if you do not know the subject well enough.Hence,it all comes down to whether the teacher knows the subject well enough to use other teaching methods.If the teachers know very little,then the most students will get will be some boring textbook-reading session.You don't want your student to look like this :-

Relatable level :99999999

3.Teachers are responsible for monitoring and managing student learning

Teachers have to constantly maintain a good setting for students to learn.They have to make sure that there is minimum distractions.With the world being how it is today,it is very easy for students to get distracted especially when they have their phones in class.It is just so easy for them to log on to Facebook or check their Instagram feed.Maitaining a student's interest in class is difficult but sometimes I do feel that a teacher sometimes can only do so much because it comes down to the student's choice whether he or she wants whats best for his or her future but that does not mean a teacher should not try their best to try to make students interested.You never know a teacher's determination could change a student's life forever.I have testify that because a teacher in my secondary school has changed mine.

4.Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience

Not every lesson will be a success and teachers are human beings too.They make mistakes as well but as teachers,we have to learn from our mistakes and analyse the problems so that we will be able to solve them.If you cannot solve it alone,ask help from a more experienced teachers or friends.Never give up and believe that your profession is an important one which is able to change the lives of many.

5.Teachers are members of learning communities.

Teachers need to learn from people from other organisations to improve curriculum and get need ideas for students.I think this is a good idea because it exposes teachers to the outside world and what is needed for their fellow students.

That is all for my reflection.Stay tune for my future reflections.

I shall now end my post with a quote from Albert Eistein.

References

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