Week 6 - Weekly Reflection

After long hours of discerning themes and topics, I have come to realize that one’s little knowledge binds moving up onto the next step, and so forth. “To teach is to engage students in learning. A teacher requires not only knowledge of subject matter but also knowledge of how students learn and how to transform them into active learners. The aim of teaching is to transform students from passive recipients of other people’s knowledge into active constructors of their own and other’s knowledge.” (Finnan and Shaw).

What a profound statement! It holds the whole concept of teaching and learning. In this context I am learning that in managing large classes, it is important to divide them in small groups, (Tomorrow’s Professor Msg.#859 Making the First-Year Classroom Conducive to learning) which offers opportunities for more students to actively participate. Base groups, in large classes, help to reduce first year students ’isolation and anonymity. Study groups design homework assignments, and meet with the teacher during office hours. Students are more engaged than being isolated, they seem to learn more and get better prepared.

Project groups assign tasks that can be done when getting together rather than leaving students work alone. The following factors are important in dealing with large classes. (1) Carefully explain the rationale for project group. (2) Outlined the responsibilities of individuals to their group. (3) Alert students to potential problems and define ground rules for themselves. (4) Provide strategies, so that the group members deal with uncooperative individuals. (5) Ask students for self and group evaluation. This last group, in my opinion, is the one that shall work well in my settings.

Once group formation for dealing with large classes has been established, let us now look at the following classification of techniques which will benefit teachers in their endeavor. Effective instruction, which deals with the concrete and the abstract. Case studies and Scenarios, where the case tells stories and the scenarios present the situations. Problem Based Learning (PBL), by which approaches begin with a problem and the problem drives what students learn and in what order.     Experimental learning and learning about content whose approaches begin with a problem and the problem drives what students learn and in what order.

“Some technologies are better than others: Better to turn a screw with a screw driver than a hammer – a dime may also do the trick, but a screw driver is usually better.” (Arthur W. Chickering and Stephen C. Ehrmann) This analogy has made me think that some technologies may work well in some contexts, but the same technologies cannot properly work in others. For this reason, I have come to rely on the authors’ principle based implementation of technology. In this context, Winona State University’s seven principles might be helpful to all teachers by means of applying good practice because Good Practice:

Encourages contacts between students and faculty; Develops reciprocity and cooperation among students; Uses active learning techniques; Gives prompt feedback; technology, such as the e-mail can provide person-to-person feedback. This is the technology that will be seemingly used at Centro de Idiomas, at Plitecnica de Chimborazo. Emphasizes time on task; Communicates high expectations. “Expect more and you will get it.” High technology can communicate high expectations explicitly and efficiently to sharpen students’ cognitive skills of analysis, synthesis, application, and evaluation. Learning teams can help everyone succeed.

Finally, Good Practice respects diverse talents and ways of learning. Technological resources can ask for different methods of learning, through visuals, prints, direct virtual experiences; tasks requiring analysis, synthesis, and evaluation with application to real life situations. I have learnt that this last principle has been widely used in this online course, which is great!

Holguer