Learning Keeps Us Alive

Showing posts with label Teacher. Show all posts

Tuesday, 16 June 2020

With schools and colleges closed indefinitely, a viable alternative to classroom teaching has to be evolved. When face-to-face classrooms are not possible, online teaching, especially for higher classes, is an obvious option. Teachers have a new challenge before them. They need to learn the ropes of this technological pathway and update their skills in order to fulfil their role as effective teachers. The teacher’s voice, modulation, pause, emphasis on certain words or statements etc. are all essential elements here. The body language of the teacher, including one’s gestures, facial expression, and relaxed appearance establishes an instant ‘connect’ with the students.

The various social media and networking sites that students participate in have led to the belief that students are all tech savvy. This is a false belief. Recent research suggests that students are not well acquainted with ordinary desktop applications that have been taught to them. This generation of students uses technology to communicate with others frequently. This is quite different from using technology in education. It is more vital to enable students know how to learn than what to learn. Teacher in this e-learning era takes an entirely different role as a guide facilitating them to choose between right and wrong information, to enable them chooses the best and the most appropriate content amongst the abundant information available with technology.

Role of a teacher

One of the major challenges with online education is the changing role of the teacher. Four different roles are identified for online teachers:

Pedagogical role
Social role
Managerial role
Technical role

Pedagogical roles refer to teaching methods; social roles are the way teachers establish social relationships with the students; managerial roles include administrative and organizational tasks; and technical responsibilities are the technical support that teachers provide for students.

Responsibilities of a digital competent teacher

Teaching face-to-face and teaching online are both teaching, but they are qualitatively different. In comparison, driving a car and riding a motorcycle are both forms of transportation, but they have enough differences to warrant additional training and preparation when switching from one to the other. The same is true when teacher move from the traditional classroom to the online classroom. With this in mind, consider the following responsibilities of a digital competent teacher.

Making the material engaging
Encouraging facilitated discussions
Managing time
Assessing online learning
Preventing cheating in an online Exam
Choosing online teaching platform
Building student self-discipline

Making the material engaging

In both face-to-face and online environments, it is crucial to engage students with the course. Making the class interesting not only motivates student work, it also promotes student success. Competent teachers do this by intertwining interesting anecdotes, videos, and examples into the lectures. They offer their students variety. Students are different types of learners, so, having this variety will ensure the students get the same opportunities to learn. Varying the activities in class helps teachers keep their students engaged with the content and help them learn better. They create competitions with giveaways and prizes to motivate the students. By placing some multiple choice questions at the end of each lesson, they evaluate student’s engagement.

Encouraging facilitated discussions

Interaction is the backbone of online classes. It helps teachers connect with the students and get them engaged. Most live stream and e-learning platforms have chats. Competent teachers take advantage by using them during their live lessons. Taking polls and asking the students questions during live lessons are great for interaction. Students can also write their answers in the chat. Competent teachers also address students by their names and encourage them to interact with each other.

Managing time

One of the major issues faced by teachers is the demand on their time, as it takes quite a bit of time to prepare, plan, and teach an online class. Here are effective time management tips competent teachers use to effectively manage their online classes.

They develop a routine to begin and end work at the same time each day. A routine will enable them to effectively utilize their time, as well as serve as a signal to students that they are not available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.
They set office hour to assist students with questions or review feedback on assignments.
They always follow a specific order of importance in the class that ensures all tasks are completed timely and efficiently.
They simply reuse what they have posted in previous semester/quarter, as long as the course material does not change, and as long as the previous announcements and posts are tailored to fit.

Assessing online learning

Assessing student learning is an essential component of effective teaching and learning in the online environment. Competitive teachers use assessment tools allow for both formative and summative assessment of student learning. Formative assessment tracks student understanding and areas of weakness during the learning process and allows the teachers to adjust teaching accordingly. Summative assessments are a test of learning, typically conducted at the end of the learning process (i.e. midterm or final exam).

The following are examples of assessments that have been shown to be effective in the online learning environment.

Written Assignments
Online Discussion: Asynchronous discussion activities
Presentations
Test/quiz/exam

Preventing cheating in an online exam

Taking online tests increases the chance of cheating in comparison with paper testing. What competent teachers do to prevent students from online cheating? Totally preventing students from cheating seems to be impossible with all the advanced technology out there today. Here are some tips and tricks that competent teachers use to prevent cheating.

Do not allow selection and copy-pasting
Randomize the questions
Set a timer
Use problem-solving questions, when possible
Use secure browser to prevent screen sharing or mirroring
Display one question at a Time
Allow only one attempt to take an exam

Choosing online teaching platform

Finding the right online teaching platform is just the first step. Learning how to use the various features correctly is important. But using a platform and its features to teach effectively and ensure that all students are indeed learning is paramount. Many want to know which platform to use. Is it Zoom? But aren’t there privacy issues? What about Google Classrooms? Is that better than Zoom because it is an LMS? What’s an LMS? What about Microsoft Teams?

Competent teachers check the following features that help them choosing the platform that best fits their learning needs:

Easy Access
Friendly Interface
Effectiveness of Teaching
Interactivity and Live Sessions
Content Security

Building student self-discipline

Self-discipline is the way to keep students focused on their study. Self-discipline is a learned behavior that not every student has. In fact, students with high self-discipline are also known to behave differently, have fewer absences, and do more homework than that of their less-disciplined peers. Self-discipline is not only found to be related to a student’s academic success, but to their behavior as well.

Competent teachers use the following tips to develop self-discipline in their students:

They help students eliminate distractions
Reward the students when they perform better in the class or on the tests
Support the students with timely reminder
Turn “must do” tasks into “want to” tasks
Instill the right mindset for tackling challenges and learning from failure
Encourage students to practice planning

Tuesday, 9 April 2019

Personalized learning is the secret to student success

Every child is different, so why should learning be the same?

Until recently, classrooms looked the same as they did long years ago. Teachers would teach a class of 40 or more students, and students would memorize information in order to pass exams. Some students who grasped the concept quickly had to slow their pace, while students who were struggling would have to adjust to a faster pace.

The old ways of teaching were no longer adequate for today’s changing technological world, and thus was born the idea of personalized learning. When the student is given personal direction, attention, and content catered to their specific needs, they learn more, faster. Meanwhile, online learning and tech tools make personalized learning easier for the students. Learning with technology will strengthen both personalized learning for students and professional development for educators.

What is personalized learning

Personalized learning is the key to engaging students, as teachers are leading the way toward making learning as relevant, rigorous, and meaningful inside classroom as outside.

Personalized learning tailors learning experiences to each student’s strengths, needs, and interests. Students learn in different ways and at different paces. Personalized learning is a teaching model based on that premise. Each student gets a “learning plan” based on how he learns, what he knows, and what his skills and interests are. It’s the opposite of the “one size fits all” approach used in most schools. However, the end goal and academic standards don’t differ. Each student must reach a certain mastery level by the end.

Personalized learning examples

Example 1

Pat really loves dinosaurs, so the teacher creates a reading unit based on books about dinosaurs combined with a writing unit involving research about dinosaurs. If Pat is weak on particular styles of charts and graphs, Pat may get an extra unit that works on organizing information about dinosaurs visually.

Example 2

Sam wants to be a concert pianist, so Sam's educational program approaches history from the perspective of the history of music, and Sam actually spends less time daily on science so that there's more time for music-related studies.

Teacher can also give students the choice between reading a short story or listening to an audio version while reading. Allowing these kinds of customized learning give students the ability to choose the process that best fits their needs.

Personalized learning vs personalized pacing

What many schools are actually talking about is personalized pacing not personalized learning. Pat and Sam complete exactly the same reading materials, they study the exact same units in math, and they study history out of exactly the same textbook. The only difference is the speed with which they move through the materials. There is nothing personal about their learning program except the speed with which they move through it. It's the oldest problem in education, and personalized pacing does not help solve it.

The Benefits of using a personalized learning in the classroom

Personalized learning has become one of the most talked-about strategies in education today. The old-school methods of conducting a classroom simply don’t work for today’s plugged-in students. Modern learning theory supports the shift away from antiquated, rote learning models toward personalized learning model. This model creates fun and engaging classroom atmospheres that benefit students and teachers alike.

Here are many benefits of personalized learning.

Students are effectively more engaged and highly motivated

Self-regulation skills are built in students

Students are equipped with the tools to learn

Constantly challenged students are academically advanced

Lifelong learning mindset will be developed in students

Teaching philosophies in education

What is critical thinking and why is it so important

Monday, 18 March 2019

Teaching philosophies express your values and beliefs about teaching. It is a self-reflective statement that describes both what you believe and provides concrete examples of what you do in the classroom to support those beliefs. It must be written in first person and should convey a professional image of your teaching. Teaching philosophy should be brief and well written. While Teaching philosophy can be probably longer at the tenure level (i.e. 3-5 pages or more), for hiring purposes it can be typically 1-2 pages in length. A teaching philosophy is also a document in progress and it should change and evolve as your teaching experiences build.

Purpose of Teaching Philosophy

Your reasons for writing a teaching philosophy may vary. You might be writing it as an exercise in concisely documenting your beliefs so that you can easily articulate them to your students and peers. It might serve as the introduction to your teaching portfolio. Or, it can serve as a means of professional growth as it requires you to give examples of how you enact your philosophy.

Your teaching philosophy in education does several things for you. It can:

Clarify what you believe good teaching to be.
Explain what you hope to achieve in teaching.
Contextualize your teaching strategies and other evidence of teaching effectiveness.
Provide an opportunity for reflection on and the development of your own teaching.
Convey your teaching values, beliefs, and goals to a broader audience

How to write a Teaching Philosophy

It is important to start by describing where you want to end. In other words, what are your objectives as a teacher? The rest of your philosophy statement should support these objectives which should be achievable and relevant to your teaching responsibilities; avoid vague or overly grandiose statements.

Here are the questions to prompt your thinking:

Concept of teaching

What are your values, beliefs, and aspirations as a teacher?
Do you wish to encourage mastery, competency, lifelong learning, critical thinking?
How are the values and beliefs realized in classroom activities?
You may discuss course materials, lesson plans, activities, assignments, and assessment instruments.

Goals for students

What skills should students obtain as a result of your teaching?
Think about your ideal student and what the outcomes of your teaching would be in terms of this student's knowledge or behavior.

Teaching methods

What methods will you consider to reach your goals and objectives?
What are your beliefs regarding learning theory and specific strategies you would use, such as case studies, group work, simulations, interactive lectures?
You might also want to include any new ideas or strategies you want to try.

Your interaction with students

What is your attitude towards advising and mentoring students?
How to make students feel comfortable in the classroom?
How to encourage students to interact positively with one another?

Assessing learning

How will you assess student growth and learning?
What are your beliefs about grading?
What different types of assessment will you use (i.e. traditional tests, projects, portfolios, presentations) and why?

Professional growth

How will you continue growing as a teacher?
What goals do you have for yourself and how will you reach them?
How will you use student evaluations to improve your teaching?
How might you learn new skills?
How do you know when you've taught effectively?

Now that you've written down your values, attitudes, and beliefs about teaching and learning, it's time to organize those thoughts into a coherent form. Responses to all of these questions will require some reflective thought and you will likely benefit from discussing them with other faculty in your department. Consider bouncing your responses off of your colleagues, ponder their responses, re-evaluate your positions, revise, talk some more, etc. Over time your responses will change to reflect how you have grown and changed as a teacher. Think of your teaching philosophy as a work in progress over the course of your career.

What is critical thinking and why is it so important today

Learning in the 21st century

Tuesday, 15 January 2019

What do we need to make a 21st-century skills curriculum? Do we need to change the way we teach? Firstly, it doesn’t look like we really need to change that much. We have classrooms that are dynamic, with digital tech and highly creative activities. But we also have a problem because society doesn’t measure success in softer skills. Success is judged on rote learning, photographic memories and the ability to write under a time constraint. This system perpetuates an antiquated view of education. It could produce academically brilliant students, but they may lack the skills that make them employable.

Education is the key tool to manage the challenges ahead. That's why we must use education to help students ride this wave of change and give them the skills they need for the new jobs of the 21st century. The world in the 21st century is now seen as a place of constant change. In the world of today, students should know how to communicate, collaborate, and present their ideas to navigate through various challenges in the advanced life. As we move further into the 21st century, the call for pedagogies that promote 21st century skills to be adopted in Educational institutions and they should adopt pedagogies that promote the development of the following skills:

Critical thinking;
Problem-solving;
Creativity and innovation;
Collaboration and teamwork;
Leadership;
Communications and information fluency;
Computing and ICT fluency;
Career and learning self-reliance

Growth in connectivity, underpinned by rapid uptake of digital technologies, and the dominance of social media platforms, have informed visions of learning beyond formal school systems that are grounded in collaboration and networking. Educators should recognise the trends that are occurring with how students are learning and to integrate some of the features of this learning culture into their classrooms.

An educator in the 21st century should be able to anticipate and make plans for the future. He or she should be able to prepare the students for the unpredictable situations in life with the involvement of technology. You may discuss how life-long learning will be a way forward in the future world. Active learning, project-based education, learning through inquiry, reasoning and problem-solving skills are all imperative for the holistic development of students.

We can't teach our students for tomorrow in the schools that existed yesterday. Educators should explore the high-tech and high-touch landscape and pull up the kids with them. KOBE Learn is an app designed to help young users learn common words and phrases in Ojibway, Cree and Oji-Cree, the traditional languages of the northern communities served by the Keewaytinook Okimakanak Board of Education.

"The focus was on the 21st century learner," said Sarah Johnson, the native language lead with the board, "many of our children are focusing now on technology."

The app was developed by the board with the help of language teachers, elders and community members, she said, who worked together to decide on the phrases and the corresponding syllabics, and to make recordings of the words being spoken aloud.

What is digital portfolio and how it helps students for career success

Build robots with smarter sensors

What is independent learning and how to cultivate independent learner

Friday, 9 November 2018

What is independent learning?

Independent Learning’ is often linked with other approaches to learning such as ‘personalisation’, ‘student-centered learning’ and ‘ownership’ of learning.

Independent learning is a process, a method and a philosophy of education in which students set their goals, monitor and evaluate their own academic development, so they can manage their own motivation towards learning. They make decisions about what they will focus on and how much time they will spend on learning both inside and outside the classroom.

Key ingredient in independent learning is to shift the responsibility for the learning process from the teacher to the student. Independent learning did not merely involve students working alone; teachers have a key part to play in enabling and supporting independent learning though, for example, structuring group work. A student can share a problem with another student on his course or even in another discipline to find a solution.

Benefits of independent learning

In independent learning environment, students are more motivated to learn and are more actively involved in their learning than those who study in more restrictive environments.

An independent learner has many benefits such as: -

Improved academic performance
Better Decision making
Increased motivation and confidence
Greater awareness of their limitations and their ability to manage them

How to promote Independent Learning

A teacher can avoid the pitfalls of spoon feeding by presenting active learning methods that will encourage students to become independent learners and thinkers.

“Spoon feeding, in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon.” ~~ E.M. Forster.

A teacher wants to develop their students into independent learners. In so doing, he hopes that the students can take control of their own learning – both inside the classroom and beyond.

There are a number of practices a teacher can build into their teaching to encourage independent learning during every lesson. These include:

Inspire student motivation

Motivation, both intrinsic and extrinsic, is a key factor in the success of students at all stages of their education, and teachers can play a pivotal role in providing and encouraging that motivation in their students. Of course that’s much easier said than done, as all students are motivated differently and it takes time and a lot of effort to learn to get a classroom full of students enthusiastic about learning, working hard, and pushing themselves to excel.

Use the power of your relationship with students to show a passion for learning. When you embody passion for learning, your students are more likely to have a powerful, positive emotional connection to learning that will inspire their motivation to continue to learn.

Encourage your students to set goals and develop a plan

It is easy to set an arbitrary goal for some point in the future; however, it is quite different to consciously choose a realistic goal to attain and develop an action plan in order to achieve it. Understanding how to set realistic goals and developing a plan to achieve these goals is essential in helping students understand who they are as learners and provides them with the opportunity to reflect upon their journey, instead of simply focusing on successes and failures.

Support them in making a commitment to themselves to get started on achieving their goals. Assist them in affirming their commitment to organize themselves, manage their focus over time, and limit time-wasting distractions.

Create Learning environment for the students

Every student learns a bit differently from the next, the environment itself plays a significant role in their development. Safe learning environments translate into comfortable learning environments. They are places where learners feel at home.

Allow students to be openly expressive and encouraging to others. In surroundings where students are willing to open their minds and actually listen to what you have to say, you can empower them to achieve their highest potential.

Let the Students Teach

Letting students teach is scary but it’s also a great way for them to learn. Research indicates that students learn better when they teach. As a teacher you’re someone who wants to help students improve their independent thinking skills. Simply telling students that they would later teach another student changes their mindset enough so that they engage in more effective approaches to learning.

Ask Open-Ended Questions

Open ended questions encourage extended responses, as opposed to yes or no, or one word answers. They invite students to reason, reflect and think. Instead of predictable answers, open-ended questions elicit fresh and sometimes even startling insights and ideas, opening minds and enabling students to build knowledge.

Provide written and/or oral feedback

Feedback is an essential part of effective learning. It helps students understand the subject being studied and gives them clear guidance on how to improve their learning.

Feedback is information that a teacher gives to students that helps them close the gap between where they are now with their work, and where they could be. The goal of feedback is to provide students with insight that helps them to improve their performance.

How to increase student participation in the classroom

Wednesday, 17 January 2018

How to become favorite teacher among students

There is no doubt that when we were students we had a favorite teacher, who made us love his or her class by creative way of teaching, Establishing a positive and supportive classroom environment and providing a platform in which students are encouraged and motivated to grow both academically and personally.

Ultimately, this is every teacher’s goal: to be the one who gets the control of the class, is always greeted with respect and is talked about in a good way outside of the classroom.

Here are some secrets that will make you the favorite teacher for your students.

Create comfortable atmosphere in the classroom

Teaching and learning should not be boring. Teachers should be friendly with students but not friends. If teachers become friendly with students, it will create a comfortable atmosphere where both students and teachers can share their ideas. Teachers should incorporate humor into their daily lessons. This may be sharing an appropriate joke related to the content you will be teaching that day. Students love teachers who incorporate creative, fun, engaging activities into their daily classroom.

Show your students that you care about them

When students feel their teacher is a caring person, then the classroom becomes a happier place for all the students. Showing students you care about them helps create a positive, supportive relationship and helps build an environment where creative ideas are more likely to emerge. Sometimes we underestimate the power of a smile, a kind word and an honest compliment. Taking time to listen to student concerns shows that you care enough about them to value their ideas.

Trust that your students have ability to do well

One of the greatest things you can do to build relationships with students is to trust them. When you tell your students you have confidence that they can handle a difficult assignment or improve their performance in the test, you impart a very powerful message to them. Students often will work hard and behave appropriately to prove that your confidence in them is justified. Every student needs to have at least one person in their life who believes that they can do well.

Promote equity in the classroom

When you call on students, there are several things to keep in mind. First of all, you must monitor the equitability of response opportunities. You will probably have several talkative students who tend to dominate the conversation so try to draw others in by asking them what they think. You may also need to gently ask the more vocal students to hold back occasionally to let other students have an opportunity to speak. Otherwise, they will believe that you don't expect that they will be able to answer your questions.

Protect your student’s self-esteem

How do you manage a classroom without taking away students' dignity? Make discipline corrections quietly and quickly. When there is misbehavior, keep your voice even. If you can deal with a problem in a joking or light manner, that's even better. Sometimes, a pause or look will settle the issue and nothing needs to be said. When leading a class activity, you may be able to talk privately about a discipline issue at the student's desk or catch him as he leaves class.

Read More:

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Friday, 5 January 2018

Increase Student Participation in the Classroom

Getting all your students focused, eager, and on task in the class is challenging enough. Every teacher wants to know how to motivate students to participate in the class. Student participation not only adds interest to a course, it also provides a way for a teacher to promote active learning and assess understanding of students. Both teachers and students learn from active student participation in the classroom.

Class discussions prompt students to listen to another's point of view and adjust their thinking accordingly. Research has demonstrated that engaging students in the learning process increases their attention and focus, motivates them to practice higher-level critical thinking skills and promotes meaningful learning experiences. Teachers who adopt a student-centered approach to instruction increase opportunities for student engagement, which then helps students more successfully achieve the course’s learning objectives.

There are so many different ways to get students’ attention because there are so many different types of students. However, here are a few ways that can really make a difference in the class.

#1: Assess Students’ prior knowledge

This could be as simple as asking students, “What do you know about (topic)?” and writing their responses on the board. In classroom, students' prior knowledge is a key factor in students overall achievement and performances. When students have prior knowledge about a topic, they are able to make connections to new content more easily, and can understand and remember information more successfully. Both the teacher and the students benefit when teachers assess their students' prior knowledge. Teachers are able to form instruction based on what students know and need to know, and students learn what is necessary to succeed.

#2: Learn Students’ Names

Students will be more engaged if they believe that the teacher perceive them as individuals, rather than as anonymous members of a group. A teacher that doesn't take the time to learn their students’ names is often perceived as disinterested and unapproachable. By calling on a student by name, it gives the impression that the teacher cares about their success and develops a sense of trust. It also has an effect on student interactions. Knowing the names of peers by either activities in which they learn each other’s names or by hearing the teacher address them promotes interaction between students. Calling students by name communicates respect, helps them feel recognized as individuals, and helps to draw out and include shy students in class discussions.

#3: Effectively Communicate with Visual Aids

Most students need something to focus their eyes on (besides the teacher) when they are trying to learn a new concept. The use of visual aids (e.g., pictures, animation videos, projectors and films) is a motivational tool in enhancing students’ attention in the classroom. The teacher use different approaches and substantial to teach their students and their active learning. Visual aids arouse the interest of learners and help the teachers to explain the concepts easily. Visual aids are those instructional aids which are used in the classroom to encourage students learning process.

#4: Divide Your Class into Groups

Small-group discussions of developing strategy can be effective way to provide reflective learners and shy students a means ideas that they can then contribute to the class discussion. Especially good when reviewing before a test: divide the class into groups and give each group a topic. Set some guidelines and then let them teach each other. Groups of students with mixed learning styles promote greater collaboration.

Group work can be an effective method to motivate students, encourage active learning, and develop key critical-thinking, communication, and decision-making skills.

#5: Listen and Respond Appropriately

Give students 5-10 seconds to think and formulate a response. Be comfortable with silence! Eventually someone will speak up. There are many ways to hint to students that their initial answer might not be quite right without making them feel like they made a mistake. Make eye contact with students while they are speaking, and also use eye contact to encourage the quiet students. You will probably have several talkative students who tend to dominate the conversation so try to draw others in by asking them what they think. You may also need to gently ask the more vocal students to hold back occasionally to let other people have an opportunity to speak.

#6: Teach with technology

The term “technology” refers to advancements in the methods and tools we use to solve problems or achieve a goal. However, it can be challenging to select the “best” tech tools for student learning. When technology integration in the classroom is seamless and thoughtful, students not only become more engaged, they begin to take more control over their own learning, too. In the classroom, technology can encompass all kinds of tools from low-tech pencil, paper, and chalkboard, to the use of presentation software, or high-tech tablets, online collaboration and conferencing tools, and more. The newest technologies allow us to try things in physical and virtual classrooms that were not possible before. What you use depends fundamentally on what you are trying to accomplish.

#7: Debrief

The act of debriefing means to carefully examine and analyze upon completion, providing succinctness and summary of learning. Once class is over, review which students actively participated in the classroom. Consider if there are students who need more encouragement to interact in future classes, and make a point to draw them into the discussion in the next class. This can be done by asking them a direct question or in the case of extremely shy students, mentioning to them before or after class that you’d like to hear what they have to say. These routines not only ask students to summarize and justify what they have learned, but also to explore new topics and raise additional questions from what occurred during their classroom experience.

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