Learning Log No. 10

 As my last and final post for my Learning Log entry, I have decided to upload a photograph taken by me. This photograph was taken in none other than the Bath Spa University's campus. The lake and forest behind the buildings have always been a great place for students or even visitors to explore and relax. I've chosen this particular image, or scene, for many reasons. 

Coming to England all the way from South East Asia (a 17 hour flight!) was a lot more than I could handle and expect. It's quite a strange thing to explain and of course, as a Creative Writing student, it's absolutely frustrating when you can't find the right words to express yourself. All I can say is that, being abroad has taught me so many things. The maturity has grown. My confidence in being independent makes me happy. I can converse with strangers. It was all a big step in learning new things. Time flew by too quickly. 3 years is a lot to stay in one place but time really did swift by like wind.

Anyway, I'm getting a little off the point here. What I'm trying to say is. I love forests. Why? It's a haven for wanderers and the curious. From young, reading numerous amounts of books and looking at fairy tale paintings, I dreamt of walking alone in the forest. All by myself, breathing in the fresh air and let the leaves speak as you walk on them. I took the chance of being in Europe to travel. With people I'd just meet on the day, or sometimes on my own. Traveling has made me learn so many things. People can be compassionate with politics or art or food, for me it's learning from different people. It's a way for me to look at things with a new perspective and open mind. I know that this post is a far cry from the subjects of Teaching Writing, but I can understand why people have passions for teaching. I somehow just look at it in another direction. What I've learnt from the past 3 years, I want to share these stories with students (maybe? fingers crossed!)

 I hope this is starting to make sense. If not, I apologise! 

So, what's your passion? 

Learning Log No. 9

The assignment over Christmas was to find a scholarly article in relation to an interesting topic for teaching. It can be anything about writing or other topics that we may want to use for the future. The article I chose is written by Raymond Gerson; Helping Students Find a Purpose in Education.

The main points outlined in the article are:

·         The belief that students would focus more on doing well in college when knowing which path to take for their careers

·         Discovering what our purposes are. What good can we do with the things we enjoy from studying?

·         Asking students to self-reflect on their career purposes.

How do these ideas connect to my own learning experiences?

·         As a final year student, I am still lost with what I want to do. Which career do I want to take? Education? Writing? Journalism? Novelist? I often wonder what my talents really are sometimes and then think back to the purposes I can give to this community/society. How do I make the most of my future writing career? There is always an uncertainty with my decisions as it has always been very difficult for me to make concrete ones. I think this has to do with my character; being someone who is afraid of commitment. Towards the end of first term in second year, it became clear to me that I am more interested in keeping my options open. From writing to being a freelancer and to being perhaps…even an interior designer?

How do these ideas develop your own opinions on teaching in general?

·         Something as simple as knowing what you’d want to do for your own future. It’s crucial to have that kind of guidance, for others as well as for yourself. We need to learn to have a purpose for what we want to do. Everyone is different so it’s important to fully understand an individual’s talent and help bring it out in them to discover that. For example, it’s easier for students to find a purpose from learning Education or Health or Engineering. What about the art courses? It would be more subjective in that area of expertise.

How will you implement these ideas and thoughts in to your own teaching?

·         Use the article as rough draft for one lesson. Use the questions listed on the article and apply them to the students. With this technique, it can hopefully give them a sense of what they want for their future. At least it starts from somewhere and help give them an idea. Following back from the previous answer, I also need to distinguish the boundaries between guiding them and leaving them to decide independently.

(The article can be found here: www.collegereadinesstraining.com)

Learning Log No. 8

Microteaching lesson

For the microteaching assignment my age group target is first year students for Writer’s Workshop so from 18 to 21 years old. My topic was based on the use of Colours. In the lesson plan template below I listed down my aims and objectives for the lesson.

What went well:

·          I managed to share the benefits of using colours in writing, therefore giving the students an insight on why I wanted to introduce this topic

·         I got the students to contribute their writing to the whole class

·         Students and I were able to discuss what worked and what didn’t

·         The atmosphere was great, everyone seemed to be in a happy mood

What went wrong:

·         I felt that my brief introduction on colours should have been more detailed

·         I did not bring in any resources

·         Not everyone could connect their writing with the task

·         Only a few students shared their work where I was hoping that everyone would

·         I finished 2 minutes early

What I can do to improve:

·         Time myself properly

·         Encourage students more that it’s good to try different things

·         To fill in the 2 minute gap, I could perhaps bring in an example next time

·         Speak louder and clearer

·         Don’t rush my words and learn to explain/elaborate the tasks with more confidence

·         Converse more with the students and ask everyone what their opinions are

In relation to Chapter 45, Values and What Teachers Can Achieve

‘The improvability of teaching is what can make it indefinitely absorbing, vital and worthwhile…motivation in students is very important.

This one specific line here from Chapter 45 stood out to me as I believe that experimenting with teaching is resourceful and important. This also matches a part of my personality because I love trying different things. It’s a great way to achieve results for analyzing purposes. In relation to the microteaching lesson, I aim to approach every lesson with something new/different in order to achieve desired results. 

Learning Log No. 7 Part 2

One-to-one Tutoring Talk with Gordon Dossett

A few good points I picked up on from his talk;

·         Suggests that we should ask students to write on the spot for instant feedback

·         Good strategy is to ask a student what his/her argument is without looking at the essay

o   This helps the tutor know whether the student has confidence and knowledge in his/her work

·         Guidance is more important that giving students tips on improvement

After his talk, Gordon gave us the task to act out a role play; get in to pairs where each takes a turn in being a teacher and student. He handed out two different extracts and we had to pretend that they were our own pieces. A student would then have to seek the ‘tutor’ for help.

What went well for my partner and I was that we shared our experiences in writing. My ‘tutor’ provided a very interesting quote about adverbs by Stephen King. When it was my turn to teach, I did the same where I explained what I struggled with in my first year writing class and how I came about to do better. The reason why I thought this tactic worked was because it felt that I, as the ‘student’, could connect with the ‘tutor’.

What went wrong was having the confidence in knowing what or what not to say. My ‘student’ pretended as though the piece was too good for feedback. This was a helpful challenge because there’s always a possibility that some students can be stubborn with accepting criticism. I had to take a few seconds to myself to really think of what to say incase I’d hurt anyone’s feelings. I overcame this by asking open questions (relating back to Geoff Petty’s Chapter 48, Providing Learners With Support) to my ‘student’. I asked questions like; So why do you think you’re in this position right now? What was it that your classmates didn’t like about your piece? What are you trying to aim for with your piece? By doing so, it eased the atmosphere a lot more. Hearing the answers helped give me a clearer idea of what I can do to help. Being in a one-to-one situation is definitely more personal so it’s good that I try my best to be approachable and open. 

Learning Log No. 7

Notes taken from Chapter 43, Assessment

3 points learners should have to earn maximum effect;

·         Clear goals – need to know what they’re aiming for

·         A medal – information on what they’ve done well

·         A mission – how to improve

Why are self-, peer and spoof assessment able to double attainment?

·         Help students clarify goals

·         Give students model and mission information

·         Make judgments about their own work, clarifying their understanding of the subject matter

·         Help students attribute success to doing the right thing

·         Put students in charge of their own improvement

·         Self-critical and reflective habit of mind

Notes taken from Chapter 48, Providing Learners With Support

One-to-one approach

·         Listen to the student’s experience

·         Value the student as an individual

·         Reward their progress

·         Challenge them with high regard and expectations

·         Set students challenging action plans to reach their goals and needs

How to succeed in one-to-one

·         Listen

·         Empathize

·         Ask open questions

·         Reflect

Bringing two different approaches together

Hold students responsible for their own learning	ß          à	Show a high regard for all learners
Challenge students to improve	ß           à	Support the students who need it
Have high expectations of all students	ß           à	Listen to and respect students as individuals

Learning Log No. 6

Notes taken from Chapter 40, Writing The Lesson Plan

The PAR Approach

Present

·         Orientation

o   Recalling last lesson

o   Explain its relevance

o   Challenging goals are given

·         New material is presented

o   New knowledge explained

o   Practical/intellectual skills are demonstrated

o   Students may study examples

·         Typical learning strategies

o   Ask

o   Tell

o   Demonstrate

o   Examples

·         Feedback for learner & teacher

o   Learning in progress is checked and corrected

o   Group discussion

Apply

To apply reasoning ie: problem solving, making decisions, etc

·         When learning cognitive skills

o   Presentations

o   Critical evaluation

Review

·         Were the goals met?

·         Learning strategies

o   Note-making

o   Quiz, tests, etc

·         Feedback for learning and teacher

o   Review and evaluate on how successful the lesson went. Point out any flaws or mistakes made along the plan

Different types of ASSESSMENT and what they stand for

FORMATIVE	SUMMATIVE
Essays	Exams
Presentations	Essays
Participation/discussion	Presentations
Micro test/quiz	Project folder/report
Projects	Portfolio
Workshop-peer assessment
Blog/journal