If one hopes to find happiness, achieve
goals, be impactful, take on higher dimensions of expertise then its only tactical
that his/her thoughts, actions,
philosophies and their overall effect be routinely examined. This was confirmed
by Socrates, the founder of the Western philosophy who once declared that the
unexamined life is not worth living. As
I reflected on my practice, I realize that I have been exposed to various
knowledge, skills and techniques which have expanded my world view of the
teaching – learning interchange. As a corollary, it became imperative for me to
examine my life as an educator and the impact of my actions on my learners,
school and wider community.
As
a means of summing up my graduate experience, I humbly looked beyond the shades
of my toffee complexion and tried to discern the sincerity of my heart. I tried
to determine my true worth, measure my outcomes, make informed decisions and wondered
if these
purposeful planning were reflecting in my learning environment. By analyzing
the lasallian experience which revolves around the A.G.A.P.E tradition, many of
my thoughts were realigned. This acronym represents; association in the
practice of learning, generativity in building communities of care, adaptation,
presence with others and engagement as whole hearted learning.
The A.G.A.P.E guide places an intentional
learning focus on creating enriched learning environments, professional
development, community building and nurturing relationships. As a catalyst of
lasallian charism, it is recommended that I analyze my students’ engagement
through relevant, personalized, authentic and self-directed learning. One of
the ways in which I have been embracing engagement is to promote a safe
learning environment for all. Instructions have been centered on community
building and theories based on social and emotional learning. Scott-Peck (1987)
postulated that the aim of community
building is to allow individuals to empty themselves of preconceptions as they
use their energies for creative purposes.
This
has inspired me to constantly remind students of the importance of valuing
others unique personality, talent and characteristics. Students are taught in
an emotionally supportive environment and empowered with a voice. They are
encouraged to let their voices be heard without belittling or disrespecting
anyone. Pollack (1998) articulated that
is the need for a child to feel welcomed, liked as his style of learning is
embraced by his teacher. As such, this engagement not only ensured that
students became knowledgeable, but at the time became responsible and caring. Eliaz
et,al. (1997) concurred that true academic and personal success cannot be
attained without addressing emotional and social skills.
The
use of collaborative learning has also been one of the focus used to engage learners of varying abilities.
At the beginning of the term, students were objectively placed in mixed ability
groups as a means of stimulating team work. Students have been encouraged to
sit and complete task in groups. Some of these task include; role plays,
planning, discussions, research, oral presentations and the design of
electrical circuits. Johnson and Johnson (1985) opined that collaboratively
learning may be an effective method in engaging students and influencing
cognitive outcomes.
Initially
students’ thought team work was quite challenging. Many complained about social
loafing and within two months of this intervention, students gravitated to the nurturing
of community building. The many benefits
expressed by students spoke to the engaging power of collaborative learning.
One learner confessed that “a group can
lead to great things, we are learning to trust each other”. Based on the
attainment of a good grade and the expectation of the teacher, students have
been motivated to co-operate with others and value their opinions. The classes
engaged in collaborative learning are now experiencing fewer conflicts and are solving
task successfully. Each learner understands that their overall performance of
the group is dependent on his or her individual contribution.
I have started
planning better for my students which has resulted in more purposeful lessons. My actions are largely perpetuated by the
reactions of my students rather than the curriculum. Through backward planning, I am now taking
into considerations the enduring skills and knowledge to be gained in light of
the topic rather than those stipulated for standardized testing. This has added relevance to my teaching and
provided a platform for growth among learners.
In light of this mutual understanding, my students are more engaged and
details from varying forms of assessment are used to improve instruction.
Even though my classes are of mixed abilities,
I have managed to challenge the intellect of all using a differentiated
approach. The thinking process of my students are so varied, that it has been a
mammoth task to consistently match instruction with students thinking. Some are ; analytical thinkers, flexible, pay
attention to details, thorough, appreciate structure, prefers to delegate,
cautious, while others may just like to do things his or her way. Through strategic planning which includes
technology integration, my activities have been designed to support their
thinking and nurture fruitful learning.
Tileston (2000) postulated that teachers should be sensitive to the
needs of each student and provide hope to all by fusing differentiated
instruction that has varying challenges based on the needs of the students. This
has motivated me to be flexible in my instruction so that students are met at
their comfort zones then propelled forward.
Based
on the modes of thinking identified, I have started communicating with my
students more so as to have a better understanding of their metacognitive
arena. I have exposed my students to the use of the reflective journal and a
weekly question and answer session to facilitate various forms of expressions.
Through these media, students have been expressing their ideas, depth of understanding
and challenges. This has led me to
ponder the co-relation between academic achievement and metacognitive skills. Bramson
(1983) suggested that the communication with others can be improved when their
thinking styles are understood. This working knowledge of my students’ thinking
has positively impacted our learning relationship both on a personal and
professional level.
As
a means of nurturing the literacy skills of my students, I have engaged in the
cognitive practice of reading, listening, speaking and writing on a variety of
informational text. I have been encouraging the structured use of research
which is presented orally and assessed using a numerical rating scale. As a
result of this, concepts are reinforced, communication skills are developed and
students have been taking responsibility for learning. Through this engagement,
my students are more comfortable participating in conversations and capable of
defending their stance. I have been very
flexible and timely with this approach so that objectives are met without causing much frustration (Jensen,
1998).
Presently
my students are engaged in project based learning which provides first-hand
experience of the environment. This form of inquiry based learning has also taken
my students from the passive state to the active state. This is in response to
the paradigm shift in the education system where students are expected to be
engaged and to develop meaningful inquiry skills. Larmer and Mergendoler (2010)
opined that the formal structuring of the project based learning will foster
social interaction, explore careers, promotes life-long habits of learning, uses
technology and is effective at all grades. These projects are all meaningful,
encourage creativity and totally related to Electrical Technology.
It
is worth mentioning, the strategic attempts made to develop the metacognitive
skills of my students. I have been using the KWL strategy and the
constructivist approach to direct students learning. As students link prior
knowledge to new concepts, reflective
questions are used to help students develop logical thinking, conversation
skills and situation analysis. Through the design of concept maps, wiring of
circuit diagrams, presentation on a particular topic, students often try to
persuade me that they “know” that they know. Students have been encouraged to be
analytical and also objective in the process as they evaluate their own work
and that of their classmates based on rubrics designed. This form of engagement
encourages the joy of learning concepts are reinforced and misconceptions were
quelled.
The tutelage received at St Mary’s University
of Minnesota has inspired me to promote meaningful experiences through
authentic assessment and positive feedback.
Owing to the fact that I facilitate vocational education, all
experiences are designed to link theory to the real world. Experiences such as the use of portfolios, technology
integration, simulations, domestic installations have taken my students beyond the
level of recall to that of a higher level of comprehension. Through guided discovery and various
scaffolding techniques, my students are able to explain, communicate and make
analogies as they link prior knowledge to new concepts.
At this stage of graduate studies, I have
taken on a new philosophy on education. I am motivated to reap the benefits of
academia and quite sensitive to the emotions of my learners. I believe that all students possess the intelligence to learn, and
the training potentials that may be nurtured. I have taken on the role of an
advocate, mentor, researcher, cognitive coach, evaluator and change agent. The facilitating of student engagement reiterated the need to
triangulate instruction, discipline, environment and assessment. The enduring
revelation from this reflection was the uniqueness of our learners in terms of
interest, expectations, experiences and the many ways in which their
potentials may be optimized.
In
promoting these student –centred approaches to learning, these practices have
been shared with other colleagues at the department level and at the staff
level. I generally invite other teachers to my learning environment to observe
and critique my practices. In addition to this, I make myself available to
share best practices with varying communities. The recent Spring Conference that
was held at the Golf View Hotel was one of the medium used to inform the wider
community of my engagement practices. I believe the sharing of these engagement
practices will aid in the Ministry of Education’s mandate which stipulates “Every Child
Can Learn, Every Child Will”!
