Involving the learner in the classroom

The meaningful involvement of learners in your classroom does not mean  just getting the learners response to a question posed by the teacher.

Abby Wills discovered how to involve her learners in an ordinary every day activity, and one that she dreaded because of their previous behaviour. Wills’ learners not only became more compliant, but they later acted mindfully and she also got them to prepare the classroom in a mindful manner as a part of their class culture. She adapted/ adjusted her approach every day, to keep the learners interested and curious.

Therefore the learners’ behaviour became self-regulated as a natural consequences. The experience of mindfulness that Abby Wills created in the classroom setting, generated a genuine desire for coherence. Once the learners got involved they gave constructive feedback like that they felt peaceful, organized, less crazy etc.

With this Abby also demonstrated that even though children can act chaotic they crave and need structure and guidance. As a teacher getting to know your learners is one step closer to knowing how to approach matters and handle them.

 Wills demonstrated that involving the learners in the classroom can be constructive and also save the teachers sanity. One can say she somewhat shifted the responsibility onto the learners and this facilitated a positive outcome in the classroom.  But when you really think about it, finding ways to involve your learners would require a lot of careful planning. This kind of teaching can be challenging too much of the same things can bore the learners back into old routines, and constantly finding new ways to involve them can be a challenge.

I would try to do as Wills did, involve my learners by perhaps giving them a “voice”. I would allow them to debate on a topic relating to the work that needs to be done. They could also give suggestions as to how to approach the work. This would allow the teacher (me) to not only gain insight on what works best for the learners, but closely observe their different learning styles and so also enable me to use what is observed and combine learning strategies as to benefit each learner.

As a teacher I would try to get a sense of what the learners needs are. I would ask them what they expect to gain while in my class.  I would also enquire on what it is that will motivate them to do their best. What is most important would be to respect their responses and then modify each lesson to meet their needs whilst at the same time encouraging their active involvement.The Learners involvement in the classroom is ultimately crucial to ensure a pleasant learning environment (for both the teacher and learner).

old school not so cool

The concept of tech-mediated self-directed distance learning, seems like an intriguing twist in obtaining an education.  I say this because I agree that teachers and students are restrained by their defined roles, teachers are truly limited to act as bankers making deposits of knowledge into empty bank vaults, which are the students who are just inertly receiving the knowledge.  I know I felt that way in school, we were not expected to know anything and we were treated like we knew nothing, so we acted like we knew nothing. There is also the fact that we were all taught through a set curriculum that overlooks the fact that every child learns in a different manner and at a different pace. Teachers have to use certain methods/approaches when teaching and these methods/ approaches mostly forces the learner to memorize rather than understand the concept or subject and ultimately what is being taught in schools do not prepare learners for real life situations. Learners are not inspired to learn, they are drilled and if they cannot keep up they are basically left behind.

Tech-mediated self-directed distance learning offers education with no such limits to roles, no one gets left behind and learners would be in charge of what they want to do and how they want to approach it. Having this kind of decision making power would definitely instil a sense of independence and with the freedom Tech-mediated self-directed distance learning offers, it would be pleasurable to explore various methods of approaching work, and learners can find what aids them best in obtaining and retaining knowledge.

They can learn from each other, swop techniques since everybody has different interests and different ways in which they want to learn.  Learning would certainly be seen as less of a burden and more of an enjoyable adventure towards new discoveries.  Learners can decide on the concepts/ topics they want to learn about, they go and do research on this topic, they convene again at a later stage and debate on what they have discovered. Through engaging with each other on a critical level they are gaining knowledge and they do not even have to be from the same school in order to do so. This is one of the greatest advantages that tech-mediated self-directed distance learning has, it enables learners to connect with others, allows methods that actually contributes to learning, and makes learning enjoyable.

Social media in the classroom

Social media in the classroom

I believe that the use of social media in the classroom can motivate and intrigue learners. Yes there are risks, like we would be opening up a whole new and dangerous online world to our students once they start writing online and posting things. But I believe that in the classroom environment it can be monitored closely.

It is possible that by using social media in the classroom learners could Tweet, Facebook and Snapchat while you're trying to teach. However as Davis stated – there is a difference between kids talking as they work in groups or talking while hanging out. Thus using social media as a tool for teaching and learning is completely different from mere socializing online.

So I fully support the notion that social media can be used as a resource and doesn't have to be a distraction from learning objectives.

As Provenzano stated social media is about alternative ways to communicate and there are so many great tools that allow us to connect. Twitter has been another great tool for sharing and connecting. I would create a twitter handle for learners to follow and post their thoughts pertaining to a specific subject/ concept and so expose them to the ideas and notions of others. Discussions can be held in class afterwards. Announce the day's homework and share random thoughts and ideas.

A classroom Blog could be created, blogging could be used as a tool to encourage writing/ typing as well as exposing learners to the ideas of others and connecting with others who are writing and sharing their thoughts. Blogging offers the chance to make connections with people from all over the world.

Also, allowing for example English learners to email and have an online “pen pal”, could contribute to improving their proficiency in using the English language in a social context and expose them to a variety of new experiences. Life orientation learners would learn about different cultures and norms by perhaps having an online “pen pal” from a different country.

Social media can be utilized in a variety of ways to promote learning, for example your English literature students can create web comics (also known as online comics) to address specific matters/concepts. Google Calendar could also be used as a tool. The learners’ assignments (and other events) can be put on the calendar and by colour coding events/tasks the learners as well as parents can easily distinguish scheduled activities and tests, daily assignments, and other events.

digital pedagogy, online teaching and the pedagogue

After reading the articles by @slamteacher and @jessifer I have also come to realize that digital pedagogy is not just online teaching, since digital pedagogy is a direction towards education that is not necessarily predicated on the use of digital tools. Online teaching in its essence is teaching via the use of a computer and the internet. Without these digital tools, online teaching cannot take place. But coming back to the matter of why every teacher is not a pedagogue. The term pedagogue at its core means “to lead a child”. And to lead a child does not mean just providing them with all the answers before a test, any person with knowledge, who can guide a child/ learner to obtain certain skills (life skills) can be considered a pedagogue. The child needs to be stimulated and guided through the process of learning to obtain knowledge, they should also be given an opportunity to figure things out on their own.

Digital pedagogy surpasses the limits of online teaching, it allows for combining different methods of teaching. The use of the internet, books, slideshows or even role playing can be used in digital pedagogy, there are also many more creative ways of teaching that can be incorporated.

Digital pedagogy breaks down the traditional paradigm of teaching. Interaction does not solely take place between teachers and students, students can also interact with each other, exchanging their knowledge and different perceptions.

As @jessifer states, within the paradigm of digital pedagogy we get to rethink the power relations between students and teachers. I feel that learning will also be made less of a burden, since in the context of digital pedagogy it is disguised in the process of communication with others, for example, Blogging about your perceptions on a certain topic and then reading other responses to it.

In essence digital pedagogy is not online teaching, it is so much more, because it entails the use of any tools to aid individuals in obtaining information. And being a pedagogue does not mean you have to be a teacher by profession, learners, students or ordinary individuals can assume the role of a pedagogue.