 |
| Understanding students is key |
MY LEARNING INTENT
The purpose of my class observations revolve around the need for various teaching strategies employed by both novice and experienced teachers which I hope to understand in preparation for my practice teaching.
Understanding various approaches to teaching
Students differ in every way such that the teachers also must differ in their approaches to make the students understand the subjects they teach.
Being able to observe and understand how both novice and experienced teachers undertake their tasks in the classroom are keys to my learning in this practicum course. As students have different ways of looking at and understanding subjects based on their individual situation, background, environment, upbringing, social status, and other variables, so should the teachers have an array of strategies in the classroom.
It is in this understanding that one of my learning intents is to know how teachers master their students and become more proactive in their approach than reactive.
This is my main goal during my practicum at Southville International School and Colleges and in its outreach institution – SEED Academy – where I was assigned to observe and practice teaching college students. The students in my classes are majoring in Psychology and Information Technology.
Given that the students have different majors but are tasked to take up general subjects that are not necessarily related to their majors like General Psychology, my objective is also to know if this factor shall make a difference in their understanding of the subjects.
In this particular case, I am tasked to initially observe classes on General Psychology for non-Psychology majors and a major Psychology subject for Psychology Majors.
Teaching strategies that work or not
I see these as the four general intentions I have for my teaching observations:
- To learn the specific teaching strategies employed by teachers that keep their interest for a 3-hour session;
- To know techniques that encourage class participation among students;
- To learn specific techniques in maintaining discipline among students; and
- To understand how teachers communicate complex subjects and topics across a variety of students with different backgrounds and learning intentions.
In all, I intend to learn everything I can in class management for college students.
MY OBSERVATIONS
I shall initially center my observations to the learning and teaching environment of Southville International School and Colleges.
A mix of affluence and humility
My observation classes involved two schools within one campus: the more affluent Southville International School and Colleges and the SEED Academy which is run by the school’s foundation for indigent students. The Southville campus has two other colleges, namely, the International Baccalaureate and the Foreign University that both cater to niche courses usually populated by affluent and foreign students.
With the above mix in socio-economic status of students, there is a faint distinction among the students on-campus. The main difference that reflects a tinge of segregation is the uniforms of college students.
Both the International Baccalaureate and Foreign University students wear Ivy League-type of uniforms while the main Southville and SEED Academy college students were regularly-styled uniforms. Notably, SEED Academy students wear light blue polos or blouses. The rest are white with a mix of other patterns and colors.
Given the more difficult financial situation of SEED Academy students, they are given a One Hundred Pesos (PhP 100.00) daily allowance in exchange for their various services as student assistants. The students are made to assist in various positions and departments across the campus such as the library, registrar’s office, IT and general services departments, HR office, college departments and the like.
Southville International School and Colleges is an “English-Only” campus. As noted in my TMA 1, this is somewhat an important part to consider in my class observations since students in college come from different schools with different learning foundations, medium of instruction and language used on-campus (whether in or outside classrooms)
I found this key observation important on the use of the English language both as the medium of instruction and as way to communicate on-campus as I believe it already sets an initial challenge for students enrolled at the SEED Academy.
Reiterating my TMA 1 observation, the students I observed during my practicum in Southville International School and Colleges and in its outreach institution – SEED Academy – were different from each other in terms of socio-economic status, thus, the possible difference in English-language comprehension based on the type of schools they came from in elementary.
It is worth noting that SEED Academy courses are mostly certification and diploma courses. The instructors are not usually equipped with masteral or doctoral degrees. This fact may spell the difference as well in teaching competence. Two of the novice teachers I observed were graduates from the SEED Academy.
Also worth noting is the salary of teachers at the SEED Academy are almost fifty percent (50%) lower than those in the regular campus. SEED Academy graduates of four-year courses are made to stay on at the school to either teach or work on full-time positions for three years as part of their contract as scholars. I learned that the two novice teachers I initially observed were on their first year as teachers at SEED Academy.
Confidence-wise, the novice teachers who taught technical courses were confident in teaching laboratory subjects than the straight lectures. I observed that probably, the required English language instruction was a challenge versus the more experienced teachers who were comfortable using English as a medium of instruction in class.
Key teaching strategies
Besides class observations, I also did my own interviews and research on the key things that teachers use in planning and managing their subjects. On the main campus, the uses of the WIP (weekly instructional plan) and TOS (table of specifications) – apart from the course outline – were basic required preparatory documents submitted to the department chairpersons and college deans. However, in the SEED Academy, both were not required documents. Instead, the course outline and lesson plan were enough documents for teaching.
As courses at the SEED Academy are generally technical in nature, the teachers, whether novice or experienced were observed to be more adept at handling laboratory classes as well. I took note of the SEED students’ more active participation in laboratory classes versus straight lectures, too.
These are the key teaching activities used by both novice and experienced teachers:
- Instructional/Lecture
- Writing and drawing on the White Board
- Using a projector for power point presentations
- Citing examples
- Asking questions
- Soliciting insights
- Testimonials
- Resource persons
- Personal examples
- Class participation
 |
| Sir Ruel Cajili's class |
Three hours with an expert teacher
I had the privilege of observing the General Psychology class of Mr. Ruel Cajili, who is also Southville’s college guidance counsellor. I was introduced by the department’s chairperson, Dr. Ludy Balatbat to Sir Ruel on the first day of my observation of his class. I was introduced to the class of IT students as a class observer from the University of the Philippines. I took a seat at the back of the class and began my quiet observation.
That day, the class was discussing the topic on Perception versus Reality. I found it interesting as Sir Ruel drew some figures on the white board. Having been out of formal schooling for many years, I immediately noticed the “disappearance” of the green blackboard I was used to see in a classroom.
Sir Ruel asked the class for their insights on the drawings on the board which were later explained to be representations of people and things as seen from different perspectives. He then moved to his PC and showed a couple of slides on the white screen through a projector. Now, I was getting more impressed with the techniques he was using as I knew that the IT students were more appreciative of the medium they were used to see in their major classes.
I observed that Sir Ruel switched from presentations to lectures almost at will. It was interesting me as well, being a mere class observer. Every now and then, he would ask the students questions and get them to explain their insights to be listened to intently by classmates. The whole time, Sir Ruel was speaking in English and was encouraging the students to answer in the same language.
At one point, a distracted student whom Sir Ruel saw was texting was made to jump in-place three times. It was a quick and appropriate punishment which I believe was already agreed upon by the class at the beginning of the semester.
Moving into other topics, I observed Sir Ruel citing examples and asking the students to perform some tasks in front of the class. The students readily and gamely participated. Using the students as his resource persons for personal examples, Sir Ruel was able to manage his class very well.
To say the least, I was impressed.
A key observation of Sir Ruel’s class was the way he stimulated discussions among his students. It was important that Sir Ruel mastered his subjects.
I also observed that Sir Ruel went around the room which I believe made the students feel that he was one of them once in a while. Calling each student by his or her first name was vital to this technique as well as close eye contact with each student. I also noticed that Sir Ruel would call a student who was quiet or has not yet participated in class discussions. .
Interestingly, I observed how Sir Ruel used abbreviations in order his students to remember terms such as SC for “sub-conscious” and UC for “unconscious.”
In all, during the three-hour class I observed under Sir Ruel, I was able to learn a lot of class management techniques that were usually found in teaching textbooks. He did not use only one or two, but combined at least five strategies in one class.
Worth noting is Sir Ruel’s mastery of stimulating his students to participate and more importantly, to think. Despite having IT students learn a subject like psychology; the students seemed interested and had something to learn in class.
 |
| Sir Rod Gabriel, IT Supervisor |
Three hours with a novice teacherFor an example of a novice teacher, I observed the class of Ms. Lea Mariquina. It was past five in afternoon and it seemed like the students were not yet tired of a supposed whole day of studying. It was at this juncture that I was called by Ms. Mariquina’s supervisor and IT department head, Mr. Rod Gabriel, to be introduced in class as an observer from the University of the Philippines.
At the back of the class, I was informed by Sir Rod that the students were all from the SEED Academy and classes start from 5-9pm, Mondays to Fridays. That was when I realized that the reason why the students were still in high spirits were because they have not even began classes for the day yet.
The class of Ms. Mariquina was that of Web Design. It was more of a laboratory that day so there were fewer lectures. Practically two hours of the class were dedicated to computer laboratory for hands-on practice. In between computer time, Ms. Mariquina walked around the class and peeped into each student’s PC, probably inspecting their work. The teacher herself was hands-on.
Being a newly-graduated teacher, Ms. Mariquina is a product of SEED Academy herself. She proceeded to enrol in a four year course after her two-year mandated IT course as an indigent. She eventually graduated and was hired by the school to hone her craft.
In the classroom, I observed that her youth was also a quiet advantage as she was able to solicit insights from students. Her board-based lectures were full of diagrams that seemed to appeal to this particular IT class. Ms. Mariquina punctuated her lectures with power point presentations to give credence to her subject.
During one class wherein the subject was Technopreneurship and tackled the topic of marketing, a resource person from Multiply.com was called in to speak about the subject. The resource person set-up a power point presentation and spoke on the advantages of creating an online store with an end-to-end solution including a payment system. This obviously appealed to the IT students as it was a realization of where they could be in the future. But what added to the enthusiasm of the audience was the actual demonstration of the resource person from Multiply.com of how to create an online store. As per my observation was this activity that caught the students’ full attention. A supposed 25-minute presentation became a 1-hour affair! It was not because the speaker took longer to deliver his talk, but it took that long to try to answer all the students’ questions. Even teacher-observers took the liberty of asking questions to the resource person.
In all, the class of novice teacher Lea Mariquina may be as full of teaching strategies or activities; she was still able to communicate her message to her target audience of IT students. She was able to zoom in on the need to hold the young students’ attention using tools the audience was familiar with. What I also found out was that in the absence of personal experience, the technique of getting experts as resource persons once-in-a-while helps make the classes and subjects become more interesting to students.
MY ANALYSIS
Learning Theories and the Novice Teacher
1) Theory: Learning occurs through experience.
One of the learning theories that struck me was not something that was complex or profound. It was actually a learning theory that seemed very logical but needed an expert to confirm in the name of John Dewey.
John Dewey is a renowned American philosopher, psychologist and so called educational reformer who was a major representative of progressive populist philosophies of schooling during the first half of 20th century USA. He actually noticed during his time of the birth of industrial capitalism that a variety of specialized schools or institutions have sprung up side by side with traditional American schools. Such were trade and technical schools that turned out skilled craftsmen needed for industry and construction which were the popular businesses at that time. Dewey was opposed to this specialized training especially because this was being pushed by industries to be started in primary education rather allowing personal preferences by the youth of that time to choose their educational path.
Borne out of this observation came one of John Dewey’s popular educational philosophies that he espoused was that “learning occurs through experience.”
The novice teacher I observed in the person of Ms. Lea Mariquina at Southville’s SEED Academy was educated in a technical school. She specialized in IT. I am not sure if this was by choice or simply happened by force of circumstance since the only courses SEED Academy offered on scholarship were related to IT.
As indicated in my observation of her class, Ms. Lea drew her teaching style from her experiences as a student of IT – a technical course. She did not get formal education courses to guide her in various teaching strategies or techniques. As soon as Ms. Lea finished her initial two-year IT course, she eventually went on to finish another two years for her college degree – also in IT.
This is particularly interesting to note because whatever she learned through experience as a technical course student, she later on, as a novice teacher, adopted to teach as a technical teacher.
I am not saying this is a bad or good thing. It is just because I wonder if Ms. Lea would still be as effective as a teacher if she taught a non-technical course like reading or even religion.
It is already an advantage that besides being youthful in age and insight, she is able to communicate well with younger students, too. But the advantage of being trained in and teaching technical courses to technical students might turn into a disadvantage if she wanted to or was made to teach non-IT courses.
Then again, should Ms. Lea see the need to expand her teaching horizons by tackling non-IT subjects, then she will need a broader teaching experience. Besides, Dewey says that learning occurs through experience. It is simply “learning by doing.”
2) Theory: Tabula Rasa
John Locke theorized that the mind was a blank slate or also called tabula rasa. He maintained that people are born without innate ideas, and that knowledge is instead determined only by experience derived from sense perception.
Generally, proponents of the tabula rasa philosophy favor the “nurture” side of the nature versus nurture debate, when it comes to aspects of one’s personality, social and emotional behaviour and intelligence. The term in Latin equates to the English “blank slate” (or more accurately, “erased slate”) (which refers to writing on a slate sheet in chalk) but comes from the Roman tabula or wax tablet, used for notes, which was blanked by heating the wax and then smoothing it to give a tabula rasa.
In the 13th century, St. Thomas Aquinas brought the Aristotelian and Avicennian notions to the forefront of Christian thought. These notions sharply contrasted with the previously held Platonic notions of the human mind as an entity that pre-existed somewhere in the heavens, before being sent down to join a body on earth. St. Bonaventure, also from the 13th century, was one of St. Thomas’ fiercest intellectual opponents, offering some of the strongest arguments towards the Platonic idea.
Observing the class of Ms. Lea, I can relate John Locke’s theory of tabula rasa. Being a novice teacher, Ms. Lea is slowly but surely filling out that “blank slate” which represents her mind as she experiences more of being a full-fledged teacher.
This is based on my knowledge of Ms. Lea’s background as a student of SEED Academy as an IT graduate without any previous teaching experience nor the basic education as such. It just so happened that her technical knowledge and eventual experience in subjects such as web design has thrust her into teaching the said subject. Also, it is important to note that being a SEED Academy scholar meant serving three years in the school which almost created a situation she has to honor her contract.
Learning Theories and the Experienced Teacher
1) Theory: Behavior can be learned through observation of others.
Albert Bandura’s theorized the phenomenon observational learning or modelling, of which is usually called social learning theory.
Of the hundreds of studies Bandura was responsible for, one group stands out above the others -- the bobo doll studies. He made a film of one of his students, a young woman, essentially beating up a bobo doll. A bobo doll is an inflatable, egg-shape balloon creature with a weight at the bottom that makes it bob back up when you knock him down. Nowadays, it might have Darth Vader painted on it, but back then it was simply “Bobo” the clown.
The young woman in the film punched the clown, shouting “sockeroo!” She kicked it, sat on it, hit it with a little hammer, and so on, shouting various aggressive phrases. Bandura showed his film to groups of kindergartners who, as predicted, liked it a lot. They then were let out to play. In the play room, of course, were several observers with pens and clipboards in hand, a brand new bobo doll, and a few little hammers.
Again, as predicted as well what the observers recorded: A lot of little kids beating the daylights out of the bobo doll. They punched it and shouted “sockeroo,” kicked it, sat on it, hit it with the little hammers, and so on. In other words, they imitated the young woman in the film, and quite precisely at that.
In my observation of Sir Ruel’s psychology class, I saw how he as an experienced teacher used this theory on his students as he made them imitate some of his expressions and examples. Noticeably, each time he senses a student starts to get a bit rowdy or is slowly disturbing his class; Sir Ruel would go directly to the student and using a softer voice, ask the student his or her insight. The result is a student getting back on-track and somehow adapts Sir Ruel’s soft stance and begin to quiet down as well.
Being an experienced teacher could have also resulted from Sir Ruel’s past observations of teachers and their styles. I am sure he simply was a very good observer and learner. He was able to adapt certain styles and techniques which he has used on his classes and was able to assimilate those and has become a natural part of him.
2) Theory: Experiential learning
Carl Rogers is a psychologist and educator known for his theory on experiential learning. According to Rogers’ theory, there are two types of knowledge: academic and experiential. Unlike academic knowledge, experiential knowledge is acquired to meet the needs of the learner, usually to complete an important, real-life task, such as learning to drive a car.
This theory applies both direct and indirect methods of instruction. The instructor’s role is to support and direct the leaner when need be, while the role of the learner is to learner the presented materials and devise their own ways to expand and explore on the topics being presented. However, the learner-instructor relationship is there for support and direction based upon the needs of both the learner/instructor dependent upon the needs of the learning materials.
The basic role of this theory is to promote personal growth and understanding for the individual. As Carl Rogers has emphasized, we cannot teach another person directly but rather we can only facilitate his learning.
Based on my observation of Sir Ruel’s class, I saw that he did not merely do a straight lecture but instead stimulated his students in such a way he somewhat opened their minds well enough to facilitate their learning. This was evidenced by the number of teaching techniques he used just get his message across.
It was obvious that Sir Ruel knew his students well. For me, that was an important first step in knowing what techniques will work or not. He somehow was able to individualize his teaching strategies towards certain student groups within his class that proved to be effective.
I felt that his teaching variations worked in cadence with the rest of his class given his students various reactions, insights and participation during class. In essence, Sir Ruel was able to facilitate his students’ learning.
MY REFLECTIONS
Preparing for Future Practice Teaching
In order to prepare for my practice teaching, I believe I need to adopt the various facets of both the novice and expert teachers that I observed. I have further confirmed that teaching is a really noble profession. It takes dedication and commitment to be a professional teacher. It is in this realization that I need to prepare more my practice teaching by knowing more
techniques that I have seen work and be more in touch with the students to be able to adjust to their learning needs.
I have observed that even the experienced teacher had his hands full in managing his class. This difficulty was manifested in the use of various strategies to hold his students’ attention and keep them interested in the subject. It was doubly hard since the students he was teaching were IT majors and the subject he was teaching was in psychology.
As I observed a novice teacher, I also saw the dedication in trying to come up to par with an experienced teacher. It was a plus that the novice teacher came from an equally technical background as she was teaching IT majors. However, this fact did not make teaching easier. She still needed more experience in teaching in general.
My expectations for future practice teaching have not changed since my first round of class observations.
I still feel a combined excitement and anxiety of being able to teach for the first time. My excitement stems from somehow realizing a dream to teach a subject in a real classroom setting. On the other hand, my anxiety is brought about by the sense of responsibility I feel that is needed to conform to a particular standard of teaching. This is brought about by knowing that students need and want to learn. I am now guided by one of Carl Rogers’ philosophies in learning that, “we cannot teach another person directly; we can only facilitate his learning.”
Besides expecting to learn from the experience and be able to adapt as I go through the task, I also hope to be able to facilitate the students’ learning.
My Philosophy Statement
I believe that students are individuals with unique characteristics, interests, abilities, and needs who are constantly learning.
Plans of Action
In my practice teaching, I plan to do the following simple plan of action in order to be able to facilitate the students’ learning:
1. Consult with the teacher supervisor and teacher assigned to the class.
The teachers know the types of students they are involved with almost daily. Getting their insights on how they manage their particular classes will help me add a bit on the strategies I need to develop or enhance.
2. Select the most appropriate teaching strategies to facilitate student learning.
I am aware that many courses are taught using traditional lectures and it is tempting to use the same when there are other strategies that may prove to be more effective. In my initial class observations, I have seen that learning is somewhat enhanced when students are active participants rather than passive listeners. I will therefore need to carefully plan the appropriate activities for my practice teaching.
3. Manage and convey expectations to students.
I have read that research has shown that a professor’s expectations have a powerful effect on student performance. I will thus convey to my students that I expect them to be motivated, hardworking, and engaged in the subject, and hope that they more likely shall be so. In setting realistic expectations, I plan to make the students believe that achievement is possible.
4. Be engaging.
At the end of the day, it is how the teacher engages his/her students are the most important aspect of being a teacher. If the students are not connected to the teacher and the lesson at hand, everything is for naught.
5. Get feedback.
I have prepared a simple feedback form which I will later share in my portfolio. Without getting feedback from the teachers, how will I learn to improve on my weaknesses and know my strengths?
Reflection on the Observation Process
This observation process on both novice and expert teachers was very interesting. I was more involved in the process of picturing myself in their place. Though I took notes at the start, there were days wherein I just observed and took mental notes. I more of imagined myself doing the teaching so I could visualize what the students thought of me and the way I taught.
In my observations, I was more involved in trying to analyse the types of teaching strategies that the teachers were using or not using.
Especially when I was observing the novice teacher after I observed the expert teacher, I was able to readily compare their styles and techniques. That is why I took time to interview them and their supervisors to get a deeper background of their experience. This has led me to further understand where they were coming from.
In all, the class observation process was more involving for me. I was more into picturing myself infront of the class and doing what the teachers were doing.
On the side, I still took time to observe the students as they interacted in class. This gave me an indication on whether the teachers were connecting or not.
In the future, I believe that technology will make teaching easier or at least more interesting to students.
========================
Link to my Scanned Notes here
