PDPR: Home based learning

 

My tips:

1. Low to medium tech : Whatsapp to Google Classroom/ pre module distribution

2. Make video instruction as an option, not compulsory to watch. What is important is to write the instructions clearly. Vary the style of instructions to cater to all abilities.

3. If there's a use of videos, try making it short and simple. A 1 - 3 minute video should suffice. Now that Tiktok is trending, you can use it too.

4. If there are worksheets to be printed, make sure they are clear and can be written. Don't give too much unless it's a complete module.

5. Provide examples. 

6. Personally, I don't think it's a problem if the teacher does not want to use zoom/meet to conduct a class, so long as he/she keeps in touch with the pupils if there's a problem at hand

7. However, it may not seem to be the case with exam classes where there is a need for a face to face interaction to solve complex problems in the lesson. 

Lastly, you can ditch this whole idea if it's not relevant to you. In the end, teachers know best of their students. Happy teaching!

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Textbook (Maybe Part 1)

Back then teachers believed that textbook was the classroom bible, the only source of reference in order to teach in the classroom. At one point, it is even considered awkward not to bring a textbook inside the classroom, showing its importance as if on par with our lesson plan.

Today, new teaching methods emerged. There are many strategies involved that are learner-centred. Learner-centred activities require chunks of materials. Thus, textbooks are thought to be part of those materials and are considered less important. Sometimes, the observing officers even reminded us to avoid using textbook at all cost during an observation. We can only adapt and make materials from the textbook. Textbooks are evil.

Are they really? Not necessarily. From what I have gathered from facebook, textbook (in my case, CEFR aligned coursework) is still used to ensure that the whole nation teaches more or less the same. However, the content of the textbook we are currently using are not be as jam-packed as its predecessor. Thus, we have to adapt and make more materials to complement our lessons.

Meanwhile, the textbook is still relevant to the point of becoming a national attention due to its controversial content. From this point of view textbooks *are* evil for 'contaminating' the minds of young children. Even if some teachers can avoid or elaborate on this content, the writing is still there.

So, should we avoid textbook entirely? To me, this should not be the case. Textbook is only a teaching tool. However, it forms the basis of what we can do to teach in the classroom. The nature of the textbook should be teacher and pupil friendly. You can have engaging activities from the textbook. You can have learner-centred activities with the textbook. They are just like computers, projectors and your flash cards. In a nutshell, it is still important!

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Sentence construction.

There are various ways of making sentences. One of the most popular way is through rearranging words to form sentences. For lower ability pupils, 'drilling' is necessary by introducing the sentence patterns through various means. For starters, I made group activity so that the higher ability peers would help the others to construct the sentences. Eventually, the activity is done individually.

Group work to form different sentences.

Pupils make sentences individually and combine sentences

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Still have some time left? Try out this activity.

This could be a simple activity to practice vocabulary among pupils.

Materials:

1. Marker pens (depending on the number of groups involved, one for each group).

Write down the name of groups on the board and pupils will write down the answers below their group names.

Teacher provides a theme/topic for each session. Then, in their groups, pupils will take turns writing the words related to the topic on the board.

After about a couple of minutes(teacher sets the time depending on the level of the proficiency), pupils will stop writing and the group with the most words scores a point. The teacher will then give a new theme/topic for the next session.

Rules to be considered

1. Only one pupil from each group can be in front of the board at one time.

2. No shouting out answers. The pupils who do not know what to write must return to their respective groups to get help/answers, and run back to the board.

3. One person, one word at each turn

4. No peeking!

Good luck!

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Homework: My thoughts

I do not always have the urge to give my pupils homework. Nevertheless, homework is an integral part of learning, and leaving it is like breaking away from a culture that has been practiced a long time ago. As this article suggests, is homework effective in developing our children? There is a few questions that needs to be considered such as children's dependency, difficulty level and time allocation.

Homework, if done right, may stimulate children's interest in a particular subject. It may also drive children to feel excited to go to school. Just like learning in the classroom, we need to have a clear objective with the homework. We could also use SMART approach to plan the task, too.

Can the children work independently on the homework? Homework is supposed to teach children to become responsible of their learning. So, children should be able to do the homework anytime and anywhere, even without their parents monitoring. However, when it is said that children can do the task independently, it does not mean that parents should not take part in the homework. Homework should bridge the gap between parents and school, and gets them even closer with their children. This would include tasks such as interviewing parents and simple write out about what they do at home.

Is the homework difficult? Homework should reinforce what children have learned previously in school. Thus, they should not be burndened with a task that they cannot do. Furthermore, some of the children may have working parents who may not have the ample time to provide assistance and guidance to their work. Some parents might even just do the homework for their children. This would ultimately defeat the purpose of having homework itself.

What is the time allocated for each homework? In some education system, homeworks are divided into subjects. Thus, it is important to make sure that the homework is not to lenghty and taking too much of the children's time. One subject may have a task that take only 10minutes to complete, but if the children have 4 other subjects to be taken account, they will have to finish all in 50 minutes. A homework can be as quick as a minute reading or solving a quick math problem.

In a nutshell, homework should probably be short and achievable with little or no guidance. However, it would depend greatly on the subjects and the type of task provided. It should also be remembered that children have other homework to do such as chores and helping out in the kitchen and the garden.

What do you think of giving out homework?

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Common misconception of 21st century learning

Nowadays, 21st century learning is becoming a hype around the world. However, we need to be able to distinguish how we learn in the past and how we are learning today. Often, we take 21st century learning for granted and assume that everything we are doing is modern. Let's have a look at some of the misconceptions that we have:

  1. Seating arrangement

Many proposed that in today's learning, the chairs and tables must be arranged according to the 21st century style. This includes having the U shaped arrangement, island,and boardroom as opposed to the traditional serried classroom. Many did not realise that this has been happening since education is reformed everywhere. Even if we are seated in rows, would that hinder us from having a 21st century learning?

2. It is learner centered

Learner centered education has been discussed since the cold war (or probably earlier). So, are we saying that this is actually a modern thought? Probably. However, to be honest, today's learning is very teacher centered. If we are so learner centered, we shouldn't be having teachers in the first place. Nevertheless, this is just a matter of perspective. We need to understand the role of teachers - they need to establish ground rules, making sure the classroom safe, and most importantly making sure that learning is taking place even if they are just there to facilitate..

3. Use of technology

Having wonderful gadgets does not make the school conforming to the 21st century learning. What is more important is how these gadgets are being utilised. Having modern technology would cost the school a lot, and would it help us in contributing to the environment.

Those are the factors that need to be taken into consideration. Now this is what we might consider for a 21st century learning:

  Resources

 The classroom must be equipped with a lot of resources so that the children will be able to learn independently. This is where the technology really helps. Learners should not limit their knowledge within just a textbook, but from several other sources too. Does that mean that schools with no internet are deprived from this? Not necessarily, provided that the school has a lot of books and reading materials placed everywhere for the children. A lot of them.

  Accessibility

 Often we overlook at the accessibility. This includes catering to children with special needs or with specific requirements. It actually something that has been discussed since the Salamanca Statement, yet it is only gaining pace in modern times. Nobody should be left behind in learning.

  Learning is the responsibility of everyone.

It should be noted that everything that goes around the child's daily life is actually a learning process. Thus, everyone must play a role in the child's learning -the teachers in school, the parents at home, and the community. The learners will be fed by so many information that they will be able to use them in solving problems in the classroom.

  Networking

 Learning is no longer about competing over who has the higher mark in Maths, but rather who can solve this difficult problem that transcend skills. Learning brings learners closer to the real world, and the competition includes making the most useful gadgets to improve the quality of life. With proper networking learners will use whatever information that they acquire to solve the problem. Again, this is where technology really helps.

  Care for the environment and the people

At the end of the school years learners should be able to respect one another, and contribute to the environment. This would be a lifelong journey, but it needs to start in school.

This is what I could think of at them moment. What is your take on the 21st century learning? Write on the comments below.

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Preparing learners for the 21st century: Are we ready for it?

The 21st century learners are different than those in the past. This is supported by Mr Lee Sing Kong, director of the Singapore NIE during the National Convention of Teacher Education in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. He talked of how a child can reason over things that we could not expect.

Mr Lee mentioned that there were 4 skills that a teacher must take into consideration when dealing with the 21st century children, namely Respect views of others; build consensus,communication and higher order thinking skills. These are the 4 elements that the learners need to follow the demands of the labour market.

Respect 

When we say respect the views of others, it means that every information is crucial in a discussion. Thus, turn-taking is one of the thing that the learners must practice to make sure that all of the ideas are put into place. This may seem hard when we look into the cultural context of certain place. For a competitive classroom, learners would try to race against another to make heard of their opinions. Thus, respect must be inculcated at the beginning of a lesson, such as setting up rules.

Build consensus

Once respect is taken place, learners must start to collaborate to find solutions to a problem. Consensus can

only be achieved when all parties are satisfied with the ideas presented. This is something uncommon in the past, as learning is always a one-way street and no argument involved. When I was helping out with a company in providing ideas, we had to work in a team and talk about anything that we have in mind. Once these ideas are analysed, we had to compromise on the best to be presented to the boss.

Communication

Learners must talk, get in touch and stay connected with the people around them. In the 21st century, there are many ways to communicate with one another, such as the use of Skype, Hangout and Facebook. Mr Lee also mentioned the term 'Mobile Learning', in which learners can learn anywhere and anytime. This term is quite different than the 'e-learning' that we are exposed to. Mobile learning are often related to learning using mobile devices. Mobile apps can assist learners in their learning. In Singapore, learners are given mobile apps such as "Well Said" so that they can practice their English language proficiency anytime,anywhere.

Higher Order Thinking

Higher order thinking skills is one of the criteria in the TIMSS and PISA tests. TIMSS and PISA are used to look at the performance of participating countries in Science and Mathematics. Higher order thinking skills refer to the ability to use "complex judgement skill", critical thinking skill and problem solving. Through collaboration and discussion, learners are engaged in different ideas and criticism. Thus, learning must not always about getting one ultimate answer, but rather to find different solutions.

Learning Profile

There are 4 things that are included in a learning profile, as mentioned by Mr Lee. They are Experiential, Participatory, Image Driven and Connectedness. They are related to one another. Learners need to experience new things. Learning needs to be visualised and learners need to collaborate in order to learn effectively.

Finally, Mr Lee ended with 7 word slogan, "To mold the future of a nation, teaching must be seen as a profession'. This is honestly true as whatever happens it will be up to the teacher's perception towards his or her job. If we look at ourselves at the same level as researchers and doctors, we might see that this is possible. But if we look at our job as something of a burden, we might consider at leaving the profession to people who are fit for it.

What do you think of the 21st century learning? Are you up for it?

Photos taken from:

http://www.schoolnet.lk/research/mobile_phones_for_teaching_learning_science/
http://sciencetoybox.com/procedur.htm
http://www.clickjobs.com/kofitable/group-discussion.html

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