Today's class showed me multiple different teaching styles, which all created different outcomes in students' learning. Each teacher needs to take the time to find what works for them, while still benefiting the students by allowing them to learn and understand the material. One lesson that I got out of all of the different videos and readings was that if a teacher creates an environment of mutual respect and trust where the students feel safe, then the students will learn because they will feel more comfortable sharing their opinions and critiquing the material they are working with. This is significant because students learn a lot from both the new ideas their peers bring to the table and the critiques they have for the ideas of others. Many teachers believe that they deserve the respect of the students, but they do not realize the importance of respecting the students as well. The students need to feel as though what they are saying matters and what they have to say can be as important as what the teacher has to say. Sometimes in the classroom it is important to go against the norm and to create your own rules. The environment in which the students are doing the learning plays a huge role in how and what they actually learn. Structure is important, to a certain degree, but there has to be a sense of freedom as well. Students should not feel as though every second is planned out and that there is no place for questions or concerns. In order to engage the students, the teacher must connect with them on some level. This is not to say the teacher should try to be friends with the students, but they should show that they are human and have a sense of humor, for example.
Week 1 T2P follow-up
1. If a student knows how a learning activity fits into the overall course curriculum, then they will be more engaged in the class because they will see the relevance and have an understanding of the direction in which the activity/lesson is going. They will also be able to see how all the smaller parts work together to create the whole picture and how it all plays out.
Marianne:
ReplyDeleteCan you transform this statement/belief into a T2P statement? "One lesson that I got out of all of the different videos and readings was that if a teacher creates an environment of mutual respect and trust where the students feel safe"? To include a couple of specific examples of how you might accomplish this in the future?
GNA
In order to make students feel safe, I plan to encourage them to participate in class discussions, knowing that how much they say is more important than what they say. What this means is that I will not attack them for incorrect grammar or ideas that I do not agree with. I hope that they will feel as though there is no judgement being passed on them by the other students or by myself. I want them to feel comfortable speaking and sharing their opinions, even if they are not sure they have all of the vocabulary they need to fully express themselves. I will gladly guide them and give them the vocabulary they need. I will help them with grammar to show them a better way to say something, not to show them the "correct" way.
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