As a teacher, I try as much as possible to expose my
students to a number of resources and and once in a while encourage them to
make choices of topics they want to learn. I also engage them in debates and
also get them to narrate their learning experiences to the entire class so as
to encourage those who are facing problems in their learning. I show them
videos and give them material to read about certain topics and in order to
discover more about a topic or issue that has been discussed in class as a
whole. In order to get them to brave the hurdles, at times I tell them some of
my learning experiences and I have discovered that they enjoy listening to them
and they get morale to push on.
In order to make my lesson authentic learning experiences for the students, I at times give them a task and allow them to work in a group or as individuals. I give them time to do their research and to look at these tasks from various view points. It is surprising how much they can learn on their own! Through their own effort and discovery, they learn a lot more than they would have in a teacher centered learning approach. At times they discover things that I did not know so I get to learn from them too.
But I can still do more. For instance, making it easy for them to do their research on the Net, encouraging them to get into group discussions using their smart phones and exchanging ideas no matter where they may be after schooltime.
In order to make my lesson authentic learning experiences for the students, I at times give them a task and allow them to work in a group or as individuals. I give them time to do their research and to look at these tasks from various view points. It is surprising how much they can learn on their own! Through their own effort and discovery, they learn a lot more than they would have in a teacher centered learning approach. At times they discover things that I did not know so I get to learn from them too.
But I can still do more. For instance, making it easy for them to do their research on the Net, encouraging them to get into group discussions using their smart phones and exchanging ideas no matter where they may be after schooltime.
Thanks Margeret, by so doing you are improving their communication skills and public speaking abilities... thats great!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the encouraging words Mustafa.
ReplyDeleteYou are on the right track Margaret. You enforce your learners engagement in English. Keep doing this.
ReplyDeleteYou are on the right track Margaret. You enforce your learners engagement in English. Keep doing this.
ReplyDeleteHallo Margaret, Its true that when you set them assignments sometimes they surprise you by what they discover and its really a good method.
ReplyDeleteHallo Margaret, Its true that when you set them assignments sometimes they surprise you by what they discover and its really a good method.
ReplyDeleteThank you Prossy.
DeleteHi, Margaret, it seems you give your students a lot of attention-which is very good. How ever, you mentioned it that some times you give your students chance to choose which topics to cover; i did not capture that very well. don't they render you irrelevant as a teacher?
ReplyDeleteThis is the twenty first century in which students who know what they want can not see a teacher that gives them chance to look at a topic of their own interest as irrelevant. To them this is an opportunity to explore and I do not regret the times I have done it because it has always yielded effective results. By the way I am an English language and literature in English teacher. If it is a topic for debate, why not? If they decide to choose a topic for speech or report writing , why not humor them?
ReplyDelete