There are four considerations in the design of instruction with databases. This was what we discussed in class last week as one of the tools in teaching. ACTS accounts for An Authentic problem, Clear outcome/product, Thinking skills and Software skills.
Every teacher, designing a lesson plan for class had better follow these steps.
Many of us might not yet have noticed this, or even we might have followed all these considerations while teaching without knowing it, but Being aware of the process brings out more success both for teachers and learners.
When a topic is introduced in class, it should have been pre thought of it as an authentic problem, and more importantly a real life touching problem. Learners respond better to real life situations rather than just telling them this is your assignment and you have to do it to pass the course. Many of us have seen it in movies that those teachers dealing with the real problem of students, can bring a better and even sometimes astonishing educational results in their schools.
It is also important to ask the students to perform,show or report what they have done. Not just giving them more tasks or homework but making them responsible for what they have done and what impact they have had in their society after solving the problem. Be it a fund raising, helping the members of the community, choosing a president or just their experiments in the rain forest, it can all be delivered as to show who I am in my civilization.
Teachers are also required to clearly analyze students' cognitive thinking skills . Giving samples and guiding them through out the thinking process.
Llast but not the least, the software used for bringing a solution to that problem should also be introduced well. Working with that particular software should also be well explained. Taking the students just to the computer lab and asking them to work on the software, would be never sufficient and of course we are to be blamed if we see them playing games. Giving full instruction and acting as a meta cognitive guides help students to walk on the right path, work toward finding the solution and thus a better self satisfaction and confidence by the end of the day.
We are not just teachers teachers, we are architects, we are builders, we are creators and yes, we are designers.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
To be a student or a Teacher
It is amazing how different a task acts when you look at it from two opposite directions.
A lesson plan might seem very easy to handle when you are a teacher and everything looks just fine; you even get sometimes frustrated why students can't work on the activities that you have designed so well and in so long! ; but on the other hand if you were the student and the same activities were being asked, you might have been stuck with it too.
Now, how is this?
In general when we design lessons, we rarely put ourselves in their shoes, and we just want to get the curriculum passed over and done!
Last week in our class we were working on two different tasks of " The big four and database activities on the Perfect President". At first everything seemed to be very easy, I was even thinking what a wonderful idea on teaching some of the topics in my ESOL classes, but as time went by, I saw some hidden points that I was not sure of as a student. The good thing was that the instructor and her assistant were always around helping us with any problems. So I thought to myself, The more detailed and simplified tasks you put into your lessons when designing them, the easier it gets to be for students to understand and thus fulfill the activity.
Examples of this when designing your lessons would be; Introducing and preparing the students well enough before the start of the activity, giving simple and clear instructions, having some sample works, dividing the task into three different levels of easy, medium and challenging for students with different levels of learning, making it as real as life situation and everyday activities so the students see the point in learning the activity and of course following the four steps of SSCC, which is Searching, Sorting, Creating and Communicating.
The better we design our classes the better the outcome would be and the more productive educational results we would have :)
A lesson plan might seem very easy to handle when you are a teacher and everything looks just fine; you even get sometimes frustrated why students can't work on the activities that you have designed so well and in so long! ; but on the other hand if you were the student and the same activities were being asked, you might have been stuck with it too.
Now, how is this?
In general when we design lessons, we rarely put ourselves in their shoes, and we just want to get the curriculum passed over and done!
Last week in our class we were working on two different tasks of " The big four and database activities on the Perfect President". At first everything seemed to be very easy, I was even thinking what a wonderful idea on teaching some of the topics in my ESOL classes, but as time went by, I saw some hidden points that I was not sure of as a student. The good thing was that the instructor and her assistant were always around helping us with any problems. So I thought to myself, The more detailed and simplified tasks you put into your lessons when designing them, the easier it gets to be for students to understand and thus fulfill the activity.
Examples of this when designing your lessons would be; Introducing and preparing the students well enough before the start of the activity, giving simple and clear instructions, having some sample works, dividing the task into three different levels of easy, medium and challenging for students with different levels of learning, making it as real as life situation and everyday activities so the students see the point in learning the activity and of course following the four steps of SSCC, which is Searching, Sorting, Creating and Communicating.
The better we design our classes the better the outcome would be and the more productive educational results we would have :)
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Communicative Role
"Samuel F.B.Morse one of the inventors of the electric telegraph believed he had discovered a practical way of using [electromagnetism] as a means of communication and interchange of thought in written language, irrespective of distance and time save that required for manipulation, and that it would ultimately become a daily instrumentality in domestic as well as public life." from the Victorian Internet written by Tom Standage.
All language training classes have different objectives. whether for business or just conversation, travel abroad or professional training all undergo a primitive goal and that's communication.
Designing a communicative class in a language lab requires thoughtful considerations.
One can attempt in piling the lesson plan with too many activities that by the end of the class it is just a paper and pen task centered individually rather than having any communication in groups.
As an ESOL teacher for quite many years I have found that the more prepared you are knowing your students the better you can develop lesson plans designed for that specific students even in a multi-level or multi-cultured and what's more multi task oriented classes!
Just recently in my Distance learning ( Online ) classes of language training we had introductory classes of getting to know each other and defining our goals of learning the desired language.
The outcome was lessons specifically designed for that group of students meeting their needs with communicative needs.
Examples of this was removing any Translation activity from the lesson plans and getting students more involved in conveying their thought into TL ( Target Language ) within their limit.
Another example was omitting any One language task activity. That is all the activities were circled around the communication into two languages. Rather than just having " write the meaning of these words in your own language" we asked the students to come up with their own sentences or phrases at the time of need of an exemplified situation.
This is not to say that we are going to remove all that has done so far in learning a language but the farther we see the use of language in the international arena proves how important it is to transfer one's message into communicating with others.
All language training classes have different objectives. whether for business or just conversation, travel abroad or professional training all undergo a primitive goal and that's communication.
Designing a communicative class in a language lab requires thoughtful considerations.
One can attempt in piling the lesson plan with too many activities that by the end of the class it is just a paper and pen task centered individually rather than having any communication in groups.
As an ESOL teacher for quite many years I have found that the more prepared you are knowing your students the better you can develop lesson plans designed for that specific students even in a multi-level or multi-cultured and what's more multi task oriented classes!
Just recently in my Distance learning ( Online ) classes of language training we had introductory classes of getting to know each other and defining our goals of learning the desired language.
The outcome was lessons specifically designed for that group of students meeting their needs with communicative needs.
Examples of this was removing any Translation activity from the lesson plans and getting students more involved in conveying their thought into TL ( Target Language ) within their limit.
Another example was omitting any One language task activity. That is all the activities were circled around the communication into two languages. Rather than just having " write the meaning of these words in your own language" we asked the students to come up with their own sentences or phrases at the time of need of an exemplified situation.
This is not to say that we are going to remove all that has done so far in learning a language but the farther we see the use of language in the international arena proves how important it is to transfer one's message into communicating with others.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Virtual Classrooms
The Direct Method system of language instruction teaches through the active involvement of the learner in speaking and listening exercises in everyday situations with real world applications.
This can be refined as a method for language training. The instructor begins speaking the target language immediately in the virtual classroom developing vocabulary , communicating and thus building fluency.
The classroom is designed in a way that brings one on one interaction between teacher and student and there they are all the elements and technological tools to be used in a class. Blackboard with variety of writing tools and the option to share web browsers, power points and word documents all in one virtual classroom can help both the learner and trainer to access a high standard learning system.
I will go more on details about this kind of class in my coming posts.
This can be refined as a method for language training. The instructor begins speaking the target language immediately in the virtual classroom developing vocabulary , communicating and thus building fluency.
The classroom is designed in a way that brings one on one interaction between teacher and student and there they are all the elements and technological tools to be used in a class. Blackboard with variety of writing tools and the option to share web browsers, power points and word documents all in one virtual classroom can help both the learner and trainer to access a high standard learning system.
I will go more on details about this kind of class in my coming posts.
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