Reflection #2 : The Best School of Thought

As I mentioned earlier, I plan to major in Language and Literature. Based on the discussion we had during the recent class, I believe that the best school of thought for teaching, learning and education that can be applied to those subjects is behavioural.

As the name suggest, the behavioural school of thought helps us understand why we act as we do. It is based on the idea that it is possible to change the way a person behaves with a system of reward and punishment. There are 4 key concepts namely contiguity, classical conditioning, operant conditioning and social learning.

Language and literature is a subject that not many students  like as it is more of a creative subject that requires imagination and a strong command in English. They may face difficulties such as in generating ideas, producing good essays  etc due to their insecurity or lack of experience and knowledge. Nevertheless, I believe that this behaviour of students can be best improved by following the techniques provided in the behavioural school of thought.

Time for some comic relief hehe. Some of the idiosyncrasies that make English hard......but not impossible to learn :p

I choose to highlight operant conditioning and social learning as I find them most applicable to my teaching style. In operant conditioning, reinforcement is emphasized as a method to encourage students by offering praise for their good behavior. Let's say a student produces an excellent essay. As a teacher, I can show my appreciation towards his/her novelty and flair in writing by sharing it with the rest of the class. Assuming the student finds this reinforcement rewarding, he/she will most probably feel more inspired to write more brilliant essays.

As for social learning, it is learnt through observation. It happens when something good or bad happens to another person is observed. For example, if students were to see a friend praised for her schoolwork, they might try to emulate what she does so that they can be praised, too. Conversely, they might avoid doing what another student does if her behavior is not well received. This also saves the time of the teacher from having to have to constantly tell each and every student the 'do's and don'ts' in class. By simply observing their peers, they can judge for themselves and automatically adjust their behaviour accordingly.

To elaborate further on these two concepts, here are some examples of the approaches in the behavioural school of thought. The first is called precision teaching(PT). This is used when learners are expected to master a fact or skill,  and then continue to practice these skills until they achieve a high level of precision or fluency. For example, learning how to spell words correctly. Every week, I can assign and test my students new spelling words along with their meanings. Corrections will be expected  by repeating their mistakes 3 times. The more they practice their mistakes, the lower the chances of them committing the mistake again. As they get tested every week, they will become more confident and precise in their spelling as well as boost their vocabulary.

Fur-real! 'Meow' thoughts exactly :p ( I tried )

Another approach is  applied behavioral analysis (ABA),  that is based upon behavioral beliefs and findings and is informed by principles of operant conditioning. It is used mostly in clinical settings (hospitals, prisons, schools) to modify the behavior of clients toward more normal or acceptable patterns. ABA follows the following prescribed procedure.

                         


Of course, there is no doubt that the various other methods offered in the cognitive and humanistic school of thought can also be applied in Language and Literature. It all depends on your own individual teaching style and what you think works best for you. As for me, I find that this behavioural school of thought appeals to me the most.

Thank you for reading! :)

Reflection #1 : The Birth of a Blog

So, 3 days ago we kicked off our first official lesson in Pedagogy in Education by learning how to set up our own blogs. It is intended to be an e-portfolio. A definite first for many of us including myself. In our blogs, my classmates and I are required to do write ups on our personal reflections on our classes each week - 9 in total. I'll be the first to admit I did find it a tad bit overwhelming as I'd never come across an assignment like this before so far in my course. I had never been much of a writer so I thought it would be a little challenging for me to produce good posts. Nevertheless, I know this is definitely a good practice for me as a future educator to constantly be an active thinker and be bold to express my opinions. Sooner or later, like it or not, this was bound to happen. On the bright side, it's finally time to face the writing phobia that seems to haunt most of us. No better time like the present, right ? :)

Setting up a blog seemed like child's play compared to actually writing the posts. So my friends and I were pretty optimistic about getting it done in a jiffy. Little did we know, that it was actually way easier said than done. The entire process of creating our blog (including downloading Windows Live Writer) took approximately 1 and a half hours long! I kid you not. The gods of technology just didn't seem to be in our favour that day. Despite being in such a high tech class (Uniec Virtual Lab) and using such cutting edge technology like our Lenovo Yoga Tablets, we ironically found ourselves plunged in technological misery. We had to face some rather unfortunate technical problems during the process of setting up our blogs. Pop out windows never seemed to end. Passwords for email accounts were rudely refused. Privacy settings demanded our meticulous attention. What seemed to work for others, unfairly did not for some. It took all we had to keep our sanity in check.

 *please let it work, please let it work (inserts praying emoji here)

Yeah Sherenne, we totally feel you :p

Fortunately, our lecturer, Madam Ng found a way to give us solutions to the problems we encountered. Since most of us had similar problems, we were all actively moving about the class trying to help our our friends once we learned the method to all the madness. 'Monkey see, monkey do' seemed to be our motto for that day. In hindsight, it was actually  a really easy and straight-forward process....provided you knew all the computer tricks :p Oh well, now you know who to turn to anytime you need a hand in setting up your own blog. After what my classmates and I went through, we're so expert we could probably host a class all about it. (don't worry it will definitely be way less than the 1 and 1/2 hours we took)

Word, bro

Jokes aside, I'd prefer to think of this experience as a stepping stone in our progress to teaching. In the education world especially, there will definitely be a lot more new challenges that we face everyday and we all are bound to make mistakes. However, what's important is that we learn from those mistakes and challenges and try to impart whatever we have learnt on  to others. Sharing is caring after all :) 

This class also gave us a chance to learn a thing or two about patience. As future educators, we have to brace ourselves for a whole lot of stressful moments and frustrating problems. We can't decide what happens to us, but we can decide how we react to it. I think patience is one of the most important assets a teacher should have. Good things come to those who wait. We should also always learn to make the best out of the worst situations. Admist all the complaining and grunting, I found that I actually got a chance to bond more with my classmates and make new friends. Common sources of frustrations seem to work wonders on unity. Sharing the joy and utmost relief once the whole blog process was finally over with them, was without a doubt, my favourite part of the day. 

Looking forward to see you guys next week and hear your reflections as well! :)

Walking in My Shoes

Hey there! Shevaanni is the name. I was born and raised in a town called Subang Jaya. I am an aspiring educator and am currently pursuing Bachelor of Education (HONS) at Unitar. I will be majoring in Language and Literature and hope to teach English related subjects.

   Nice to meet you ! :)

I became inspired to teach English after studying in an international school in India. I went there to do A levels and acquire a spiritual studies degree. There were many students from all over the world who came from non-English speaking families. Although it was informal, I discovered that I really liked helping my fellow school mates improve on their English. I also got inspired during my frequent class essay readings during my English classes. It really fascinated me to hear amazing narratives from my everyone in my class, including my own teacher! Constructive and encouraging feedback was always given and shared openly amongst ourselves. There was always something to learn from everybody. I never knew how beautiful the English language could be. It had the power of stirring up so many emotions in us, sometimes humorous, poignant, and also deeply insightful. People’s minds were revealed in such an artistic way. My English teacher always pushed us into doing our best. The sky was the limit for our creativity. It personally gave me such a sense of satisfaction as I surprised myself with what I was actually capable of, with the right motivation. When we graduated, my classmates and I showered her with many compliments and gratitude for being so inspirational. She always said to us ''I'm only inspirational because you all inspire me to be!'' It was then that I realized that I wanted to do exactly the same in the future.

Nationalities from left to bottom : UK, Malaysia, South Africa, US, Argentina, Brazil, India, Russia

My philosophy in teaching is based on a slogan from my spiritual society – ‘simple living, high thinking’. I want my students to become active thinkers and not to learn to love knowledge and not just for the sake of getting good grades. Anyone can digest facts and just throw them back out during an exam. But what’s the point of learning something without any application? Hence, a higher thinking principle should be applied where education should be viewed as a lifelong process. It should not have to end the minute you are done upon completion of an examination. I believe that all my students should be equipped with all the necessary knowledge and values to prepare them to face the real world. Nothing should be lacking. At the same time, I want my student to not get too puffed up or ahead of themselves. This is where the ‘simple living’ principle comes in. No matter how intelligent or successful they become, I want that they still remain down to earth and have a humble attitude. There are many talented people in this world with world records. But what people really admire and respect is someone with a good attitude. It is what makes you really stand out from others. 

I aim to base my teaching style based on the student-centered concept. As English is a creative subject, I want my students to be able to enjoy it in the most fun and stimulating way. I want to make even the most boring lessons seem exciting and educational at the same time. In this era, there are all sorts of educational material, technologies and games to facilitate learners' needs. I hope to be able to creatively dovetail them to engage my students and keep them entertained. In my opinion, a teacher's style and approach reflects the students' attitude in class. By participating actively with proper guidance and feedback, I am sure that the best results may be produced. This is the quintessential learning environment i hope to create for my students

I aim to also encourage my students to read and be inquisitive. With hundreds of people around the world using it daily, English is undoubtedly one of the most important global languages.In virtually every country, it is an essential part of business, research, commerce, technology, politics, news and many other fields in which the exchange of ideas is important. The pivotal key to mastery of English or any language for that matter, is through books. Unfortunately, statistics say that the average Malaysian reads about only a rather alarming half a page a year! It is really such a shame and hence I want to take it upon myself to make a change to that. It may be a challenging feat, but not impossible. Impossible is a word only in a fool's dictionary. I want to show my students how fun reading can be and how it can help them in the long run. 

*cue hallelujah chorus

Research has shown that when young people know their sparks (their unique interests, passions, and talents), and have adults in their lives who support them in pursuing those sparks, they tend to have greater academic success and school attendance, lead happier and healthier lives, and contribute more to society. As a future teacher, I hope I will be able to ignite those sparks in my students. No matter what their background, race, religion etc is, each and everyone of them has potential waiting to be unleashed. Just like a match stick, waiting to be lighted.  Keeping the flame of education alive would be an such an honour and a noble way to give back to our society. I hope this dream of mine will come true one day.

Don't worry, the flame is just a metaphor. I promise you won't get burned lol

Thank you for your patience in reading! Might have ended up a little longer than expected (I'm still new at blogging, so please bear with me :p) I will be doing write ups on my reflections on the Pedagogy of Education classes next, so stay tuned! Have a nice day! :)