Reflection #5 : 7 Methods for Effective Powerpoint Slides

Hi guys! In our previous class, we reviewed a few submissions of slideshow presentations of a few of our classmates' lesson plans. Madam Ng gave us some constructive criticism and methods about how to make them as effective as possible for teaching and learning. Here is the list :

1. Understand that students are graphic literate and use colours that would appeal to them. Be careful to make sure that the colours are not an eye sore or too flashy. It is best to keep the slides clean and simple. Appropriate contrast should be used also (eg : if background is dark, choose light colours for the text and vice versa)

Keep it simple guys!

2. Slideshow presentations should be interactive. Do not ever make the mistake of merely reading word by word from the slides. Include activites within the slides to engage the students during the class to check their understanding and to prevent them from feeling too bored.

3. Choose proper templates. There is a variety of pre-designer, colour coordinated presentation templatest offered on Microsoft. Adjust the font and size if necessary to something appropriate like Century Gothic (size 20-25). The theme should be relevant with the theme of your slideshow. Do not over edit and put in too much custom animation as it may become annoying especially when repetitive.

4.  Do not try to cram too much information into one slide. Contrary to popular belief, the use of more slides is actually less time consuming. It will also be much easier for students to digest information when they are divided separately.

Won't want this to happen to our students, do we ? :p

5. Use creative strategies such as displaying pictures in slide show with the title and ask students what they think of it before showing them the definition straight away. This will provoke their curiousity and interest towards the lesson as well as help them understand better.

6. Give modern and local examples especially when explaining dry theory subjects. Students will be able to relate better when they are familiar with these kind of examples.

Characters from popular movies are good examples :)

7. For pictures, cartoon clip art should be avoided and real life ones should be used instead. This will show professionalism. Also, if only a certain part of the picture is relevant to the presentation, crop out the unnecessary part of that picture to highlight what you want the students to focus on.

Hope you found these tips useful ! :)

Reflection #4 : Most Important Element In A Lesson Plan

This week we were assigned to create our very own (and first) lesson plan! It was to be done according to our respective individual majors. Equipped with the basics of how it should look like, we were then faced with the challenging part : the content. After quickly skimming through a couple of samples that Madam Ng had posted, we tried our luck at it and hoped for the best.

As for me, I chose to base my lesson plan on a literature component called 'The Phantom of the Opera'. I fell in love with it when I first got exposed to it in high school. It is such an epic story embellished with elements of love, mystery, tragedies, culture, drama etc. Since I had a rather enjoyable experience learning about it back in high school, I figured why not try to recreate it for others ?

I think the most important part in creating a lesson plan is the organization of the stages. It consists of 4 sections namely,

1) Duration
2) Content/Skill
3) Teacher/Student Activity
4) Rationale/ Audio Visual Aids (AVA)

I find that this is a very useful technique to prepare for a lesson. It serves as a good mental checklist to know what to expect and what needs to be delivered in terms of priority. It is quite comprehensive and meticulous as well, as it goes to the extent of coming up with sample questions and answers from the class activities. You can also envisage a rough scenario of the class and be prepared for some of the common questions the students might pose to you. Not only that, I also really like the rationale part because it really makes you think whether a certain activity can be justified and that it's not just planned out whimsically. This enables us to fully maximize the benefits we can get out of the class.

I think that's pretty much the gist of it. Please excuse the brevity of this post compared to others. We have to prepare a slideshow presentation based on our lesson plan next week and I've barely started ! :O Yikes. Wish me luck! I'll be sure to let you know how it goes it my next post. Till then, stay tuned ! :)

Reflection #3 : Lesson Plan and Words of Wisdom

Technological advancements never cease to amaze me. In our last class, we were exposed to yet another new product of it. It was an interactive website known as 'Padlet'. It works like a sheet of paper where anything could be posted (images, videos, documents, text etc) anywhere from any kind of smart device , together with everyone. Our task this week was to upload our favourite school of thought as well as a method used in it. Within minutes, the verdant grass canvas page became fraught with a plethora of sticky notes. The fancy touch screen wall proudly displayed everyone's entries being edited and posted simultaneously. It was pretty cool. I liked how we were all able to collaborate in such a creative manner using our smart devices in the classroom. Not only was it quick and efficient, but the best part of using the Padlet was that there were no complications like we experienced the last time with our blog. What a relief!

Here's how Padlet looks like. Sorry this was the only picture I could find close to ours on Google. Note to self : snap more pictures in class 

In the next part of our lesson, we were assigned into groups and had to come up with a draft of a lesson plan. What is a lesson plan, you ask ? Basically, a lesson plan is a teacher's detailed description of the course of instruction, or "learning trajectory" for a lesson. A daily lesson plan is developed by a teacher to guide class learning. Details will vary depending on the preference of the teacher, subject being covered and the needs of the students. 

First, we started off with a quick brainstorming session and this was what we came up with :

Don't complain. Writing on touch screen walls are tricky. And anyway, as a teacher you have to get used to ALL kinds of handwriting :p

With Google and Microsoft Word as our allies, we all got our lesson plans done in no time. Then, we had a small discussion about everyone's finished masterpieces. All of us, more or less got the basics down. They were pretty simple, easy to digest and straightforward. Smiles lit up our faces as we got positive feedback from Madam Ng. We took note of her constructive criticism as well. 

Madam Ng is a very admirable person. In this lesson, we also had the privilege of getting to know her a little better as she shared with us some interesting anecdotes in her life. Many of us could relate and empathize with her especially when she told us all about her parents' pressure being the main reason she was in this teaching field. Despite it not being her first choice, Madam Ng persevered and thrived to achieve excellent results. She advised us that no matter how much we may be unsatisfied with the course, we should still strive to do our best. Getting a degree with flying colours will definitely benefit us in the working world, she reminded us. Our results can let people gauge what kind of a person we are and the abilities we have to contribute to them. By achieving excellent results, we would definitely have an advantage over others. 

Another piece of sound advice she delivered was to never give up. Jaws dropped in disbelief as Madam Ng narrated the number of jobs she had quit in the past until she finally found one that suited her. It surely must have been mentally challenging to go through what she had. However, she explained her simple philosophy that she vehemently stood by, "If I don't like the people I work with, I don't work with them". That really hit me because of the truth between the lines. You shouldn't have to compromise your own values and force yourself to work somewhere that is not conducive to your own well-being. Especially for teaching, I feel that it's important to have good emotional stability. Otherwise it may reflect badly on your teaching style and in turn impact the students negatively. One's happiness is definitely important in a career and shouldn't be taken for granted. If you adhere to this principle, you can be rest assured that there will always be a silver lining to find a job that's right for you. 

Thank you very much for your inspiring words of wisdom Madam Ng! Aspiring to follow in your footsteps :)

Happy Deepavali & Happy Holidays ! 

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! :)