Know your students and how they learn
Know the Content and How to Teach it
- “Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the implications for learning of students’ physical, cultural, social, linguistic and intellectual characteristics.”
- “Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of strategies for differentiating teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities”
- “Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concepts, substance and structure of the content and teaching strategies of the teaching area”
- “Implement teaching strategies for using ICT to expand curriculum learning opportunities for students.”
Reflective Commentary
A question I asked myself constantly during this professional learning experience was how to cater for different learning abilities? I was in constant dilemma about how to maximise the learning for those who were struggling in contrast to the students who were bored because they had completed their task within minutes. I also had to consider time constraints in building multi-levelled activities for every set of students every lesson. I couldn’t teach new content to those students who were more able, as I needed to spend more time with lower level students to establish understanding. At the same time I didn’t want those students to feel “punished” for being ahead by demanding extra work from them in class. As such, reading up on articles about differentiating instruction in the LOTE classroom, I considered adjusting the “process” element in my teaching by incorporating more self access learning technology (Bond, 2003). This was easily built into the students’ learning program, as students would bring their Macbooks to every class, and the internet was generally quite reliable.
I have been particularly excited about the ICT element in the classroom. Being only knowledgeable in the basics of computer technology such as Microsoft Word and Powerpoint before my practicum, I took great advantage of this school with a strong technology program. Teachers’ blogs have been an invaluable source for providing advice for how to integrate useful software programs into meaningfulclassroom activities.
I have been particularly excited about the ICT element in the classroom. Being only knowledgeable in the basics of computer technology such as Microsoft Word and Powerpoint before my practicum, I took great advantage of this school with a strong technology program. Teachers’ blogs have been an invaluable source for providing advice for how to integrate useful software programs into meaningfulclassroom activities.
TPACK framework
The TPACK (Technological, Pedagogical, Content Knowledge) theory has heavily influenced my use of technology in the classroom. TPACK is the concept where teachers are not using technology for the sake of using technology, but rather to enhance the learning experience for students (Koehler & Mishra, 2009). I was very surprised to learn that using online games for students to consolidate vocabulary has actually been more productive than it being constantly covered verbally with me. More than 90% of students were happy to undertake these online games without the necessity for me to constantly monitor their on-task behaviour. This has enhanced the learning experience for students, not only because they are engaged, but I also found that students were able to remember more vocabulary within a shorter amount of time. It also assisted me in catering for different learning types (see Evidence), and allowed me to focus more on applying the learned vocabulary into sentence structures, student output and creating meaning from text.
However, one of my mistakes after seeing how responsive students were to technology was assuming students had learned to cope with this era of informational overload. I assumed that students had developed filtering skills and were able to pinpoint key information more easily. One lesson with a particular class which usually responded and behaved relatively well, I found that there were many students who were misbehaving extremely. Students were given a 'cheat sheet' of vocabulary. In pairs, one student needed to describe a “mahkluk halus”/ghost for another person to draw. I ran the same lesson with a very high ability class, and they were able to engage with the language instantly. I could not quite work out what went wrong as all the students appeared to like the activity -every student produced a picture, even the students who were usually disengaged in the classroom. My mentor highlighted that my lesson was actually far more complex than I realised, ie. I was teaching two new sentence structures as well as a new set of vocabulary. I was reminded of Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development, and how important it was for students’ to be familiar with subject matter, before moving onto something completely new. It also demonstrated to me the role of teacher to guide students, and to scaffold for their learning.
I revisited this lesson with the same class by beginning with revision, and then introducing new vocabulary by drilling and playing charades, asking students to label their pictures using this new vocabulary. I found that there were significant differences in behaviour exhibited from students there onwards. They were far more engaged with the language and more cooperative during the class. As such, I learned to program our lessons in this sequence: revision, familiarisation of new vocabulary, applying vocabulary to language items (sentence structures), applying sentence structures into a context. However, I learned that the high ability class were happy to engage in this challenging activity, though more explicit scaffolding was necessary to develop skills for identifying required information.
However, one of my mistakes after seeing how responsive students were to technology was assuming students had learned to cope with this era of informational overload. I assumed that students had developed filtering skills and were able to pinpoint key information more easily. One lesson with a particular class which usually responded and behaved relatively well, I found that there were many students who were misbehaving extremely. Students were given a 'cheat sheet' of vocabulary. In pairs, one student needed to describe a “mahkluk halus”/ghost for another person to draw. I ran the same lesson with a very high ability class, and they were able to engage with the language instantly. I could not quite work out what went wrong as all the students appeared to like the activity -every student produced a picture, even the students who were usually disengaged in the classroom. My mentor highlighted that my lesson was actually far more complex than I realised, ie. I was teaching two new sentence structures as well as a new set of vocabulary. I was reminded of Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development, and how important it was for students’ to be familiar with subject matter, before moving onto something completely new. It also demonstrated to me the role of teacher to guide students, and to scaffold for their learning.
I revisited this lesson with the same class by beginning with revision, and then introducing new vocabulary by drilling and playing charades, asking students to label their pictures using this new vocabulary. I found that there were significant differences in behaviour exhibited from students there onwards. They were far more engaged with the language and more cooperative during the class. As such, I learned to program our lessons in this sequence: revision, familiarisation of new vocabulary, applying vocabulary to language items (sentence structures), applying sentence structures into a context. However, I learned that the high ability class were happy to engage in this challenging activity, though more explicit scaffolding was necessary to develop skills for identifying required information.
Documentation of evidence
1. Quizlet
I wanted to learn more about my students. In one lesson, I asked students to create personal profiles, and answer some questions; “What helps you learn Indonesian?”. This was feedback from a few students:
- “When learning Indonesian I find that quizlet is very good, because it gives you flash cards and games. It also gives you a test your skills page, where you can see how well you are at Indonesian. I also like watching movies and power points, also it makes it a lot easier to learn as well when ibu lee explains words to us.”
- “I like to do things like quizlet space race and the eduation.vic.gov site with lots of cool mini games. I also like to do that game where we went form one side of the room to the other to decide what the answer is or your personal opinion. You could bring more things to touch and discover you could also make more power points and more music videos.”
- “I find that the quizlet helped me learn the Indonesian words a lot quicker, to be more specific the space race the test and also the language online mini games are helpful. To make the Indonesia class better I would come up with some more outdoor activities and hands on stuff. Just make the Indonesian lesson interesting.”
As I got to know the students further, I realised the students, especially the disengaged boys of the classroom, particularly engaged with technology and competition. I could set students who quickly learned one set of vocabulary onto the next set. This also worked in the favour of students who were more shy and unsure of their abilities, because they could learn at their own pace.
Students who were more shy and unsure of their abilities, because they could learn at their own pace with less pressure.
The competitive element of Quizlet catered for competitive and social learners, because they would compare scores and discuss which words they found difficult. I also encouraged students who were social learners/weaker ability to undertake Quizlet activities in pairs, and found that they often would help and correct one another.
Students who were more shy and unsure of their abilities, because they could learn at their own pace with less pressure.
The competitive element of Quizlet catered for competitive and social learners, because they would compare scores and discuss which words they found difficult. I also encouraged students who were social learners/weaker ability to undertake Quizlet activities in pairs, and found that they often would help and correct one another.
2. 'Mahkluk Halus'
Attached is the 'cheat sheet' I created for students. Students were allowed to refer to this sheet as often as they liked.
cheat_sheet_-_badan.docx | |
File Size: | 373 kb |
File Type: | docx |
In the first lesson this particular student was very off-task, however this a sample of her work in the second lesson. She was very task proud, and placed her picture into her laptop case as display. She engaged with the vocabulary and was able to successfully create new sentences using the cheat sheet.
Action Plan
It is clear through students’ feedback that they also valued Quizlet and Languages Online as a useful learning tool. Through observation it is very obvious that in this era, students are incredibly engaged by technology, and there is a need for teachers to further their skills to ensure students are learning the critical thinking skills involved with ethical use of technology.
I am very interested adding to my repertoire of skills in different technologies, and as such “Technology Toolbox for Educators” website has been invaluable starting point in becoming more familiar with different technologies. One particular technology tool I would like to experiment with is Socrative. I will be creating an account and developing some vocabulary quizzes during the holidays in preparation for next year. Please see Action Plan in Section 6&7 for further details.
In particular, I was recently passed on the Bahasa Indonesia Lima website and there are many articles on this website which discuss different methods to engage students with authentic Indonesian text, and helping students’ develop their technology skills with the use of programs such as Scoop It.
I am very interested adding to my repertoire of skills in different technologies, and as such “Technology Toolbox for Educators” website has been invaluable starting point in becoming more familiar with different technologies. One particular technology tool I would like to experiment with is Socrative. I will be creating an account and developing some vocabulary quizzes during the holidays in preparation for next year. Please see Action Plan in Section 6&7 for further details.
In particular, I was recently passed on the Bahasa Indonesia Lima website and there are many articles on this website which discuss different methods to engage students with authentic Indonesian text, and helping students’ develop their technology skills with the use of programs such as Scoop It.
References
Bond, N. (2003, April). Differentiating Instruction in the LOTE Classroom: Focus on Special Education Learners. LOTE CED Lowdown. Retrieved 14 August 2012, from http://www.sedl.org/loteced/lowdown/letters_62.html
Koehler, M. J., & Mishra, P. (2009). What is technological pedagogical content knowledge? Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 9(1), 60-70. Retrieved 9 October 2012, from http://mkoehler.educ.msu.edu/tpack/what-is-tpack/ .
McInerney, D. and McInerney, V. (2002). Educational Psychology. NSW, Australia: Pearson Education Australia Pty. Limited.
Koehler, M. J., & Mishra, P. (2009). What is technological pedagogical content knowledge? Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 9(1), 60-70. Retrieved 9 October 2012, from http://mkoehler.educ.msu.edu/tpack/what-is-tpack/ .
McInerney, D. and McInerney, V. (2002). Educational Psychology. NSW, Australia: Pearson Education Australia Pty. Limited.