I couldn't agree more with Steven Herder's ideas: we must consider the context and the level of the students.
I couldn't agree more with Steven Herder's ideas: we must consider the context and the level of the students. For intermediate and advanced students, teachers need to give them a challenge: finding the answers themselves.
One of the best ways to do that is to lead them in a virtual discussion prior to a face to face meeting. This activity is relevant at least based on several considerations:
1. The students become autonomous. They are responsible for their own learning. They study the teaching materials at their pace.
2. This activity stimulates their self-inquiry. Most students do not like lecturing. Instead, they enjoy finding the answers themselves.
3. This activity serves as diagnostic information.Their posts or comments inform us which area needs improvement.
4. Teachers can help them with the individualized learning. They reach underachievers one by one when necessary, guiding them to learn the teaching points better
One of the best ways to do that is to lead them in a virtual discussion prior to a face to face meeting. This activity is relevant at least based on several considerations:
1. The students become autonomous. They are responsible for their own learning. They study the teaching materials at their pace.
2. This activity stimulates their self-inquiry. Most students do not like lecturing. Instead, they enjoy finding the answers themselves.
3. This activity serves as diagnostic information.Their posts or comments inform us which area needs improvement.
4. Teachers can help them with the individualized learning. They reach underachievers one by one when necessary, guiding them to learn the teaching points better
Daniel, can you please elaborate? What tools or resources do you use for your virtual discussions? How do you organise and monitor them?
ReplyDeleteYes! I love the sound of it! Tell me more!
ReplyDeleteJulia and Anne thanks for asking. I have organized the instructional procedure of my grammar class as follows:
ReplyDelete1. Providing guidance for learning (Presenting the material to learn new topics).
My students were required to independently learn new topics prior to face-to-face meetings. I have varied my teaching inputs for them to learn. I did that because my students might have different learning styles. For example, I made a tutorial movie about the concept of grammar and uploading it on YouTube. To make a movie, I used Screencastomatic when working with a laptop or using Recordable app when using a tablet. I used Spreaker to create podcasts/audio material so students could deepen their understanding of new materials/topics by listening. The students could also read pdf textbook file I shared in Google Classroom. Since all of these applications provided the links, I then simply shared them via Google classroom or our social media group such as Whatsapp group. However, I did not restrict my students to make use of other relevant sources.
2. Eliciting performance (Assigning the students to post their ideas virtually)
I assigned the students to respond to discussion prompts I had shared in Google Classroom (sometimes I used Canvas). This strategy was intended to trigger their learning interest in new topics. This way became effective if I was actively engaged in discussion activities. I had to give them feedback (giving comments or suggestions, asking questions). In so doing, the student learned from their mistakes. However, more importantly, my students felt connected with me. My comments or suggestions meant a lot to them. They thought I cared for them. Furthermore, these activities had to be graded. In so doing, we could keep students’ instrumental motivation to learn.
3. Strengthening their Understanding
In face to face meetings in the classroom, we mostly spent time discussing new concepts. I encouraged them to ask questions most of the time. One of my favourite ways to begin face to face meeting in the classroom was to ask them to take the online survey through sli.do. The questions in this online survey were still related to the grammar points they had previously learned in the virtual class. We could see the results of this live survey together. The results of the survey informed me about the students’ performance. I never gave them explanation or answers to the problems or questions. Instead, I wanted them to find the answer themselves. To make them speak, I always kept asking them why. The class turned into student-centred.
4. Enhancing their understanding through assessments
I had two ways to assess my students to enhance their understanding. With regard to assessing their low order of thinking (remembering, understanding and applying), I made use of Socrative app. This app helped me create objective assessments such as multiple choice, yes/no questions. With these assessments, I assessed my students' knowledge. For higher order of thinking (analyzing, evaluating and creating), I usually assigned them to work on projects such as creating a short essay, sharing their podcast, etc. These types of assessments were more likely to elicit their performance. Since these assessments would take up much time, I usually asked them to do outside the class. For preparing their essays, I asked them to make use of Google doc. With this tool, I could monitor how much they have done their essays.
danielmachung I really appreciate you sharing your methods so thoroughly. I think your learners can learn a lot more from the kind of self-directed learning you are encouraging. I like that there is a mixture of receptive and productive activities and that your students get (and value) your feedback. It seems like the students are always at the center. How do your students feel about this way of learning? Do you ever get their feedback? How do you collect feedback from them?
ReplyDeletedanielmachung Wow! What a goldmine! Thanks for sharing all of that :-)
ReplyDeleteJust out of curiosity, what age range(s) do you use these activities with?
Phil Brown my pleasure. I taught the second year university students. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnne Hendler
ReplyDeleteWith regard to students' feedback, I usually did several ways. First, I directly asked my students about what we had done with our technology-based learning model in the face to face meeting. However, I thought this information was not complete. This information did not represent the whole group perspectives. Therefore, I did an online survey such as survey monkey.
However, I have to admit that I have to be careful at using the online learning. I should not give them too much work. It is to avoid cognitive load.
Below is the example of the online survey I did.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/hGKsDcxFHt24OeODapHb3VjKw7LGg8P10-W2zCNTnaMoxHG7fGmCNsHQ4jUohu6uX67_GQUSyGxGuLTLOjbvj8SECC5ACJWZz-k=s0
danielmachung That sounds great, but also like it involves a lot of teacher's time. I wonder how long it takes you to set up one activity of this kind from scratch.
ReplyDelete