Introduction
In every single class I attended during this whole semester, I must admit that a lot of my preconceived ideas of teaching changed drastically. Concepts so highly regarded by an outdated system such as grammar, translation, behaviourism, stimuli, among others started to look quite trivial when we actually begin to put our focus in matters as important as motivation, just to name one. I cannot do but regard this class as a new beginning in all the educational topics I ever thought about, with a fair amount of ‘positive’ drills (like a constant ‘no grammar focus’ repetition) and with a perpetual discussion on varied topics related to our current educational system, making contrasts between what a teacher should be and what teachers actually act like, new ideas flowed to shape an updated notion of teaching.
Ideas & conclusions
Along this semester, whilst studying some of the texts and the ideas contained within them, there was something that caught my attention and that for sure was something difficult to understand at first: I am talking about teaching classes with a full student-focused approach. It was hard, as well as confusing, to think that to be a better teacher you have to stop thinking about your performance and start putting your students as the focal point of your lessons. This can be quite a challenge, especially when the first thing we want our students to see is a prepared and confident teacher in front of the class, and yet our aim should be on students putting attention on themselves, interacting and communicating between them rather than with the teacher. This is one of the many reasons why in Harmer’s text ‘Teachers and Learners’ there is a big amount of information covering important issues s...
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...rfect method/approach. Perhaps it is thanks to our society and the current state of Chile, living under a paradigm too narrowed and outdated that teachers stick to the ‘old’ ways instead of innovating and learning about the new strategies in contemporary education. (which should be a teacher’s premise of a lifetime). If someday this was to change and our system goes beyond in the paradigm change, maybe we can contribute to the evolution of some methods, such as CLT and its latest developments in current societies due to our country tendencies in technology, or allow us to finally change the teaching focus to a more constructivist one in which contents are not presented anymore as grammatical units, but by its function. However the way it may happen, the possibilities for our society and our kids are countless, and more important, needed as soon as possible.
...simply reuses the same approach and methodology each year, his class is likely to become boring and ineffective. In order to properly educate students, a teacher must always be looking for ways to improve his course—methods of making the knowledge seem more interesting and relevant to students. Originality and innovation not only maintain students’ attention, but also help keep teachers interested. Any subject matter will seem boring if an instructor teaches it the same way for twenty years. In order to maximize the effectiveness of their teaching, educators constantly must be in search of new methods of presenting content. Complacency, after all, is the first step on the road to ineffective instruction. Teachers, like their students, must always remain motivated by the desire to improve. Without this desire, the process of education becomes stagnant and empty.
When I first decided to be a teacher I had many thoughts and opinions about teaching and education. Some of my thoughts and opinions have stayed them same; however, many have changed from the discussions and readings in LL ED 411 and 480. When I first decided that I wanted to be a teacher I thought that most students learned in the same manner. I also thought that the teacher should have power over the classroom. Likewise, I thought that technology should not be used in the classroom--except to type papers. I now know that there is not much truth to my ideas and thoughts because my thoughts were shaped only from my experiences. My experiences are narrow because they were shaped from the problems in schools and the old ideas that teachers still have. Now that I have learned the other sides to these problems I know that my thoughts about teaching and education are not fully developed.
Petty, G (2009). Teaching Today - A Practical Guide. 4th ed. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes Ltd. p1-2
Students must be able to be active in their want of education. It is essential that students are able to interact with peers and teachers in order to completely understand daily learning. Students also need to be motivated on what they are learning. This role is also part of the teacher’s role as well.
In developing relationships with learners, Freire suggested spending time talking and listening to students in order to get to know them and to gain their participation in class. That admonition has been incorporated into practice by numerous other educators. While many of the strategies in Tom Daly’s book were simple classroom management tips (2013)...
Upon entering the field of education, I am faced with many questions. Will the students like me? Will I have a large class? Will I be a good teacher? A few of the questions that definitely need to be answered before I enter the classroom, are what methods should I use to teach? What aspects of which methods will work best for me? What philosophy best exemplifies the way I want to bestow the learning process to my students? In my quest to become an elementary teacher I shall use a variety of aspects from past philosophers of education. As long as each child is learning, I feel that I am fulfilling my goal, and a difference is being made, I am on my way to a successful classroom.
An effective teacher will excite, inspire and motivate students to be active in their learning, investigate new areas of knowledge and make connections to future learning (Whitton et al 2010). When a teacher is successful, their students are motivated, mutually respectful and ready to build on their knowledge and solve real-world problems. To be a teacher of value, one must have many skills and qualities to cater for a diversity of learners and their individual development; this includes many personal traits that are noticed students.
First and foremost, I believe that the teacher should be in control of the classroom. Students are young, and they do not usually know what is best for them. Therefore, the teacher should be the one to choose the lessons and decide what is going to be taught each day. This traditional practice of orienting the class around the teacher is one of the main principles of the essentialist philosophy. To encourage this in my classes, I w...
Teachers serve as the guiding force in a student’s life. They are responsible for molding a student’s personality and shaping his/her mental orientation. Teachers deeply impact our lives and direct the course of our future. One cannot deny the influence of teachers in one’s life. In fact, it would not be an exaggeration to say that, till a certain age, out life revolves around our teachers. They are our constant companions, until we grow old enough to come out of their shadow and move ahead on our own.
In the second week of this course we discussed professionalism and our commitment to students. A lot of the sources read during that week addressed why we decided to become teachers, how we would keep our fire for the field of education burning and how our passion and enthusiasm would impact
Education is so important to one’s life that educators cannot merely teach in one manner. To truly teach someone you must dig until you find a way for him or her to completely understand. That’s why I think that teaching is going to be a great challenge everyday. As a teacher I will have a whole classroom full of individuals with different learning styles, different strengths and weaknesses, different attitudes, different lifestyles, and different motivations. Because of this, I will have to use an eclectic mix of approaches and teaching styles.
Along these two weeks we have been prompt to make a recall to our own way of learning and why we became a teacher: Was it because coincidence, due to life circumstances, maybe because family tradition, was it a conscious decision or because someone influenced us? Whatever the answer is, we have to face reality and be conscious that being a teacher does not only means to teach a lesson and asses students learning. It requires playing the different roles a teacher must perform whenever is needed and required by our learners, identify our pupils needs and preferences, respecting their integrity and individuality but influencing and motivating them to improve themselves and become independent.
Education is an ever-changing part of society. A classroom teacher is faced with new challenges and obstacles that have never been dealt with before. Students come to the classroom with different life stories. Every student has strengths and weaknesses that surface in the classroom environment. Teachers must understand and focus on utilizing each student's strengths and work to improve weaknesses. Students learn in a variety of ways. The classroom must be a safe zone that appreciates student's viewpoints and allows room for mistakes. When topics in the classroom are related to "real-life" experiences, the information is more likely to be retained. Students learn from one another. The ideas and perspectives that each student brings to the classroom can bring insight into what is being learned. Students have to be allowed to explore new ideas, try them to see if they work, and sometimes fail. When students are encouraged to explore, they begin the process of becoming lifelong learners.
In today’s classroom, the teacher is no longer viewed as the sole custodian of knowledge. The role of a teacher has evolved into being amongst one of the sources of information allowing students to become active learners, whilst developing and widening their skills. Needless to say, learning has no borders – even for the teacher. One of the strongest beliefs which I cling to with regards to teaching is that, teaching never stops and a teacher must always possess the same eagerness as a student. Through several interactions with other teachers, I always strive for new ideas, techniques, teaching styles and strategies that I might add to my pedagogical knowledge. Furthermore, through personal reflection, feedback and evaluation...
In this course I experienced an important change in my beliefs about teaching; I came to understand that there are many different theories and methods that can be tailored to suit the teacher and the needs of the student. The readings, especially those from Lyons, G., Ford, M., & Arthur-Kelly, M. (2011), Groundwater-Smith, S., Ewing, R., & Le Cornu, R. (2007), and Whitton, D., Barker, K., Nosworthy, M., Sinclair, C., Nanlohy, P. (2010), have helped me to understand this in particular. In composing my essay about teaching methods and other themes, my learning was solidified, my knowledge deepened by my research and my writing skills honed.