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Academic diversity in the classroom
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Academic diversity in the classroom
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I used this quote to introduce a lesson on the different ways of learning to my undergraduate content methods class. I felt the words also spoke to both the essence of our assigned texts and my state of reflection. The readings increased my awareness of the variances of issues facing higher education and the viability of multiple solutions. I realized that it is much easier to shoot an idea down than it is to consider a novel solution. Ramsden’s (1992) use of the Whitehead (1992) statement, “I merely utter the warning that education is a difficult problem, to be solved by no one simple formula” leads me to believe that he holds a similar multi-approach disposition towards higher education issues.
In chapters six and seven, Ramsden (1992) examines the essential properties of effective instruction and the issues associated with incongruent teacher values and presuppositions. According to Ramsden, the primary problem is that too many professors fail to adopt a “compound view of instruction” (p.114). Ramsden contends that the difficulty in moving instructors towards a more complex theory of teaching lies in strongly held beliefs that “because learning is ultimately the student’s responsibility, effective teaching is an indeterminate phenomenon” (p.87). Ramsden argues that entrenched professor attitudes stifle their willingness to engage “cooperatively with learners to help them change their understanding” (p.114). According to Ramsden, adoption of a theoretical teaching approach based on the assumption that “learning is applying and modifying one’s own ideas; it is something the student does, rather than something that is done to the student” (p. 114) requires critical examination of the content and misunderstandings that students m...
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...ronicle article, “As educators, we should be far less focused on how many courses and credit-hours faculty teach, and far more concerned with seeing a variety of measurements, not simply a standardized test, of how much students are learning" (A43). It will be interesting to see if institutions include in their evaluation consideration the effective use of UID or technology enhanced instruction.
The range of issues related to teaching can often make tasks associated with elevating the practice seem insurmountable. However, forward movement in the field towards excellent teaching does not mean that we have to overcome all obstacles before we can progress. Rather, improvement can begin with baby steps that include faculty development opportunities, the use of reflective teaching instruments, expansion of teaching theories, and increased learner consideration.
Matthew L. Sanders discusses the necessity of taking responsibility for one’s own education in a section of his book Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education. In this section, Sanders explains how he initially blamed an instructor for not teaching him sufficiently and then learned that “No matter what kind of teacher you have, no matter what kind of class you are taking, if you are a learner you will set out to understand the material and create opportunities for success.” This statement is true and the concept can be applied through many methods to create success for students if they are willing to put forth effort.
It is a well-known fact that students entering higher education increasingly lack the academic skills necessary to succeed in their collegiate endeavors. It goes without saying that this is largely due to the widespread substandard education provided by legions of mediocre teachers—teachers who deliver shoddy instruction due to their own innately inferior academic abilities. At least, these facts are what Notre Dame Professor of Philosophy Gary Gutting would have readers of The Chronicle of Higher Education believe in his article “Why College Is Not a Commodity.” Although he makes many points that, if true, would be damning of the elementary and secondary teaching professions, Gutting stops short of proving his arguments logically or empirically. He claims today’s budding K-12 teachers often come from the bottom of the heap academically, directly leading to poor teaching—yet he provides no research to back up this connection. Furthermore, Gutting attempts to provide a solution to this so-called travesty by recommending that teaching be “professionalized,” ignoring the already-present professional practices and standards present. Gutting’s critiques, though thought-provoking, ultimately are logically and statistically unsatisfying in both their explanations of the state of teacher qualifications and in their calls to action.
279) to penetrate in the teacher everyday discourse so deeply that no one even questions their meanings, but everyone tries to use them in their teaching as if they are the guarantee of a good practice. However, as Cochran-Smith (2008) insists, good teaching cannot be fully regulated by the “high stakes contexts” (p. 279) and testings, as “good teacher education focuses on an expansive rather than narrow notion of practice” (p. 279), including the ability of teacher to build a good emotional rapport with the students and parents, responding to the learners’ needs, ability to demonstrate good problem-solving skills and so on, rather than being constrained only to the test scores, once again concluding that teacher education is a rather elaborated and complex
Rogers, C., Lyon, H., & Tausch, R. (2013). On Becoming an Effective Teacher. New York: Rutledge.
...o think for themselves. He believes that students will become more active and informed citizens if they are brought up to think for themselves (155). Gatto’s proposed solutions can be found successfully applied in Mike Rose’s essay. In his essay he describes the mediocre education he received while on the vocational track. Mike’s future was looking rather grim until he came under the instruction of Jack MacFarland. This man was a wise and enthusiastic teacher who challenged students academically. He encouraged and inspired students to read, to be proactive in their classes, and to think for themselves. His classes were engaging and the students were interested in his teachings (165-167). The fact that the same solutions that Gatto proposed in his essay was successful applied elsewhere proves that teaching practices need and can to change for the better.
Due to the effects of higher enrolment, teaching methods are now directed towards suiting the masses, thus everything has become less personal, as well as, less educationally in depth. Teaching techniques consist of multiple choice tests, rather than written answer questions which require critical analysis, as Jacobs states “So many papers to mark, relative to numbers and qualities of mentors to mark them, changed the nature of test papers. Some came to consist of “True or False?” and “Which of the following is correct?” types of questions” (Jacobs 49). While teachers also no longer engage in one on one conversations with students, but merely in a lecture hall among masses and everyone is seen as just a student number. Jacobs states a complaint from a student “who claimed they were shortchanged in education. They had expected more personal rapport with teachers” (Jacobs 47). Universities are too much focused on the cost benefit analysis, of the problem of increased enrolment, with the mind set of “quantity trumps quality” (Jacobs 49). The benefit of student education and learning is not being put first, but rather the expansion of the university to benefit financial issues. Taylor states “individualism and the expansion of instrumental reason, have often been accounted for as by-products
Reflection and reflective practice are frequently used words in the professional world. Learned scholars across the globe have elicited the importance of reflective practice. Teaching, just as other professions, demands the educators to critically reflect on their work in order to improve their practice, which would benefit the learners. Quinton and Smallbone (2010, cited by Moon J.A, 2002) reflection will not only facilitate the diagnosis of core strengths and weaknesses but also aid in the acquisition of a questioning approach. The art of reflecting involves many facets and encourages insight and complex learning, but it is often a complex strenuous task. Although, to be reflective is ideal, due to its lengthy process, reflection is either
“Reflecting” entails us to ask ourselves countless questions. How well am I interacting with the students? Are they understanding the concepts? Am I creating an adequate learning environment? How effective are my teaching techniques? Etc. This newly acquired knowledge on “Reflecting” has helped me growth as a teacher and has
According to Paul (1999), reflective practice has become a dominant paradigm in second language teacher education in recent years. Further, Biggs (2003) cited that learning new technique for teacing is like the fish that provides a meal for today which same as reflective practice that acts as the net that provides the meal for the rest of one’s life. To begin with, reflective practice has been a major movement since the eighties in teacher education (Calderhead, 1989; Cruickshank &Applegate, 1981; Gore, 1987; Zeichner, 1987). Even more, research acknowledges a number of potential benefits that arise from reflecting on ones’ teaching both for pre-service and in-service teachers (Bailey, 1997; Cruickshank, 1987; Mckay, 2002; Oterman and Kottamp,
They agreed that a new paradigm for undergraduate education was needed. The dominant paradigm—instructional paradigm— “delivering 50-minutes lectures,” (Baggs & Tagg, 1995, p1) was no longer working. Another point of interest, was the fact that both agreed that a mutual responsibility was needed.
The overall essence of education or knowledge acquisition is reflected in an axiom by Confucius which says “Tell me, and I will forget; show me, and I will remember; but involve me, and I will understand. Back then, it was clear that learning was a comprehensive process which involves passionate exchanges between students and their teachers; unfortunately this is not the case in most modern classrooms. Instead of the expected bidirectional communication between learners and teachers, in the modern learning environment there is a unidirectional system which involves the teacher incessantly hurling facts at students who, due to their passive roles as mere receptacles, have fallen asleep or; in the case of “best” students are mindlessly taking notes. This leads to a situation where knowledge has neither been conferred nor acquired.
Professional development is critical to success in a teacher’s career. Teachers need to be opened to continuing their education and consistently reflecting on lessons and interactions with students. At the expert stage of teaching, “the teacher’s practice is characterized by fluency, automaticity, and efficiency” (Garmston,1998). In order to achieve this level of teaching practice, the educator must continue to learn new teaching strategies, understand the curriculum, recognize students and their differences, and conduct self-reflections. A teacher who is dedicated to professional development and wanting to improve their teaching, will make a stronger impact on students. I believe that I am in the Proficient level of performance according to the Framework for Professional Teaching Practices (Danielson, 1996).
Expert teachers tend to adjust their thinking to accommodate with the level of reflection a problem situation calls for. Their teaching is characterized by an intentional competence that enables
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.