An amazing, somewhat frightening post in The Guardian about the future of universities.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/nov/11/online-free-learning-end-of-university

I have to say I'm not sure how sustainable free education is in the long term - someone has to pay somehow, surely.  Still, I'm going to explore and sign up for something.

Some Advice for a New Teacher

Here's some advice for new teachers - it's that time of year when newly hatched teachers leave the nest and spread their wings.  OK, that's enough of extended metaphors, here's the meat and potatoes.



ADVICE FOR A NEW TEACHER

1. Learn the children's names as quickly as you can - use mnemonics and include the students in the process. Ask for their help.

2. Share your thinking with them - ask them about the layout of the room, the resources, the tables etc. Its their place of work as well as yours.

3. Set clear expectations and explain why. "This is a place for learning, there's a lot of us and if its going to work well then we all have to do our bit."

4. Include yourself - "I'll remind you if you forget and I'll do my best to plan lessons that will be interesting. Sometimes though learning means doing things that are a bit boring, I can't help that. But I promise I won't ever waste your time and I'll always explain why I'm asking you to do something."

5. Explain that different kinds of learning require different kinds of behaviour - concentrated thinking (reading, writing etc) needs a quiet/silent room; a classroom discussion needs people to listen and speak one at a time; building and making activities need people to work together and share resources etc…

7. Only shout in an emergency. Children hate shouting and its a sign you've lost control. If a teacher shouts for strategic reasons then its a bad strategy. 

8. Nevertheless, be firm and consistent. Children don't like teachers who vacillate. 

9. Be fair. If you didn't see what happened, then say so. Listen to both sides and work together to find a solution. Don't be influenced by children's reputations.

10. Avoid becoming the classroom (playground) problem-solver. Talk to the children about how they can solve their own problems and how they don't always need an adult to help them. When things go wrong they can ask themselves:
- Is this something I can sort out myself?
- Is this something I need an adult to help me with?
- Is this something I need an adult to deal with?

11. Share your assessment criteria with the class. Put it on the wall and give the children time to assess their own work. I use a scale 1 - 5 (with a description for each), 1 - terrible quality; 2 - poor quality; 3 - satisfactory; 4 - good; 5 - top quality.

12. Where possible, plan activities in a meaningful and engaging context. Not all the curriculum can be taught in this way, but when it is, it is much more effective. 

13. Smile. As often as you can. It’s not a sign of weakness, the children appreciate it and you'll find yourself enjoying it.

New Year, New Writing, First Task - Good Advice

I haven't written anything here for a few months, although I did write some ideas down at the other blog - PGCTHE facilitators).  But, I'm going to use this to communicate with my undergraduate education students who are in the final year of their Bachelor of Education in Early Years Education.

I hope to use this as a way for them to record their reflections on TP, their comments on their research readings, and perhaps to set some short tasks. 

The first thing I want you to do is, therefore, write a post to new students who have never taught in a classroom before.  I want you to give them some advice on how they should be, what they should do to ensure they create a comfortable, stimulating and effective learning environment.  Try to think of 10 good, helpful pieces of advice for perhaps a first year student.

When you've all written something, come back here and I'll post my advice, too.

Experiences with Educational Technology

A few years ago I was asked to teach a course on using technology in English language teaching as a third year course in the Bachelor of Education programme.  When I read the course outline, I was shocked at how dated the software was it recommended that the student teachers evaluate and use to create learning activities.  They were generally the kind of software that takes a pen and paper activity and just places it on a screen, such as cloze, gap fill or matching activities.  Nothing exciting, unlikely to entice more discerning students who have more interesting experiences of technology.  So, I created my own course, replacing the software with a range of Web 2.0 applications which - after some exploration - I thought would be useful to facilitate English language learning.  However, I wanted to place the technology into a coherent theoretical framework, so I used Mishra and Kohler's paper, 'Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A Framework for Teacher Knowledge' (Teachers College Record, 2006) both for my planning of the course and for students' planning of their project which required them to design an integrated language learning activity using one or more Web 2.0 applications.  

We began by considering the difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0, highlighting the opportunities it offers for creativity, construction and collaboration and discussing how this tied in with the social constructivist approach ti learning which the B.Ed programme promotes.  I presented a few language learning activities using simple Web 2.0 applications which the class experienced as language learners and we analysed each with reference to Mishra and Kohler to focus on how the language activities address all three of the knowledge areas that the authors have identified.  After this, my students spent some time exploring about 12 of the Web 2.0 sites, considering the language skills they encouraged and how they might use them.  They then worked in groups of two or three to construct a series of coherent lessons and assessments that utilised Web 2.0 for the purpose of learning and practicing English.  I emphasised that the learning experience must use 5 features of effective technology use in language learning, i.e. it must be constructive, interactive, authentic, cooperative, and intentional and allowed for about three weeks for the students to create their project which they then had to 'teach' to the rest of the class and me.  One thing I noticed immediately was that Web 2.0 facilitated all 5 of the features of effective learning much more than the standard language learning software did, most of which involved filling in prescribed answers, but allowed for little creativity or authenticity.  For me, the use of interactive networked technology in the form of Web 2.0 finally demonstrated technology as a flexible tool rather than a means of practicing neat and discrete chunks of language.  The multimedia aspect that fast broadband allows is authentic and fits in with students' experience of technology outside the formal learning environment. There is the possibility of authentic communication with peers across time and space and it allows students to use language and technology to create multimedia for and with each other.