Hello friends!
It’s a great
pleasure to be interacting with you all once again after last week’s absence.
There were personal issues so urgent and demanding that I could not complete my
course tasks.
As for week
5, it has been very useful and informative. PBL, alternative assessment,
rubrics, webquests – so many new things explored and learnt. The discovery of
the week is undoubtedly Rubistar. I had no idea that creating a rubric could be
so easy and fast. Though alternative
assessment is something that is not used in our university officially, but I am
sure that even if it is used by the teacher for evaluating the learners’
understanding of a given topic, it is worth using.
For the first time, I created a Webquest -
The Art Gallery. I found it quite interesting. This is a good tool for communication between a teacher and students. After reading the webquest about the task or project, the students know what to expect in the class, how to carry out the task, and what the teacher expects of them. It saves a lot of time, both of the teacher and the students. My webquest focuses on integration of language instruction and literature. This is an issue that is very close to my heart. During my interactions with my various classes, I have found out that a good number of students opt for English Literature because they believe that studying literature would improve their proficiency in English language which does not happen as they are busy paraphrasing the texts all the time. They do not get any exposure to language use in the real world. They end up scoring badly in exams and also lose the battle on the language front. So, I always try to incorporate elements and/or practices of language teaching with my literature lessons so that they gain some exposure to language practice.
Project
based learning is not very popular with our education system. It is only for
last couple of years that it has been included in the curriculum of Central
Board of Secondary Education,India. I think not many universities in India have opted
for PBL as a method of teaching. Marks and grades are given according to the
traditional examination pattern. I share Ashish’s concerns regarding the
response of higher authorities to AA and PBL.
But this is something that is beyond
my control. My classroom is the only place where I can
control things.So all I can
do is that I can make my students work on small projects based on individual
topics being done in the class. I can use rubrics and AA to judge their
performance there and give them feedback for improvement. I still have to think
of better ways of motivating them to complete the projects as the motivation of
marks or better grades is not there to help me out.
But I am not
to be discouraged by these problems. Experience is the best teacher, as they
say!
Happy
learning!
Vinita
Hi Vinita,
ReplyDeleteAs they say, still waters run deep. I am sure that even small improvements within your own classroom will make a difference. So you should not give up.
Authorities are rigid and it is difficult to persuade them that change is good. However, when results are achieved and presented in a way they can comprehend, there is hope they might actually allow some innovation.
Keep up the good work and your students will sure love it!
Jasmina
Dear Vinita,
ReplyDeleteWelcome back. I hope that you are doing better this week!
I was sorry to read that PBL might not go over so well in your academic area. But, as you said, you can control your own classrooms. So, if you incorporate some PBL gradually into your own classes, then maybe it will have some trickle down affect in that others might become interested in it and try to experiment with adding some PBL into their own classes as well!
Good job! And hang in there!
Evelyn
Dear Vinitha,
ReplyDeleteYes,I too believe experience is the best teacher. You are great !We all try to learn these new approaches for the benefit of the next generation.In week 5,you got the chance to finish your assignments in time.I too agree with you ,discovery of the week is undoubtedly Rubistar.Project based learning is one other thing I like very much.
Don't worry Vinitha,things beyond our control too can happen for the betterment of whole mankind when people make requests with good intentions!Best of luck!
Disna
Hi Vinita,
ReplyDeleteIt is wonderful to have you back in our online learning community! I'm so proud of you for creating your first webquest! I'm glad you find it to be a tool that can aid both the teacher and the student in understanding the details of the assignment/project and be a time saver, so true! Isn't it wonderful when we can find a one stop shop?!?!
Regarding PBL, I think it is important to remember that it is a teaching approach that can be incorporated into your curriculum when the time is right. Just like technological tools, we should not decide we want to use something just because we like it, but rather determine what we need and then find the tools and approaches that best help us meet those needs. You must implement PBL only when appropriate. I just did a project with my high level beginner students in the Intensive English Program at the University of Oregon. We were doing a unit on culture, so I had them work in small groups, of mixed nationalities, to explore a culture other than their own. They had to research the culture, finding specific information based on criteria that I provided, create a power point, and do a presentation for the class. In the presentation, each student covered certain aspects of the culture they researched, and also told how that culture was different from their own. We worked on the project for close to three weeks, but we did not work on it everyday. I gave them some class time to complete it and some of them had to work outside of class. I was quite pleased with all of the groups' efforts, except for one. Unfortunately that group had one person that threw off the whole dynamic of that group.
Anyway, I just wanted to share that experience as it is an example of an opportunity to implement a project that falls within the boundaries of the curriculum. It is an excellent approach to get students interacting and collaborating for authentic purposes. I know that this approach may be looked down upon by authorities, but I think if you find the right time to implement it, according to the curriculum, it can be affective and even accepted. I think it is important to use a variety of teaching approaches, in order to meet a variety of learning styles and that is a sound argument for the occasional project. Jasmina, Evelyn, and Disna all gave you their support in attempting to make changes little by little and I do too!
Thanks for sharing your week 5 experiences and again, welcome back!