Classroom Day 3 and Getting Ready for the Training

We had the third classroom day yesterday. It was so great to see the other students f2f and not just online! We started to plan our next course. I think it is going to be an interesting one!

We were asked to write a poem about yesterday. Here is mine.

Fellow students

Inspiring, Creative, Challenging

Laughing, Talking,  Learning

Friends

Yesterday I learned a new presentation method: Pecha Kucha. It was pretty fun yet challenging. I did not have time to practice mine, and I was a bit lost every now and then with my pictures. That made me "to hide" behind the teacher's desk with my notes. Well, I took the risk and learned from it! 

I did get some slightly odd feedback about my presentation though. My pronunciation was described "so funny" and it was seen as a disadvantage. I think it would have been better to say something like "pay attention when pronouncing certain words", but now I feel as if my way to talk is really horrible. Would be interesting to know how to start improving my pronunciation then.. After all, we are non-native speakers, and I strongly feel that being able to communicate is much more important than pronouncing each word correctly... 

Hopefully my poor students can still listen to me. I have a funny feeling it is mainly the other Finns who are so keen in judging someone else's language skills. And then we wonder why Finns are shy to speak foreign languages... Anyhow, I learned from this experience never ever to comment about my student's pronunciation since I will not be teaching English but in English. I did get some good constructive feedback too: I shall remember to pay more attention to the non-verbal cues in the future!

Last night I also booked the flight tickets to the UK. I am so looking forward to my teaching training, yet a bit nervous.

Analysis of My Competences in Teaching

So the VOCI course is almost completed. It has been an interesting journey. While reading my older posts again, I cannot help but notice my learning process. Even though I had basic knowledge in teaching and even some practical experience before these studies, I think this course has helped me to combine the theory and practice together. Next, I will briefly discuss the main areas where my understanding has become deeper.

Learning Theories

When we started our studies, I was happy enough with the existing learning theories, and even thought that learning styles indicate them. I was even planning to test my students' learning styles in order to meet their desires in a classroom. Well, I gave a miss to that idea in early days.

I am not saying that learning styles do not exist, or students should not be familiar with their strengths and weaknesses. What I am trying to say is that we should not narrow our learning by using only our favorable ways to learn.  The challenge for a teacher is not to match his/her teaching with students' desires but rather find the most suitable methods to teach the topic in question in various ways. When it comes to students self-awareness, I think it is important for them to acknowledge their strengths and weaknesses in order to understand the concept of networking.

Does Constructivism Apply with the Digital Age? 

When it comes to the main learning theories, I think Constructivism is the most relevant one nowadays. It views learning as a process in which the learner actively constructs or builds new ideas or concepts based upon current and past knowledge or experience. Learning is a very personal endeavor. The teacher is seen as a facilitator, and the methods used are for example self-directed learning, transformational learning and experimental learning. (Wikipedia, August 2012.)

This all sounds very familiar if we think how we are thought to build up a curriculum or plan our courses and lessons. But there is surely one major aspect missing. Constructivism sees learning as a personal endeavor. What about one of the hottest topics of the day - collaborative e-learning? 

I think we need something new to explain how learning occurs in the digital social context. One possible theory or pedagogical view to explain this, could be Connectivism (Wikipedia, October 2012. It was found in 2005 by Siemens and Downes, and it is based on existing theories but renewed to meet the challenges of the digital age.

"Principles

• Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions.

• Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources.

• Learning may reside in non-human appliances.

• Learning is more critical than knowing.

• Maintaining and nurturing connections is needed to facilitate continual learning.

• Perceiving connections between fields, ideas and concepts is a core skill.

• Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of learning activities.

• Decision-making is itself a learning process. Choosing what to learn and the meaning of incoming information is seen through the lens of a shifting reality. While there is a right answer now, it may be wrong tomorrow due to alterations in the information climate affecting the decision."

In this theory, teaching is seen as modeling and demonstrating, and learning is seen as practicing and reflecting. The cornerstone of the theory is "know-where", which basically refers to the learner's ability to know where to find the knowledge when it is needed. (Wikipedia, October 2012.)

This theory takes us back to the importance of networking. In a classroom students should learn to network with each other, but the idea of networking should be taken outside of the school, too. Students should also learn to network with their society, and nowadays globally, too. Technology gives many possibilities for that.

Further reading: Connectivism: Learning theory of the future or vestige of the past?

My Role as a Teacher and Teaching Methods

I already mentioned that teachers are nowadays seen as facilitators. This is probably my biggest lesson in this course. Even though I have know this in theory for a long time, I have not really had a clear idea how to apply facilitating in real life. It occurred to me only some time ago that I speak way too much in a classroom. (I am sorry honey, I will continue like this at home). So in the future I shall do less lecturing and more learner-centred teaching. I guess I was so desperately wanting my first students to learn that I was doing most of the work! Luckily I had got some good case studies from a colleague of mine, and I was able to get the students to work, too.

So, my take-home message shall be: Trust in your students ability to learn without you dispensing too much information!

There is actually a school in Sudbury Valley, where the teacher's role has been changed completely. Or actually, there are not any teachers but adults. The whole school operates in an extraordinary manner: they do not follow a curriculum, the kids can do what they feel like doing, there are no exams and everyone from 4 to 18 years old is learning together. Still the students are doing well after graduation, they actually have a head start on the information age. (Marano, 2006.) 

I am not sure this concept would work in a big school though. Unfortunately the number of small schools in Finland is decreasing all the time. But it would be foolish to ignore what could be learned from them. Maybe every teacher should help the students to find their inner motivation to study by giving them an opportunity to make some decisions about the content of the course as well as the teaching methods. Teaching methods should be learner-centred and open for innovations and networking.

Teaching Methods for My Next Customer Service Course & How to Enrich the Course with Technology?

Since I have not got that much teaching experience, I thought it would be nice to plan what methods I could use in my next Customer service course if I ever got to teach it again. 

The vocational skills requirements for the course are the following (Finnish National Board of Education, 2009):

"The student or candidate manages service situations in which they
–  prepare service situations
–  look after the work environment
–  serve external and internal customers
–  use languages skills in serving the customer
–  arrange after-care for service situations
–  carry out office tasks associated with customer service
–  determine the profitability of the activity." The contents of the course have been built up to meet those requirements. The teachers have the freedom to choose their teaching and evaluating methods.

So last time, we watched some videos of different customer service situations, and how great service is provided. I think those videos were great for opening discussions and sharing everyone's own experience. I used for example this story to show, what someone may achieve by serving customers well. And you cannot leave this one out when talking about bad service. I would keep these examples in the next course,too, but I would make the students to discuss even more. Also a debate could be an interesting way to assess their knowledge about customer service.

Last time the students were also asked to write short plays of different customer service situations. I think they found it a fun way to learn. And it hopefully supported creativity. 

Last time I evaluated their learning with case studies they had throughout the whole course, and a group work they had in the end of the course. I think the cases work out really well, and the students got regular feedback. Next time some of the case studies could be organized as open book group exams. The group work on the other hand should be planned much better next time. I think they would benefit from it only if they did it with a local enterprise. Maybe I will leave the group work out.

Next time we could visit some local shops where customer service is done well. We could also have visitors from local enterprises to tell how they take care of their customers. This all would also support entrepreneurship. I will definitely keep the mystery shopper exercise they had last time. It was great to see them to really analyze the service they got! 

I could also use technology more in this course. Last time I mainly used it for watching videos. Next time we could maybe Skype with different companies, or even talk to a school outside of Finland and see how "good customer service" is understood there. That would improve students' cultural awareness, too. And the plays could be actually recorded and uploaded on their digital learning environment.

So all in all, I would still keep most of the exercises I had last time. But I would definitely increase the time used for discussions and collaborative learning. I would use technology in new ways, and try to involve the local businesses. The biggest change would anyway occur in my role. I will promise to lecture less and let the students to learn themselves!

My Strengths and Weaknesses

All in all, I have learned a lot in the first course. I think my competence lay in the drive to learn more in order to become a better teacher. This means that I am open for new ideas and happy to try them in teaching. I am also capable to teach different entrepreneurial skills and mindset by using different methods and showing students an example of entrepreneurial attitude. There are still many factors I need to practice though. And so should there be. I do not think you can ever be a ready teacher: there is always something new to learn. Anyway, below is a short list of factors I need to work on in the near future:

• It is time to take the theory into action. It may take a few times with some methods though before I can really see the benefits of them.
• I need to learn new teaching methods, or even implement some myself.
• I need to start using teaching methods that support entrepreneurship.
• I could still learn new ways to use technology in a classroom.
• I should do better networking with other teachers inside and outside the college, also digital networking!
• I could use my networks with the local enterprises in order to bring real cases into teaching, as well as creating learning environments outside the school.
• I shall remember my new rule: "Less talking and more facilitating in a classroom".
• And I should always remember that failure does not mean the end of the world - it is a great opportunity to learn something new about teaching!

References

Finnish National Board of Education. (2009) "Requirements for Vocational Qualifications. Vocational Qualification in Business and Administration 2009." Finnish National Board of Education. Retrieved December 1, 2012 from http://opetushallitus.fi/download/140411_vocational_qualification_in_business_and_administration_2009.pdf

Wikipedia. (August 2012) "Learning theory (education)." Wikipedia. Retrieved November 27, 2012 from (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_theory_(education))

Wikipedia. (October 2012) "Connectivism." Wikipedia. Retrieved November 27, 2012 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connectivism

Marano, Hara Estroff. (May 1, 2006) "Education: Class Dismissed." Psychology Today. Retrieved November 26, 2012 from http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200604/education-class-dismissed

An Idea How to Promote Entrepreneurship among the Students

I just came up with an idea how to promote entrepreneurship among the students. I think schools could find a "godmother or godfather" for each group. She or he could be an active or retired entrepreneur, who would like to visit the group every now and then, or even work with them in small projects they have in different subjects.

Do you think the idea could work?

Teaching Entrepreneurship

Yesterday I got home from InnoOmnia, where we had a two day seminar about teaching entrepreneurship. Very interesting topic indeed. I got some new ideas about teaching the subject through playing games. Also dealing with cases from business life is a good way to learn team working, problem solving and creativeness. It would be even better if the outcomes were assessed by real business people. This is something, I could think of using in my teaching. In my customer service course I could provide students with real cases from local enterprises. I already have a quite good network, which I could use for this purpose.

I still feel that the seminar was mainly for teachers, who are teaching entrepreneurship or something related to it. But how about all the other teachers? A mathematic teacher will not ask the students to solve problems related to running a business. But how could he/she provide students with entrepreneurial skills and mindset? This is something we have not really covered in our course yet, even though it is still a very important topic.

Teaching Entrepreneurial skills

The Finnish Qualification requirements for Vocational Education and Training apply key competences of lifelong learning. One of those competences is Initiative and entrepreneurship. The curricula (The Finnish Qualification Requirements in Vocational Education and Training) state:

"The student or candidate works towards completing the objectives set. He/she takes initiative and acts in a customer-oriented way as an employer and/or entrepreneur. He/she plans activities and works to reach the objectives set. He/she acts economically and is result-orientated. He/she sets personal goals in line with the overall objectives."

All these skills can and should be taught in every subject. But what are the best methods? 

I learned one interesting method the other day. Exams could be held as open book exams taken in small groups. The idea is that a group would learn to work together to find the best strategy to find, handle and reflect information in order to achieve the goal. A group that finds the best strategy usually performs the best as well. The groups can also compete against each others during the course.

Schools should also teach that failure is not bad if a positive lesson is learned. In other words, failure should be seen as an opportunity to learn something from it.

Below you can find a list of different methods that could be used when teaching entrepreneurial skills according to Jaana Seikkula-Leino (Ruskovaara, Pihkala, Rytkölä & Seikkula-Leino 2010.):

• co-operative learning
• problem-based learning
• group and peer work
• project work
• team work
• learning by doing
• pedagogical drama
• learning diaries
• school and business co-operation

In my opinion a teacher should also underline the importance of networking. For example groups and teams should be built up so that people with different kind of skills would work together. This would help students to realize that it is good to have people doing different kind of tasks based on their skills in order to work efficiently as a team. Too often students take just the easy option and work with their best friends. In work life this is not the case, and students should step outside their comfort zones.

Teaching creativeness

I found this really interesting blog by Dr. Margaret Haviland.
She states that

"Rather than a final grade, students should be getting regular feedback, constructive criticism, probing (as opposed to leading) questions from their teacher and their peers. This feedback needs to measure specific aspects of the learning as laid out in the unit or topic goals. Rubrics geared towards creativity need to be clear and based on learning objectives... Formative rubrics should be the focus in teaching creativity with summative assessment focused on the overall process as much as the product. Rubric writing with creativity as the learning goal is an area for fruitful professional learning whether it’s an all day in-service, an ongoing project with a colleague, or a workshop led by someone who feels successful. I think peers are often the best teachers.... If we want students to learn to write an analytical essay, we assign an essay, then grade it for form, style, grammar, content, and correct bibliography. If we want students to think and act creatively than the assessments we create for them must measure creativity.Ingenuity, inventiveness, originality are non-linear, iterative, and prone to failure. Failure is great!" (Haviland 2012.)

She also writes that teachers, who are creative can teach creativity well as they show example by sharing their experience with their students. Not every teacher has to be a successful author or businessman, but every teacher should be transparently sharing with their students their own creative efforts whether it’s rethinking an approach to teaching, solving a problem with the class or their engagement with an issue. (Haviland 2012)

So in a nutshell: all teaching and assessing should support creativity, and a teacher should act as a role model.

Finally, I would like to share this video by Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, which teach entrepreneurship to young people from low-income communities to stay in school, recognize business opportunities, and plan for successful future.

References:

Haviland,Margaret. (2012) "Encouraging Teachers to Teach Creativity." Powerful Learning Practice. Retrieved November 25, 2012 from http://plpnetwork.com/2012/06/05/encouraging-teachers-teach-creativity/

Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship. (2010) "Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship." Youtube. Retrieved November 26, 2012 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEu9boYTqUw

Ruskovaara, E., Pihkala, T., Rytkölä, T. & Seikkula-Leino, J. (2010) "Studying Teachers’ Teaching Methods and Working Approaches in Entrepreneurship Education." Lappeenranta University of Technology. Retrieved November 25, 2012 from http://developmentcentre.lut.fi/files/muut/ESU_2010_Tartto_2.pdf

"The Finnish Qualification Requirements in Vocational Education and Training." Finnish National Board of Education. Retrieved November 24, 2012 from http://www.oph.fi/english/sources_of_information/core_curricula_and_qualification_requirements/vocational_education_and_training

The 4th Virtual Session: Special Needs Students; Co-operation between Schools and Enterprises; Teaching Entrepreneurship

The fourth, and the last one for now, virtual session is over. What a relief! It has been a tough autumn. It is not time to relax just yet, but at least we, as a team, achieved one goal. Well done us - all of us!

Today's topics were interesting. I wish we had have more time for discussion. I still do not know how much time we should use for the actual presentation (delivering knowledge) and how much for discussion. I think we should have at least the basics before we can really discuss, but what is enough?

One group had great discussion questions concerning teaching students with special needs. What a pity that we had time to cover only one of them.

I think this topic is important. How can I as a teacher help my students with their studies? When I think about students aged 16-19, the biggest challenges are probably caused with their age, and the sudden freedom some of them get once they start studying. Or how many of us would have got up for morning lessons at age 18, if our parents had not been there for kicking us out of the bed? Some students may move out from their childhood homes once they start their studies in a new town. Do they have a proper support network there? Do they have an adult, who cares there? (Unfortunately some of them do not have one even when living with their parents.)

Can I be the one as a teacher? At least to some point? I cannot start a school taxi system for the ones who find it difficult to wake up in the morning, but could I be the one who believes in them, no matter what? Isn't that what we all need: someone believing in us?

I will never forget how I made one student's day by telling him that I can see his potential even though he mainly likes drawing cartoons in my lessons. After that he actually wrote a really good answer to a task I had given them. Next time I will do it differently though. I will ask him to deliver the message in a form of cartoon. Maybe not every time, but I will give them alternative ways to show their knowledge for sure.

That would support creativity, too, which takes me to today's other topic: Developing entrepreneurship in vocational education. This is my baby! In my MBA studies I got to know Jeffry Timmons' New Venture Creation. I like his way to define entrepreneurship, and the fact that he believes in educating people to adopt entrepreneurial mindset. If only the teachers would have this mindset first! I will probably write more about entrepreneurship education later on.

Our third topic dealt with co-operation between schools and enterprises. Interesting topic once again. I think the main problem here is the lack of knowledge about all the possibilities. Schools should make it easier for small enterprises to find out information about f.ex. on-the-job learning. I think that would be the most natural way to start the cooperation. Once the entrepreneur becomes more familiar with the vocational qualifications, he/she could then get even more involved (f.ex. in planning curricula).

Teachers should learn to network with the local companies (entrepreneurial skill by the way). Maybe we need some kind of organization such as Business Oulu linking us together with the enterprises? But before that I think teachers should learn to network with their colleagues. I seriously think we are lacking in cooperation between each others when it comes to teaching. Why cannot we have long projects for our students, where different courses and even enterprises are involved in? A start up company could ask students to run a marketing campaign, which they would first plan at school in different subjects. Or a company could ask students to give quotations for laying a wooden floor. Students should make calculations (profitability - once again entrepreneurial skill), write a quotation (Finnish lessons) and the winners would even buy the material and do the actual work (floor installing). This way the students would network with the local companies, too, and find training placements and/or summer jobs a bit easier.

All in all, today's presentations went well. Tutors asked us to think about new ways to teach though. I think it is good to get more interaction in the lessons, but one should not use different teaching tools only for "fun". I mean making f.ex. a video just for making one is not good enough! The video should be justified. And the same with other teaching tools, too. Anyway, AC is not the greatest environment for testing out different tools... So we need to consider really carefully, what tools are not just justified but also working.

Virtual Session 3: Competence Based Qualifications and Vocational Skills Demonstrations; Evaluation/Assessment; Student's Self-evaluation

Today we had the third virtual session. Our group was the chair group, and we were meant to keep eye on the time, as well as make sure that everything was running smoothly. I think the session went pretty well. We managed to have breaks between the presentations. We even had time to fill in a questionnaire based on the learning goals of each presentation. It will be interesting to see what the results are! Did we learn what the presenters wanted us to learn?

Following on from the first virtual session, we are now discussing more during the presentations, which is a really good thing. Only that it feels as if we did not have enough time for discussion. Luckily we can always continue on our blogs... 

Overall, the presentations were good, and they were made from the vocational education point of view. I would still love to see even more practical examples though.

In my breakout group all the presenters were great. We had some technical issues, but luckily only small ones this time. I am sure there will be even less problems in the future once we learn to use AC more efficiently. 

Today's topics covered competence based qualifications and vocational skills demonstrations, evaluation/assessment and student's self-evaluation. The first two topics were quite familiar to me, at least in theory. I will come back to evaluation later on. 

Self-evaluation

Student's self-evaluation is something I would really like to gather a deeper understanding of. What are the best tools to do it with teens? How could I, as a teacher, help them to understand their learning? Our students evaluate themselves during the on-the-job learning which takes place twice or three times during the studies. There they learn to evaluate not just their professional skills but also their lifelong learning skills. But is that enough? Should we use self-evaluation more in the school as well? 

I think one way to help students acknowledge their learning is to explain to them what they have learned so far. When I started a customer service course with a group of first year students, they were not able to define good or bad customer service. As the course went on, they started to understand what was excellent customer service. In the end they got to a point where they were observing the customer service personnel while they were shopping. They came to my classes to share their experiences with the others. At that point I told them how far they had come from knowing very little to being able to observe their environment critically. I hope that helped them to understand their learning, and maybe in the future they can self-evaluate themselves more independently. In the future I may include some kind of self-evaluation exercises in the end of the course.

What Methods of Assessment/Evaluation Will I Use?

So far I have taught only two courses. I did not have exams or tests in them. For a novice teacher an exam may have been an easy option, but I did not see the point testing customer service skills in the form of exam. Instead, I gave them scenarios, and they had to find solutions to them. Those were written tasks. I also had a small group task in the end of the course. 

In the future I may reduce the number of written tasks and ask them to make a video of a customer service situation instead. I think they would find it fun, and it would really show their skills. Some written tasks could also be delivered in other forms such as cartoons. Not all of the students are such great writers, but they could maybe show their knowledge by drawing. I would not give that option with each task because it is important to practice the writing skills, too. The last task could be some kind of self-evaluation. 

So all in all, I think I will continue with my "say no to exams" policy and try to find other ways to assess the students. I think carefully thought exercises can motivate the students more than the traditional exams. Also the process of preparing a video, for example, may teach more to the students than just getting ready for an exam. They would not just learn from each others, but they would also learn important skills such as group working and presentation skills. And wouldn't it be much nicer from my point of view to watch videos than correct exams late into the night? ;)

Getting Excited about the 4th Task

We have already started preparing the 4th task.

We will be the chair group for the third task, and we will send our guidelines for the other group still today. We will try some new procedures... There is not much time between the third and the fourth tasks, so we are working on the last presentation already now.

We are using Popplet for brainstorming and organising our thoughts. I think this is a great way to work at this stage. Everyone can add their ideas on a Popplet, and we can discuss about them in the meetings. The greatest advantage is that we can see all the ideas on one page at once. This way we do not need to read long emails over and over again. Much more practical this way!

We also changed the way we started working on the topic. We first thought about the learning goals (what do we want the others to learn from our presentation). I know, this is how it should be done. But it took us two presentations before we learned it! Thanks to one of our team members to discovering it!

At the moment our Popplet looks like this. Interesting to see what it looks like next week! Or just before our presentation.

How Do I Use Technology in My Field of Pedagogy?

My field of pedagogy will be Business. As a teacher I would use technology in teaching for several purposes.

• for searching and accessing information
• for example visiting companies' Web pages, material bank
• for presenting learners' knowledge (what they know and how they learned that)
• for example creating multimedia presentations, blogs, online magazines, chat forums
• for simulating real-world problems
• for example computer based business games, practice enterprises
• for discussing within and outside the studying group
• for example sharing ideas, thoughts, knowledge, collaborative learning as well as contacting other study groups, companies and specialists
• for becoming more international
• cheap and effective way to learn more about business in other cultures

I think technology is already part of everyday teaching. The next step is to find new ways to use it. Although I think that technology should add value to teaching and learning, but it should not be the value itself.

The Second Virtual Session: Project Learning and Progressive Inquiry; Virtual Teaching

The second online session is over! I have to say the presentation itself went much better than last time. This time we had less material, and I was able to cover it in 30 mins. We got also good feedback about our teaching methods, which was obviously nice.

Even though the presentation went well, I would still change something. I would not divide the tasks so much between the group members. It was complicated to teach a topic you had not really discovered yourself. Next time collaborative learning is the key word!

Another group used Popplet for discussion. It was great to test something totally new. I am not sure Popplet is that great for discussion but I am happy they showed it to us. I learned two things from that:

1. Never be to shy to try something new. So what if it does not work?
2. Popplet could be used for brainstorming when starting Project learning or Progressive Inquiry (or even working on our next task).

It was also interesting to learn a bit from Project Learning and Progressive Inquiry. Although I was hoping for more theory concerning those two methods! Both of them seem to be learner-centered methods that support collaborative learning and networking. (Development of Learning Theories,Project-Based Learning.) 

I think I will try them one day in teaching, at least Progressive Inquiry which seems to be further developed. I think it will take a few times to run a course with this method before I can really say I know what I am doing. It would also be good to have a mentor when teaching with this method for the first time. Networking with other teachers from different subjects would be a good idea, too. I think we are not co-operating enough with our colleagues when working on a project. Wouldn't it be great to have a project that combines 2-3 different subjects and even business life? I can see Progressive Inquiry being a great method for this kind of collaboration.

One group taught us about virtual teaching and how teaching can be enriched in it. Interesting topic! The use of technology provides many opportunities to enhance a lecture. According to Oliver Knill (2003), one should still remember the following pitfalls when bringing technology into a classroom:

• Technology should not be used for the sake of using technology.
• Enrichment which focus on simplistic concepts only offend the intelligent mind.
• Too much technology can be like adding too much salt to a well prepared dish.
• A class or online demonstration should be memorable, fun and still easy to use.
• Avoid monitoring students learning process online.
• Can't replace the direct student-teacher interaction.
• Preparing a class using technology needs lots of time.
• Be aware of changes in technology.

I found an interesting Wiki which provides information of using technology in teaching. According to them, a teacher can use technology in many ways, such as:

• design and deliver learning 

• enable students to search for information and learn to synthesise and use the information 

• engage students in collaboration and open communication 

• inspire students to use their imagination to create, innovate and design 

• encourage students to reflect, and self and peer assess. 

This Wiki also gives examples how technology can be used as teaching tools and activities as well as shows how to teach Shakespeare in new ways. (Effective Use of Technology in the Classroom.) It is worth to have a look at!

Anyhow, all the groups had improved their teaching skills a lot since the last session. It is interesting to see what and how we are taught next time. Hopefully every team is as brave as the team with Popplet was today!

References:

"Development of Learning Theories." Centre for Research on Networked Learning and Knowledge Building. Retrieved on October 9,2012 from http://www.helsinki.fi/science/networkedlearning/eng/delete.html

"Effective Use of Technology in the Classroom." Wiki. UNSW School of Education English Method Site. Retrieved on November 26, 2012. from http://unswict.wikispaces.com/homeKnill, O. 2003. Enriching Teaching with Technology. Harvard University. Read 26.11.2012. http://www.math.harvard.edu/~knill/pedagogy/technology/w.pdf

"Project-Based Learning." Edutopia. Retrieved November 26, 2012 from http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning

How the Curriculum Directs the Development of Studies?

The official curriculum has got many roles in developing education:

1. The curriculum is a tool for controlling education nationwide

The curriculum ensures equal education all over the country. It also continues the educational tradition. 

The curricula build up a continuous educational system - they show what is taught at what level, and how students can move from one level to another.

On the other hand, the curriculum reflects the values of a society. It tells, what subjects should be taught (such as Finnish, Mathematics and Entrepreneurship). It also contains values that may be harder to recognize. The curriculum orders how many hours each subject and topic is taught; in other words, it values each subject and topic differently.

2. The curriculum is a tool for schools and teachers to plan their teaching

The curriculum explains the content of a degree / diploma. It also shows the aims and pedagogical principals of a particular course. The curriculum directs the evaluation (what are the expected learning outcomes and how they should be evaluated).

The curriculum includes:

- the aims

- the content

- the activities / actions

- the evaluation

... of a course

Further reading: Curriculum theory and practice

My experience

I have taught only couple of courses, but I found the curriculum  helpful when planning the courses. It was important to know the contents as well as the assessment criteria. Reading the curriculum was not easy in the first place. It took a while to understand what were the aims of the course. Luckily I got great help from my colleagues. 

I think curriculum is a great tool for planning teaching that meets the national requirements. But a teacher should also be creative and brave to step outside the curriculum if the students show interest in something else that is not written in the curriculum.

The First Virtual Session

We had our first online sessions on Monday. What a day! We had our teaching material nice, ready and  practiced. And what happens! ACP started playing up! Some of us had the PP presentation running smoothly and some of us had big problems. Our slides changed automatically after every 5 sec! A bit challenging :) Well, we learned to cope with unexpected problems. It would have been nice to be able to show our presentation and other material as planned, but in the end the presentation went pretty well anyway.

It was nice to learn new subjects from other teams as well. I also learned new presentation skills: Thank to one of our group member who read all the chat comment aloud... it gave the chat a new meaning when all the comments were recognized. I will use that in the future, too.

My View of Learning

Learning is a complex process in my opinion. I think all the learning theories (behaviorist, cognitivist, humanist and social&situational) have brought some important factors to the knowledge of learning. I think it would be too narrow minded to box learning under only one of those theories!

We learn new things all the time, both in our private and professional lives. Sometimes learning is unconscious and sometimes learning itself is the task.

Everyone prefers to learn in his / her individual way. I myself like to search for information and reflect the outcomes in written or spoken form. I find the social context of learning really important. I also like to learn by doing. Visual material is not my cup of tea, but still sometimes needed (and therefore I should improve my visual learning skills). I strongly feel that my understanding becomes deeper when I use many different kind of methods to process the new information. Sometimes it might be the last figure or video that makes me to say "Now I got it!". This happened recently when I was learning how to tie a sling for my baby. I finally got it when I was watching some tutorial videos.

The most important factor behind "educational" learning is motivation. A learner has to know why he / she needs to learn something new, and he / she has to want it! The level of motivation is totally different if you feel that you really need the new information than if you are learning only to get some credits. One of the teacher's greatest challenges is to help the students to motivate themselves.

Further reading: http://www.infed.org/biblio/b-learn.htm

The Individuality in Learning And Learning Styles

I have already written a little bit about learning styles and how a teacher could maintain from knowing them. In this blog I am not going to introduce the various concepts of learning styles more detailed since they can be found easily on Google. Anyway, the basics of learning styles are easy to adopt since they are mainly based on "common sense" and not heavily theoretical.  In other words: everyone can understand them. I think that is where the beauty of them lays, but we should not take them for granted!

I have already posted this video link on the blog (Willingham 2008). I watched it again, and it made me to search the subject more. I found interesting articles concerning learning styles. 

Research into educational applications of learning styles started in the 70s. Different concepts of learning style exist. However, the concept can be generally described as "the way an individual sets about learning something". Learning styles are seen consistent and relatively stable individual differences in the way people learn. There in no good or bad learning style, and it is seen important that education meets the specific strengths and weaknesses of learners. This is done by following guidelines based in the so-called "matching-hypothesis", which states that the latter will perform better, or at least appreciate the instruction to a higher extent, if a teacher matches instruction to the individual learning styles of his or her students. (In Search of Theoretical and Empirical Foundations for the “Learning Style Awareness” Hypothesis as Guiding Principle for Educational Applications of Learning Styles in University Education)

Nowadays the student is held more responsible for his / her own learning process and expected to be able to self-regulate the process. The "matching-guideliness for teachers" are seen less important and even unethical; the teachers are expected to help students to recognize their strengths in learning instead of trying to implement different strategies into teaching. The latest studies have questioned the impact of learning style awareness on the quality of learning. The impact must be reconsidered and certainly not be overestimated. (In Search of Theoretical and Empirical Foundations for the “Learning Style Awareness” Hypothesis as Guiding Principle for Educational Applications of Learning Styles in University Education)


In the article "In Search of Theoretical and Empirical Foundations for the “Learning Style Awareness” Hypothesis as Guiding Principle for Educational Applications of Learning Styles in University Education" the researchers state that "learning styles can play a role in stimulating metacognitive awareness of personal strengths and weaknesses in learning. It however appears from this study that some well-chosen questions can just as well boost these processes of self-reflection. A formal assessment does not seem necessary. It is also suggested that learning style measures can as well be bypassed. Knowing from this study that strictly adhering to results of a particular learning style instrument which are not considered very relevant by the students, might even cause resentment, the introduction of learning style information should always be carefully considered. It appears that if this information does not fit into the everyday experiences of the students, the risk exists that it will be rejected. Our results confirm that learning style instruments hold as much potential for harm as they do for good". (In Search of Theoretical and Empirical Foundations for the “Learning Style Awareness” Hypothesis as Guiding Principle for Educational Applications of Learning Styles in University Education.)

All in all, it seems like learning styles may not play such a big role in teaching and learning. At least they should be researched more and based on theories rather than common sense. Different concept of learning styles should not be mixed up with the theory of learning process. Also the risks of paying too much attention to learning styles should be recognized by teachers and tutors. As stated in the attached video link, teaching should be about "making sure that the students learn the meaning by using various but suitable and motivating teaching methods". "Good teaching is good teaching and teachers do not have to adjust their teaching to students' different learning styles."

References:

Willingham,Daniel. (2008)"Learning Styles Don't Exist." Youtube. Retrieved on July 5, 2012 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=sIv9rz2NTUk

"In Search of Theoretical and Empirical Foundations for the “Learning Style Awareness” Hypothesis as Guiding Principle for Educational Applications of Learning Styles in University Education." Retrieved on July 7, 2012 from http://users.ugent.be/~mvalcke/CV/desmedt.pdf (pp- 173-223.)

Everyday Things That Make a Teacher

What makes a teacher? What are MY criteria for a good teacher? What kind of teacher would I like to be?

These are the questions every (trainee) teacher should answer. 

In my opinion the most important thing is to care about the students as people, respect them and believe in them (especially the ones who need it the most!). I will most likely teach youngsters from 15 to 18 years old, and I strongly feel that one of my greatest tasks is to help them to become young adults in those three years they stay with us. So being a teacher is not just teaching the subject but also guiding and helping the students.

Obviously knowing your subject well is essential, too. I think a good teacher shows enthusiasm and interest in the subject. If you are not interested in the subject you are teaching, how can you expect your students to find the love of learning? As a teacher you have to be the role model and show the students how they can find more information and become a better learner.

I find these two criteria the most important! After that comes the different teaching methods you use to make the lessons interactive and interesting as well as the knowledge in curriculum and evaluation. A good teacher also works closely with other teachers, student councilors and school staff.

I know two teachers who meet my criteria. I am sure there are more but these two I know well in person. I have been lucky to learn about being a teacher from my mother. She has always worked hard for her students and for the subject she is teaching. I can tell you that being a Swedish teacher in Finland is not always easy due to the resistance to the second official language among the Finnish speaking population, but my mother has managed it really well. She always gets good feedback from her students. 

The other role model I have is a colleague of mine. She works really hard for her students and makes sure they do not drop out from the system. She really cares about her students and the subject she is teaching. We also have a common interest - internationalism. She is not just a colleague but also a great friend and a godmother to my son.

There is also a downside of being a teacher described above; there is a high risk of finding yourself working hard almost 24/7. So I think it is important for a teacher to find a way to relax and forget your work even though you take teaching as mission.

In the end I would like to share a story of a music teacher, who taught my husband in the 80's. My husband still talks about him and his love of music. This teacher made the music lessons fun by buying interesting instruments for the class room and letting the kids play them not just during the lessons but also during the breaks. He understood that some students needed music to find friends and have a good time at school. Today, almost after 30 years, he sends nice posts to his former students' walls on Facebook. 

So what kind of teacher would I like to be? If someone talks about me as a great teacher (who hopefully has helped to plant the seeds of lifetime love for learning) and a person after 30 years, I can say I have succeeded.

My Personal Learning History

We ought to write something about our personal learning histories. This is a rather wide subject to cover in one post but lets give it a go.

As a learner I have always been easily motivated. My mother has told me how I used to stop at every bush to find out what was hiding behind and under it. I think I lost my interest in bushes at quite young age, but the hunger for learning more than just what is on the surface still exists! 

The older I get the more I love finding an answer to the question why. (Yes, I know "the why age" is usually at 3..) This makes learning more fun but also more challenging. I find it really hard to "just get the credits" and not get too deep into the subject. Sometimes, for a busy mum, it would be wise just to do the minimum to get the credits. But that is not me.

I have always been a good student, not the best one in the class, but a good one. I have not got this easily, I have always had to work for good results. But that is fine by me. I believe that it has helped me to become a better adult student! Also Educational Science studies have showed me my strengths and weaknesses as a learner, and taught me to deal with them.

As an adult I have completed BBA and 60 credits in Educational Science (and other odd courses in different walks of life). I am also lucky to have an employee who supports me with my aims to develop my skills and gives me opportunities in taking different short courses.

So all in all - I have always loved expanding my little world. I am far away from being Einstein, but in my opinion learning requires more will and open attitude towards new things than brains.

I am still learning.

Michelangelo

Task1 - What Role Do Learning Styles and Strategies Have in Study Guidance/tutoring?

Our group's first task is to prepare a presentation of the topic "What role do learning styles and strategies have in study guidance/tutoring?". 

Step 1. 

We decided to find out more information about this topic and combine our findings later on. This way we will have a better understanding of the subject and be able to start working on the task. Here are my thoughts.

First of all - what is tutoring? I found this link. 

"The purpose of tutoring is to help students help themselves, or to assist or guide them to the point at which they become an independent learner, and thus no longer need a tutor."

"In addition, a successful tutor demonstrates a caring attitude. Caring consists of being organized for the tutoring session, being punctual, establishing a learning relationship with the student, developing unique teaching strategies, and becoming familiar with the learning process."

So now we know roughly what tutoring is. What about the role of learning styles and strategies in tutoring.

In my opinion:

• A tutor should be familiar with different learning styles and strategies (also with his / her own learning styles). 
• He should also know how to help and guide students with different learning styles (what methods / strategies to use so that tutoring meets the learning styles of the learners).
• A tutor guides a student to understand his/her ways of learning -> a student becomes an independent learner.
• A tutor teaches a student how to utilize his/her preferred learning style with techniques and tools specific to his/her individual thought process.

Some links we could have a closer look at: 

http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/ILSpage.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?

feature=player_embedded&v=sIv9rz2NTUk

Some ideas of how to make the presentation more interacting:

• Having example students with different learning styles, and the audience has to vote what learning strategies they would use to meet the learning style of the student.
• http://www.knewton.com/blog/edtech/2010/12/15/how-to-make-an-interactive-lesson-using-youtube/
• http://college.cengage.com/education/valmont/technology/1e/shared/content/articles/ch03ttintles.pdf
• Show the linked video and discuss how a tutor can help students to become better learners if the different learning styles do not exist. 

Virtual Studies: Freedom But Responsibility

I have, so far, completed 60 credits virtually (Educational Science). This is now the second virtual course I am taking. I have already now noticed huge differences in these two courses, and learned how to make studying virtually, even more efficient and more fun.

Studying when it suits you

Studying virtually is an interesting way to learn. It is also almost the only possible way to study if you are a mother of young children. Since the only time to study is in the evenings and at the weekends, you cannot really attend any lectures during the day. My husband travels a lot, so evening courses would mean finding a regular baby sitter. Studying would become a bit too expensive!

With virtual studies you can find the lectures and materials online. Just sit down and study when you have got time! Sounds easy, but I assure you - it is not. I can hardly remember the time I used to watch television daily. Sometimes I try to read other than study books. It is my way to relax. But all in all - you still have to find the time to study even though you can decide when and where you do it! 

Not for an easy-life-seeker

Virtual studies require more from a student than the traditional methods in my opinion. As a student you do not just have to take the responsibility in achieving the expected learning outcomes but you also have to find out what is expected. It is easy to drop out since no-one will come to your home to tell you how to study. You really have to schedule your studies and try to find the motivation to start one new course after another. Virtual studies are not for a person who wants to get maximum results with minimum input.

A lone wolf

Sometimes studying virtually can be lonely and finding support is difficult. I think learning occurs within a social context. At least I want to share my thoughts and ideas with others, and learn from other people. When completing the Educational Science studies I felt lonely. The learning platform was not active in a social way. I completed all the tasks alone and did not know the other students. I did get some feedback from the lectures but that was pretty much all. I think the Vocational Teacher Education will be much better when it comes to involving students socially. Having group support and people to share your thoughts makes studying even more fun!

How a Teacher Could Use the VARK

Yesterday I took the VARK test. I started wondering how I could use the test as a teacher. Would it be worth asking the students to take the test in the beginning of the year ? That way I could plan the tasks and exams more carefully and support their learning better. This obviously requires teaching the same group for more than just one or two courses.

Or is it enough just to remember that there are different kind of learners in the class room? I think I'll give it a go and see if it gives any benefits to me as a teacher or to the students.

Taking the test made me notice something about my teaching: I avoid graphics and figures. I really have to pay attention to this in the future. Not learning from them myself doesn't give me the right to leave them out from my lectures!

How Do I Learn Best?

I took this test: http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=questionnaire

My result is: ARK.

I agree with this. I can use different kind of learning methods. Usually I learn best when I use at least two different methods at the same time.  But I'm not a visual person at all: give me a map and I'll get lost. I also jump over all kind of graphics in the books and just read the descriptions. I really dislike it if the figures are not explained well enough...

I recommend this test to everyone! It also gives you tips how to improve your learning.