“Guided practice with feedback is a powerful way to teach students how to learn because it provides students with opportunities to practice strategies and evaluate them to see which ones are or are not useful”
Svinicki, M., & McKeachie, W. J. (2014:298).
Summary:
Svinicki & McKeachie’s (2014) chapter 20 discusses strategies teachers can use to assist students become strategic and effective learners so that the knowledge they (students) acquire become relevant to their present and future life. Their discussion show how the acquisition of strategic and effective learning skills help students learn toward mastery. They also discuss strategies online instructors could adopt to enhance learning in online courses which in turn make their learners become very active in their learning since online learning is mostly dependent on the students.
Loughran’s (2006) chapter 5 discusses the differences between the two big theoretical knowledge in teacher education: episteme (theory with a big ‘T’) and phronesis (theory with a small ‘t’). I see these are what we learned as the professional knowledge. He refers to the episteme (big T theoretical knowledge usually called theory) as the knowledge arrived at as a result of scientific understanding and phronesis (small ‘t’ theory) as the knowledge arrived at as a result of practical wisdom/experiences. The author discusses how the effective blend theory of the scientific and practical knowledge in teacher education leads to effective and productive program. He as well makes readers aware of how traditional teacher education could not achieved its desired goals because it dwells so much on the episteme (content knowledge) with just a little focus on the phronesis (practice/practical knowledge). Thus, the three assumptions the traditional teacher education programs dwell on all emphasizes the content knowledge (episteme) therefore creating theory-practice gap. He uses exemplar studies to illustrate the principles, paradoxes, tensions, axioms, summary statements and assertions that could be used for the conceptualization and portrayal of professional knowledge (blend of theory and practice). He suggests strategies that teacher educators can adopt to conceptualize the shared language in promoting the effective blend of the theory-practice knowledge in a collaborative manner in order to close the gap created between theory and practice in many teacher education programs.
Reflection:
After reading Svinicki & McKeachie’s (2014) chapter 20, I wished it had been part of our earlier readings so that I could have tried out some of the suggestion on strategies instructors could use to make their students effective learners since the focus of my inquiry is to use feedback to help my students learn for mastery and not just for grades. Another reason is that, if I had known these earlier, I would have given my students ample time to practice the strategies (e.g using concept maps for in class write, encourage paragraphing both orally and written, peer review/feedback for class activities etc.) during the semester as this was one of the recommendation (instructors giving students sufficient time/opportunities to practice the strategies) suggested as it enable us know the ‘whats’ and ‘hows’ of students’ knowledge about the course we teach. But it was equally helpful for me as the knowledge made me suspend the use of ‘ClassFlow’ intended for this week’s in class write for next week and use this week to discuss the tool with the students. Svinicki & McKeachie’ (2014) discussion on instructors modeling strategies for effective learning to students amplifies Loughran’s (2006) advocacy for instructor modeling and disturbing practice their in preparing PSTs for better (if not best) impact. I found this quotation so related to my inquiry topic, “Guided practice with feedback is a powerful way to teach students how to learn because it provides students with opportunities to practice strategies and evaluate them to see which ones are or are not useful” and I see it as one of the major themes for this course and recommendation from the authors of the two main course textbooks.
Honestly, I was happy to read that cooperative learning (one of my interventions or strategies I am using for my inquiry) was recommended by Svinicki & McKeachie (2014) as a useful method for monitoring comprehension. This decision came about after my preliminary data collection. The outcome I am seeing confirms the authors’ discussion on the importance of ‘skill’ and ‘will’ in helping students become strategic and self-regulated learners. The authors assert that students’ interest plays a major role in their desire to want to learn. I can see that because the suggestion came from the students themselves, there is enthusiasm in their presentation. For example, some group presentations have class activities that are not discussed in the course’s textbook showing evidence of they extending their reading to ensure adequate understanding. I could see that monitoring understanding, peer tutoring and paraphrasing are embedded in the use of the cooperative learning. But I still think I would have done better especially using more paraphrasing if I had read this earlier especially letting the class paraphrase the major concepts of what their peers presented for emphasis. One take away I had from Svinicki & McKeachie’s (2014) chapter 20 was that learning for mastery encompasses being strategic and effective learner with supportive feedback (from instructors or peers) and it is well achieved through the integration of these three key things. I think this has a lot to do with the executive control process that leads to helping students generate, maintain, and evaluate their learning methods discussed by the authors and it also serves as a source of motivation to the learner to be resilient when faced with difficulty. This in turn helps students develop better learning strategies. The authors’ discussion on strategies instructors can use to students succeed in on-line course were worthwhile for me as distant learning has come to stay in Ghana’s higher education.
I saw Loughran’s (2006) chapter 5 as a buttress to what Svinicki & McKeachie’s (2014) chapter 20 addresses. The blend of theory and practice knowledge Loughran (2006) advocates in teacher education programs is almost the same as what Svinicki & McKeachie (2014) suggest college/university instructors use in the delivery of their work though with different context and wording. Loughran (2006) emphasizes the effective blend of the theory and practice knowledge in teacher education in that both all equally important to good teaching. He shows the interdependency of these two knowledge as each informs the other therefore the need for a shared language for the effective blend of the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ of the knowledge teacher educators impart. Considering the struggles “disturbing practice’ I am undergoing to ensure I better my teaching as my supervision work, I see the author’s statement, “In teaching about teaching, moderating the roles of episteme and phronesis requires expertise” to be so true. One needs expert knowledge to be able to balance the two important knowledge that serves as the source of effective and productive teaching and this should manifest in teacher educators’ practice so that it becomes explicit for PSTs to experience and learn. These assertions connect so well with that of Svinicki & McKeachie (2014) advocating instructors modeling the strategies for strategic and effective learning for their students. Loughran (2006) is of the view that teacher educators need to articulate their expertise explicitly for PSTs. His discussion emphasizes the need for both teacher educators and PSTs to pay attention to the process of learning to teach.
Reference
Loughran, J. (2006). Developing a pedagogy of teacher education: Understanding teaching and learning about
about teaching. London: Routledge.
Svinicki, M., & McKeachie, W. J. (2014). McKeachie’s teaching tips: Strategies, research, and theory for college
and university teachers (14th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Svinicki, M., & McKeachie, W. J. (2014:298).
Summary:
Svinicki & McKeachie’s (2014) chapter 20 discusses strategies teachers can use to assist students become strategic and effective learners so that the knowledge they (students) acquire become relevant to their present and future life. Their discussion show how the acquisition of strategic and effective learning skills help students learn toward mastery. They also discuss strategies online instructors could adopt to enhance learning in online courses which in turn make their learners become very active in their learning since online learning is mostly dependent on the students.
Loughran’s (2006) chapter 5 discusses the differences between the two big theoretical knowledge in teacher education: episteme (theory with a big ‘T’) and phronesis (theory with a small ‘t’). I see these are what we learned as the professional knowledge. He refers to the episteme (big T theoretical knowledge usually called theory) as the knowledge arrived at as a result of scientific understanding and phronesis (small ‘t’ theory) as the knowledge arrived at as a result of practical wisdom/experiences. The author discusses how the effective blend theory of the scientific and practical knowledge in teacher education leads to effective and productive program. He as well makes readers aware of how traditional teacher education could not achieved its desired goals because it dwells so much on the episteme (content knowledge) with just a little focus on the phronesis (practice/practical knowledge). Thus, the three assumptions the traditional teacher education programs dwell on all emphasizes the content knowledge (episteme) therefore creating theory-practice gap. He uses exemplar studies to illustrate the principles, paradoxes, tensions, axioms, summary statements and assertions that could be used for the conceptualization and portrayal of professional knowledge (blend of theory and practice). He suggests strategies that teacher educators can adopt to conceptualize the shared language in promoting the effective blend of the theory-practice knowledge in a collaborative manner in order to close the gap created between theory and practice in many teacher education programs.
Reflection:
After reading Svinicki & McKeachie’s (2014) chapter 20, I wished it had been part of our earlier readings so that I could have tried out some of the suggestion on strategies instructors could use to make their students effective learners since the focus of my inquiry is to use feedback to help my students learn for mastery and not just for grades. Another reason is that, if I had known these earlier, I would have given my students ample time to practice the strategies (e.g using concept maps for in class write, encourage paragraphing both orally and written, peer review/feedback for class activities etc.) during the semester as this was one of the recommendation (instructors giving students sufficient time/opportunities to practice the strategies) suggested as it enable us know the ‘whats’ and ‘hows’ of students’ knowledge about the course we teach. But it was equally helpful for me as the knowledge made me suspend the use of ‘ClassFlow’ intended for this week’s in class write for next week and use this week to discuss the tool with the students. Svinicki & McKeachie’ (2014) discussion on instructors modeling strategies for effective learning to students amplifies Loughran’s (2006) advocacy for instructor modeling and disturbing practice their in preparing PSTs for better (if not best) impact. I found this quotation so related to my inquiry topic, “Guided practice with feedback is a powerful way to teach students how to learn because it provides students with opportunities to practice strategies and evaluate them to see which ones are or are not useful” and I see it as one of the major themes for this course and recommendation from the authors of the two main course textbooks.
Honestly, I was happy to read that cooperative learning (one of my interventions or strategies I am using for my inquiry) was recommended by Svinicki & McKeachie (2014) as a useful method for monitoring comprehension. This decision came about after my preliminary data collection. The outcome I am seeing confirms the authors’ discussion on the importance of ‘skill’ and ‘will’ in helping students become strategic and self-regulated learners. The authors assert that students’ interest plays a major role in their desire to want to learn. I can see that because the suggestion came from the students themselves, there is enthusiasm in their presentation. For example, some group presentations have class activities that are not discussed in the course’s textbook showing evidence of they extending their reading to ensure adequate understanding. I could see that monitoring understanding, peer tutoring and paraphrasing are embedded in the use of the cooperative learning. But I still think I would have done better especially using more paraphrasing if I had read this earlier especially letting the class paraphrase the major concepts of what their peers presented for emphasis. One take away I had from Svinicki & McKeachie’s (2014) chapter 20 was that learning for mastery encompasses being strategic and effective learner with supportive feedback (from instructors or peers) and it is well achieved through the integration of these three key things. I think this has a lot to do with the executive control process that leads to helping students generate, maintain, and evaluate their learning methods discussed by the authors and it also serves as a source of motivation to the learner to be resilient when faced with difficulty. This in turn helps students develop better learning strategies. The authors’ discussion on strategies instructors can use to students succeed in on-line course were worthwhile for me as distant learning has come to stay in Ghana’s higher education.
I saw Loughran’s (2006) chapter 5 as a buttress to what Svinicki & McKeachie’s (2014) chapter 20 addresses. The blend of theory and practice knowledge Loughran (2006) advocates in teacher education programs is almost the same as what Svinicki & McKeachie (2014) suggest college/university instructors use in the delivery of their work though with different context and wording. Loughran (2006) emphasizes the effective blend of the theory and practice knowledge in teacher education in that both all equally important to good teaching. He shows the interdependency of these two knowledge as each informs the other therefore the need for a shared language for the effective blend of the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ of the knowledge teacher educators impart. Considering the struggles “disturbing practice’ I am undergoing to ensure I better my teaching as my supervision work, I see the author’s statement, “In teaching about teaching, moderating the roles of episteme and phronesis requires expertise” to be so true. One needs expert knowledge to be able to balance the two important knowledge that serves as the source of effective and productive teaching and this should manifest in teacher educators’ practice so that it becomes explicit for PSTs to experience and learn. These assertions connect so well with that of Svinicki & McKeachie (2014) advocating instructors modeling the strategies for strategic and effective learning for their students. Loughran (2006) is of the view that teacher educators need to articulate their expertise explicitly for PSTs. His discussion emphasizes the need for both teacher educators and PSTs to pay attention to the process of learning to teach.
Reference
Loughran, J. (2006). Developing a pedagogy of teacher education: Understanding teaching and learning about
about teaching. London: Routledge.
Svinicki, M., & McKeachie, W. J. (2014). McKeachie’s teaching tips: Strategies, research, and theory for college
and university teachers (14th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.