Summary:
Svinicki & McKeachie’s (2014) chapter 18 talks about strategies teachers can use to assist students in classes become active in the teaching and learning process. Though they acknowledge the difficulties in making students in larges classes active participants, they offer strategies that instructors can adopt to facilitate active learning. The authors in this chapter reiterate the importance of technology in teaching and show how technology tools (e.g. emails, online discussion boards, podcast, clickers, etc) help in facilitating active learning in large classes. They suggest blended learning or hybrid classes (combination of ‘face-to-face and online) as an alternative means of ensuring active learning in large classes and even recommended that instructors create and add online discussion board to their blended approach to encourage individual participation. Integrating social media in teaching large class was shown as a power was to making students active and also closing the gap between the instructor and the students. They also recommended the effective use of group work (in class and out of class grouping) as a good strategy of making large class students active learners. Strategies the authors suggest instructors could use to encourage writing in large class include minute papers, half sheet response and even how to implement these writing task in the lecture. They also discuss how instructors can lessen written tasks grading (though not many and also did not discuss it into details) by using peer review strategy. The authors also discuss ways instructor could use to reduce students’ anonymity so that they (students) can feel their presence is acknowledged and therefore participate fully in the lesson. Strategies to train teaching assistants to be up and doing and be abreast with their professors were also discussed. The authors in their conclusion stressed on the importance of communication and advanced preparation to enhancing teaching and learning in large classes especially in the use of technology.
Loughran (2006) discusses why teacher educators need to make the implied professional knowledge clear or explicit for their learners and illustrates strategies teachers can adopt to do that. Discussing the subtitle “Looking into teaching”, the authors shows the importance of teacher educator’s ‘unpacking’ to enhancing the teaching and learning process and why it should be taken serious. He states, “Without serious attention to teacher’s professional knowledge, despite the best intentions and efforts of all involved, learning to teach may then still be misinterpreted, or unwittingly perceived,…teacher educators need to push the boundaries of their own practice in making their professional knowledge clear and explicit for their students of teaching” (p. 46). Strategies the author discusses as suitable for making explicit their professional knowledge include thinking aloud, journal writing, etc. He illustrative shows how making professional knowledge clear/explicit to PSTs assist them to see the authentic way these practices work so that they better comprehend and relate to them effectively.
Reflection:
The chapter 18 of Svinicki & McKeachie (2014) was very informative to me especially coming from Ghana where most of our classes are very large. The suggested strategies (mostly technology tools) that were very good but got me thinking and worried a bit was the fact that because most of the useful and interesting strategies may not be applicable in Ghana. The fact is that, the nation has been suffering from consistent electricity power cut for almost four years and there is no indication that they will cease soon therefore would hamper the smooth use of technology in teaching large classes. Considering the technology tool practice we had last (for lectures and assessment) and what I have planned for class tomorrow, I can really tell how useful technology is to making large class active but such knowledge may not be applicable for the very reason why I am learning. Another impediment is the access to computer/laptop that the authors discuss in their chapter 17 as one of the consideration for integrating technology into teaching. Honestly, I am praying that by the time I return to my country, the situation would have changed so that this knowledge would be useful in my teaching because large classes in Ghanaian university is a very common phenomenon.
As for Loughran’s (2006) book, I always see it as mirror that shows my real image as a teacher educator. It shows my pitfalls and then gives suggestions as to how I can save the situation. As I was reflecting on the chapter 4, I recall my previous thought about integrating technology into teaching and how this very course (Supervised teaching I) is helping me unpack and come out of that perception. I always say we are fortunate to undergo the real world experience of most of the strategies we are reading about through our instructor practice, the very thing Loughran (2006) advocates. The author’s assertion that teachers experience has influence on our teacher knowledge and that we as teacher educators need to pay serious and intentional attention to our professional knowledge in order to become effective. This implies that teacher educators should open up for new and relevant knowledge to enhance their professional knowledge which in effect reflects in practice. Honestly, true unpacking is not easy but it is the only way to be effective and useful to the teaching profession. Although, what I went through concerning last week’s technology tasks and how it affected my schedule this week was initially not pleasant yet it has brought a lot of transformation in me regarding the use of technology. It was as a result of this task that I was able to try out a new tool this week (something that is unlike me). I have planned to use the same tool for my class in class write this week to bring a change into it. Thank you my instructor, Svinicki & McKeachie (2014), course mates and Loughran (2006) for helping to leave my comfort zone to learn new things-Technology teacher in the making :).
Reference
Loughran, J. (2006). Developing a pedagogy of teacher education: Understanding teaching and learning
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 & McKeachie’s (2014) chapter 18 talks about strategies teachers can use to assist students in classes become active in the teaching and learning process. Though they acknowledge the difficulties in making students in larges classes active participants, they offer strategies that instructors can adopt to facilitate active learning. The authors in this chapter reiterate the importance of technology in teaching and show how technology tools (e.g. emails, online discussion boards, podcast, clickers, etc) help in facilitating active learning in large classes. They suggest blended learning or hybrid classes (combination of ‘face-to-face and online) as an alternative means of ensuring active learning in large classes and even recommended that instructors create and add online discussion board to their blended approach to encourage individual participation. Integrating social media in teaching large class was shown as a power was to making students active and also closing the gap between the instructor and the students. They also recommended the effective use of group work (in class and out of class grouping) as a good strategy of making large class students active learners. Strategies the authors suggest instructors could use to encourage writing in large class include minute papers, half sheet response and even how to implement these writing task in the lecture. They also discuss how instructors can lessen written tasks grading (though not many and also did not discuss it into details) by using peer review strategy. The authors also discuss ways instructor could use to reduce students’ anonymity so that they (students) can feel their presence is acknowledged and therefore participate fully in the lesson. Strategies to train teaching assistants to be up and doing and be abreast with their professors were also discussed. The authors in their conclusion stressed on the importance of communication and advanced preparation to enhancing teaching and learning in large classes especially in the use of technology.
Loughran (2006) discusses why teacher educators need to make the implied professional knowledge clear or explicit for their learners and illustrates strategies teachers can adopt to do that. Discussing the subtitle “Looking into teaching”, the authors shows the importance of teacher educator’s ‘unpacking’ to enhancing the teaching and learning process and why it should be taken serious. He states, “Without serious attention to teacher’s professional knowledge, despite the best intentions and efforts of all involved, learning to teach may then still be misinterpreted, or unwittingly perceived,…teacher educators need to push the boundaries of their own practice in making their professional knowledge clear and explicit for their students of teaching” (p. 46). Strategies the author discusses as suitable for making explicit their professional knowledge include thinking aloud, journal writing, etc. He illustrative shows how making professional knowledge clear/explicit to PSTs assist them to see the authentic way these practices work so that they better comprehend and relate to them effectively.
Reflection:
The chapter 18 of Svinicki & McKeachie (2014) was very informative to me especially coming from Ghana where most of our classes are very large. The suggested strategies (mostly technology tools) that were very good but got me thinking and worried a bit was the fact that because most of the useful and interesting strategies may not be applicable in Ghana. The fact is that, the nation has been suffering from consistent electricity power cut for almost four years and there is no indication that they will cease soon therefore would hamper the smooth use of technology in teaching large classes. Considering the technology tool practice we had last (for lectures and assessment) and what I have planned for class tomorrow, I can really tell how useful technology is to making large class active but such knowledge may not be applicable for the very reason why I am learning. Another impediment is the access to computer/laptop that the authors discuss in their chapter 17 as one of the consideration for integrating technology into teaching. Honestly, I am praying that by the time I return to my country, the situation would have changed so that this knowledge would be useful in my teaching because large classes in Ghanaian university is a very common phenomenon.
As for Loughran’s (2006) book, I always see it as mirror that shows my real image as a teacher educator. It shows my pitfalls and then gives suggestions as to how I can save the situation. As I was reflecting on the chapter 4, I recall my previous thought about integrating technology into teaching and how this very course (Supervised teaching I) is helping me unpack and come out of that perception. I always say we are fortunate to undergo the real world experience of most of the strategies we are reading about through our instructor practice, the very thing Loughran (2006) advocates. The author’s assertion that teachers experience has influence on our teacher knowledge and that we as teacher educators need to pay serious and intentional attention to our professional knowledge in order to become effective. This implies that teacher educators should open up for new and relevant knowledge to enhance their professional knowledge which in effect reflects in practice. Honestly, true unpacking is not easy but it is the only way to be effective and useful to the teaching profession. Although, what I went through concerning last week’s technology tasks and how it affected my schedule this week was initially not pleasant yet it has brought a lot of transformation in me regarding the use of technology. It was as a result of this task that I was able to try out a new tool this week (something that is unlike me). I have planned to use the same tool for my class in class write this week to bring a change into it. Thank you my instructor, Svinicki & McKeachie (2014), course mates and Loughran (2006) for helping to leave my comfort zone to learn new things-Technology teacher in the making :).
Reference
Loughran, J. (2006). Developing a pedagogy of teacher education: Understanding teaching and learning
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.