Session 4 Reflection

Today we learnt how to interpret the statistical data we acquired from the WIHIC questionnaires we did yesterday. Heavy mathematical stuffs we got there and some of the alien terms we came across in our PDCM MEd 871 module suddenly made sense (finally). We learnt how to interpret the data generated in the Summary Item Statistics and Paired Sample T-test. Paired sample T-test is basically the comparison of the before-and-after response of each participant and from its name, one could understand why the means are compared in PAIRS. If the generated data, Paired Samples Correlation shows a significance of less than 0.05%, that means the actual and preferred inputs are significantly different. Hence we have to address the reason for the existence of the gap. In short, the item with significance furthest away from the 0.05% mark requires the most attention as there might be some pressing before-evaluation/after-evaluation issue that needs to be addressed first.

After the brief but fruitful campus tour, we were taught the essentials of report-writing. Here is what a report should consist of:
-Body : i) Literature Review ii) Rationale of Study iii) Research Questions
-Methodology
-Sample
-Instruments Used
-Tables
-Procedures
-Findings
-Conclusion
-Reference in APA format

For our group assignment, a 3-4 page report has to be handed in by tomorrow.

Some Takeaways for Session 3

I've understood the rationale of assessing the Learning Environment (LE) in greater depth because a good LE would not only facilitate the teacher's teaching better but it also plays an important role in the learner's understanding of the lesson delievered. We were also introduced to 3 general approaches to the assessment of LE and the use of pupils' and/or teacher's perception obtained through questionairs administration would be the most favoured one. One prominent figure in the educational psychology field that my group had researched on is Rudolf H. Moos who was the brains behind all the important aspects of questionaires items which we have been using (or made to use) all our life. I would certainly find out more about Moos as well as several others famous (and infamous) figures which had directly (and indirectly) contributed to the education research field.

Summary of Rudolf H. Moos' Contributions

One of Moos’ contributions was to show that the same basic types of dimensions characterise diverse human environments. The Relationship dimension involves the strength and type of personal relationships within an environment and the extent to which people are involved in the environment and help and support each other. The Personal Development dimension assesses basic directions along which personal growth and self-enhancement tend to occur. The System Maintenance and Change dimension involves the extent to which the environment is structured and orderly, provides clear expectations, maintains control, and is responsive to change.

Moos (1974) then developed questionnaires to assess nine separate human environments (including psychiatric hospitals, correctional institutions, families and work settings), with one of these being the Classroom Environment Scale (CES). Some other scales were Social Climate Scale, Group Environment Scale, Family Environment Scale and Community Oriented Programs Environment Scale.

Self-reflection (Session 3)

I watched the two simple video clips with great interest because it made me travel back down memory lane and reminisce the 4 wonderful years I had, teaching in a primary school some years back. After all, the 2 case studies featured were captured from experiences shared by primary school teachers. At times, I had to admit that the intangible returns gained from teaching young children far outweighed those from educating teenagers in secondary schools. Generally, being more impressionable, young children are more receptive and appreciative towards changes or effort made by their teachers to ‘impress’ them. Secondary school students might find simple filler activities ‘childish’ and ‘a waste of time’ but primary school ones might even look forward to receiving more of such, hence the first battle in trying to get the learners’ interest, had already been won with them. However, it was not a case of lost battle in capturing and TRYING to sustain the secondary school students’ interest. From the two videos, I felt that these were the several pointers that we could bear in mind while trying to create an effective and engaging learning environment.

1) Learners should be made to feel important by assigning specific or special tasks to each of them so that they would feel a sense of responsibility and importance. When they feel that we trust them enough to let them handle certain tasks, their sense of self-importance and value would be boosted and hardly would they disappoint the teachers by doing a sloppy job. In the videos, the exemplary teachers assigned different tasks such as photo-taking, email-replying, report-writing etc, to each individual student and got them to take ownership of their roles. Ideally, all these tasks assigned to them should culminate to the materialization of an end-product which would definitely give them a sense of accomplishment and worth and that would certainly hold their interest in learning.

2) Learners should be engaged in a safe and non-threatening environment where the teachers do not (always) dictate what they should be doing. Instead, teachers should be more encouraging towards students voicing out their opinions and more forgiving towards them making mistakes during the process of learning. Learners should be able to feel ‘safe’ and respected for presenting their views or queries and not worry about being ridiculed or belittled.

3) Learners should be learning in a fun environment that epitomizes the (near) perfect study-playground for children. The teaching materials should be able to create a concrete visual manifestation of the concepts being taught so that the learners could relate to what was being delivered. In the first video, the concept of probability, algebra and geometry was taught using quilt-making which the children were actively-involved.

4) Learners should be made to understand that information is not specifically-compartmentalized within individual subject matter but it transcends beyond its boundaries and most things they learn in school are inter-related and inter-connected with one another. This could be done by having such interdisciplinary projects like those in the videos so that the learners understood the sense and relationships of the things they learnt. Thus, (hopefully) they might find meaning in their learning.

5) Learners should be allowed to maximize their dominant intelligence(s) and learn in their most preferred learning styles. Teachers should make conscious effort to understand the individual learner’s learning style and his/her prominent intelligence so that specific tasks could be assigned to the best person(s) for the job. When the learners enjoy doing the task the way they like it to be done, that would alleviate any confusion, anxiety or misunderstanding which might lead to loss of interest. The learners might most likely put in more thoughts and effort (and hence interest) in the assigned task.

6) Learners should be made to see how knowledge they gained from all the activities and tasks they were engaged in, could enrich them in so many ways. With the skills and information learnt, they could gain even more knowledge. For example, the reading and comprehension skills taught and mastered, the learners could gain much knowledge and understanding about other places, cultures, people etc. When they understand the benefits of education, then they could better appreciate its importance and vice versa.

In summary, to achieve successful teaching, we had to learn more (creative) ways to capture our learners’ attention before we began to exhaust our (old) bag of tricks, bore our learners to total disinterest and lose them altogether. After all, in the words of Roland Marchand,

"Teaching and learning are reciprocal and mutually supportive activities. To be a good teacher one must be constantly sharpening one's own learning skills. How could you possibly convey the excitement of gaining new knowledge and insights to students if you were not engaged in doing that yourself?"

Comments On Podcast (Session 2)

I could not agree more with Dr Quek on how good learning environment is fundamental to a child’s cognitive & socio-psychological growths. It comprises more than just the complete fulfillment for the need for proper physical space to study. Personally I feel that a good learning environment would be one that provides both physical and psychological safety to its learners. Good classroom discipline or management is essential in the provision of both because with disorderliness and disruption, learners could no longer acquire new knowledge with ease of mind. As ‘discipline, most simply stated, is the business of enforcing simple classroom rules that facilitate learning and minimize disruption’ (Jones; 1979), it is arguably key in establishing a conducive learning environment. The teacher must develop a systematic method of delineating acceptable versus unacceptable behavior and the consequences of engaging in unacceptable behavior so that learning can take place comfortably.

Besides having an effective classroom discipline in place, motivation is another important factor in any learning environment. First and foremost, students must be highly motivated to learn as motivation will be the driving force that makes learners want to learn even when they are facing stumbling blocks in the course of learning. How to get the learners motivated? The relationship that teachers engender between themselves and learners is key in getting the learners to be interested in learning. The teacher should be motivated to wanting to learn more about his learners, beyond the outer details of their lives. As the teacher's familiarity and affection towards them grow, the learners’ would be receptive to learning, so the potency of his teachings and advice deepens proportionately. Hilda Taba reminds us that ‘the behavior of the teacher more than that of any other individual sets the climate of the classroom.’ The resistance and disinterest of learners evaporate in a climate of happy, friendly and cooperative relationships between learner and teacher.

When asked why I’m in this self-fulfilling profession, I would have to thank my greatest influence, that is, Mr Bentley Williams who was my form teacher for two years when I was in Secondary 3 in Jurong Secondary School (1994-95). His strict enforcement of classroom discipline was absurdly ridiculous to me at first but later as weeks grew, I understood the need for such to ensure that everyone understood what was required of him/her and provide a secure learning environment. With a good system in place, little time was used to address any discipline issue and hence more quality time was spent in dispensing of knowledge in a very interactive and creative way. I remembered having an (informal) English lesson at 4 in the afternoon while watching an interclass soccer match at the pitch. Mr Williams made us deliver an impromptu commentary on the match using the appropriate adjectives and adverbs and then got us to journalize the experience with the best entry winning a recess treat. He had reached out to his many students, the good and notorious ones alike, and not surprisingly, many of this wonderful man’s ex-students are teachers themselves now. Mr Williams indeed embodied a perfect teacher who not only ensured that we got the best of what each day had to offer, but he was also there for support should the day fail us.