A vision of students today
The vision of students today is certainly much different than 30 years ago when I was a student and technology has certainly played a huge role in this change. 30 years ago we knew a litte about what was happening in the world but information was sketchie and often delayed. Beside the cold war and the threat of nuclear bombs, apartheid in South Africa and some "local" things happening there wasn't much to worry us. Communication with friends happened face-to-face or occasionally over the phone. In class we could either pay attention, fall asleep or just not turn up. No hiding behind a computer pretending to take notes but actually be utilising social media.
I have come to the realisiation that with education being run more and more with business principles in the background. being able to study is unfortunately no longer a right for students but has become more of a privilege. Large numbers in classes make it impossible for teachers to remember names with faces or even know about the individual situation of each student. Not surprisingly then to see that students are somewhat disengaged from the classroom - they are there in body but not in spirit.
That is one of the reason why I am happy to work at TAFE. Although we are more and more pushed to adopt a business model instead of a teaching model when it comes to organising our delivery, most of the time we can remember our students' name, their personal situation and maybe even their strengths and weaknesses. They may be numbers to the hierarchy, but to most teachers the student is an 'individual'.
The vision of students today is certainly much different than 30 years ago when I was a student and technology has certainly played a huge role in this change. 30 years ago we knew a litte about what was happening in the world but information was sketchie and often delayed. Beside the cold war and the threat of nuclear bombs, apartheid in South Africa and some "local" things happening there wasn't much to worry us. Communication with friends happened face-to-face or occasionally over the phone. In class we could either pay attention, fall asleep or just not turn up. No hiding behind a computer pretending to take notes but actually be utilising social media.
I have come to the realisiation that with education being run more and more with business principles in the background. being able to study is unfortunately no longer a right for students but has become more of a privilege. Large numbers in classes make it impossible for teachers to remember names with faces or even know about the individual situation of each student. Not surprisingly then to see that students are somewhat disengaged from the classroom - they are there in body but not in spirit.
That is one of the reason why I am happy to work at TAFE. Although we are more and more pushed to adopt a business model instead of a teaching model when it comes to organising our delivery, most of the time we can remember our students' name, their personal situation and maybe even their strengths and weaknesses. They may be numbers to the hierarchy, but to most teachers the student is an 'individual'.
Teaching teaching and understanding understanding (Roberts & Susans)
Although tertiary education was vritually free about 20 years ago, only a small percentage of school leavers would continue their study in university. Those were the days when you could still 'climb the ladder' with hard work and learning on the job. and "university classes contained highly selected students" (Biggs & Tang, 2007, p. 1). These days every aspect of a job seems to need a certificate or a degree and 'on the job training' is highly structured through an apprenticeship or traineeship model.. "The 'massification' of higher education"(Hunt & Chalmers, 2012, p. 183) through changing govenrment policy has opened the door for an increasing number of students with varying backgrounds to attend university. This has brought with it a variety of challenges, such as a variety of student motives to be at uni and a range of student learning abilities. The videoclip divided the students in 'Susans' (a.k.a the 'good' students) and 'Roberts' (a.k.a the 'bad' students). As teachers we love the Susans in our classroom; they listen to every word we say, ask questions, keep us on our toes and make us prepare the class well. The Roberts on the other side are time wasters ...... or are they? What is the story behind their disengagement - wrong subjects or unsure of what it is they wants to achieve? pushed into study but not wanting to be there? other things on their mind? - and what can we as teachers do to assist them and get them to engage in their study more than just turning up to class, sit exams and take receipt of their degree? The Roberts are more challenging - can we get them interested and engaged in the subjects they are studying? According to Biggs & Tang this can be achieved by adjusting "the teaching environment so it requires students to go through (problem-based) learning activities that are aligned to the intended outcome".
Being able to successfully engage one Robert or assisting one Robert to find his meaning in life and pursuing it (what ever it may be and however draining the process may be) shines 10 times stronger than having one Susan succesfully complete her degree.. Good, inclusive teaching is getting the most out of what students can do and how we can assist them. As such we should take note of Hockings statement:
Inclusive learning and teaching in higher education refers to the ways in which pedagogy, curricula and assessment are designed and delivered
to engage students in learning that is meaningful, relevant and accessible to all. It embraces a view of the individual and individual differences
as the source of diversity that can enrich the lives and learning of others (as quoted in Hunt & Chalmers, 2012, p. 182).
Reference:
Biggs, J., & Tang, C. (2007). Teaching for quality learning at university. New York, USA: Open University Press
Hunt, L., & Chalmers, D. (2012). University teaching in focus. A learning-centred approach. Newcastle, Australia.:ACER Press
Although tertiary education was vritually free about 20 years ago, only a small percentage of school leavers would continue their study in university. Those were the days when you could still 'climb the ladder' with hard work and learning on the job. and "university classes contained highly selected students" (Biggs & Tang, 2007, p. 1). These days every aspect of a job seems to need a certificate or a degree and 'on the job training' is highly structured through an apprenticeship or traineeship model.. "The 'massification' of higher education"(Hunt & Chalmers, 2012, p. 183) through changing govenrment policy has opened the door for an increasing number of students with varying backgrounds to attend university. This has brought with it a variety of challenges, such as a variety of student motives to be at uni and a range of student learning abilities. The videoclip divided the students in 'Susans' (a.k.a the 'good' students) and 'Roberts' (a.k.a the 'bad' students). As teachers we love the Susans in our classroom; they listen to every word we say, ask questions, keep us on our toes and make us prepare the class well. The Roberts on the other side are time wasters ...... or are they? What is the story behind their disengagement - wrong subjects or unsure of what it is they wants to achieve? pushed into study but not wanting to be there? other things on their mind? - and what can we as teachers do to assist them and get them to engage in their study more than just turning up to class, sit exams and take receipt of their degree? The Roberts are more challenging - can we get them interested and engaged in the subjects they are studying? According to Biggs & Tang this can be achieved by adjusting "the teaching environment so it requires students to go through (problem-based) learning activities that are aligned to the intended outcome".
Being able to successfully engage one Robert or assisting one Robert to find his meaning in life and pursuing it (what ever it may be and however draining the process may be) shines 10 times stronger than having one Susan succesfully complete her degree.. Good, inclusive teaching is getting the most out of what students can do and how we can assist them. As such we should take note of Hockings statement:
Inclusive learning and teaching in higher education refers to the ways in which pedagogy, curricula and assessment are designed and delivered
to engage students in learning that is meaningful, relevant and accessible to all. It embraces a view of the individual and individual differences
as the source of diversity that can enrich the lives and learning of others (as quoted in Hunt & Chalmers, 2012, p. 182).
Reference:
Biggs, J., & Tang, C. (2007). Teaching for quality learning at university. New York, USA: Open University Press
Hunt, L., & Chalmers, D. (2012). University teaching in focus. A learning-centred approach. Newcastle, Australia.:ACER Press
Changing education paradigms
Recurrent internet problems at home (we are connected to the internet via the mobile network which is very patchy most of the time) and the lack of suitable time at work to watch this Youtube for a second time, meant I feel I am unable to reflects on the fast amount of information provided in this video.
The aspect that I like to take away from this is that it is great to have a lot of youtube videos supporting our learning experience. However, those who are not connected to cable may be able to connect to the internet for 'simple' activities such as working on the Weebly or 'Googling', but may find it hard to get connected smoothly when it comes to watching youtube. It would have been great if an alternative was supplied, such as with the previous topic (Susans and Roberts) where reading chapter 1 from Biggs & Tang (2007) would have given the same information.
Reference:
Biggs, J., & Tang, C. (2007). Teaching for quality learning at university. New York, USA: Open University Press
A vision of students today (2011)
Are we making our lectures so boring or are students so disconnected from university life that students rather sit at home and look things up on Google in between watching Youtube videos or socialising on facebook? According to Hunt & Chalmers (2012, p. 192) "students need to be engaged in their studies, in university culture and with each other' to ensure ongoing engagement of the student during their study period. Through social media students seem to be able to stay well connected with each other; as teachers and lecturers we may be missing the boat when it comes to keeping the student engaged. What happened to the link with every day life and work in regards to the subjects that are being taught in class? Where is the discussion between students and lecturer - with the lecturer being the facilitator ensuring the discussion goes in the right direction and has meaning to the course content? Not having been a full time student for many years, I cannot fully understand the huge disengagement by students. Most of the teachers I learned from worked in industry so the link between what was taught and how it applied in the real world was easily understood and made it easier to comprehend new taught subjects. Are university teachers now just standing in front of the class, ratling off their lecture and leave again? At the same token I am also of the belief that students need to take a little bit of responsibility for their own actions. Maybe because of the disengagement of students do teachers become disengaged themselves. After all why go into a lot of trouble if students are not turning up, are not responsding in class, or are distracted full stop? Because I have not yet thought about this enough to date I am currently sort of sitting on the fence on this one - need to do a little more research for me to be able to form an informed opinion.
Reference:
Hunt, L., & Chalmers, D. (2012). University teaching in focus. A learning-centred approach. Newcastle, Australia: ACER Press
Moodle experience
Distance learning, although flexible and available to students from many with different capabilities and from different backgrounds, brings with it isolation. One way to combat isolation and to provide support to the student is by offering blended e-learning options in the form of a forum, blogs and on-line activities. Although I favour blended e-learning I yet have to accept logging on for a forum as normal part of my study like going to the library, attending face-to-face classes or writing essays.
I felt the activities on Moodle were quite beneficial as they stimulated me to think about different facets of teaching and learning as well as how students experience university in the 21st 'electronic' century. It ensured I logged onto Moodle to at least have a go at the activities - only to then realise the youtube videos were interesting and brain stimulating. However, as it was not compulsory to be part of the forum or 'attend' the virtual drop-in sessions I found that work came before study and as such I did very little in that aspect. How different would it have been if a face-to-face session had been scheduled.
Maybe my lack of 'attendance' was also because I have communicated via the Moodle platform during my previous studies, doing the Graduate Diploma of VET. What ever the reason, now looking back at the past few weeks I feel I should have spent a little more time doing my study and logged in during the drop-in sessions; who knows what I could have learned from my fellow students. Ah well, it's all about juggling those {golf}balls and finding a good rhythm and balance (see 'learning to juggle' tab).
Reference:
Littlejohn, A., & Pegler, C. (2007). Preparing for blended e-learning. New York, USA: Routledge
Distance learning, although flexible and available to students from many with different capabilities and from different backgrounds, brings with it isolation. One way to combat isolation and to provide support to the student is by offering blended e-learning options in the form of a forum, blogs and on-line activities. Although I favour blended e-learning I yet have to accept logging on for a forum as normal part of my study like going to the library, attending face-to-face classes or writing essays.
I felt the activities on Moodle were quite beneficial as they stimulated me to think about different facets of teaching and learning as well as how students experience university in the 21st 'electronic' century. It ensured I logged onto Moodle to at least have a go at the activities - only to then realise the youtube videos were interesting and brain stimulating. However, as it was not compulsory to be part of the forum or 'attend' the virtual drop-in sessions I found that work came before study and as such I did very little in that aspect. How different would it have been if a face-to-face session had been scheduled.
Maybe my lack of 'attendance' was also because I have communicated via the Moodle platform during my previous studies, doing the Graduate Diploma of VET. What ever the reason, now looking back at the past few weeks I feel I should have spent a little more time doing my study and logged in during the drop-in sessions; who knows what I could have learned from my fellow students. Ah well, it's all about juggling those {golf}balls and finding a good rhythm and balance (see 'learning to juggle' tab).
Reference:
Littlejohn, A., & Pegler, C. (2007). Preparing for blended e-learning. New York, USA: Routledge