Week 2 - Theory to Practice

Week 2 Theory to Practice Essay

The warming up session in the morning was a good way to start class after a weekend because everyone shared pleasant memories of the weekend setting the right mood before class began. It was very creative when we had to translate teaching and learning into a metaphor and share it in the class. Almost every student had very interesting and creative perceptions of teaching and learning and the choice of metaphor reflected the symbolic aspect of how one learns. One interesting metaphor was the Soupstone. I like the idea of how every learner contributes to and makes learning more meaningful.

Watching two contrasting video clips to elicit students’ views on learning was an interesting way to discuss on teaching methods. The brainstorming approach brought about different views and perceptions and the students analysed and justified their arguments with examples and evidence. I could listen to the preference of others in relation to teaching methods. This is an effective approach for whole class discussion.

Discussing two contrasting articles also helped me to understand the text in depth. Discussing the content, responding to the questions regarding the texts helped to recall essential information as well as remembering them.

The use of video clips show that learning in the classroom does not have to be limited to textbooks and worksheet. It makes learning more practical and fun. 21st century schools use technology to engage students in meaningful learning contexts. The varied methods, that is video clips and reading texts also cater for students with different needs in terms of learning.

Today's lesson broadened my perspective towards the concept of learning. I am also learning the instructor’s method of teaching because they are very organised and varied which is important for me when I do student teaching. I will be teaching 5th graders the whole day and it is important that I learn to keep the class not only motivated but also active.