Information, Advice and Guidance

I’m surprised on the amount of Information Advice and Guidance (IAG) required by learners on this course at such an early stage; they haven’t even completed a term yet.  In my previous position learners were nowhere near ready for university, educationally or emotionally, so the Universities & Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) paperwork and procedures was not within the remit of my job.  I have been impressed by the amount of information the students have access to so they can make a fully informed decision which course and university to apply to.  All this information, including details of learning outcomes and assessment criteria, offers students ‘self-propelled guidance since they can look up details of courses in the library and increasingly on the Internet’ (Evans, 2001: 51).  Most of the students I have spoken to have a clear idea of their options and which courses they would like to apply to.  They have found out a lot for themselves but tutors have also provided them with a lot of IAG to help them come to the most appropriate decisions. 

IAG is an important part of most tutors’ jobs, as the aim of most courses is to help students progress, but I can’t think that I have had any training specifically to deal with this.  As a tutor you gain an idea about progression routes but I don’t know if this is really good enough for such an important element of a course for learners!

References

Evans, N. (2001) The Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Institutions, Academics and the Assessment of Prior Experiential Learning. London: Routledge Falmer.

Still lost - help!

OMG – I haven’t got a clue where I’m going with the curriculum and planning assignment.  I’ve only taught on my ‘Home’ syllabus for sixteen and a half hours and these are just volunteer hours.  The two tutors on the course I work with, who are both great, are responsible for the planning on the course and fill me in each morning on the plans for the day.  Due to this I follow their schedule and have not had to become totally familiar with the learning outcomes and assessment criteria on the course yet.  I’m also not getting much of a response from my ‘buddy’ so I feel like I’m plaiting fog.

Any tips on what I need to focus on in this assignment because I don’t know what Charles is looking for.  Please help!!!!

A guide for adult readers

I was looking through some old documents and came across this.  I had to produce this for a presentation and I thought I would share it.  It doesn't contain anything mindblowing but I do follow it and I know it helps people who have reading difficulties.  I also believe that high quality teaching materials engage learners more effectively than materials that have been photocopied since 1998 - we've all seen them.

Hope it helps - here goes.

How to write clearly:

        A guide for adult readers

Difficulties with reading are often connected to the look of the text, rather than what is written.  Complicated layout and design just add to the problems those with reading difficulties experience.  This guide is intended to help you look out for these and apply equally to making reading easier for both dyslexics and non-dyslexics learners.

Sentence length and choice of words

• Write in short simple sentences, rather than long sentences of explanations.
• Try to call the reader 'you‘, imagine talking to them directly.
• Write sentences with only one or two clauses.
• Stop and think before you start writing, be clear what it is you want to say.
• Use short words where possible.

Font style and size

• Use fonts that are easy to read, such as Arial or Calibri.
• Use a minimum point size of 12, but don’t choose too large a font size as this can look childish.
• Don’t write words purely in CAPITAL letters, if you want to emphases an important part of the text use bold or boxing.

Paper choice and paper colour

• Use coloured paper instead of white. Cream or pale colours provide a good alternative.
• Use dark blue or dark grey font colour instead of black if you have to use white paper.
• Paper should be thick enough to ensure that there is not a high degree of ‘shadowing’.
• Use matt paper as glossy paper can produce glare.

Page layout

• Limit lines to 60-70 characters, lines that are too long or short can put strain on the eyes.
• Use line spacing between paragraphs to break up text.
• Use wide margins and headings.
• If you use columns ensure that they are not too close together as this can lead to reading over from one column to the next.

Grammar and punctuation

• Use full stops after headings to make the voice pause and drop in tone.
• Use semi-colons, commas or hyphens.
• Use the active voice wherever possible, especially when giving instruction.
• Number menu items to aid navigation.

Lost in a fog

I am finding this topic (curriculum and planning) somewhat of a challenge.  I feel that there is insufficient information provided in the session – the continued early finishes don’t help with this.  I feel as though I am not learning enough.  This is an important topic as fully understanding curriculum development and planning is fundamental to creating session which are relevant, interesting, fulfil the needs of the learners as well as meeting organisational requirements.  These sessions should also be an opportunity to gain a more in depth understanding of how curriculums have developed.  Curriculums are such an important element within the education system it would be really useful to be more aware of how policies influence curriculum changes and developments.

Don’t know how anyone else feel but for me it just an’t happening!

My first day teaching at SMU

What a relief…..  I’ve finally started teaching.  I’ve got some volunteer teaching hours on the Diploma in Foundation Studies in Art and Design at Swansea Met.  The staff members are great; very welcoming and helpful so I think everything will be fine.  The students are cool; they seem hard working, focused and talented.  I’ve just spent the morning with them and two main things occurred to me.  Firstly, I was really impressed with the quality of the student’s work in terms of creativity and the processes and techniques used.  Secondly, I was struck by the nature of the students in terms of both their behaviour and attitude.  In my previous position most of the students I worked with had not achieved well educationally and many had unstable, challenging home lives and difficult relationships.  Due to this at times learning was not a priority for these students.  This is in contrast to the students on the Foundation Diploma course who are already successful learners, the majority of them have passed A Levels, so have a positive view of themselves as being able to achieve on a course of study.  They also appear to have more settled home lives and successful relationships.

These thoughts made me think of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (1954).

“Maslow, whose work is closely related to humanistic psychology saw ‘self-actualization’ as what drives people to learn; that is the need to make full use of one’s talents, become creative and achieve one’s potential is what motivates us. Self-actualization is an ultimate human goal and need, but before that need can be fulfilled a set of other needs must be met” (Armitage et al, 2007: 66).

On the Foundation Learning programme a minority of the students may not even have had their most basic needs met (hunger and thirst), some may not have achieved the next level (physical and psychological well-being) while others may not have achieved the next level (love and belonging).  I think students on the Foundation Diploma course do have a sense of love and belonging and some also have self-esteem.  If you are don’t feel secure then learning may not seem important, even though it may be a way to move up a level or two.  Understanding what motivates, or holds students back, is useful as it can inform your teaching strategies and your approach.

However, there are a number of issues with the Maslow model when it is applied to real-life situations.  For example, as each person is unique so individuals seem to respond to several needs and not just one and this may change over time.

References

Armitage, A., Byant, R., Dunnill, R., Hayes, D., Hudson, A., Kent, J., Lawes, S. & Renwick, M. (2007) Teaching and Training in Post-Compulsory Education, 3^rd Ed, Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Teaching Strategies - Group Presentations

I have been thinking about the group teaching sessions over the last two weeks.  In my opinion the main thing the successful sessions had in common was that they were all student centred in their approach.  As educators we hear the term ‘student centred learning’ a great deal but what does it really mean?  I have been reading about learning theories and teaching strategies for the purpose of my assignment and student centred learning is defined in different ways by different authors.  However, there have been reoccurring themes and ideas; student centred learning involves ‘active learning, choice in learning, and the shift of power in the teacher-student relationship’ (O’Neill and McMahon, 2005: 34).

Student centred learning is based in constructivist philosophies which emphasise the idea that learning is a cognitive process. The idea behind this is learners use schemas to make connections between their new and existing knowledge.  ‘They need to be active in seeking new information and need to be active in participating the teaching method’ (Recce and Walker, 2007: 86)

On a personal level I have found that student centred learning is effective.  I also think that it shows respect to your learners as you believe that they already have skills and knowledge which you can build on and develop with them.  This was particularly important when working in my previous position on the Foundation Learning Programme with learners who had significant barriers to learning.  I found that when I acted more like a facilitator than a teacher. 

“Facilitation literally means ‘easing’.  Its art is in drawing out the wisdom already embedded and lying dormant in the psyche of the learner.  One belief of humanistic education and pragmatic constructivism is that learning is a recovery of or a remembering that which we already know” (Jarvis, 2006: 99).

Most of the students on the programme had very negative images of themselves as learners and as a result had low self-esteem.  When I was able to show them that they did have some knowledge and understanding and could work by themselves their confidence grew.  When they felt more confident their behaviour improved and they were able to engage to a greater extent.  I have described this simply to explain the principle, the reality was this was hard work and took time, but it did work with most students.  Once the students had engaged I used a range of teaching strategies and principles.  There are times when you have to teach in a more traditional manner and there are times when you have to teach in a creative manner.

The art of teaching effectively is knowing when to use a particular teaching style and what theory to use.  This takes a long time to learn and I feel that I am at the start of the journey.

References

Jarvis, P. ed., (2006) The Theory and Practice of Teaching, 2nd edition, New York: Routledge.

O’ Neill, G. & McMahon, T. (2005) Student centred learning: What does it mean for students and lecturers?: Emerging issues in the practice of university learning and teaching, Dublin: AISHE.

Reece, I. and Walker, S. (2007) Teaching, Training and Learning; A Practical Guide, 6th edition, Tyne and Wear: Business Education Publishers Ltd.

Andragogy

I think that the following ideas are relevant as we all teach adults and it is very different from primary and secondary education; which is not always recognised.

The concept of andragogy has been around for almost two centuries but within the field of adult education andragogy is connected to the works of Malcolm Knowles have become inseparably .  It has become popular as a way of describing how adults learn; this differs from assumptions about how children learn on which pedagogy is based. 

“1. Self-concept: As a person matures his self concept moves from one of being a dependent personality toward one of being a self-directed human being

2. Experience: As a person matures he accumulates a growing reservoir of experience that becomes an increasing resource for learning.

3. Readiness to learn: As a person matures his readiness to learn becomes oriented increasingly to the developmental tasks of his social roles.

4. Orientation to learning: As a person matures his time perspective changes from one of postponed application of knowledge to immediacy of application, and accordingly his orientation toward learning shifts from one of subject-centeredness to one of problem centredness.

5. Motivation to learn: As a person matures the motivation to learn is internal.”

(Knowles, 1984: 12)

I don’t know if I agree with all the above points, for example, point 5.  In the past I have worked with the long term unemployed who were required to go on training in order to keep their benefit who definitely did not have internal motivation to learn.  However, I think that the above points become more pertinent and relevant when an adult chooses to learn.

Tell me about your experiences.  

References

Knowles, M. (1984) Andragogy in Action. Applying modern principles of adult education, San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

Social Learning Theory

In carrying out research for the assignment I have been drawn to the work of Albert Bandura (1977) who looked into observations during social interaction and how this influences the cognitive processes.  This is based in the idea that ‘… most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling: from observing others one forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action’ (Bandura, 1977: 22).  I like this idea as I feel it pulls together elements and influences from different learning theories. 

I can see the value of Behaviourist theories in terms of rewarding positive behaviours but feel uncomfortable that human beings are seen as animals that can easily be manipulated.  I truly believe in the Humanist theories that students should be seen as a whole and be put at the centre of learning however I do think that at times learners do need some structure and discipline.  I can understand the logical of Cognivist theories in how learners can actively make patterns and their own sense of information however it doesn’t take account of the fact that people have emotions and the impact this has on learning.  Like other theories Bandura’s theory is not perfect but it does take account of the fact that most learning is a social process.

I don’t know if you agree or disagree – tell me what you think.

Reference

Bandura, A. (1977) Social Learning Theory, New York: General Learning Press.

My nice group

I have just been preparing some resources for our group teaching session on role play and thought I would share some thoughts about this group activity.

When working in effective teams group members often help other individuals to clarify and enhance their knowledge and understanding.  When they do this they may also have to refine their own understanding as when you teach something you have to really think about the ideas and concepts you are trying to communicate.  This is what collaborative and social learning is all about.  ‘Social learning theory stresses learning with others as well as from others’ (Jarvis, 2006: 114).  I feel lucky that I have been put in a group where this works well. 

Thanks guys.

References

Jarvis, P. ed., (2006) The Theory and Practice of Teaching, 2nd edition, New York: Routledge.

 

'Deep learning'

 I enjoyed the session yesterday; I was also pleased that I was able to remember some of the topics that I had covered in my first year.  I was a bit worried that I would not have understood the information in on a deep level and forgotten what I learnt; it just goes to show how effective a good teacher can be.  Deep learning could be characterised as fully functional awareness and understanding with the ability to apply knowledge to new situations.  Surface learning is seen to be the passive accumulation of facts and figures.  This can also be described as rote learning where information is simply memorised to be reproduced during assessment.  ‘We can help our students to be deep learners by designing active learning experiences and placing less emphasis on detailed, passive note taking.  Deep learning is encouraged by engaging and applying learning to problem- based situations, encouraging discussion and structuring reflection’ (Reece and Walker, 2007: 79).  So within modern education it seems be agreed that educators should be developing ‘deep’ learning with their learners, as opposed to ‘surface’ learning.  

References

Reece, I. and Walker, S. (2007) Teaching, Training and Learning; A Practical Guide, 6th edition, Tyne and Wear: Business Education Publishers Ltd.

First Blog - here goes

I thought this week’s session was good and really useful in improving my understanding of learning theories as well as how I can apply this knowledge in my teaching practice.  I enjoyed Simon’s session as he is clearly very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about this topic.  He made the theories and concepts easy to understand and completely relevant.  ‘Thanks to ingenious theorising backed up by rigorous experiments in neural physiology, psychology, social psychology, cognitive science and elsewhere, we now understand a great deal about why we learn, how we learn and consequently what can help us to learn’ (Petty, 2009: 3).   

 

 

It made me think about how educators know so much but for some people education is not effective and they just don’t achieve well. Some learners may have barriers to learning due to a physical disability, such as visual impairment or hearing loss or specific learning difficulties, such as dyslexia or Asperger’s.  These bring with them fairly specific educational needs which are usually diagnosed and then measures should be put in place to deal with them.  However, some students have barriers to learning are less obvious such as mental health issues which can be a result of illness or as a consequence of an unstable home life.  It is much more difficult to deal with these less definable issues as they are often connected to factors outside the scope of schools, colleges or universities.

 

 

As a tutor I want to enable all my students to develop skills and capacities which will improve the quality of their working, personal and family life.  To achieve this some students may need extra assistance to overcome barriers hampering their ability to take part in learning situations and equip them with the skills they need to enable them to progress.  The question is how much can we do as educators to help and how much should we do?

References

Petty, G. (2009) Evidence-Based Teaching; A Practical Approach, 2^nd edition, Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes Ltd.