I'm glad I've done and learnt a lot of things this week. The suggested articles aimed at fostering the development of autonomous learners. This week's topic made me reflect on my teaching. What I've learnt is that we can make teaching very interesting without using spoon-fed methods. As somebody said:" Spoon feeding in the long run teaches students nothing but the shape of spoon". Sometimes teachers forget that they can't teach students everything, they can only help them find it within themselves.
This week we've created a sample activity for one-computer classroom. It was easy and interesting. The readings helped us realize there are a lot of strategies to be applied in this kind of classrooms. When teachers weave structured, student-centered activities—based on digital ressources—into lessons, students appreciate the result. I really appreciate the activities designed for this week and I hope I could use all acquired knowledge into practice.
Teachers should go far beyond the transmission of knowledge and should empower students by assisting them in acquiring the knowledge, skills and strategies needed to become autonomous learners who can take responsibility for their own learning. Sometimes students learn only to pass the exam, not for the sake of learning and I dare say it's a tough situation. If teachers manage to change students' attitude towards learning then they can both get good achievements. Autonomous learners draw on their intrinsec motivation when they accept responsibility for their own learning: and success in learning strengthens their intrinsec motivation. The efficiency and effectiveness of the autonomous learner means that the knowledge and skills acquired in the classroom can be applied to situations outside the classroom.. Some good strategies and technologies could be a solution for this kind of problems. Technology is just a tool. In order to get students working together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important. The teacher should organize his/her lesson and find the convenient techniques. Dealing with a language classroom the use of authentic materials is perhaps the most important point of the learner training.
This week we've created a sample activity for one-computer classroom. It was easy and interesting. The readings helped us realize there are a lot of strategies to be applied in this kind of classrooms. When teachers weave structured, student-centered activities—based on digital ressources—into lessons, students appreciate the result. I really appreciate the activities designed for this week and I hope I could use all acquired knowledge into practice.
Looking forward to the next activities!
Hi Tanya,
ReplyDelete" Spoon feeding in the long run teaches students nothing but the shape of spoon"- how true ! Autonomous learning is always fun but one must not forget, in implementing learner autonomy, the teacher's responsibility increases a lot and hence I am of the opinion that learner autonomy and teacher autonomy must be seen as complimentary parts of each other.
Best of luck for the project work !
Prithvi
Tanya~ Some very nice phrases you have here about autonomy and learning. One thing I sometimes say is, "if I am doing my job right, then you won't need me soon." I think you are getting quite a lot out of this class, at least based on your reflections. I see learning going on! ~Robert
ReplyDeleteHi, Tanya!
ReplyDeleteI agree with robert that you've used some very nice phrases to describe autonomy. I completely agree with the fact that autonomy makes students take responsibilty for their own learning, and this in turns strengthens intrinsic motivation. I'm enjoying my classes too!
I'm looking forward to working with you as well.
All the best,
Lekha