Enhancing Your Lesson for Student Engagement

Taken from http://nussl.ukmsl.net/campaigns/highereducation/archived/student-engagement/resources/studentengagementquarterly/

Enhancing Your Lesson for Student Engagement

By Prof. Jonathan Acuña-Solano, M. Ed.

School of English

Faculty of Social Sciences

Universidad Latina de Costa Rica

Saturday, April 30, 2016

Post 261

Laureate Faculty courses for those of us working as faculty members for one of the Laureate Family’s universities are always thought-provoking. Definitely their idea is to make us teaching professionals consider student engagement from various angles. And here we have a scenario for us to consider. No doubt this situation can be happening across this planet, no matter where one is teaching or in what culture learning is taking place.

An instructor is teaching a lesson on a specific topic that the instructor knows is very important for the students to learn. At one point in the lesson, a student asks, “Why do we have to learn this topic?” The instructor is surprised by the question because the instructor believes the answer is obvious. The instructor responds, “Because it is very important,” but does not provide any additional explanation or detail.

On my Post 256 I came to identify a lesson I was teaching that did not seem to engage students. It was rather possible that one of the reasons learners were not engaged was linked to the fact that they were unaware of or unclear about the relevance or importance of the lesson for the course, the program they were studying, or the kind of competence that was needed to have developed as part of their exit profile.

Focusing on the same lesson I explained on my Post 256 I am now proposing some strategies that could be used to help students understand the relevance or importance of the lesson. As mentioned before, my Introduction to Drama class is a bit sidetracked and students are not getting at a very realistic deep learning of the concepts being studied in the course: from Classical Greek Theater to Contemporary Theater. So to help them see the importance of this knowledge, I am making some changes to my initial proposal.

Lessons to focus on	Summarizing the evolution of theater
Learning goal	After providing Ss with the tools to produce their presentations, Drama Ss will produce a graphic summary for the class with good visuals and design.
Additional Element based on Kolb’s Model	Class time inhibits students at times. Consequently, it is necessary to provide them with some room for them to become thinkers and then feelers, or vice versa. The same applies for doers or watchers.
Lack of engagement	Ss are a bit down in terms of energy at this point of the term and they need to be reenergized somehow and this could be the chance
Additional Element based on Kolb’s Model	The reenergizing needed by students at this point of the term may also be provided by electronic means, like in this case. Some learners who do not feel confident while speaking to class can regain their voice doing an alternative kind of work.
Reasons for lack of engagement	Length of the course and amount of critical reviews they have to produce
Additional Element based on Kolb’s Model	Most of the time, critical reviews are done in writing or by giving a presentation. The question is, why can’t we include a virtual element to help students achieve their learning goals? And the answer is that there is no reason that impedes this.
Additional strategies	Have them work on http://www.powtoons.com to produce more engaging critical reviews that they can eventually use in their courses
Stages of learning	1. Students enrolled in this class with pre-reflective thinking skills, and that needs to be modified.
	2. Students start moving into quasi-reflecting thinking skills by understanding how this class connects to the overall ELT program and how they will use this knowledge in their future or current teaching.
	3. Students towards the end of the course become reflective thinkers when they have learned the basics and start creating their own arguments and building their long-lasting knowledge.
Additional Element based on Kolb’s Model	Kolb’s Learning Model will prompt students to become reflective thinkers, not just mere spectators. Furthermore, by applying this learning model, students can become feelers, deep thinkers, doers, and watchers (more analytical). This can be a great change in their way of learning.

The proposed changes are just ways of dealing with this specific scenario of mine. They may or may not work, and only time will tell me whether they were appropriate or not.

Saturday, April 30, 2016

Students’ Reactions

Higher Education 0 comments

Taken from https://learnandteachstatistics.wordpress.com/tag/subjectivity/

Students’ Reactions

By Prof. Jonathan Acuña-Solano, M. Ed.

School of English

Faculty of Social Sciences

Universidad Latina de Costa Rica

Friday, April 29, 2016

Post 260

Before we get to discuss a bit about student reactions, let us consider the following scenario:

You are teaching a class composed of a very diverse group of learners. On the first day of class, you see that you have younger students who have just started college, and older, returning students.

One of the activities you always do to start this course is to have students break into groups and discuss what they already know about the subject, and brainstorm a list of what they want to learn. You notice that the older students are very engaged during this discussion, while the younger students seem bored or distracted. One is taking notes as other students are talking, while others talk about the party the night before.

After class, you hear two younger students talking together as they leave the room; one says, “I wonder if we’re going to learn anything in this class. Why would the professor ask us what we want to learn? How are we supposed to know? If it’s all like this, I’m going to drop this class.”

Now that the setting has been set, and the situation is well understood, a prompt to find out what seems to be happening is asked here. Would you have answered the question the same way I did?

ü What do you believe is happening in the scenario above and how might the instructor respond? Base your posting on your reading and the multimedia activity.

The scenario is confronting us with the different kinds of students we are to meet in our classrooms. First of all, based on the level of maturity provided in the ethnography of the class, hierarchical thinking differences associated with age are evident: Younger students believe they are supposed to be “indoctrinated” by their professors and not to question what they are supplied by instructors. Older and more mature students are making themselves responsible for what they really want to learn and how they want to apply what they are learning in their current or future jobs.

Younger students, on the other hand, may also experience hostile behavior towards older member of the community of learning they are to be part of, the class and course they have enrolled. They find themselves not really comprehending differences because they have not been exposed to learners with various learning experiences or learning scenarios where they have to think, process information, and become deep learners. But more mature students are willing to accept the challenge of becoming autonomous and long-life learners.

The only one behavior that puzzles me the most is how and when these young students of mine, similar to the ones described in this situation, mature and decide to become responsible for their own learning.

At times I like to make my students move into the spotlight in class to have them answer what we are studying, pretty much like you describe when they cannot answer a question. This kind of situation has a soothing effect in their mindset; that is, they somehow start thinking about their future, especially when I get to talk to them –individually- and have them question themselves if they really want to become teachers (I work with the English Teaching Major). Once I told them that the university is a nice place to make friends, but unfortunately, these friends will not be next to them to help them out along the rest of their professional lives.

Friday, April 29, 2016

Teaching Writing: Its Importance, its Reasons, How to Teach it

Teaching Practicum 0 comments

Taken from http://www.bridgetinspires.com/writinginspired/

Teaching Writing

Its Importance, its Reasons, How to Teach it

By Kiersten Ellis

Pre-Service Teacher, School of English

Faculty of Social Sciences

Universidad Latina de Costa Rica

Friday, April 29, 2016

Post 259

Why is writing so important? What are the reasons for writing? How important is it to focus on teaching writing specifically? How should writing be taught? What kind of writing should be taught? These are just some questions that many teachers, scholars, curriculum writers, and others may grapple with during their career.

In Chapter 8 of “How to Teach English,” Jeremy Harmer (2007) directs the teacher to several aspects and concerns about teaching writing. Harmer briefly describes two main reasons for writing - writing-for-learning, or using writing as a practice tool for other topics or subjects being focused on, and writing-for-writing, or in other words writing in order to improve writing skills specifically.

Some issues regarding writing that teachers often face are deciding what genre or type of writing to have the students write, how to teach or reinforce the correct English writing process, and how to engage students in writing and motivate them to make it a habit. The order in which writing activities take place should be considered carefully as well. One way to go about it, for example, is to have intermediate students make corrections in a piece of writing as simple as a post card or email. Then have the students create their own pretend post card to a friend or family member telling about their trip. Some writing sequences can be more connected, as in a process, such as creating a written interview, giving it, and then producing the final product of the interview questions and answers. Other writing activities that can be used in a sequence manner is essay or report writing, which also can teach the students about the writing process. Other useful writing dynamics that do not necessarily involve sequences are ones that involve instant writing. This is writing a response immediately after a question or statement is posed to the students. Journal writing in class is a good example of this. Also using music and pictures as writing prompts is a fun way of getting the students to write. Or other written material can be used as a tool or compliment for writing activities. Such texts as newspapers, magazines, brochures, guides, or poetry can be used for this. Or to make things a little more interactive the teacher can have students write interactively or to each other. Something teachers need to take into account is how much correction in written works to give and what color pen to use. Depending on the student, too much can be discouraging and deter them from writing. Strategies must be found in order to correct students in constructive or positive ways. Lastly, depending on the students, the teacher may need to work with them on writing neatly and legibly. This is pertinent to improve for other aspects of life, but specifically in the classroom because if the teacher can’t understand what’s written then he or she can’t correct or grade the work.

The biggest advantage of writing in an English class, in my opinion, is that it is a form of producing creative, natural communication with less stress and more thinking time than when practicing speaking. Added thinking time is beneficial to allow the students to get their thoughts together as well as to allow them time to think through the structure, punctuation, and spelling of the things they want to say. They can go back and edit as well. With this extra time and opportunity to edit and improve mistakes one feels more calm and confident through this type of communication. They know that their mistakes will be less or can be corrected. Whereas when one is speaking and makes a mistake, the mistake is made. You can correct yourself afterward, but it’s is still embarrassing and nerve wracking for many. Many kinds of tasks can be performed involving writing in order to practice or analyze all kinds of things, whether it be grammar, a writing style or genre, grammar structures, or to discuss different topics. This provides for variety in activities.

Some negative aspects of teaching writing are that it’s very possible for the teacher to not vary the tasks enough, or to branch out from the ordinary. If the teacher doesn’t change things up some at least once in a while then the students will get bored of the same routine or the same old activities. Also, depending on the task, many writing assignments aren’t very interactive. Though writing is a useful way to communicate, there should be a balance between the amount of writing and speaking that the students are required to do. A foreign language student’s education is incomplete if they can write very well but cannot carry or understand a conversation. Another thing to watch out for that the book specifically pointed out is that students can get very discouraged by written corrections, especially in red pen. Teachers should watch out for this and be careful of how they word feedback and suggestions or corrections.

Teaching writing is very important to me. It is an essential tool for improving handwriting and spelling, especially for language learners whose first language uses different characters or a different alphabet. It’s also necessary for practicing grammar skills. It’s a skill that can and should be practiced at all levels from beginner to high or advanced students. It should be used in many different ways and through a variety of activities. This is so important to keep students engaged and growing. I also support teaching the writing process for paragraphs, essays, and even reports or research papers. This type of formal writing is pertinent to know how to produce for any other academic or business setting the students may find themselves in at some point in the future. Not all teacher or student has strong points involving writing and every group of students will be different. As teachers grow and learn through experience we must find our groove and what teaching style fits us best. Though we may not enjoy writing or teaching writing it’s important to find a balance and fit it in to the curriculum to some degree.

Reference

Harmer, J. (2007). "Teaching Reading". how to Teach English. Person Longman

Friday, April 29, 2016

Beliefs on Student Behavior

Higher Education 0 comments

Taken from https://www.udel.edu/sbct/

Beliefs on Student Behavior

By Prof. Jonathan Acuña-Solano, M. Ed.

School of English

Faculty of Social Sciences

Universidad Latina de Costa Rica

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Post 258

Teaching in higher education is a fascinating area of work; seeing learners how –step y step- develop their knowledge and how it can be applied in various working settings is rather satisfying for any faculty member. Though it is a great field to work in, we come to question several behaviors students hold or even our beliefs towards those conducts. Now, if you were prompted with the following, how would you react and what would you write?

ü Write down three statements you believe about your students and their behavior. On what do you base these statements?

ü Reflect on your beliefs about your students and their behavior.

As part of this exercise I was given in an online course on higher education, I came up with my statements and with my explanations. What can be concluded? Take a look at this.

1	Students are not that technologically-oriented.
	It looks like they are, but technologically speaking they are more into being part of their circle of friends and acquaintances. Just because they have a smartphone, it does not mean they are into using technology-mediated learning.
2	Students are not that savvy when it comes to technology.
	Once again, the use of smartphones does not guarantee the use of technology per se. Ss are much more into understanding what new apps there are than what kind of freeware is there to help them learn.
3	More deep learning and engaging activities are needed for them.
	If technology-mediated activities are meant to be used for objective development and learning consolidating, they need to be modeled and then appealing to them to produce engagement and motivation.

As a quick conclusion, it can simply be stated that we faculty member need to further develop our ethnography of groups of students to really see what it may be happening with all of them. Through our reflective journaling, as this piece, we can get to know more about ourselves as instructors and about our learners in a classroom or in a virtual space.

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Teaching Writing

Teaching Practicum 0 comments

Taken from http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/09/the-best-writing-teachers-are-writers-themselves/262858/

Teaching Writing

By Michael Barrantes-Solano

Pre-Service Teacher, School of English

Faculty of Social Sciences

Universidad Latina de Costa Rica

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Post 257

Teaching writing might be one of the most important skills in English; a person has to know how to write and speak in the target language because one skill complements the other one. Writing can be a little difficult at first, but with time and practice you as learners will acquire this important skill in the language learning.

According to Chapter 8 from “How to teach English” (Harmer, 2007), writing might be one of the most important skills in the language learning process. Writing helps in language processing; learners have more thinking time at the time to write because the learner will be able to think more about what to write. However, in a conversation you have to think faster.

Two types of writing are mentioned in this chapter (Harmer, 2007). First we have writing for learning; this helps the student to practice the language and work with it and learning at the same time the structure of sentences and paragraph in the target language. Second we have writing for writing; this helps to develop the students’ skills as writers giving them the chance to practice the structure by writing essays. A process should be taken into account at the time to write; it involves planning, drafting, reviewing and editing. These are the main four steps that we as learners must use in order to write a high quality essay.

There are some writing sequences that can be used depending of the level of the learners. For example post-cards; we can use these with pre – intermediate to intermediate level. Second we have e-mail interview and this can be used with pre intermediate upwards. Finally we have writing reports, and these can be used with upper intermediate because this exercise is more detailed than the previous two and will take some time. This is used especially with advance students as a challenge for them to prove their knowledge in the target language.

Some pros about teaching writing are that we help the student to develop their writing skills in order to help them to improve their selves in the field. We also can pick some interesting topics for the learners so we can keep them motivated while they write an essay or a paragraph, knowing their likes and dislikes will make the difference at the time to work with writing. And also a huge advantage is that we can also include a small oral part so they can expose their ideas about what they wrote.

But there are some disadvantages, too, with teaching writing. For example some students seem to believe that they cannot write anything because the lack of ideas. Also they might think that it is boring to write an essay or even a paragraph, or in some cases they have nothing to say about the topic being studied. These are some disadvantages and make that job harder, but if the writing process is taught correctly, this can be changed.

Bottom-line teaching writing might help you as a learner to improve your knowledge in English even more that you think. We have to focus this skill on topics that catch the attention of the learners. Taking into account what was mentioned on this critique can be helpful at the time to teach writing, also it can be helpful to help the student to improve themselves with time practicing writing often.

Reference

Harmer, J. (2007). "Teaching Reading". how to Teach English. Person Longman

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Student Engagement How can one tell they are not engaged?

Higher Education 0 comments

Taken from http://www.edutopia.org/blogs/tag/student-engagement

Student Engagement

How can one tell they are not engaged?

By Prof. Jonathan Acuña-Solano, M. Ed.

School of English

Faculty of Social Sciences

Universidad Latina de Costa Rica

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Post 256

When taking an online course with Laureate Education back in 2014 on Higher Education, we participants were prompted with three questions to somehow measure student engagement in our courses. As a simple though realistic exercise, as an instructor one gets to reflect on how much one’s learners are taking a course seriously. The prompting questions are the following, for anyone who also wants to question the amount of learner engagement students are experiencing in a course.

1. Consider one of the lessons you are interested in; what is its learning goal?

2. Reflect on your student performance and identify how you can tell that your learners are not engaged in this lesson.

3. How can you explain the your students are not engaged with your lesson?

For this particular reflective exercise I took into consideration my Introduction to Drama class, which at the time of the reflecting task was a bit sidetracked, and students were not getting at a very realistic deep learning of the concepts being studied in the course: from Classical Greek Theater to Contemporary Theater. The following chart summarizes my observations and reflections regarding my lesson.

Lesson to focus on	Summarizing the evolution of theater
Learning goal	After providing Ss with the tools to produce their presentations, Drama Ss will produce a graphic summary for the class with good visuals and design.
Lack of engagement	Ss are a bit down in terms of energy at this point of the term and they need to be reenergized somehow and this could be the chance
Reasons for lack of engagement	Length of the course and amount of critical reviews they have to produce
Additional strategies	Have them work on http://www.powtoons.com to produce more engaging critical reviews that they can eventually use in their courses
Stages of learning	1. Students enrolled in this class with pre-reflective thinking skills, and that needs to be modified.
	2. Students start moving into quasi-reflecting thinking skills by understanding how this class connects to the overall ELT program and how they will use this knowledge in their future or current teaching.
	3. Students towards the end of the course become reflective thinkers when they have learned the basics and start creating their own arguments and building their long-lasting knowledge.

As a conclusion, and after revising this information provided in the chart above, it is highly recommendable that all teachers question a bit their lessons from time to time to find evidence of what seems to be going on with student engagement. It is wise to go over the questions/statements provided at the very beginning of this blog entry to find yourself consider how you can measure learner engagement in your courses and in very specific lessons. One is bound to discover a bit of how one’s teaching practices can affect student deep learning.