Showing posts with label BNCs. Show all posts

My 8th Lesson Learned at ABLA 2016, Houston, TX

ABLA, BNCs, Libraries, MakerSpace 0 comments

Taken from http://www.relacionesculturales.edu.mx/abla-2016/

My 8^th Lesson Learned at ABLA 2016, Houston, TX

“CTJ’s Makerspace: Designing Memorable Learning Experiences”

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

School of English

Faculty of Social Sciences

Universidad Latina de Costa Rica

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Post 292

Many times I have walked into our Binational Center’s (BNC) library to find it empty of users but a handful of elderly ones who are used to coming almost every day. I have had the same feeling when visiting the Campus Library at the private college I also work for, a place where people go to sleep or to get a seat to let the hours pass by. Then I also get to wonder if this is the same kind of experience people are living when crossing the threshold to their community’s libraries or in the higher education institutions they are studying at, too. And if this were the situation across our home countries, what kind of shift in the conception of a library is taking place nowadays?

While attending Daniela Lyra Cardoso’s presentation at the ABLA 2016 convention in Houston, TX, I got confronted with the concept of “makerspace” for libraries. And as she stated in the introduction to her talk, “in a rapidly changing world, powered by social media and instant information, learning opportunities can be found everywhere” (Cardoso, 2016); but are we really taking advantage of all these learning chances that our dynamic world is providing us to teach our pupils? With the panorama described above, walking into a library today is making me believe that language performers in a BNC’s library do not take advantage of the treasures it has and that college students lack the ability to profit from a library’s services to get information for their course projects.

Cardoso (2016) introduced many of us newbies to ABLA to the concept of “the makerspace movement.” I must confess that though I work for an BNC in Costa Rica in the area of curriculum, I have never heard of this movement before, but when I had a chance to see what libraries in the US and in other BNCs are doing nowadays, I started wondering why it is that we fell so behind in this learning, collaboration trend. Cardoso, who is working for Casa Thomas Jefferson in Brasilia (Brazil) showed us the great things that a makerspace in a library can do for a BNC and for the community where that institution is located. The more that Cardoso spoke, the more interested I became in the topic and in the initiative this Brazilian institution had devised to reach out to the community surrounding them. Was I then witnessing a change in paradigm in the conception of what libraries should be now that we are far into the 21^st Century?

Trying to give an answer to my question linked to a paradigm shift in what a library should be today, I first needed to understand the importance of the makerspace movement. As it is explained by Rendina (n.d.), “The Maker Movement has been around for a lot longer than many of us realize. Really, the desire to make things with our hands has existed since the dawn of man, and DIY culture has long played an important role in humanity.” And somehow all of us are part of the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) culture since we like to do things with our hands; hands-on activities can be more memorable and long-lasting for our learning than a mere explanation. Creativity is exercised and boosted with the aid of a makerspace for all kinds of library users. “Makerspaces combine manufacturing equipment, community, and education for the purposes of enabling community members to design, prototype and create manufactured works that wouldn’t be possible to create with the resources available to individuals working along” (Makerspace.Com, n.d.). This is a space open to the community and the students so they can exercise their creativity and collaboration and people skills with other members of that very same community. The library becomes a “think tank” for collaborative library users.

Has the concept of libraries changed or evolved in this post-technology Internet revolution? With the advent of the Internet, an information revolution was to come; by having information a click away from home or from one’s mobile device changed the way we learn today. Libraries are not massively visited by learners nowadays. And this is happening because library’s decision-makers have not yet comprehended that the concept of what a library is has been evolving and including more ways of using the library space. And depending on the kind of library that is being run, we can get learning spaces like the one depicted by Cardoso during her presentation at ABLA 2016 where learners are everywhere in the library exercising their creativity regardless of the language that it is being used by library users.

Having all these ideas revolving in my mind for several weeks now, I wanted to contribute a bit with this new conception of libraries in the 21^st Century though I am no expert in the field. It seems to me, a practical educator, that we are in the verge of time where libraries’ effort needs to be refocused to embrace different ways of learning, to bring the people to make use of resources they have to offer, to help people develop multi-literacies and not just the black and white print books, to promote the learning of history, values, culture and so on, differently. The checklist created is indeed based on many of the sensible words spoken by Cardoso and my particular way of seeing a library in a BNC like the one we have in Costa Rica.

Living reality library assessment criteria checklist from jonacuso

As Cardoso (2016) explained in her ABLA 2016 Presentation, the library of the 21^st Century is a place with a people-focused mission. A vital institutional space like a library needs to be a place for innovation. The space must invite learners to experience it differently with creativity boosters and spaces to help them co-construct their knowledge collaborativiely. As Cardoso (2016) also stated, it needs to be place where BNCs or higher education institutions, and why not community organizations, help all individuals become better for the world, for their families, for their nations, and for themselves. A library needs to be a place where learners can come to investigate the world to comprehend what is happening around us and take action when such things affect us all; we are providing them with spaces to become globally competent since discussions held in our libraries can become ways to help all individuals weigh perspectives coming from different angles. Libraries can become spaces to promote positive changes in our communities.

If innovation is to think out of the box, the libraries can be those places where creativity can be boosted and exercised. Part of this think-out-of-the-box perspective for library use –no doubt- connects with the ideas presented by Cardoso (2016) during her presentation; by means of these public spaces we can create in our local libraries can help our citizens to learn how to communicate ideas to diverse groups of individuals. A makerspace or other action plans we can devise for our libraries are ways to help education in our home countries to be much better and ready to reach out to our communities. I hope not to ask my learners in the future, “how often do you check material from a library?,” and get statistics like this:

Number of Sts polled: 12	Topic: Library Use	Ages: 19-26
1 out of 12 checked out a book in the last 2 years		8.33%
5 out of 12 have never been to the campus library		41.67%
7 out of 12 have been to the library for other reasons not connected to consulting material		58.33%
0 out of 12 have participated in a talk organized by the campus library		0.00%
2 out of 12 have heard of multi-literacies and how they can boost their learning		16.67%
4 out of 12 have actually used the library to get together to collaborate on school projects		33.33%

Libraries’ need for innovation is more than present in this quick poll I made among my university students. But the fact that a library needs to invite learners to experience it differently is more than evident nowadays. I wish our libraries became makerspaces and places to generate discussion and consolidate communities of learning and communities of practice.

References

Cardoso, D. (2016, August 16-19). CTJ's Makerspace: Designing Memorable Learning Experiences. 21st Century Challenges ABLA 2016 Convention Program, Houston, TX. Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico: Instituto Mexicano Norteamericano de Relaciones Culturales.

Makerspace.Com. (n.d.). What's a Makerspace? Retrieved from Makerspace.Com: http://spaces.makerspace.com/

Rendina, D. (n.d.). MakerSpace Resources. Retrieved from Renovated Learning: http://renovatedlearning.com/makerspace-resources/

Additional Resources to Understand a bit more what a makerspace is all about.

Thursday, September 15, 2016

ABLA 2016’s 7th Lesson Learned: “Measuring the Impact of Training”

ABLA, BNCs, Kirkpatrick Model, Teacher Development, Teacher Training 0 comments

Taken from http://www.relacionesculturales.edu.mx/abla-2016/

ABLA 2016’s 7^th Lesson Learned:

“Measuring the Impact of Training”

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

School of English

Faculty of Social Sciences

Universidad Latina de Costa Rica

Sunday, September 11, 2016

Post 291

“One of the most important aspects of teacher training has to do with its impact in teaching skills and student learning” (Gómez, 2016). But how long does it take for a training team in a language school such as a Binational Center (BNC) to see the results of teacher coaching materialized in the staff’s teaching skills displayed in the classroom and to find evidence of how changes in instruction trigger an effect in student learning? The fact is that in terms of teacher training, instructor-coaching faculty members cannot expect to see or find any immediate result or evidence that the training has been moved into the class boundaries; outcomes can only be perceived later on, and they should be, as Gómez (2016) proposes, analyzed and measured in different time intervals to really see the effects of that teacher training.

Though I do not watch over instructor training at the BNC I work for, being in charge of the Curriculum Development Team makes my partners and me participate in teacher coaching and also wonder how this can have a long-lasting effect in our teaching staff. During the ABLA 2016 convention in Houston, TX, German Gómez, from World Learning, talked about a training program they are currently carrying out in the Sultanate of Oman based on the Kirkpatrick Model for evaluating training impact, which was a complete novelty for me and a sounding measuring program after reading about it. Now, based on Gómez’s talk at ABLA, “training aims at developing 4 key aspects ” (Gómez, Measuring the Impact of Training (PPTx), 2016). These crucial aspects are “knowledge” or “content required for the job,” “awareness” or “self-introspection of skill,” “skill” or “practical application of knowledge,” and “attitude,” or “the attitude towards a specific belief or practice.” These are the aspects that a training team needs to concentrate to consider how coaching sessions can have a long-lasting effect on teaching professionals working for our BNCs. These are the pillars supervisors and training decision makers should give some thorough follow-up to measure the understanding, application, and/or impact of “knowledge, awareness, skill, and attitude” presented to educators to positively affect “teaching skills and student learning.”

During German Gómez’s ABLA presentation (2016), and bearing in mind the positive effect training can have in “teaching skills and student learning,” he asked the audience two questions regarding teacher coaching. “Why is measuring the impact of training important in your context / position?” (Gómez, Measuring the Impact of Training (PPTx), 2016). First of all, as I commented this point with Gómez himself, in my curriculum development position, it is crucial that language trainees get the proper coaching to be fully functional in a new language program or with improvements made to an existing program, whether that is for adults, teenagers, or children. The idea behind training, in the way we perceive it at the BNC I work for, is to enhance the teaching skills and style any of our teachers have. The enhancement in skills and style can have a positive effect in the way language trainees are being exposed to the contents they must learn from the various thematic units in the courses they take with us. Second of all, the constant visiting or re-visiting to topics related with our curricula allows the institution and the training team to somehow measure what the impact of training is in the short run. Measuring helps Academic Department training staff to actually see what is happening in our classrooms and how our classes are being delivered by our instructors to help us guarantee the quality of teaching our students are getting. Measuring is part of the quality control our BNC wants to exercise in its language programs to satisfy the demands of our current and future learners.

“What are some ways in which you as a trainer / coordinator / administrator measure the impact of training in your teaching staff?” (Gómez, Measuring the Impact of Training (PPTx), 2016). When German Gómez asked us to share with our peers in the room, lots of things started to come to my memory: the times in which I was a supervisor and the way how supervision is now handled at our BNC in Costa Rica. At the beginning we coaches had to create our evaluation rubrics for class visits and observations. Based on those rubrics supervisors had to write a report of their trainees that had to be submitted to our site coordinator for them to see who was doing what was expected of them and what kind of corrective actions needed to be taken to help the teacher overcome any teaching issue s/he might be experiencing. But in hindsight, what was exactly expected? There were different types of trainings, but I cannot recall any real follow-up for those specific coaching sessions we had. Best practices were proposed, but in the end everyone decided to either use them or forget all about them. In the end, were we really measuring “the impact of training” in “teaching skills and student learning?” Most of our rubrics were connected to expected and ideal performances in the classroom, but our training team never asked ELT educators how they thought was the best way to measure the implementation of any of those so-called best practices in their courses.

Taken from Gómez (2016), Measuring the Impact of Training (PPTx)

German Gómez gave many of us ABLA 2016 participants a good slap of reality in terms of what is actually and theoretically done to work with teaching professionals and their training nowadays. Participants were introduced to the theoretical model World Learning is currently using in the Sultanate of Oman to coach EL teaching professionals over there: The Kirkpatrick Model. To have a sample what this model is about, Gómez had us watch the a video to see -in 60 seconds- what the model can do for us and for our instructors in terms of the measurement of training and the time span needed to see the results of any training event. After watching the video about the model and comprehending that the model has four levels: reaction, learning, behavior, and results, the scope of action towards measurement changes drastically (The Daily Project Manager, 2015) (Gómez, Measuring the Impact of Training (PPTx), 2016).

After listening to what German Gómez was explaining to us, my conception of language trainer coaching changed and widened my understanding of the four levels presented by the Kirkpatrick Model. Seeing each of the four levels, the following can be noted. Reaction refers to “the degree to which participants find the training favorable, engaging and relevant to their jobs” (The Kirkpatrick Partners, n.d.). Based on Gómez (2016), teachers should be measured to find out their immediate reaction right after the event by means of surveys, direct questionnaires, and so on. Learning encases “the degree to which participants acquire the intended knowledge, skills, attitude, confidence and commitment based on their participation in the training” (The Kirkpatrick Partners, n.d.). Gómez (2016) proposes that language instructors can also be “measured” in their learning after the training event by the same means. Behavior entails “the degree to which participants apply what they learned during training when they are back on the job” (The Kirkpatrick Partners, n.d.). Language educators, as stated by Gómez (2016) in his presentation, need to be measured three to five months after being trained by means of surveys, classroom observations, and interviews. Finally, results comprise “the degree to which targeted outcomes occur as a result of the training and the support and accountability package” (The Kirkpatrick Partners, n.d.). Gómez (2016) posits that these results can only be measured from six to twelve months after the training event by means of customer satisfaction results and manager results. All these facts are intended to make us BNC’s Academic Department coordinators understand that a training session held today will have different immediate effects or short or long-term sequels. The real impact of training can only be started to be measured after six months after the training event; before that moment, it is quite premature.

Some of the most salient points connected to my 7^th lesson learned at ABLA is that the Kirkpatrick Model is not a training program per se; training programs must be designed and developed by BNCs to guarantee quality in their programs. This model can be used as a solid ground to base any coaching program for teaching professionals in our institutions. The program, as it was also shared by Gómez (2016) with his experience in the Sultanate of Oman, needs to be open and participative for the teachers; that is, language trainers also need to have access to the training agenda in our schools to provide the institution with feedback related to what pedagogical areas they need to be trained on and how they should be measured by the team of teacher-coaching experts. Perhaps, as explained by Gómez (2016), teachers can participate in the creation of the rubrics the BNC can use to evaluate their own performance and accountability for the quality the training is looking for in their “teaching skills and student learning.”

References

Gómez, G. (2016, August 18). Measuring the Impact of Training (PPTx). PPTx for the ABLA 2016's Talk . Houston, Texas, United States: World Learning.

Gómez, G. (2016, August 16-19). Measuring the Impact of Training. 21st Century Challenges ABLA 2016 Convention Program . Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico: Centro Mexicano Norteamericano de Relaciones Culturales.

The Daily Project Manager. (2015, August 3). Kirkpatrick's 4 Levels of Evaluation. Retrieved from YouTube.Com: https://youtu.be/aw9sqEvfuf8

The Kirkpatrick Partners. (n.d.). The Kirkpatrick Model. Retrieved from The Kirkpatrick Partners: http://www.kirkpatrickpartners.com/OurPhilosophy/TheKirkpatrickModel

Saturday, September 10, 2016

A 6th Lesson Learned at ABLA 2016: “Teaching English in the 21st Century: Education for Global Competence”

ABLA, BNCs, Competency-Based Learning, Global Competence 0 comments

Taken from http://www.relacionesculturales.edu.mx/abla-2016/

A 6^th Lesson Learned at ABLA 2016:

“Teaching English in the 21^st Century: Education for Global Competence”

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

School of English

Faculty of Social Sciences

Universidad Latina de Costa Rica

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Post 290

Do you ever wonder how much education has changed since we were high schoolers roaming town or the sophomores at our universities? Well, no doubt that it has adapted to the new learning tendencies and has evolved exponentially. But was education better before? Being a bit Romantic in my perspectives, in hindsight education was different and somehow effective since we are the result of a learning process or curricula. But upon completion of our majors time ago, were we globally competent? Hmm! I guess not because in retrospection I cannot see that much cross-culture understanding but attempts in our study programs, at least in my home country; compassionate communication was absent and respect for diversity was not an issue at that time. Additionally, we were not exactly part of environmentally-oriented communities who really fought for the protection of our local ecosystems because environmental awareness was just emerging. But now that we are the educators of the 21^st Century, still a vast majority of our learners are not globally competent.

“Time has passed and we are almost two decades away from a new century. This century has invited us to rethink and revisit what we have done over the past years concerning Education and English language teaching” (Ladosky, 2016). Along the rethinking and revisiting process, many teaching trends and methodologies have emerged and later on abandoned. Take the example of TBLT; who teaches with this method today 100% of their classes? Not those many, I guess. As an addendum to CLT, TBLT is very useful but is not the panacea for teaching and learning, like many other approaches that came to life. However, going beyond any teaching method, did those trends help us have learners become global citizens? Not exactly! To provide students with a bit of this global awareness or consciousness, the instructors’ twist in their teaching was part of the magical formula to instill in learners a bit of curiosity to explore beyond textbooks and their own cultural and ecological surroundings. At this point of the 21^st Century we have just begun to disseminate in our learners the importance of being a global citizen and someone who can develop their global competence to work with and understand others in this technology-oriented world society.

“What is the role of English language teaching in a time when knowledge is a click away?” (Ladosky, 2016). In our technology-oriented societies, language teaching helps us guide students to acquire a global competence, which “refers to the acquisition of in-depth knowledge and understanding of international issues, an appreciation of and ability to learn and work with people from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, proficiency in a foreign language, and skills to function productively in an interdependent world community” (NEA National Education Association, 2010). ELT can help us teaching professionals to avoid circumscribing learning to students’ immediate reality; language teaching can help us expand language trainees’ horizons in their “understanding of international issues.” ELT also allows us to expose learners to ideas and ways of being from across the globe and to learn about people with “diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds.” All these, by means of ELT, help us develop critical thinking in our learners, deal with various levels of language command, and develop the right “skills to function productively in an interdependent world community.” No doubt that global competence is one of the benchmarks for learning in the 21^st Century.

The 21^st Century has given us plenty of room to rethink and revisit what we want in our educational systems in our binational centers across Latin America. Global competence is the way to accomplish what the National Education Association (2010) endorses as a “21^st Century imperative.” In our binational center’s experience in Costa Rica, designing and developing a whole new curricula around a National Geographic Learning’s language series has given us the chance to help language performers to develop “international awareness” by having them build “the knowledge and understanding of world history, socioeconomic and political systems, and other global events” (NEA National Education Association, 2010); something that was not achieved with our former language series. Understanding our Academic Director’s vision and National Geographic Learning’s mission also gave us the chance to provide our language trainees with “the appreciation of cultural diversity” which “entails the ability to know, understand, and appreciate people from other cultures along with the capacity to acknowledge other points of view about pressing world issues” (NEA National Education Association, 2010). Our binational center’s partnership with National Geographic Learning has given us room to help students to develop their proficiency in English to understand people from other cultures who use English as a second or first language and to foster “competitive skills” since learners “who gain a thorough understanding of the economic, social, and technological changes taking place across the globe enhance their ability to compete in the worldwide marketplace” (NEA National Education Association, 2010).

Bearing in mind the importance of global competence, “how can the English school be effective and make a difference to the students’ lives?” (Ladosky, 2016). Let it be borne in mind that effectiveness derives from the sense of global citizenship and global competence. Binational centers (BNCs), or any other language school, can make the difference by comprehending that we human beings are not isolated from the rest of the world, and by developing our global competence we can establish our “international awareness” and can cultivate our “competitive skills” to be more competent and eligible in the job market. Additionally, BNCs can nurture a sense of acknowledging and respecting others and their diversity in their learners aiming at complying with the “appreciation of cultural diversity” and “proficiency in foreign languages.” BNCs’ role as cultural centers is to endorse the four pillars of global competence presented by the National Education Association (2010). By having our pupils embrace these pillars, BNCs will be contributing with society to shape individuals who show respect for others and their distinctiveness and value the enhancement of a sense of comprehending what is happening worldwide and how it affects them, us, and the others.

“Is it possible to enhance the development of Global Competence and teach the content the school is supposed to?” (Ladosky, 2016). Of course it is possible! But, first of all, BNCs and language schools must understand that we are not part of close societies, but nations that are part of ever-moving people who immigrate to other latitudes. This movement of peoples produces cultural exchanges on our daily lives. This comprehension of the non-close society implies that we need to think of training our citizens to become globally competent and open-minded individuals.

Following this line of thought on enhancing Global Competence, our national BNC, Centro Cultural Costarricense-Norteamericano (CCCN), is setting the example in Costa Rica by searching the right formula to have our language trainees become globally competent. CCCN and National Geographic Learning became partners in a joint effort to provide language students with content to promote the 21^st Century imperative: Global Competence. CCCN’s curricula are now oriented towards global citizenship and competence. Language performers are exposed to the cultures of the world with the archives of the National Geographic present in each thematic unit our teaching professionals cover in class and online. CCCN is now in the constant search for the enhancement of the awareness of respect for local and other cultures and the environment. And our BNC is preparing learners to deal with the new challenges of the 21^st Century world society.

Providing the reader with some concluding remarks on what Ladosky presented and had us participants reflect upon during the ABLA 2016 Convention in Houston, it needs to be stated once again that education has changed. Our Romantic views of the past will not yield any trace of global competence if the four pillars it is based on are not overtly taught in the classroom. BNCs and language schools’ curricula needs to become the means to start making a change in our institutions that will permeate in our communities. The exposure our school provides our pupils in terms of the importance of global competence will help us prepare them for better lives and more opportunities. Initiatives like the one carried out by National Geographic Learning allows language trainees to admire the world and its diversity with different lenses and equipped with other 21^st Century skills needed to function in our current societies.

References

Ladosky, T. (2016, August 16-19). Teaching English in the 21st Century: Educating for Global Competence. 21st Century Challenges ABLA 2016 Houston Convention . Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico: Instituto Mexicano Norteamericano de Relaciones Culturales.

NEA National Education Association. (2010). Global Competence Is a 21st Century Imperative. Retrieved from National Education Association: http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/HE/PB28A_Global_Competence11.pdf

Thursday, September 08, 2016

My 5th ABLA 2016 Learned Lesson: Changing Teaching Paradigms by Maximizing Metacognition and Implementing Student Empowerment

ABLA, BNCs, Metacognition, Schema, Teaching 0 comments

Taken from http://www.relacionesculturales.edu.mx/abla-2016/

My 5^th ABLA 2016 Learned Lesson:

Changing Teaching Paradigms by Maximizing Metacognition and Implementing Student Empowerment

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

School of English

Faculty of Social Sciences

Universidad Latina de Costa Rica

Sunday, September 4, 2016

Post 289

While attending dos Santos & Salazar’s (2016) talk during the ABLA 2016 Convention in the month of August, their session sparked a lot interest among many of us participants who continued to talk this over among ourselves after the session was over. Both presenters showed us “how to promote student and teacher metacognition to improve learning and teaching” (dos Santos & Salazar, 2016) by providing us with very relevant information for our academic planning and training. Listening to them and reflecting upon their words, one gets to realize that a paradigm shift is needed to cater for more metacognitive strategies for both instructors and learners. Metacognition is a great alternative to work with all sorts of students in our binational centers or in higher education settings.

Dos Santos have us participants watch a video entitled Schema (2008) by John Medina, author of Brain Rules, 12 Principiles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School,. The reason for them to have us participants analyze the video was to demonstrate the importance of schema activation when it comes to teaching and learning. The absence of this kind of activation can simply lead to zero learning in spite of the fact that students can be fully entertained in a classroom.

https://youtu.be/mzbRpMlEHzM

Following dos Santos and Salazar’s (2016) instructions, which are pretty much the same ones suggested by Medina in his video, the act of learning can be severely affected or positively enhanced by providing learners with a frame of reference. However, when one listens to Medina and his assistant, Dr. Whitehead, in the video, with no contextualization of what is being explained, it is plainly useless for anyone to try to decipher what is being said by Medina and Whitehead. The importance of having a frame of reference to understand what it is being explained to us is crucial and that is called schema activation. The absence of such frame means we have no idea whatsoever of what is being demonstrated or disclosed to us. When this is transferred to the classroom, you can anticipate a lot of problems after explanations and when the class is about to start a series of exercises based on those explanations.

Why do we –when watching Medina’s (2008) video or trying to teach something new to our learners- miserably fail while trying to complete the task? Reynolds (2008), in his summary of the three most important brain rules published by Medina, insists on Rule #4 that states that “we don’t pay attention to boring things.” As explained by dos Santos & Salazar (2016) in their ABLA talk, 90% of the time last century teachers were delivering content in class, and students’ voices were silent, and this silence could perfectly be interpreted as boredom. Then one starts to think whether this 90% of content delivery has changed that much in classrooms in higher education, language schools, binational centers, and so on. Dos Santos & Salazar (2016) insited on the encouragement of student voice to provoke self-direction in their learning, but when an instructor is silencing their students with “non-engaging stuff,” learning will not be present at all and we will continue to fail miserably.

Dos Santos & Salazar (2016) also used a quite nice metaphor to refer to what may be happening in our classrooms: How do we soccer fans react when we talk about a game and when we are watching a match? Will our students demonstrate the same kind of engagement when they talk about the last game our national team played compared to what they were “learning” the last time they were in English class? Johnson (2012) posits the difference between entertaining and engaging quite nicely by saying that “entertainment’s primary purpose is to create an enjoyable experience; engagement’s primary purpose is to focus attention so learning occurs.” Based on Johnson’s words, no learning is taking place while we are engaged in a soccer discussion or game viewing. “Entertainment is ephemeral, often frivoulus; engagement creates long-lasting results and deals with important issues” (Johnson, 2012). Then, if the right class environment is created, “long-lasting” effects can be seen in our students’ knowledge, language command and mastery.

Based on dos Santos & Salazar (2016), metacognition can be learned and taught. There needs to be a steady shift in the metacognitive balance that exists today in education, whether that is language or content learning. And this balance should be on the side of the learner; the teacher needs to be a guide and provide that guidance towards student learning. We need to make learners work rather than having us teachers always do the work for them. A class needs to be focused on the student not on the instructor; classes need to be student-oriented and learner-centered. As a consequence, teachers need to be trained to become metacognitive in their kind of teaching practices, which means that they need to re-focus what they do in the classroom to provoke a self-direction in student engagement, making them responsible for what needs to be learned and how much they want to continue learning beyond the classroom. Once instructors have the right training on metacognition, they can teach their students how to become metacognitive in their learning and really be engaged in class to maximize learning and their empowerment when it come to their education.

Finally, understanding that “entertainment needs have little relevance to the reader / watcher / listener” (Johnson, 2012) and the student, and that “engaging experiences most often relate directly to the learner” (Johnson, 2012), it is time to start using more metacognition in language learning. What about the flipped classrooms for our adult target audience? A sample practice in metacognition in the hands of learners is the flipped classroom, which is now a change in our teaching paradigms where learners work rather than having their teachers do everything for them. In language instruction we want autonomous learners responsible for what they want to learn in and outside the classroom; some sort of flipped work can do the trick for all these learners. But, remember, students need to be given the frame of reference (schema activation), and instructors need to work on this provision of context to propitiate learning,

“By learning how to be metacognitive, students become more conscious, reflective and aware of their progress along the learning path” (dos Santos & Salazar, 2016). Don’t we all teachers want learners who are really responsible for their learning and who can come to class to demonstrate what they are learning on their own and with our guidance? I guess all of us teachers will be more than satisfied seeing the result of our metacognitive teaching and our leaners’ metacognitive practices. And “while students take charge of their learning, teachers can shift the focus to them and their learning and just be guides” (dos Santos & Salazar, 2016) who can lead them to the expected language proficiency.

References

Dos Santos, L., & Salazar, L. (2016, August 16-19). Changing Teaching Paradigms by Maximizing Metacognition and Implementing Student Empowerment. 21st Century Challenges ABLA 2016 Convention Program . Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico: Instituto Mexicano Norteamericano de Relaciones Culturales.

Johnson, D. (2012, April 16). Engage or Entertain? Retrieved from Education World: http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/columnists/johnson/johnson026.shtml

Medina, J. (2008, February 5). Schema. Retrieved from YouTube.Com: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzbRpMlEHzM

Reynolds, G. (2008, May 19). Brain Rules for Presenters. Retrieved from SlideShare.Com: http://www.slideshare.net/garr/brain-rules-for-presenters/1

Additional Material to Explore

Brain Rules for Presenters from garr

Sunday, September 04, 2016

ABLA 2016’s Lesson 4: A Mindfulness-Driven Moment “Respect vs. Beliefs”

ABLA, BNCs, Mindfulness 0 comments

Taken from http://www.relacionesculturales.edu.mx/abla-2016/

ABLA 2016’s Lesson 4:

A Mindfulness-Driven Moment

“Respect vs. Beliefs”

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

School of English

Faculty of Social Sciences

Universidad Latina de Costa Rica

Friday, September 2, 2016

Post 288

Have you ever stopped your daily routine, either at work or at home, to question yourself on the respect any individual deserves regardless of any hidden or manifested condition this human being has? Though these are not the exact words that Amiris Helena and Sandra Rodriguez used to phrase the question above, it is the one main idea I got through their presentation at the ABLA 2016 Convention in Houston, TX. Both Helena and Rodriguez made me re-question myself in two different ways: a) Is one being governed by one’s beliefs at all times?, and b) is one being biased by one’s community’s (pre)dominant gestalts at all times? And though I will try to give an answer to these questions later on, let us explore some of the ideas both presenters had us explore during their presentation.

How do our beliefs condition our “respect” for the others? To start with it is important to define what beliefs are to understand how they condition our so-called respect for the others. A belief can be defined as “confidence in the truth or existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof” (Dictionary.Com, LCC, n.d.). Based on this definition, we are walking in life as if we were blindfolded by a truth that probably does not exist or that cannot be proven, yet we trust our beliefs as if they were irrefutable truths that can govern our way of doing things and treating other individuals.

On the other hand, respect can be comprehended as “a feeling or understanding that someone or something is important, serious, etc., and should be treated in an appropriate way” (Merriam-Webster.Com, n.d.). But are we treating our fellow brothers and sisters because they are “important, serious,” and so on? Beliefs are grounded on our community’s collective unconsciousness, which –by the way- is never, ever questioned and which is not “immediately susceptible to rigorous proof.” We can be walking out in life “treating” people disrespectfully because we are blindfolded by these irrefutable truths we call beliefs, and they do not allow us to see and understand “that someone … is important” just the way they are. And if all this is transferred to our workplaces, what is actually happening with all of us who get to work in a language school in automatic pilot? Are we treating everyone respectfully beyond what I believe and have never questioned before?

How do we acknowledge diversity in our fellow people? When we walk into our workplaces, diversity is present every step of our ways. Every single individual in our offices, classrooms, lounges, and so on are nurtured with diversity that needs to be accepted and consequently respected. As explained by Helena & Rodríguez (2016) during their presentation, though we do not necessarily accept what the other person holds as a belief or how s/he behaves in certain ways, we have to acknowledge them by respecting their points of view and ways of doing things. We may not “like” what they do, but these people deserve to be treated with respect beyond the unreasonable domain of our beliefs.

While listening to Helena & Rodríguez’s (2016) talk at ABLA in Houston, several questionings popped up in my mind. All this self-examination was shaped in the form of more questions that need to be asked:

a) Are we aware of differences of all type at work when one has to deal with peers, supervisors, bosses, students, and in turn learners’ parents?

b) Do we willingly accept all those differences that are found in every corner of our workplaces?

c) Are we comfortable with all those differences surrounding us all the hours we spend at work?

d) Are we really ready to go beyond our beliefs and respect our co-workers regardless of the differences we can number?

e) And what about the relationships that are created around our students in and outside the classroom?

f) Are we ever comfortable with all our learners, what they think, believe, and reason?

g) Are we ripe and prepared to start respecting our students just the way we want others to respect and value us for what we are?

As it can be seen, Helena & Rodríguez (2016) made me think in abundance about my beliefs and made me go back to my mindfulness training during 2015. And now that I can see this list of questions in retrospection, I can answer my own questioning honestly and in a respectful mode, which I am aware of the moment I cross the threshold of the binational center and private university I work for.

Finally, how do we “embrace” diversity in all sorts of individuals in our work environment? Well, somehow this question summarizes all of the questions above. And part of the answer to this self-examination is connected to the way we understand “tolerance,” and this was something that Amiris Helena made me reason further. Tolerance is not respect, and it is somehow a forced conduct in our way of being; this can get to a point in which it can burst into aggression and into a highly destructive behavior. Embracing diversity is not tolerating people who think and lead their lives differently; it is a mindful act of respect and acknowledgement of the others, just the way they are. Respect is the key to live a life that embraces diversity in being, feeling, and thinking.

Let’s respect others and live peacefully by untying ourselves from the never-questioned gestalts that shape up a community’s collective unconsciousness. And now when one is asked, “Are you being governed by your beliefs at all times?, one needs to say that I am in a constant and mindful process of questioning and reshaping what is believed and what is simply unreasonable. Beliefs will not help us respect our fellow siblings. And when asked if you are being biased by your community’s (pre)dominant gestalts at all times?, you must answer –once again- that you are re-evaluating what the mastermind behind the collective consciousness is directing us to do when we are walking around the world in autopilot.

References

Dictionary.Com, LCC. (n.d.). Belief. Obtenido de Dictionary.Com, LCC: http://www.dictionary.com/browse/beliefs?s=t

Helena, A., & Rodríguez, S. (2016, August 16-19). Respect vs. Beliefs. 21st Centrury Challenges ABLA 2016 Convention Program . Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico: Instituto Mexicano Norteamericano de Relaciones Culturales.

Merriam-Webster.Com. (n.d.). Respect. Obtenido de Meriam-Webster.Com: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/respect

Thursday, September 01, 2016