View of
Bogotá, Colombia from Mount Monserrate. Photo by Jonathan Acuña
Some Reflections of
Leadership Styles
By Prof. Jonathan
Acuña-Solano, M. Ed.
School of English
Faculty
of Social Sciences
Universidad
Latina de Costa Rica
Saturday, May 6, 2017
Post 313
When I look back into my former
training and studies on working adult students (WASs) in higher education, a
stream of ideas start to clutter into my mind coming from many different angles
and Andragogical approaches. And to try to give them some shape as a black-and-white
document or, at least, as some memoranda to keep track of my thoughts, I need
to go back to these questions provided by my former online instructors and
course instructional designers to trigger some good reflection on leadership
styles and what using them in a course imply.
Questions
to Reflect on WASs
|
·
What concept or strategy do you think
is more useful in your professional practice in higher education? Choose at
least one and explain briefly.
·
What recommendation would you give to
your academic institution in order to complement virtual classroom work with
WASs?
·
What are you expectations for
teaching and learning strategies as a newly-acquired piece of information for
your teaching?
|
When
asked, “What concept or strategy do you
think is more useful in your professional practice?,” several thoughts and
emotions pop up in my mind as possible responses to the question, or –better
stated- multiple answers show their presence. As a seasoned online instructor working with WASs and as a
mortar-and-brick college teaching professional dealing with traditional
students and WASs within the same classrooms, I am quite certain now that
teacher leadership styles and types are necessary in the F2F and virtual classroom
for the sake of learning. Working adult students do have a very well defined
college entry profile, and understanding what they are and aspire as part of
their academic life, one can find the right combination of leadership types to
acknowledge their presence and needs to continue studying, and also to help
them achieve their personal goals at their current jobs with the aid of course
content pertaining their working fields. Leadership styles are not a luxury but
a real necessity in one’s teaching settings.
To
see the types of leadership most common seen in education with WASs, go to “What
kind of Leader Am I?”
|
In
addition to leadership styles, our roles as teachers, as well as the students’
role in the 21st Century knowledge society, are important to be considered,
whether one is teaching in a virtual or F2F setting. WASs are bound to find
themselves dealing with new learning environments that were not present at the
time they started their majors, which were interrupted for many a different
reason. Transitioning to this new model of learning such a hybrid or blended
one, where their autonomy can help them boost their desire for learning and
achieve professional goals, is not meant to be easy for all of them due to the
new challenges that unfold before them. Consequently, it is necessary to help
WASs move out of their old-fashioned way of studying and learning to new ways
in which current technology (smartphones, tablets, laptops, and so on), an LMS
such as Moodle or Blackboard (or any other existing one), and virtual
environments can help them work and study according to their tight schedules,
expectations, and even their family life responsibilities. Our teaching roles
must be carefully utilized with WASs in this 21st Century knowledge
society to really help them become deep and autonomous learners.
When
asked by my former trainers about the recommendations I would give my higher
education institution in order to complement virtual classroom work with WASs,
there is one single thing that worries me a lot, and I do not know if this has
already been brought to their attention. At my university what I have been
witnessing for quite a while is the lack of use of the Moodle platform we have,
at least in my department. It is incredible to see blank virtual classrooms
where no information is displayed for learners to aid them in the “digestion”
of new content and theories. If our institution has invested thousands of
dollars on a tool like this to boost student learning and autonomy, the way is
being used has to do with the lack of training provided to faculty members. It
is for this reason that at my higher education institution it is necessary that
all teaching professionals get some sort of accreditation to start using Moodle
to complement their F2F courses with the principles of content selection. And
if they were introduced to some principles of instructional design, the use of
our Moodle platform would take a more sound direction to potentiate leaner
autonomy and deep learning.
What
are my expectations and needs for "teaching and learning strategies"?
I have high expectations to what it is in store for me in the future while
deepening my understanding of WASs. I want to see and even experiment with
teaching strategies that can help me assist my working adult students become
better at assimilating content, at using this content effectively –first- in
class and –then- in their jobs, and at what they do at their workplaces on a
regular basis. A lot of what I try to do is based on my common sense, but I am
not quite sure how common my way of thinking can be for my WASs. I need to get
a solid theoretical background to use teaching strategies that can yield
positive results for my students such as learner autonomy and time management
and balance in the resources used by adult learners.
Saturday, May 06, 2017
