Teaching Grammar and Vocabulary .

HELLO EVERYONE !

I HOPE THIS POST  FINDS YOU WELL .

Our  topic for this week was  about Critical thinking on learning  grammar and vocabulary .

Students might be too low in their language skills to practice critical thinking  or students might have the language skills to practice critical thinking in English by they might not be accustomed to doing it. These are the two first things  that came to my mind  about this topic.

We all know that critical thinking is so much harder in second language  because the learner encounters unclear language in reading or listening  and teachers expect them to be clear and exact in their writing and their speaking , so it might be a bit challenging to be a critical thinker in a second language considering these facts.

Firstly , no matter what kind of activity you choose to use, you can adjust it for your student’s needs and definitely you can make them think whatever their language  level i is . How can we do that ?

 If we are going to use  a reading passage ,before reading you can show your students a photo .This will make  them  think ,guess ,ask questions ,wonder what has happened ,how,where ,when  and so on .

Photos always  inspire questions .

 Secondly ,whether critical thinking is the main focus of the lesson  or just a side of a story ,a couple of extra questions in a grammar or vocabulary lesson it could really deepen students’ engagement in the material. It will be more just a language class  for them ,It will be something more meaningful .

Preparing  some good questions  ,which  are general and  do not have only one correct answer might be a good idea.

So just as we design a powerpoint  presentation to make it more effective and interactive  we can do the same with the activities  we use in class to make students think critically.

Furthermore, I was very attracted by  the following questions  that are suggested for us  in the webinar we had on “Out of your seat grammar”.

Why are you doing each activity ?

If you’re not sure why….don’t do it.  If it is worth doing…is it worth all of the time you are dedicating  to it?

It has  happened to me in those projects we are asked to prepare a lesson plan and put ourselves in teacher’s role  ,as we are doing now in this subject, or  in Teaching Culture that  I REALLY try to be very active, to use many methods ,to include so many activities  and to make my best in that class I ‘m going to teach . Maybe I worked hard to prepare the whole thing   and maybe  i could do the same even  if I were in a real class. But  in fact if I asked myself these questions it would turn out that  no matter how interesting the activities are and no matter how advanced ,varied  and how hard I have worked on them , the result might  not be what I expected ..But how could this happen?

 First of all, we  should  consider that for our students  the new topic  we are going to teach is a new information for them .Even though  they  might have had that topic in previous grades but now  it comes to them more advanced .For example we used to learn about History of Albania in 9^th grade and also in high school too but of course in different levels.

 Do you remember when we were in middle school or high school and we struggle on learning one page  and a half in history ?  Whereas  now we can study the whole chapter  in one week . So we should be aware that for our students, what are we going to teach them is something new,too many activities ,too many skills to teach might not be the right thing to do .They might be confused with so many activities you are trying to do or distract from some important points and focus on some others  and we won’t have the result we desire .Or maybe some things will remain unclear just because we provided them to o much activities .

Sometimes "the best" is not to pick  all the good activities you know and bring them to your students ,but to be sure that whatever activity you use will achieve your goals .

 Hope you enjoy it !

Using technology tools in project work.

Hello everyone ,

I hope all of you are feeling good. This time I would like to share with you two apps that can be used in classroom to create and present   projects.

You know that I'ts tough keeping kids engaged today .They ‘re used to communicating  and multitasking on computers and smartphones .Even teachers are destructed with all this new gadgets ,so when it comes to create a classroom project, asking young learners to use these tools that result in static  posters like this,

might be considered a bit boring .Fortunately today there’s  a whole new way to erase paste and cut. Glogster.edu .is one of the apps that helps learners to do that .
You are probably asking yourself what is a glog?

 With glogster students and teachers create posters and integrate graphics ,text images videos and sounds .

.So if students are asked to illustrate a topic they can use text visuals and sound and images and they can show off to teacher, parents and other learners who can access the project online by going to  the glogster link .Students can work in groups and turn all their ideas into a  well designed project.

This app is online ,it is free and it is easy to use .

If i learn how to use it for a couple of hours ,imagine what young learners can do .

Students can use their imagination  and customize all the elements to best fit their project.

The second app I am going to write about  is more advanced and it can be used from adult students .It is called Pictochart .It is also a free app and  help students to create stunning presentations  ,infographics ,posters  and many other things .

Which grabs your attentions more ?

A giant block of text or a colorful smartly arranged visual ? Obviously  the visual .You don’t need any professional experience  to turn that giant text into a visual project in minutes.There are thousands of eye –catching templates with choices for every need which can customize however you like. This way students ,even teachers  can get their  message across with ease .

You can add online maps ,videos from youtube and also create many designs .

THESE ARE SOME PROJECTS CREATED BY STUDENTS .The projects might  consist of many pages like a presentation  or it can be a flyer or just a poster  and through designs they express their ideas easier.

I already love these apps and I am planning using them in my future classroom.

Thank you!

#commentsarewelcomed

Constructivism and DDD-E model.

Hi there!

This week's topic is Constructivism theory and DDD-E model..I would like to share with you my reflection about these topics .

      YOU KNOW THAT THERE ARE DIFFERENT THEORIES AND STUDIES regarding   THE WAY PEOPLE LEARN .When first read about constructivism it seems to me like what Curriculum of our education system  is trying to apply even though in my opinion there is still a lot of work to  do .What   I understand from this theory is that everyone is able to construct its own knowledge ,has its own interpretation and creates the meaning based on his or her experiences. Since everybody has  a different set of experience and perceptions ,learning is unique and different for each person.

I think it has happen to all of us to meet someone that  may not have read something in books but he knows that think .He or she has faced that thing and come up with a conclusion that in fact it is true for every one .

Furthermore there  are other theories how people do learn but constructivism seems to me the most logical one .It is like how everybody learn or there may be different ways of learning but this can not be suppressed .People will always learn from what they experience. It is good that there are different theories ,methods ,tools  because as we know what may work with some people may not with  some others and considering the levels of knowledge of their learners ,the thought processing ,the generation of ideas,  teachers can  decide what strategy to use. For example some of the applications that  constructivism suggests are

Case studies

Research projects

Problem based learning

Collaborative learning /group work

Discovery learning

Multimedia can take place on these methods .Both students and teachers can use it in order to make it more understandable and easier to get the meaning . For example they can use animated content to capture learners attention ,can capture powerpoint presentations ,produce and share videos via YouTube ,educators can  put themselves in a video to make things clearer ,also students can do that .Teachers  can integrate concepts from the theory of Multiple intelligence ,constructivism and use of multimedia to help students construct new knowledge.

Constructivisms means to construct meaning not just to acquire it or learn by hard consist on interaction ,leaner   experiencing things and and learning from them. It is based on the idea that the more often a learner  reflect on a task the more often they have the opportunity to modify and refine their efforts .This makes sense  to me . 
I think that without reflection people will continue to repeat their mistakes.According  to constructivism one can learn himself using  just past experiences and knowledge to a current situation and to have an interpretation on that. A person who has a better understanding or a higher level to that task or process like teachers in our case, can guide them and then they will be able to draw a conclusion by their findings .
The teacher is not anymore a knowledge transmitter .This theory is used to focus on preparing people   to problem solve. Learning is an active process and it is a social activity.That means that it is something we do together in interaction with each other.

In contrast with traditional educators ,whereby knowledge is simply passively transmitted by teachers to students Constructivists learning theory consist on a variety of student –centered teaching methods and techniques . The role of the teacher keeps being essential .As I mentioned teacher is the person who is going to guide them to have the desirable result . How can the teacher do that ?
Creating and bringing the appropriate activities and problem solving cases. I think that this is way  most of the teachers prefers traditional teaching  rather then this way of teaching because they might find it challenging and difficult to adjust and to address activities to their students.

DDD-E model

Now as for DDD-E model I would like to start with quoting 

Stiven Covery  who offered this advice in his book “Seven habits of highly effective people”

"To began with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination .

It means to know where you you’re going so that you better understand where you are now so that the steps you take are always in right direction."

It means that you should began by determining the desired outcomes ,how they will be measured ,and then design the learning activity.  

It is somehow what this model suggest .DDD-E MODEL helps us to be effective

In the table below you will find what DDD-E MODEL consists of.

 

Although I think that it might be  helpful to use this model as a guide in "real life" too.In order to achieve what you want you should  set some goals, create a plan  and follow some steps .

Thank you!

#commentsarewelcomed

Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences and Kagan Cooperative Learning

  Hello everyone,

This week's post is going to be related with  Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences as well as about Cooperative Learning and Kagan’s structures.

At the beginning when I start to read about these revolutionary learning strategies  called Kagan cooperative learning I thought it was one more program to add like many others that teachers have to deal with, like multiple intelligences ,project based learning ,character development, social skills etc but then i recognized that in fact it was an easier way to deliver the program that they are already required to teach. Through Kagan structures teachers can make all these lesson based approaches part of what they will teach.

Students make 20%of our population but they are 100%of our future.

We need to consider our needs as a society ,and curriculum even though it is created by policy makers ,is needed to upgrade and to change structures of learning .Social and emotional skills are crucial life and workplace skills .So students don’t just have to learn about social skills but they need to acquire them and using Kagan structures they learn how to work as a team and practice those skills everyday making them part of their character for the rest of their life.

Furthermore we all are used to traditional classes where teacher asks a question and most motivated and highest achieving student raise the hand and teachers are calling them and after that  teachers pass to other questions thinking that all the students are getting it but in fact they don’t .Teachers don’t know what all students are thinking and what they know .So while traditional way of teaching leads to this, Kagan strategies leads to a more fun and engaging learning.Students can develop empathy and relation skills and also no more program for teachers.

Students work and think creatively ,critically and with the ability to connect.

What I really liked from Kagan strategy was inside –outside circle .All students are engaged ,you can quickly check who is understanding and who is not and you don’t have to wait to somebody answer the question while everybody is sitting around waiting to listen the answer or wait for their turn .Alao it is a way that allows students to have different partners and every one is going to learn something and share it with others. It is a fresh ,fun and easy way to deliver any content.

I am planning on using on my future classroom, and I hope you do too.

So like Kagan structures that makes learning process fun ,help  students be more productive , help them overcome many difficulties with ability to connect and even facilitate teachers work ,we have other examples that show us that we need to work smart not hard .Countries like Finland are doing impressive things .They have shorter school days ,Teachers have a decent wage ,homework is non-existing and they are focused on collaborative learning.Their educational systems outperforms better than any other country in the world.

So there is no need to stand in front of 20 kids,each one having different strength ,different needs ,different gifts and you teach the same thing the same way. It is like going to the doctor and he gives you the same prescription for different illnesses you have .We know that no two brains are the same and also we know that everyone possesses all eight  intelligences so all teachers have to do is to make them develop those abilities they already have.

As a conclusion i would like to share with you guys a video that shows some element you should take into the consideration if you choose to use inside-outside circle.