REFLECTIONS ON WEEK 7

Week 7 has elapsed! Indeed is has been a very fruitful week but very hectic for me. I was overloaded with scripts to be marked and marks inserted in report cards. My plaster has been removed but still suffering. I tried my very best to complete the tasks given but deep within I feel that I have not given my best…

I started with Nicenet discussion on Learners Autonomy which made me go back to my school days where my teachers would ask us to learn by heart and memorize various things, which we found common and easy in those days. But the fact remains that little we applied things and little we understood the real meaning. I was too dependent on my teachers. We were never allowed to work on our own and we had a bookish system. 

As a teacher, I do normally do certain activities so as my students learn to discover things by themselves. They are research work and I also focus on collaborative learning. But I should admit I didn’t give my students the chance to be autonomous to a large extent. As teachers, we have syllabuses to complete, to meet certain standards, to produce good results, to cater for examination papers and to ensure that discipline is maintained all over. When I read the articles, I felt that I deprived my students of certain things. Maybe this would have had an impact on their character formation. We tend to focus more on paperwork. Assessments, examinations and Tests are dominating factors in the educational system. No one has been able to escape from that. It has to change. We are not giving the appropriate education to our students.  

 At conferences, teacher training workshops, in journals and magazines it is unquestioned that promoting learner autonomy is something we should all be doing. The Common European Framework devotes a lot of space to suggesting how to encourage learners to become more autonomous, to be “lifelong learners”. Our mindset should change. In my case, in my country this will take some time but it has to be done.

Also, we had the opportunity to go through many articles and sites which are really useful to us.  Coming to the issue of having computers in classrooms; luckily in my college we have quite a number of computers and laptops. Fortunately, we do have a rather good internet connection which both teachers and students benefit from. Using technology will enhance our teaching, especially, when we are learning so much from this course. We have to put into practice and continue to make changes and innovate in our teaching and learning process. 

Choosing a partner; this is a very nice strategy and also a good way to share information and views. I shall be doing a project plan and I looked for someone having almost the same. 

Designing the lesson plan was a good activity. We were made to think that there are many places and countries which are deprived of such a necessity of nowadays. We should feel lucky and make the most of what we have. 

I am sure next week will be more enriching and will surely do my best.

Shavila