Jigsaw video link

My instructional strategy video, enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMgv6WBn638https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMgv6WBn638

Metacognition

I have recently run across this term of metacognition from an article from PIDP 3250 by Maryellen Weimer, "Three Ways to Help Students Become More Metacognitively Aware". I can appreciate the idea behind it of monitoring and evaluating your own learning, as this has done great things for me....once I learned the skill, which was during my Masters a few years ago. Once you are able to look past the traditional methods of learning stretegies and evualuating yourself, it opens up the door to understanding and interpreting information at a deeper level. My struggle is, as an instructor, how can I promote this in the classroom without the students being more confused. If students come into the class with no practice of reflecting on their learning, self evaluating, or learning how they learn, it can be a daunting thing to ask of this. I think one way I could start is by encouraging learners to be more reflective. By being more reflective, opens up the doors to questions like 'why do I think the way I do". Maybe once you open the doors to that, students can see the internal satisfication as the deeper learning about themselves? I guess this is something I will have to wait and see, and try and tweek from there on....

Learning to Learn...

Learning to learn...probably the most helpful thing you can ever learn about yourself, no matter what you do in your life. Whether it is to learn a new dance, a cooking technique, or a PHD in school, knowing how you learn can help determine how you will do. Personally, I think this is one of the most important things that we should be learning at a younger age, not only as adult learners when we seek the opportunities to further our adult education. Just think, if we knew now what helped us learn, maybe 10 years ago, how much less painful could school have been? For me, it would have been way less painful! It was not until my 3rd year of university that an instructor challenged us to learn how we learn that I realized, lecturing and memorizing didn't work for me. My grades were probably reflective of that. I learned I learned best by observing and doing myself. This caused me to open up my way of thinking in different courses in the future. It taught me to support myself, as I had to develop stories, case studies, and examples to help me observe and do for myself. So what is something that I heavily encourage my students in the field, learn how you learn! Sometimes that means myself trying different techniques to give them the opportunity to see what works for themselves so they can arrive at a conclusion on their own..best idea is when you come to it yourself right? Right!

Flipped Classroom or Flipped Learner?

I've been learning about the concept of a flipped classroom lately. I must say I absolutely love the idea. What captivates me about it is the idea of mutual responsibility and trust in each other to teach and learn from each other. It helps a classroom break barriers and become comfortable with one another as they share ideas and information with each other. The only thing I worry about is people's levels of practice with a flipped classroom. It can be a a great learning curve to learn the skills of being able to be a self directed learner and taking part in teaching others. However, it can be a new concept as well, that if not learned properly, could be a confusing and complicated process for the learner. So I think before flipping a classroom, I will need to flip the learner first, to ensure that they understand the principles of a flipped classroom to ensure the safety and success of the class.

week one....

Although I heard of the term "self directed learner" before in the the first 2 courses I have taken", it has only started to sink in recently. I realized that if I didn't know who I was and why I was taking this program, it would be a confusing and complicated program for me. But because I know what my focus is and that I want to teach it, I can relate it to my real life experiences, in every course I take. I think that is the greatest strenght of this "seld directed learner" concept. I am in charge of what I learn and how to apply it. At the same time, that can be a challenging task at the start of it because my whole life I have been told what to study, what to look for, and how to apply it. Putting it into my own perspective with my own creative ideas was a foreign idea to me a few months ago. But now, its something that is exciting and I look forward to implementing in my own practice.