Teaching Mindfully

One of the things that I often think about as I'm going through the motion of the PGCE course is how I will incorporate new and creative ways into my lessons in order to not just carry over the information to my learners but to be innovative in such a way that would literally make learning more fun for them instead of just creating the illusion that learning is fun.

It is so easy to get caught up, as teacher, to the point of where you often forget that all the responsibility and initiative does not always necessarily need to come from you. A key aspect that can be used as a way of creating a fun environment for the learners are the learners themselves. After all, the lessons are for the learners and so it would then be important that their input be taken into consideration as to what they would like and would not like. By incorporating learners input into the lesson you show a level of trust in your learners and this will then give them space to express their needs and wants freely without feeling as though the teacher is the only one who can and will be in control.

In addition, having the learners take control in terms of the structure of the classroom can also be another good way of meaningfully getting learners involved in making the classroom a creative environment for the learners. In other words, having learners decide on what they would like to be displayed in the class and the kinds of rules that they would like implemented etc. As a teacher, you also have to know and make use of all the resources that is readily available to you as a means of helping to get the learners to creatively engage in the class as well as making the resources available to learners too.

Being creative doesn’t always require you to do the most amazing things that are completely out of this world because sometimes it is exactly those things that completely distract learners from the learning process. All that is necessary is thinking just a little further out of the box and having the kind of pastoral care enough to take your learners into consideration more than anything else. Basically as clichéd as it sounds at times, it really is the little things that generally make the biggest difference!

Digital Pedagogy..Getting There

Digital pedagogy is very much still a shaky matter in terms of the fact that it is often confused with online teaching. Up until recently I, too, had a very clouded view of what being a pedagogue entailed. Pedagogy is not simply digitizing materials and then teaching in that way. A good point that is made by @slamteacher is that pedagogy is an entire scholarship on its own which is a study of learning and how it is fueled in many different ways. In other words, it is about losing your way and finding yourself again, all while exchanging instantaneously and improvising as you go along in order for learning to happen.

The LMS (Learning Management System) played a big role in the confusion that surrounds the whole idea of digital pedagogy and this is due to the fact that teaching online was the way to go and that it was easy at the same time and so because of this, somewhere along the way sentiments were lost. The LMS curbed learning in a way that there was no longer motivation for further innovation but instead more demotivation to innovate and just be complacent with learning as it is.

On the flip side, being digital also then means being critical because it can be either an advantage or disadvantage to you as @jessifer puts it. It’s not just one solid path that you follow which will eventually bring you to your destination but it’s more like a compass to help in the direction you’re going and so you need to figure out the way that works for the good while sometimes encountering the not so good, all while figuring out everything in between. Basically, it is all about making the digital work for you and the way you teach as opposed to trying to work with the digital.

All in all, digital pedagogy is about messing around more than it is a systematic process and I think that is where most of the confusion comes in because teaching as a discipline on its own is one that is very systematic with little to no room for messing around. Although this is not something that is completely new, there needs to be a new level of unlearning, playing and rediscovering to happen to create a change.

“For some, teaching begins with authority and expertise. For the digital pedagogue, teaching begins with inquiry.”

Digital Pedagogy Unplugged..I Think!

Never once did it occur to me that I would ever need a reason to be blogging..let alone for my PGCE programme..I mean social media on the whole is daunting enough, right? And so despite all that here I am doing just that!

In my mind the journey to becoming a teacher was all about  understanding and knowing how to work with learners in the best way possible so that their learning experience will be that much more enriched. Why would I need digital pedagogy in any case if it doesn't appear to be helping me with my passion and driving force which would be to 'make a difference in a child's life'.

In hindsight, digital pedagogy is about more than just the shallow thoughts I was having as times are changing rapidly and classrooms and schools in general are embracing the digital-ness more and more which emphasises the fact that the future of education is most definitely digital. Another way of seeing it would be the opportunity to educate learners regarding the safety around social media as it is one of the realest factors in general.

Having said that, on the other hand, technology often has a habit of ceasing to exist at times. It is so very important  for educators to strip all the 'garments' of technology away and become 'naked' in teaching..basically having a solid foundation of the 'basics'.

They say that if you don't get with it, you get left behind..

And so this is my attempt at not getting with it.

This is my blog.

Keep on keeping up with KimmyCool (while she somehow tries to keep up with her self). 

:) xx