Friday, May 27, 2011

Of Outdoor Adventure Experience

This week I was assigned to assist Sec One Normal Technical class with the outdoor learning experience. As I waited for my students during the breaks, I started to reflect on my experience with our outdoor Adventure program and hence, will like to share my thoughts on my perceived effects on our students.

Conception of outdoor learning

What do we expect the outcomes from such outdoor learning? In my mind, I see outdoor learning, as programs that will directly or indirectly resulting in changes in thinking, feeling or behavior. But how is this different from our school based learning? I think that school based and outdoor learning though is different but are complementary experiences. Hence, I believed that it is the nature of the experience and its quality that makes the big difference. And so the quality of such experience is important. Without sufficient quality experience, it may result in more negative effect (such as negative attitudes and feelings) than benefits of working in the outdoor classroom (such as fun in learning).

How I viewed our outdoor learning?

I mainly view outdoor learning as practices with a range of different focus and possible learning outcomes. Although, we do have a “special experience” that is different from the usual school curriculum. For us, regardless of the different locations (lower seletar, Ubin, Lavador Adventure centre and Marina Barrage), the focus of our outdoor learning across the 4 days seems to be mainly on learning about oneself, for example, in personal attainment through adventure education with outcomes of such experiences of personal development on self-confidence, resilience.

Another focus, I think is on learning new skills such as dragon boating and kayaking with outcomes of attaining new water sports abilities.

I am also glad that we did not just concentrate on going through the process and completing the adventure and obtaining new skills. One other focus which I felt was as important that is on learning about working with others (social development). The high-element, repelling activities at Lavador Adventure center made students aware of team building and coping strategies.

While I also believe that at the heart of the outdoor learning be “special experience” that enabled students to “step away from the curriculum for a while”, it should retain a focus on learning. Provisions of clear information about learning aims and objectives could be made. Teachers as well as students alike need to know what these aims are so as to enable them to be more involved. Hopefully, in this way the programs will enable some to understand other domains such as cognitive development as well.

There is one focus, which I think can be improved for the outdoor learning, especially for the visit to the Marina Barrage. We should not be contended in just visits to the outdoor reservoir center, but enable students to understand the values and beliefs about, for example, the value of water conservation, our country’s relationship to it. Some of these students have already been to the center during their Primary education. Probably they know about its significance.

I must however, clarify that by cognitive development, I do not refer to curriculum integration. As a matter as fact, I think that such cognitive development should have less to do with curriculum topics. Instead, it should be on adding to the general knowledge, their view and thoughts of issues. Students should be able to explain things they seen, experienced or understood on the outdoor learning, instead of just trekking through and completed it. This is the cognitive benefit I think outdoor learning will value add to our students, complementing the school curriculum.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Of Teaching and Learning

It has been some time since my last reflection, this week I will touch on my belief of teaching and learning, starting from my own experience to how this translated to the teaching and learning of my students.

My own experience

Now, back tracked four months ago into the teaching of my own kid…. My exasperation filled the room. My boy sits in front of me quietly, knowing once again he has got it wrong. Just yesterday… yesterday… we covered these same letters and he had gotten them right. Now, it is as though he has never seen them before. He tries. At least I think he does. But sometimes it is as though he is trying but not learning. I have no idea what is wrong with my boy. My elder boy learnt the same stuff with no problem. He took everything in like little sponges. So it is not my teaching method that is the problem. What is up with this boy of mine? I berated my kid for his failure to identify the letters correctly. Once again, he did not get it. He was in tears. I was in tears (in my heart). This one month (Dec 2010 to Jan 2011) has been dreadful. Really dreadful for both my wife and I. What was I thinking? He was not learning with us and now, we were all miserable.

Our next move was monumental, although I did not know it at the time.

We gave up! (…on our method teaching)

We decided my boy was not going to learn well and that this was okay. We just had fun. I had to try this and try that and just sort of follow what seemed to delight him the most. At that time, his brother was attending a language class and it seemed to delight him when attending. In retrospect, I probably should have seen the light at the end of the tunnel because this was the exact moment that his learning changed for the better. When we began to simply try new things and follow his lead, I discovered that my kid could learn. More to the point, I discovered how he learnt. And learn he did and was able to recite the letters backwards as well. He could read of any letters pointed to him. He was faster than his brother. And we have the extraordinary privilege of discovering them right alongside my kid. All within the month!


How does it translate to my own students’ teaching and learning?

Since that time, I am more convinced that all students can learn, regardless of the any statements they make to the contrary. If I meet students who seemed to be uninterested in learning, I am convinced that we are missing something. It may be that we are just teaching them and not enabling them to learn. Or it may be as simple as the possibility they are not interested in learning in the style in which we have been teaching, a way that may even be painful to them. Who would? Let me cite an example, imagine if I was trying to teach you how to write your letters. I put the pencil in your right hand (even though you are left-handed) and guide you without actually writing on the paper (because I want you to remember the letters in your mind rather than writing on the paper for you). Now I leave you to somehow transfer this input to something you can write on the paper. I naturally expect you to adjust my input in order to teach yourself how to write with your left hand, orienting the letters correctly while recalling from memory.

You might say, “That is ridiculous.” But now imagine once again, my teaching method did work for many other students. The students actually preferred to learn letters in this way, and you are one of the few in the class who struggle with this method. It is clear that it does not work for you. Does it sound familiar?

The traditional visual teaching method most commonly used today may simply be the wrong key banging away at the lock of the tightly closed door to our students’ mind, completely preventing their ability to join in the learning experience that are going on around them. Frustration will eventually lead the student to give up. No one wants to be the one who work on problems so slowly that it is an embarrassment. No student wants to be the one who says something so uninformed that he becomes the object of his friends’ laughter. Any student who says that he does not want to learn is simply employing a self-protection mechanism to shield himself from the fear that maybe he cannot learn.

My job, an incredible responsibility, is to show our students that indeed they can learn. What we can do is to help our students chart a new path, to find a new map that leads to their ability to delight in learning. Teachers are the keeper of the keys. However, it also means that we need to have the ability to find the correct key that will unlock a love of learning for our students.

We should all endeavor to use different keys that work with and appeal to a variety of learning styles. We should begin the process of removing things that prevent our students from learning. And replace systems and techniques and methods that have not been successful keys to opening our students’ minds – thinking skills. Let us allow our students the privilege of learning in sync with the ways they were designed