Week 8

Week 8

This is the last PIDP course that I have to complete before doing the Capstone project. There has been a lot  that I have learned throughout the program. I learned how to use media more effectively, learned how to do journals, create better testing material, and also met a lot of interesting people. I started the program a few years back and in hindsight it would been easier to do one module after another. I completed a couple of the PIDP courses in the classroom and also completed some online. The online experience was new to me and I quite enjoyed it. The online program works well when you are too busy to attend classes. It gives the learner a lot of flexibility. The PIDP program gives you the tools to better prepare for the class. Stephan Brookfield’s book on teaching was a good instructional manual.

Week 7

Week 7 Blog

Brookfield discusses “exercising teacher power responsibly” in chapter 18. I have had teachers that were on a power trip. They would abuse the power they had over their class. I also have had colleagues that relish the power they have over students. The power that we assume as instructors has to be used with care. As instructors we have to exercise that power only when it is necessary. A student should not feel threatened in the classroom. The learner should feel open to ask questions without fear. Here is an article on teacher power abuse:

http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-48-fall-2014/abuse-of-power

Week 6

Brookfield chapter 6 deals with lecturing in a classroom. When I deal with a certain subject I will explain areas we are going to cover, what the outcomes will be and then begin the lecture. In the trades program it is quite common to lecture on various subjects. During the lecture I use examples to simplify the subject. I also use visual aid to further explain concepts that are hard to understand. The lecture has to be interesting or the learner may be bored and inattentive. The lecture must be focused and not dealing with different unrelated things.

https://teachingcommons.stanford.edu/resources/teaching-resources/teaching-strategies/checklist-effective-lecturing

Week 5

Chapter 16 and 17 in Brookfield’s book was understanding and dealing with students’ resistance to learning. I agree with Stephen Brookfield that resistance to learning is based on the fear of change. We are happy with the way we do certain things and do not want to learn new ways of doing these things. When we are learning something new we are changing the way we have always done it. We are not the same person as we were when we learn something new. I find adult students in college who are paying for the program they have enrolled in are keen to learn new skills, as their careers may depend on these new skills. This may not be true in the high schools, where you have to be there and the students have a lower maturity level. If our survival depends on it, we are happy to learn something new. See link below:

http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/resistan.htm