Compassion - Why its an Essential Part of Your Teaching Persona

What does it mean to be compassionate? According to the online dictionary, it is “a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for one another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering”. Synonyms of compassion that are applicable and important qualities for a teacher to have is mercy, tenderness, sympathy and heart. All these qualities are characteristic of a teacher who cares about their learners and is learner orientated. Not just a qualified individual imparting knowledge, but rather a pedagogue making a difference and an investment into the learners around them.

Compassion is the utmost feeling of understanding, and in turn showing others how you care about them. This is important to have as a teacher because learners are complex individuals who feel like they aren’t understood. A teacher needs to be able to show that they understand their learner and the circumstances around them, whether it be bad grades, getting sick, family problems, bad influences, etc. 

At the same time, they need to show how they see through the circumstances and still see the learner’s true potential. No matter how challenging a learner or how bad a situation, the teacher needs to show compassion and acceptance of that learner.

Showing compassion to learners creates a positive classroom environment where students’ voices are heard and their ideas are prioritized. A positive classroom environment and a teacher who sees the best in them is an encouraging thing for a learner. They begin to try their best as they wish to prove their teacher's [belief that there is something good in them] right. The fear of disappointing a compassionate and caring teacher can be a very good motivator in learners. At the same time though, the learner needs to know that it’s okay if they fail because they will always have the care of the teacher to help them get back up on the horse. It’s important to note how to be compassionate though, as some learners might take advantage of it. The “how to” guide on compassion is to follow in the next blog: http://thumbsucking101.blogspot.co.za/

But back to the compassionate classroom: In a compassionate classroom they have a feeling of acceptance and belonging. This is important because learners trust their teacher more and will feel comfortable coming to them with all sorts of problems. In the event that there is a real severe problem, such as abuse, drugs, etc., then the teacher will at least know about it relatively early and be able to help rectify the situation before something gets worse.

At the same time as helping a student solve a serious problem (or what may seem serious to the student), you are being a positive role model. Learners are incredibly impressionable, so if you show a caring and compassionate personality then they too will want to adopt such a trait. 

Basically as a teacher, you must be the change you want to see in the world; because how you treat your learners will be reflected in their actions and behavior, and thus later in their lives and the world.  

Cleanup on Aisle 4....Classroom Floor

Meaningful involvement of learners in your class....

Many things spring to mind when looking at this statement. I see this as an opportunity whereby learners participate in class in such a way that they are enjoying what they are doing while learning effectively and by themselves. Us as teachers should really just be facilitators and mediators where we slightly guide them in the right direction, if we want to see true learning take place.

No lesson learnt is greater than one you've learnt yourself.

By this I mean, a learner will remember something a lot easier and carry that lesson with them a lot longer if they actually figured it all out by themselves. The article by Wills was a brilliant example of this. She simply set out a set of instructions (the bowl of water and the "do not wet the floor" sign) and let it act as a guideline to teaching the children about keeping calmer and getting in the right state of mind for the lesson. I believe its all about being sneaky with being an effective pedagogue because you need to think up ways to gently nudge learners in the right direction so they can learn certain things for themselves. Many teachers still feel very much like they need to stay in control and just tell them outright "move the tables and keep quiet!" but learners don't respond to that. They respond better to something if they think its fun or their idea. So in Wills' example, they thought it was fun, so it was easier to handle and activated their brains in a way that prepared them for the lesson. I feel that teachers who do not take the time to think of fun ways to aid in students learning effectively are lazy and narrow minded, and should probably consider retiring early.

With "how teachers should be" in mind, that brings on the video that was watched. Firstly I want to say "YOH!!" That was a lot of talking and a lot of content for a little 5 minutes. At first I thought, "Yay! 5 mins! This will be quick and easy!". Well, oh boy was I wrong. I had to rewatch that video and take notes and I honestly did not know Australians, or New Zealanders could talk that fast (phew).

Anyway, besides the point, I really loved the check list they had of how teachers should:

• Be accessible and available to the students
• Create an environment of open communication where a students concerns and worries can be heard
• Provide a solid education in foundation skills (like reading and writing)
• Show empathy and understanding for a student's current circumstance and provide them with the tools to facilitate a positive outcome
• Intervene (as professionals) when students experience bullying and harassment
• Promote "pro-social bonding" which can be done by remembering personal events such as birthdays, family occasions, or just by letting your personality shine through.

This really just screams out that it should bee all about the learner and what is best for them and their learning. By taking all of these points to heart and applying it to your character and teaching style, you will definitely be a lot closer to achieving meaningful learner involvement than those teachers that stay in their boxes.

Well, that's my short say...

I'm Miss Moore, and remember to keep your eyes on the board! 

Call upon Independence

Watching a bit on The Independent Project really was an encouraging thing to see. From what I saw, its a school within a school where learners are the teachers and are completely independent in their learning but still managing to stay disciplined and do what needs to be done. Their days are split in two:

1. Individual Endeavors - this is where the students are allowed to focus on one thing that they absolutely loved. From this there will be a big presenting assignment to bring to class. So they can make a boat, or write a book, or make an album, etc. 
2. Academics - here they pose questions that they need to work through for the week. Then on Friday they all get a chance to teach each other on their findings

One would think that without adult supervision the students would just loaf off and do nothing, just working when we are looking so as to seem busy. However we see in the video that the students are very good at being disciplined and actually working. 

By working amongst themselves they have built up a support group where they can turn to and still receive critique from. They have all started to develop very good independent qualities as they have to be disciplined enough to go through all the work, etc. But with this independence comes freedom with thinking, so with a very creative kid, this is an amazing way to help them to grow. Here they dont need to feel like they are having to make a choice between their creativity and doing well in school. In the Independent Project they can get the best of both worlds. They have the chance to work on their cultural aspects - screen writes, movies, art, etc. yet still study normal everyday school topics. The best part is that while studying these "school subjects" the students realized how to work and teach and learn. And by doing this all themselves, they awaken a thirst and hunger for more knowledge. The Independent Project is an amazing idea, so long as the learners are a good fit and its students who actually want to learn that make it amazing. 

(Airport chime) "Can Social Media please come to the party, Social Media"

I need to admit something. And I know this isn't "Confessions of a Soon to be Teacher" (which is also a fantastic blog - http://thumbsucking101.blogspot.co.za/) but here is my confession none-the-less.

When I think of social media, I think of it socially, which is exactly how Davis said for us not to think about it. I had the misconception that yes, social media could work in classrooms but the kids would be so distracted by the funny videos on Facebook or something profound (or what they would think profound might be) someone said on Twitter, or the crazy photo they just got sent on Snapchat, or posted on Instagram. I felt this way due to the fact that I get distracted by these things in class too (just don't tell the lecturers but I'm pretty sure they already know). With how I end up using social media as a distraction meant I figured the kids would also be like that and so I ended up closing off my mind to the countless other learning opportunities that can arise with social media. Not completely closing off my mind, just thinking more along the lines of:

"Yes in a perfect world it could work"

"If its a good school where the students are disciplined then it might work"

"If there is some program that prevents them from doing anything other than academic work then its worth a try"

This was extremely narrow minded of myself as I forgot one important thing. Kids want to learn!!! And social media facilitates that in a way that has never been done before. Just thinking now back to the articles of ways that social media is being used:

• Tweeting class updates - BRILLIANT idea! Students are there anyway, now they can go onto Twitter and keep up to date with how the class is progressing after school, checking homework and additional resources and links that can aid in their learning and understanding.

• Trending - either on Instagram or Twitter, if the learners are busy with an assignment, or fun group task, etc. they can post updates and photos to record their progress while hash tagging something to connect it all. Just like how we use #PGCEmix. It encourages learners to interact with others that are trending the same thing.

• Blogging - this is a great way to encourage students to read, as I know many don't enjoy it. But if they find an educational blog that they follow and that they interact with then that keeps them exposed to a good form of language and opinion that they might not have gotten from just a textbook. I also find that by students having their own blogs, you can find out more about them and monitor their psychological health. By this I mean, if one of your students are going through depression, it might be easier to pick up on while reading through their posts, etc.

• International Interactions - What an amazing thought!!! Students from all over the world being able to talk and collaborate with each other on content that they have learnt or opinions that they have formed. Its an amazing way to apply learning to the real world and see how different countries learn different things differently. Usually one wouldn't have this opportunity as you would have to physically meet them but now there is so much information and interactions that are made available to us.

• Remind - This is great that you will be able to reach your students after class, but its important to realize not to spam them with useless info or go overboard on the assignments/readings, etc. You need to balance what they NEED to know and what you WANT them to know, as quite often you want them to know more than they can handle. This could make them despondent when you want them to actually be thinking: "Oh yay! Finally!!! Something fun and interesting to add to my day!"

I could literally go on and on but that's just going to turn what already is a long read, into something that just should be filed in a library and left to gather dust. So I'm going to leave the examples there. I'm sure you can see though that social media has endless possibilities. Sure the risks still weigh out in your mind but the more you use social media, the more you will work out ways to keep the learners engaged and occupied on more academic things instead of using it as a distraction. Keeping things short and sweet, interesting and fun should have the students eating out your hand and creating a generation that is thirsty for knowledge with all of it right at their fingertips. 

A little risk, for A LOT of reward.

Thats my say, now keep your eyes on the board!

Not a path through the woods, but a compass

I must say pedagogy is still a word that I struggle to pronounce. I think I have it and then it runs away from me again. The same goes for its meaning, you think you have a grasp of it and then new information comes to light. But I think that, that in essence is what pedagogy is, especially digital pedagogy. It is an ever changing, ever adapting concept. No single sentence can fully explain it but instead it is something that you need to take the time and gather understanding on it. This is done through reading and experience.

I think the best quote to me that described digital pedagogy was this:

“Digital Pedagogy is not a path through the woods. Its a compass”

These two articles, or well one article with two parts, was very informative and really challenged your thinking. Not challenge as in “I don’t agree with you” but rather got you to think about the aspects that you already knew about but hadn’t managed to find the words to explain. And the best part was, it was more about the pedagogues than the pedagogy.

It’s so difficult to single out a few sentences or things that were said due to the fact that there was so much that I agreed with. This probably is the reason why I thoroughly enjoyed the article. The main thing that stuck out for me was this: yes online learning has its restrictions but only if you are just an online educator/teacher. But if you are a digital pedagogue, well then being online is full of limitless possibilities. There is such a difference between a pedagogue and a teacher. The one is earned through years of experience and relentless playing around and experimenting while the other is just a qualification followed by the job of relaying information to others. Not all teachers are pedagogues (even though they should be) but the amazing thing is that you do not need to be a teacher to be a pedagogue. Pedagogy is where learning takes place through new and interesting styles and ways. So by this, a pedagogue is someone who facilitates the learning of content through these fun, alternative tools/ways. Learning can occur between a student and a teacher, or a student and a student, or anyone for that matter. Pedagogy and being a pedagogue is not limited to teaching in a classroom, but rather allows the freedom to explore many different ways to ensure that learning takes place. And with digital pedagogy, the only limit is your imagination. The options and opportunities are limitless!

That’s my say, short and quick…if you want a full on detailed essay on all my thoughts for this article then just drop a comment, but Im sure no one is that bored…yet.

Remember! Keep your eyes on the board!

We are living in a digital world and I am a digital girl (sometimes)

I think the hardest thing about blogging is trying to harness and refine all your thoughts into one steady laminar flow. Too often my thoughts are just flying around in my head and sometimes I manage to catch one or two of them (which do not always make sense anyway) but as for the rest of them, well lets just say they are not too compliant. So this is an attempt to take all my thoughts regarding Digital Pedagogy Unplugged, and translate it into words and sentences and paragraphs that will hopefully make sense.

The problems that arise with Digital Pedagogy are generally misunderstood. When one hears digital pedagogy, they think of using technology as an aid in teaching and learning, which is the correct definition. However when one thinks of technology, they think of tablets, laptops, smart boards, search engines, etc. These are all examples of digital pedagogy but one often forgets the original forms of technology that were once seen as revolutionary, something as simple as paper, books, pictures, etc. This is pointed out in the article where Fyfe states:

“…Digital Pedagogy is often presumed to be something that uses electronic tools or computers – this limits the teaching to the extent of the tools…”

Here we can see that most people presume that digital means electronic which is not the case. If it were the case then there would be limits on teaching according to the electronic tools at hand. Electrical technologies can only take you so far before it fails you. There is the challenge of trying to use the electronic tools in balance with the older technologies (paper, etc.) in which to optimize learning. I feel that either sticking to the one or the other is not the most effective way of teaching or learning. By having both available to the students, they experience an ease at getting information while also benefiting from the advantages of writing things down. This is just a simple example which should be touched on again later.

A way that some educators tried to use Digital Pedagogy to optimize learning is in the examples of the Classroom Flipping, or Teaching Naked. Both quite simply put the digital resources in the pedagogical peripheries of the classroom. So there wasn’t much electronic technology being used in the class but instead they talked and discussed matters. Then after the class, learners could access and go back to the technologies that were otherwise kept from them in class. I found this to be rather brilliant as there are certain skills, such as arguing, critical thinking, etc. that you cannot develop from behind a computer, etc. There is also something about discussing certain topics with fellow class mates that has a positive effect on remembering content. So by the learners engaging with each other face-to-face, information is more readily absorbed and retained. It also keeps the learners interested and involved which is effective in teaching and learning.

Another example of where electronic technology took a back burner was with the example given to us by Brad Pasanek. He told a story of how he took the prescribed reading and highlighted the themes where ever they became apparent. Then when he went into class the next day and showed the various themes and colors in the book, the students responded and were in awe and thoroughly interested.

His reason for this was simple. He wanted to facilitate in the development of lost skills that are becoming less and less important as technology progresses. Skills such as reading, pattern matching, sharpened attention, analysis of works, etc are all becoming less vital. This is due to the fact that everything is so readily available online. So usually if students wanted to know the theme of the set work book, then they could just put it into a search engine and have the answers right in front of them without having to actually read through the book and look for them. So by promoting the old technology of the textbook, with the colorful highlighter, he is promoting and facilitating old important English skills.

I find that through the ways that the author and educators use digital pedagogy, one finds that the learners more readily absorb knowledge and develop skills. The perfect balance between the old school technologies and the new technologies is seen here and is seen to facilitate true learning. I believe Digital Pedagogy is a good educating assistant, so long as the balance is correct (as seen in the class examples in the articles and above). So I feel Digital Pedagogy Unplugged is only a great idea if it involves balancing the technologies. Rather keeping the electronic technologies unplugged and the more practical mediums (paper, textbooks, etc.) active and used in class, seems like the best way to optimize and facilitate learning.

That’s my long say I guess…hope it makes sense….and as per always:

Keep your eyes on the board! 

Module Framework

Good Afternoon class

I am Miss Moore and I will be your teacher for the remainder of the year. I hope it will be an enjoyable experience for all of us and that we will learn as much from each other as we can.

Im here just to run you through the Module Framework to this blog:

Contact info:
You can get hold of me via the comments or the email provided in the blog

Assessment:
There is no set test dates but spot tests may be given as I see fit.
Your participation awards may be collected from my office at the end of the year.

Overview:
This blog is just here to run you through the experiences and information that I come across while doing my PGCE (Postgrad Certificate in Education). I will try to keep the content as diverse and interesting as possible so long as you can take everything with a pinch of humor.

That's my short say for now. Keep your eyes on the board!!!