Articulo en Extenso Monserrat Angulo - Copia

7/29/2019 Articulo en Extenso Monserrat Angulo - Copia

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CREATE A COMFORTABLE CLASS ENVIRONMENT AND YOUR STUDENTS

WILL REALLY LEARN

Education is one of the pillars of society. If this works well the country

advances firmly, if not, the society smashes. At the very beginning it was

thought that the best way to learn was punishing the students and keeping

them listening to the teacher. For many years long this model of teaching was

put into practice over and over again. Even it worked, it was necessary to

pass through a great transition. The old is becoming obsolete and new is still in

the process of emergence. The old ways of learning and teaching is found to be

too rigid and too out-dated.

There were some psychologists and philosophers who said that teaching in a

tough manner was unhealthy for humans, that they needed to be able to think

and express their thoughts and interact to each other. In this way the teaching

and learning process is redefined, now it asks teachers to make their students

get involved in a participative way.

Some of the definitions of learning and teaching process in the earliest

ninetieths are :

For Edmund Amidon Teaching is defined as an interactive process, primarilyinvolving classroom talk, which takes place between teacher and pupil and

occurs during certain definable activities.

According to Burton,

1) Teaching objective cannot be realized without being related to learning

situation.

2) We may create and use teaching aids to create some appropriate learning

situation.

3) The strategies and devices of teaching may be selected in such a manner

that the optimal objectives of learning are achieved.


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4) We must understand principles, goals, objectives of education in right

perspective.

5) An appropriate learning situation condition may be created for congenial and

effective teaching.

Diana Laurillard argues that there are four aspects of the teaching-learning

process:

(a) Discussion - between the teacher and learner.

(b) Interaction - between the learner and some aspect of the world defined by

the teacher.

(c) Adaptation - of the world by the teacher and action by the learner.

(d) Reflection - on the learner's performance by both teacher and learner.

(Laurillard, 1993; Laurillard, 1994)

In order to understand the evolution of this process I am mentioning some

learning theories:

Behaviorist

Behaviorist learning was pioneered by Watson in 1913. He developed thestimulus-response model in which He asserted that people learn from

observing each other and as a result of this observation produces a behavioral

change. The change is driven by the external environment of the learner and

requires repetition and reinforcement.

Operant Conditioning

In the late nineteenth century, psychologist Edward Thorndike proposed the

law of effect. The law of effect states that any behavior that has goodconsequences will tend to be repeated, and any behavior that has bad

consequences will tend to be avoided. In the 1930s, B. F. Skinner, extended

this idea and began to study operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is a

type of learning in which responses come to be controlled by their

consequences. Operant responses are often new responses.


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Humanistic

The humanistic model asserts the basic concern for human growth is learning

(Smith 1999). The best- known pioneer of the humanist phenomenon is

Maslow, can, thus, be seen as a form of self-actualization, it contributes to

psychological health (Sahakian 1984 in Merriam and Caffarella 1991: 133). This

learning model links most clearly into the concept of self- directed learning.

That we are motivated, responsible for and directed to learn by our own

motivation.

This article will be mainly based on the way teachers should manage their

class. I focus on how important it is to keep a healthy environment having a

good communication with their students but without losing the control of the

group; design a lesson plan by using didactic resources which maintain the

students aware and some tips to make students follow the rules.

1.1. HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT

For Angel Daz Barriga in his book Docente y Programa, a teacher is defined

as the intellectual person who represents knowledge and has the capacity to

rise in his students the interest to learn. A good teacher is the person whotreats his students as human beings. It is nothing pleasant to work with

dancers where you, the teacher, is the only person who has good ideas and

the only one who talks. This happens when students feel fear to the teacher

because this one always comes angry and in bad mood or what is worst he

always makes them work by answering pages of the textbook without giving a

clear explanation. Working under pressure generates stress and lack of

motivation, students get blocked to learn.

1.1.1 KEEP THE CLASSROOM IN GOOD CONDITIONS

It is our responsibility to show our students how work in an organized clean

environment. If you come into a classroom where there is garbage all over

the floor or where the chairs and tables are not properly placed, you should

ask your pupils to pick up their trash and put their chairs and tables in


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order. This way students will see that you are really worried about working

in a good condition. It could look ridiculous for some people, but the

seriousness of the class and the respect to the teacher start there,

moreover you are making them to put into practice their values.

1.1.2 COME MOTIVATED TO RISE MOTIVATION IN YOUR STUDENTS

When participating in congresses, seminars, workshops or any kind of

teacher training, I have observed the way my colleagues behave. It calls

my attention because much of the way we behave, is the way we are as

teachers. How can you ask your students be participative, sit properly, be

quiet in the class if you do not do it when you are right in their side? Give

them the example. Show motivated to them, encourage them to participate

and to feel that learning English is nothing that practice and discipline.

1.1.3 CALL YOUR STTUDENTS THE WAY THEY PREFER TO BE CALLED

The first thing I do is learning my students names. I always ask them the

way they prefer me to call them in the class. I consider this way you make

them feel important when you call them by their names. It is uncomfortable

for the students the teacher just point them out by saying: hey, you the

one wearing glasses. This strength confidence, they feel comfortable the

same way they feel home.

1.1.4 INTERACT WITH YOUR STUDENTS

You are the teacher does not mean you are unreachable, but responsible of

making the teaching and learning process could happen. Let your students

make you questions if they have any doubt, mark the activities they do by

themselves, because if you do never read or make them see their mistakes

they become discouraged due to the lack of attention you show in their

jobs. When making a dynamic or an interactive activity, supervise their

work by moving to the place they are located, see what they are doing and


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cheer them up if they are working well or, on the contrary, if they are not

doing the things well, guide them by telling them how to do it.

1.1.5 TAKE YOUR TIME AT HOME AND PLAN YOUR CLASS

When are teaching for the first time, it is for sure that we will spend long

hours thinking and designing a lesson plan. We are anxious for going with

our students and applying it. However, when we are getting experience we

are spending less time at doing this. This is nothing wrong, the wrong thing

is that we are not designing a plan anymore, because we think that the way

we have taught a topic is the only one which could work or we can

improvise it. It is necessary we to revise and perform our plans, in other

way we are producing an unhealthy environment in the class.

M. Marland in his book, the Art of Teaching, He says that a lesson must be

organized in a sequence, taking the time into account, the methodology of

the activities.

The importance of a model of instruction is not just focus the attention on

the resources we are using, but in the results they are making us to get.

(GAGO ,Huguet:35 )

1.1.5.1 USE DIDIACTIC MATERIAL

Nowadays there are dozens of resources that we can use for making an

interesting class. Resource paks from text books, Flash cards, cds, videos,

movies, tv programs, articles, games (bingo, memory, etc), web sites, e-mails,

face book, blogs, cell phone recorders, etc.

Try to use unless one of them aver single class, in order to keep your students

interested, they love practicing, what they do not love is fill in lots of book

pages containing grammar activities. I am not saying that working with the

book is wrong or that teaching grammar is; what I mean is to vary, since the

routine is not part of a good class environment.


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1.1.5.2 VARY THE DYNAMICS IN YOUR CLASS

We are lucky teachers because in these days we have everything we could

need for having success in our courses in our hands. There are books focused

on this issue, on the internet web sites suggesting you how to make the group

interact in a dynamic way, what is more, there is no congress where you are

not advised some dynamics.

Jeremy Hamer says that there are two main points to take into consideration in

a good plan: The variety of activities and dynamics and the flexibility by using

the only required ones.

When planning your class be sure that you have included a variety of dynamics

where your students are able to practice and consolidate the topic. Try not

repeat or play them more than once in the course.

1.2. SET THE RULES AND DO NOT BREAK THEM

There are two factors which will carry success with them when teaching:

Humanity and rules. (Sun Tzu, The Art of War) As I mentioned at the very

beginning our students are human beings and they must be treated that way.

Avoid acting with unnecessary violence.

It is known that rules are everywhere and the classroom is not the exception.

Order your students with humanity and benevolence. Unify them in a strict

and firm way.

Sun Tzu says: When benevolence and firmness are evident it is possible to be

sure of victory.

1.2.1 SPEND THE FIRST CLASS FOR SETTING THE RULES

The first day is the ideal to make agreements and establish the rules in the

class. When the commands or instructions are given in a clear way since the

very beginning, students will accept and obey them.


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If you have told them the way it works, do not change your mind and do

something different. When the orders are confusing and contradictorily

changing the students will reject them or will not understand them taking

your course to the failure.

So that, the rules must be fair, simple, clear and consequent; this way there

will be a satisfaction among the students and as a consequent they will

learn.

The ideas above were taken from the book The Art of War and appropriated

to the teaching and learning process.

1.3.2 HOW TO IDENTIFY IF THE THINGS ARE NOT GOING WELL

a) If you are treating your student in a far too much friendly way and now

there is a friendship feeling between you and he; if you have relaxed the

things too much, I mean, the discipline; so students will become

arrogant and disobedient and it will be impossible to work with them. He

will not take you in a seriously way.

b) If your students look exhausted and unhappy and they are not working

well, it means that you need to revise your plan and change your

strategies. Do not wait till the end of the course.

c) If you are strict at the very beginning, but let your students break the

rules and do not punish them, you will lose control and authority;

causing a messy class. On the other hand, do not punish your students

before they break the rules, just to show who the authority is, because

they will feel betrayed. This will cause a negative reaction in your class.

BIBLIOGRAPHY


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- DIAZ Barriga, Angel, Docente y Programa: Lo Institucional y lo Didctico,

Aique Grupo Editos, S.A., 2da. Edicin, Argentina, 1992.

- GAGO Huguet, Antonio, Modelos de Sistematizacin del Proceso de

enseanza Aprendizaje, edit. Trillas, Mxico, 1990.

- M. Marland, El Arte de Ensear, edit. Kapelusz, Argentina, 1970.

- HARMER, Jeremy, The Practice of English Language Teaching, Longman,

London, 1983.

- B. Griffith, Samuel, Sun Tzu, The Art of War, 1971

- Laurillard, D. M.,Rethinking University Teaching: A Framework for the

Effective Use of Educational Technology. Routledge, London, 1993.

- D. Abrams & M. Hogg (Eds.), Social identity and social cognition, Oxford:

Blackwell Publishers.

- Merriam, S. and Caffarella, Learning in Adulthood. A comprehensive

guide, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1991.

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Articulo en Extenso Monserrat Angulo - Copia