Reflection Wheel Journal: Template

Name: Segundo Casacumba Date: 6/19/15

Course Name: ESL/ELF Dual Language Methods Reflection Wheel Journal #: 1

EVENT(S)/BEHAVIOR(S):

The approach is a philosophical orientation, which teachers choose according to their alignment to teach, and it serves as a guide and also must be in concordance with the method, strategy and technique in order to reach a goal. We can differentiate different approaches, but the most significant are the grammatical approach, which is based on teaching grammar and the teacher is the spotlight, also we have the communicative approach, in which the student and the teacher are part of the teaching-learning process and the main goal is that the student can communicate with others, and finally de cognitive approach, which focus on the student feelings and the process that they do in order to acquire a new knowledge.

FEELINGS: Confused Upset Gad

THOUGHTS

At the moment in which I was attending the method class, I was thinking and making connection between the new concepts and some of the known concepts, some of them I learned in the university in subjects like evaluation, pedagogy, curriculum, assessment, etc. and some of them in the real practice when I was working like a teacher, but I had an unclear notion of this concepts, so according the class was developing I could understand in a better way and put the concepts that I already know in a specific place and then I realized that I was capable to define approach and all the concepts which are joined with it. Additionally I would realize the proper manner to use them, and understand the real value of each one in the teaching learning process.

LEARNINGS:

Step 1:I assumed that approach had relationship with planning and precisely the way in which we focus to give a class and it doesn’t have a defined position on planning. The potential bias I had about approach was, that it doesn’t matter if you follow one approach or other at the final you are going to get same result with students and all depend in how the teacher work in class with students.

Step 2:My first assumption was partially incorrect, despite the approach has relationship with planning I didn’t have a clear understanding what it is and how to apply. Now I recognize the

Reflection Wheel Journal: Template

approach as the orientation to instruction which serves as a guide, and it is in the top of the planning and also it is aligned with the method, strategy and technique in order to achieve a goal. On the other hand, my second assumption was completely wrong, after all the knowledge acquired I realized that all the concepts in the planning must work together and each one fulfill a specific function inside the planning, additionally I comprehended that the approach must be selected carefully because it gives the tents to the whole teaching learning process. And finally in not just focus on teaching something, otherwise keep in mind that the center of all is the student and the way that they learned.

Step 3:When I was at high school, I was wondering about how come a teacher could be understood in a better way that another. I mean some of my teachers have a special way to teach and was easy as student be part of the class, on the other hand, some of them had the knowledge but they don't know how to apply it. Sometime later at University I learned about planning and evaluation, then I could understand that some of my teachers didn't have a proper preparation for being a teacher. In fact some of them were technical in electricity and electronics that because my high school had those specializations, so, they never had a defined approach to apply in classes.I had a notion about grammatical approach, and communicative approach, because I had heard of those concepts at university but I was not sure how to use them, later when I started to work as a teacher, I could be involved more frequently with those philosophical orientations but I still had doubts in my mind. But finally when I came to KSU I could understand how to use it and who to apply it in a proper way. Additionally I learned other approaches.

APPLICATIONS:

Step 1:

Recently, I had growth tremendously in knowledge, and specifically to clarify some concepts that along my personal situation had uncertainty of how to use them properly. Personally I feel confident to use the correct approaches in the teaching-learning process. Additionally, this concepts helped me to understand that in the teaching-learning process all of us must be coherent and follow a logical order to achieve a goal, which always must be based on student's benefit. In addition, understand about approaches is going to help me as a teacher to share with my colleges in Ecuador in the process of planning in order to have a successful teaching.

Step 2:

Planning is based on a series of steps in which every step fulfill a specific activity and complements the others. So, in my case when I come back to Ecuador, I’m going to focus planning in the cognitive approach, so in that case I have to work with every student, understanding the way that each one have to learn. Then, I will choose the correct method

Reflection Wheel Journal: Template

that could be CALLA, afterwards I will select the strategy which could be U-C- ME, and finally I will apply a set of techniques. Of course that all must have sense and logical.