Meaningfulness!

 Following my Blog yesterday about the discussion on Sunday,  I have enjoyed reading the paragraph on Meaningfulness and this sentence in particular I find very accurate.

If ‘learners can create any number of meanings, intended or otherwise, out of the same learning experience’ (Winitzkyand Kauchak, 1997), judging what is meaningful to a learner becomes basically a matter of informed guesswork because the teacher does not have access to the brain of the learner.

[Moon, Jennifer A.. A Handbook of Reflective and Experiential Learning)

We don't know how the learner is interpreting the material we as teachers are presenting them with and therefore, on occasions, I find myself offering various ways of imparting the same information to help with different interpretations. Some are successful, others are not! I have found though that the longer period of time that you spend teaching an individual( months or years), you can start to understand how they as individuals will interpret the information provided and you can adapt your delivery to that individual.

Opening a can of worms through discussion

 Following last  nights Skype discussion, I have taken my time to think back on different parts of the conversation and also look at the notes that I made at the time.

It suddenly occurred to me that my instant response to the words knowledge, learning and information were that you gained knowledge by learning from the information that you have been provided. All well and good, but how accurate is that information and do you use all the information or parts of it that you see will benefit you most? Ultimately, you have to make a decision as to how much of the information you use to improve your personal development and whether to investigate it further. There is not point in swallowing all the information that surrounds you and drowning. You don't always make the correct choice and you may take something and try to use it to improve your skill and it just doesn't work, however, you have gained the knowledge that learning  that particular piece of information was not right for you!

I feel that I am  rambling now but I think I have made myself clear! 

The other topic about filming was something I found interesting as I use the tool all the time. I film the students in class, maybe doing a particular exercise and let them watch back and self critique. It works really well. The fact that you can use tools like this now I find invaluable particularly in the current climate where I can no longer physically approach a student to assist them find their placement. Also Slo-Mo is an excellent tool. As far as ethics go, I immediately delete any film I have taken. 

Feeling lonely!

 I missed the Skype call last Wednesday as I was teaching and I have looked back at the Chat transcript that came from it. It sounds like you had an interesting and informative chat ad hopefully felt some support now from the other students. I am, however, feeling a little lost and isolated!! I have tried to find the other Blogs but can only find one of the Blogs listed on that Chat. How is everyone progressing? Have you done anything other that breaking down your CV and annotating various parts of it? Would love some comments!!      

 I keep re-reading the descriptors of the three Honey and Mumford learning styles wondering if I am a cross section of all three or if there are parts of maybe two that I can relate to. However, I have reached the conclusion that I am entirely an Activist. Taking on challenges, thinking on my feet and not thinking about the past!! Possibly why I find it hard to reflect on my past actions or work! 

 Today is a good day and I finally feel like I am starting my "journey"! Finally found all the programme information, after some assistance from Helen, completed the Pop quiz and submitted my Study Plan to my Supervisor. I have watched the Introduction Skype that was recorded ( albeit and old one from earlier in the year), and started to read the Module handbook. So I guess the next move is to engage in more depth into my list of work experience  in order to produce my AOL's. Interesting times, especially if we end up back in a local lockdown as it may prevent my recently restarted teaching activities!

 Well, six years after completing my BA, I have taken the leap and decided to take my MA. SO here I am continuing with my Blog which started back in 2012. Looking forward to the challenge!