Reflection on Articles for Session 1 to 3

Learning Environment

Students’ perception strongly determines whether the learning environment is conducive or not. A student must feel a sense of belonging and empowerment in their learning. Their personal needs for affection, safety, need for love and esteem must also be met.

I believe teachers who can fulfill the students’ needs would be able to provide a conducive learning environment. Students view teachers as the most crucial factor in determining learning outcome. In school, we often emphasize the importance of teachers having good rapport with their students. It is also one of the classroom management skills advocated to teachers. Some teachers may think that their role as a teacher is just to teach but effective learning can only take place when we know our students’ background with regards to their attitudes, beliefs and skills.

This was explained in the article entitled, ‘The Design of Learning Environments’ as learner-centered environment. When the knowledge-centered and learned-centered environments intersect, teachers can then plan their lessons building on the knowledge the students have on a subject matter.

It was also commented that attempts to create environment that are knowledge centred also raise important questions about how to foster an integrated understanding of a discipline. An English teacher in my school planned an interdisplinary programme for a group of Normal Technical students. The teacher taught a theme on Safety and worked with the Design and Technology teacher to expand it to ‘Safety At Work’. Through this process, students are aware of the overall picture and know how to apply the knowledge learnt.

E-learning

One of the conclusions drawn in the article entitled, ‘Development, validation and use of the Online Learning Environment Survey’ is that ICT cannot be used on it own. It should be grounded in practical learning theory.

There are many initiatives introduced by the ministry on the use of ICT in various IP and non IP programmes. In my school, the English department embarked on Online Forum to discuss issues like ‘Are Senior Citizens a Burden to Society?’ or ‘One should start dating when they are in secondary school. Do you agree?’. Prior to bringing the students to the computer laboratory, students were provided some background on the topic by showing them a VCD on a discussion followed by an introduction to the language use for a discussion during English lesson. Students were aware of the learning objectives and the end product required for the lesson.

It was mentioned by Godfrey (2001) that teachers must not only be trained in the use of technology but also in the task design especially if the teachers are expected to develop their own materials. In the above example, all English teachers went through training on setting up an online discussion and designing online lessons. Teachers felt equipped with the skills to handle the technical aspects. A Learning Circle group was also formed so that teachers can share their resources and experiences in designing the lesson. Teachers reflected on their lessons on what went right and areas they want to improve to support students’ learning.