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Education changes behavior, previous acquired knowledge, skills, and attitudes that result from experience and practice since early age. These changes create a cycle that than be defined as a process of continuous stimulation, reaction, awareness, and acceptance to self and the environment. Our senses do most of the work to help us adjust to the cycle. Exterior sources present new ideas and show how to better use those new ideas. The combined self and exterior sources put varied levels of thresholds into our cognitive and emotional status to dictate the quality, quantity, and speed of information we gather throughout the process. As the changes produced by education evolve they revert to experience that we can put into practice in the forms of immediate, constant, passive, or life-long learning.
I like to use clear, defined, and often reinforced learning objectives. This is important to place responsibility on the students for their own learning. I refer to objectives as the theme of the material or the most important pieces of information of a given content. They are the central piece that keeps the students focused and motivated to reach a certain accomplishment. Being reminded by an understandable objective suggests interest of knowing how the lesser information relates to the central idea. This methodology helps me set and continually adjust the way I evaluate the quantity and quality of learning that is taking place. In addition, I don't have to teach to the test because the test questions should be some sort of paraphrase or re-stating of the objectives. I believe that if the students are shown how to analyze and comprehend the objectives, they can prepare themselves for an examination without the expectance of surprises.
I believe that people skills need to be put to the test along with their emotions with conditions that prevent resistance to change. Exposure to new ideas emphasizing need to change and real-life benefits targets the students' skills and emotions to create positive ways of thinking and acting. I think that a curriculum encompassing traditional lectures, communicative group interactions, and use of technology allows the students to exteriorize their competencies and bring awareness to their potential.
The student's potential needs to be developed in pursue of worthy citizenship. We must be prepared to identify the needs of every student in order to capitalize on previous skills, values, and attitudes. Different styles of learning require different approaches of instruction. Teachers must understand individual ways students observe, display, mimic, reward, and repeat behavior. I can assume these are continuous evaluations to follow on with additional teaching that focuses on knowledge. Group interaction and hands-on activities are solid sources for leadership development and future vocational trades. These methods team up to enhance and maximize the conditions under which learning occurs.
Working in group-related activities brings new levels of stressful situations of dealing and analyzing different opinions. Group norms and its communicative nature reveal the overall social impact from others' ideas to challenge the individual's understanding. Hands-on activities present an opportunity to put cognitive knowledge into practice. It should be used in combination with traditional cognitive methods to relieve boredom and mental stress. Hands-on practices, which include appropriate conditions that are observable, reliable, and measurable with standards, constitute an easy way for students to understand their own capabilities. I think every philosophy has some important parts worthy of application because their origins are related in terms of history, social, religious, and political context. Obviously, old philosophers knew that learning is a broad concept that requires a variety of approaches.
The study of many philosophies helps me to discover my strengths and weaknesses, both in the curriculum that I propose and my delivery methods. The difference in the philosophies introduces controversial topics that encourage conversation. Understanding of different philosophies helps me to focus on their positive aspects, and I can use their assumptions and criticized portions as additional teaching tools. I find that these additional tools are ideas that usually generate deep reflection in the students. This often leads to interesting discussions in the areas of human emotions, ethics, dignity and respect, values, and the ways teachers and schools prepare, plan, and execute work. The result is a continuous exchange of ideas that stimulates thinking and learning.
Teachers should instill an environment of openness and expression of subjectivity as the students participate in choosing their goals and curriculum. This approach is conducive to analysis of our social problems in reference to our physical environment. Students can become aware of their own freedom focusing on self-examination. A curriculum that provides basic tools for literacy and understanding of discipline, values, and respect assists in the acquisition of essential pieces of learning. Teachers who know their subjects and are able to deliver them clearly should emphasize that the effort and willingness to learn and retain is the students' responsibility. The issues of constant drills and emphasis in memorization may be open to scrutiny. I feel that all types of teaching methods are drills, and they must be viewed from many angles in order to examine their effectiveness. Memorization has many variables such as priorities for memorization, student ability to memorize, and the fact that memorization plays a huge role in learning some subjects.
We must teach students to think through a variety of methods such as lectures, libraries, Internet, and values clarification discussions. The idea is to help in the understanding the relationship between human skills, the physical environment, and social issues.
A good instructor should develop classroom cohesion through effective use of communicative efforts centered on the reward of self-responsibility and personal discipline. We must serve as mentors and counselors by being there when our students need us. A go0od classroom does not have a zero-defects attitude, but plenty of courses of actions to correct mistakes. Teachers need to develop and practice the skill of projecting positive image to their students.
I think of myself and openly express that my role is to help in the learning process through a consistent pattern of healthy human relations. Educators should be friendly and helpful, know their material, and take personal pride and interest in the execution of teaching functions. My preference is to conduct comprehensive research in the subject prior to delivery. I prepare a list of questions to ask and lead in conversations. I strongly support rehearsal of the delivery prior to the actual execution, and if possible I will modify the lesson to my own style.
Respect must be taught up front. I don't mean it must be imposed, but analyzed and discussed with the students to establish an environment where everyone will be respected equally. I agree with icebreaker exercises at the beginning to get the students to know and understand each other. I like to establish my own rules but like to leave some areas open, so the students can brainstorm in deciding what behaviors to avoid. Creating a relaxed atmosphere in an environment that promotes consideration of others is a good source of trust.
I think of the Multiple Intelligences as equally important to develop sound minds and good citizens. Traditional education systems typically place a strong emphasis on the development and use of verbal and mathematical intelligences. The theory of Multiple Intelligences implies that teachers should reflect and teach to a broader range of desires and abilities. Educators face the need to deliver the material in a manner that engages most, or all of the students' intelligences. I try to help students develop a sense of accomplishment and self-confidence. Multiple Intelligences provides a vehicle for recognizing the different abilities and talents of students. One challenge is to evaluate the intellectual level of every student and being able to apply all seven intelligences to all students. This implies that while all students may not be gifted in some areas, they may have an expertise in other subjects, talents, or knowledge. I should be able to use Multiple Intelligences to assess a greater number of students for successful participation in classroom activities.
I can reinforce the same material in a variety of ways using various instruction methods about the same subject to facilitate a deeper understanding. This excites students about learning as they activate a wide assortment of intelligences. I can create additional activities for those who display difficulties in a given intelligence by adapting the stronger intellect into a constructive action that modifies or assists the weaker intelligence.
In the military we need to teach respect for authority, and the instructor leads by setting the example. We put focus on values clarification by comparing family and social aspects with the demands of the military. The Army wants successful soldiers and leaders who identify, commit to, and attain their wartime skills. Personnel must demonstrate the skills, knowledge, attitudes, and self-direction needed to perform ethically and productively in harsh environments, to adapt to change, to appreciate diversity, and to make quick decisions. Moral development and ethics are strong foundations for survival in teacher-student relationships.
Knowing the students' culture and interaction styles helps educators meet the students' academic and social needs. Teachers who come from the same communities as the students will likely share knowledge of the students' culture and prior knowledge. It is important to consider that teacher beliefs, school roles, and political issues must be understood and incorporated in classroom dynamics.
I stress to students that performing well on assignments, class activities, and exams are important to measure teacher and student relationship. I mentor my students in maintaining persistence and a clear focus to succeed in any subject. Students know that I can be counted on providing self-direction, motivating their passion for learning, while demanding strong individual responsibility to influence on their achievement. I think students have better relationships with teachers who act mature, are motivated, well organized, and who attend their needs equally.
There is misunderstanding that teaching and learning are complex processes depending on many factors outside the control of schools and teachers. On one hand, student learning is to a degree a personal, constructive activity that is often influenced by social and economic factors. On the other hand, teachers can serve as role models for students through preparation, ability, and experience. Teachers must improve their profession by linking their technical expertise with human elements to help identify and correct those issues affecting the students. Teaching in this mode is based on the students' perceptions of their goals and purposes that address the realities of their lives. Instruction that recognizes self-control over real-life circumstances affect how learners function in the technological society and workplace. As more students acquire knowledge from those methods, the cultural practices that result change society.
Being an educator without having a sound program of self-development is not a good thing. Teachers must identify their own learning needs in order to assess the learning processes, and to evaluate the outcomes of the changes they define, design, and implement. The self-evaluation aspect of professional development is the start point of making sense out of experience to apply it into teaching. Teachers need to be much more deliberate in executing and evaluating their roles, attending more carefully to methods, perceptions, understandings, and the whole approach to the teaching process. These concepts provide teachers with the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills from numerous sources and provide awareness of options and possibilities for change. Current theories can be analyzed to see what influences the trends of teaching, learning, and schooling. We could apply these concepts into multicultural focus, individual diversity, and leadership in education, to mention a few.
In summary, part of learning is to help develop the understandings, perspectives, and skills that will enhance a person's education. Educators have an obligation to provide the highest quality programs we can create. Those programs are vital to prepare our students as they progress toward their profession. The agreement between teacher and learner requires that the student be taught, assessed, and given guidance with two-way communication. The role of the teacher is to structure material in ways that facilitate learning.
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Open to the UNIVERSE in 2005 and beyond
Cuidese...que de los buenos quedamos pocos...
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Torpedero de Batey Boricua
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