Week 1 - The Contemporary Teacher & Learner

You as a contemporary teacher?

To what extent is it reasonable to conclude that if you are not experiencing positive or negative emotions about the materials and activities in any learning experience, that you are potentially disinterested or not motivated? Discuss in relation to your first emotional response to the nature of this unit.

I was perplexed when I first saw this unit and its contents, and I started to doubt my understanding of technology. Confusion about the advantages of learning to make a blog and a website and how this is helpful for teaching digital technologies was the initial emotional reaction. Emotions link us to a variety of daily activities, engage us with others, spark our interest in what we are doing, and have an impact on our behaviour. It is doubtful that someone will be inspired to put any effort into a task if there is no emotional connection to it.

Elaborate on your emotions on engaging further with this unit? Positive, negative. Indifferent?
My emotions have improved after working on the first week of this unit because I can see the advantages of the tasks we are completing and the different approaches to informing students and parents. I'm also excited to find out more about it and how I may apply it to my teaching in the future. I'm convinced that as I go further into the unit's material, I'll get more at ease navigating it.

To what extent do you have the commitment to actively interrogate your emotions, and your beliefs about creative pedagogy (that extends beyond the mere delivery of information to your learners)? How might you be challenged to engage as you enter this unit?
I'm dedicated to developing the best pedagogy possible to have students that are engaged in their education as well as enjoying my classes. For instance, I've already been inspired to start this blog as a challenge for this unit. I have always had a hard time adjusting to change. I rarely venture beyond of my comfort and learning zones, preferring to stay in them instead. This course will force me to tap into my creative side and strengthen my convictions about successful teaching methodology, especially when utilising ICTs. Using the knowledge from this unit to help me find and include fresh, creative elements in my pedagogy is essential and will benefit me and my career.

Identify your present values and beliefs about ICT in the classroom. Keep it brief and focused.
ICTs are extremely important for involving a wide range of learners and deepening their conceptual understanding, but they must be managed to prevent distraction. Whether it's a basic PowerPoint or showing videos of the lessons being taught, I believe that ICT of some kind is essential in every classroom. Not simply to accommodate students who learn best visually or audibly, but also to stay up with technological advancements in the ways that knowledge can be conveyed.

Your approach to teaching and learning
The key to learning is engagement. Students are more prone to boredom and diversions without it. It's crucial to interact and engage with learners when introducing ideas that call for further explanation and application in the actual world. For me, it's about making a place where all students can learn and participate, which necessitates differentiation through various strategies, approaches, and teaching techniques that support learning through unconventional ways.

Identify any challenges to your current values and beliefs as you enter this unit?
The push for technology in courses that don't necessarily need it presents a challenge for me as I enter this unit since it affects my values and beliefs. It is crucial for classroom procedures to stay up with the current generation of kids since they are much more connected than I was when I was in school (I graduated in the early 1990s). It offers new ways to convey material, makes it simpler to communicate with pupils, and aids in offering tailored instruction for diverse students.

What experience do you have with ICT in the classroom?
Personally, I haven't had a lot of classroom experience using ICT. As I've been a teacher assistant for the past few years, some of the ICT I've used includes laptops that let me access all of Microsoft's tools, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and electronic whiteboards.

Who is the contemporary learner?

How will the characteristics of our Gen Z learners depicted in the Meet GenZ video define their engagement in the traditional classroom snippet?

The role of explicit teaching has clearly been assumed by the teacher in the traditional classroom setting. Before asking students to respond to questions in a monotone voice while standing motionless, they give them little opportunity to consider the information. By providing answers for the students you are not taking on the responsibility for their independent learning. There is almost no teacher-student relationship, and the students are not interested.

Faster-paced and more diverse surroundings are characteristics of Gen Z. Students multitask, collaborate with teachers and peers, and use a variety of learning tools, including ICTs, to achieve successful learning outcomes in the classroom. Engagement would be lost almost immediately if a teacher from a traditional classroom tried to teach a class of Gen Z students.

Referring to the ideas presented by Willis and Robinson, is this level of creativity in evidence in the schools you have attended, both as a student, and as a preservice teacher? Furthermore, is this level of creativity in evidence in your University units? As secondary pre-service teaching students, you will experience a variety of approaches to teaching, learning and course design in your discipline studies. Why were your previous studies presented in that particular way? How could they have been presented?
According to Ken Robinson, the educational system has been skewed towards a single vision of academic ability, which is why subjects are thought to be given varying degrees of emphasis because some are considered to be "better" indicators of intelligence than others. He also argues how emphasising failures rather than providing opportunities for innovation is schooling youth out of their creative capacities. I see this hierarchical approach to subjects as a pre-service teacher.

There are various types of intelligence; all it takes is for a teacher to differentiate learning to tap into students' talents and unlock their creativity and intelligence. Individuals who perform well in these "higher" topics are viewed as intelligent. Students are more likely to lose interest in learning if they do not comprehend the material. According to Willis, boredom causes the Amygdala to become active, preventing information from being processed by the prefrontal cortex for efficient learning. In actuality, information related to our flight or fight reaction is delivered to the lower brain.

Given that I am completing all of my university work online, I have discovered that the teacher who is teaching the subject has a significant impact on the students' inventiveness. In certain lessons, you can tell the teacher is more tech aware since the lesson is presented in a more inventive way.

Additionally, lecturers must use a variety of media, including ICTs, while teaching distant learners online. Zoom collaborations, lecture slides, residential schools for real-world experience, and flipped learning are some of the methods used. These concepts can be used to my future pedagogy and provide me a better understanding of diversified learning given the variety of teaching and learning methods.

What do you think the implications are of a curriculum that is linear, progressive, aimed at a single learning outcome for the development of both individuals and the society we live in?
I believe that a curriculum that is concentrated on a single learning outcome would have detrimental effects on how learners develop and how our society functions. A one-way approach curriculum should not be used to teach students how to live and succeed in today's society because there is no one method to succeed in the modern world.

How can ICTs help you in the development of a professional learning network? How are you feeling about this?
Literacy now refers to a wide range of teaching and learning, encompassing the rapidly expanding ICT mediums, as opposed to only texts and prints. ICTs play a crucial role in education and aren't just there to be incorporated into pedagogical frameworks that work. Together with educational approaches, technology use should aim to improve learning outcomes.

When striving to improve learning outcomes in the educational system, AITSL highlights the necessity for teamwork. I believe it is essential for me as a pre-service teacher to comprehend and internalise concepts, frameworks, and teaching methods that improve my capacity to differentiate my classrooms and offer the best possibilities for all of the students I teach.