DITL Scenario 1 — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00Let's start the My Day as a University Teacher -reflection exercise.
2. 0:06Let's start by going over the objectives of the task and providing more detailed instructions on how to complete the task.
3. 0:13The first objective is to reflect on your own thoughts and experiences in relation to examples of situations familiar to you from higher education pedagogy
4. 0:23and their possible solutions. The second objective is to familiarise you with the research and theories of higher education pedagogy and practical tips for solving example situations.
5. 0:34The third objective is to reflect on the role of different forms of teaching and interaction in the different contexts encountered in different scenarios.
6. 0:42The fourth objective is to identify factors related to community and well-being, from the perspective of teaching staff, other staff and students alike.
7. 0:53How to proceed: You can answer the task in Finnish or English. Depending on which language you choose to do this task in, you will select the appropriate feedback folder in the Moodle area.
8. 1:05At this point, you can open the assignment template in the Moodle area and save it on your computer under your own name.
9. 1:13This task is divided into two parts: in part A, you can proceed according to the instructions in the assignment template, scenario by scenario.
10. 1:21Each of the seven scenarios contains a short introduction to the situation and a reflection task, which you can answer at your leisure in the space provided in the assignment template.
11. 1:33You can then move forward in the video and finally answer the second reflection question at the end of the video.
12. 1:40For the second reflection task, it is recommended to use the additional reading list shared in the course: the list can be found in Moodle, but also in the reflection task slides.
13. 1:51In Part B, you can choose an article from the course list, read it and answer the questions on the basis of it in the assignment template.
14. 2:00In the second part of Part B, you will reflect on 3-5 concrete issues or lessons that you will take from the course into your own teaching practice now or in the future.
15. 2:11Once both parts A and B have been completed, you can return the assignment template to the Moodle area in the assigned feedback folder in the month you plan to complete the reflection assignment.
16. 2:24Let's go to the first scenario at this point.
17. 2:28In this first scenario, you get to put yourself in the shoes of a novice teacher.
18. 2:42The situation is that you have inherited a whole course from the previous teacher of the course and have received all the materials related to the course.
19. 2:50Your first lecture for this course is approaching. You have prepared the lecture and prepared good slides for the teaching session.
20. 3:00Now you are going to give a lecture. You have a group of about 50 students in the lecture hall.
21. 3:06You feel good about giving the lecture because you have prepared it well in advance and you have a precise plan and timetable.
22. 3:12Little by little the lecture is progressing and you are getting towards the end of the lecture. You may feel a bit out of breath. You will soon have spoken for about 90 minutes.
23. 3:23However, you thought that perhaps this might be a good opportunity to give the students a chance to speak and ask questions if they have any.
24. 3:30You look at the students and see that some of them are already packing their bags, some are looking at their mobile phones and some look as if they are not staying awake at all.
25. 3:40So you're wondering what's going on here, that the students don't have any questions at all.
26. 3:45Next, think about what this situation sounds like, what kind of thoughts does this evoke in you?
27. 3:51Do you have any experience of a similar situation, either as a student or as a teacher?
28. 3:57Please take your time to answer the question and then proceed with this video.
29. 4:03In teaching, there are many situations where there is never just one right way to do things.
30. 4:09And the most important thing is to think about what kind of activity best supports student learning.
31. 4:17In this example, it might be useful to consider whether all the content of this lecture is absolutely necessary.
32. 4:25Defining the key learning objectives of a lecture might help to narrow the focus to topics that students are at least expected to learn.
33. 4:35Thought-provoking exercises for students could be developed around these topics during the lecture.
34. 4:42For example, small group discussions or other stimulating activities that are appropriate to the situation and that also feel natural to the teacher.
35. 4:52Next, let's go through some perspectives in general.
36. 4:55What is a good teaching event and what are the issues involved in organising and delivering a good teaching event.
37. 5:05In no way is it intended to give right answers or instructions on how to act in a particular way, but to help each teacher and facilitator find ways of acting that are natural for him or her.
38. 5:17At the university, we have different types of teaching events, such as lectures, seminars and workshops.
39. 5:26In addition, all non-formal encounters can also contribute to student learning, for example, discussions with peers and other spontaneous interactions.
40. 5:39A teaching session is always a learning session for all the participants present, i.e. the students, but also the teacher.
41. 5:50There is no prototype for such a good teaching event. Every teaching session is a situation of interaction between the teacher and the students, i.e. the result of a joint effort by all of them.
42. 6:05If one could say something about a good teaching session, such a good teaching session certainly promotes learning and makes students think for themselves.
43. 6:16It is useful, for example, when different perspectives and research results are brought to light and you also notice how others think, so it also enriches your own thinking.
44. 6:29The role of the student is also seen as an active constructor of knowledge, i.e. a non-passive recipient of knowledge, in line with the current concept of learning.
45. 6:40Often, in fact, the choice of teaching methods that is natural to the teacher works quite well. Of course, it's also worth trying something new once in a while.
46. 6:51What makes a good teaching session? At least it is learning-oriented, i.e. it genuinely aims to support the development of students' thinking, in other words, learning.
47. 7:03It focuses on learning and specifically on the development of students' thinking skills.
48. 7:08A good teaching session certainly also stimulates thought and interest, enthusiasm, and it often helps if you try to create links with the students' everyday life or future working life.
49. 7:23Sort of puts it in terms of why it would be good for students to learn that thing.
50. 7:29And then also articulating the connection between theory and practice is essential.
51. 7:35We also have many different ways of organising teaching, so when you think about where to hold the teaching event, there are different things involved if it is distance learning rather than face-to-face teaching, or a combination of the two, or what is known as hybrid teaching.
52. 7:53We have a lot of traditional classrooms, we can also teach in authentic environments, we have simulation environments as well.
53. 8:01It's also good to think about what students can learn independently or in groups, and then which things in particular require that interaction and teacher support.
54. 8:14So I would perhaps start with those things that are clearly perceived as difficult or unmotivating, or in other ways the teacher recognizes that these things are those that are definitely worth investing in, so I would try to take into account in their teaching to enable interaction as well as possible.
55. 8:40If you think about the structure of a good teaching situation, there's certainly an introduction first. It may be a good idea to go over the objectives of the teaching situation, its content, what is to be covered, roughly the timetable, the break, and then also to explain the ways of interaction, especially if not everyone is physically present in the same room.
56. 9:07Depending, of course, on the context and the group and how familiar you are and how big, for example, the teaching event is, so possible introductions or introductions and perhaps groupings, if you are going to do things in groups.
57. 9:24It is also essential, of course, to invest in the linearity in such a way that, for example, even within the course would remain such a linearity also that can, for example, make links to previous, even in the same course or even other courses in general, the subjects that it is known that these students have already studied.
58. 9:45It is worthwhile to make the expectations visible, i.e. to tell the students what they are expected to learn there and how they are expected to function there. In other words, the competency objectives that I mentioned earlier, for example, it is very good to make them clear.
59. 10:01And if you are in a remote environment or even a hybrid environment, it is also worth telling students about the ways of interaction, why not also in a close-up situation, for example by asking them to take the floor freely during teaching and, in a way, encouraging spontaneous interaction,
60. 10:27when it suits the context of the teaching and so on. It is also essential to consider, when we look at our curriculum texts, how we have written in there, for example, whether the requirement is presence or active participation. It is also good to think about them.
61. 10:47The importance of active listening and watching what others are doing is also essential for learning. And then, of course, it is also good to go over feedback practices, if feedback is given or received in the teaching situation.
62. 11:04If we think about the actual activity in the teaching situation, it is good to consider how long, for example, students can actively listen, as in the example quiz.
63. 11:19You can also think about it from the point of view of whether it would have been good to make some kind of break, for example, and in between something in the middle of the lecture, for example, which keeps the students' interest and open-mindedness.
64. 11:37In other words, this kind of sequencing can work well in certain situations and can also be used, for example, at the beginning of a teaching situation.
65. 11:47Breaks and other refreshing activities also help, of course, and activating methods, which there are really many different ways.
66. 11:55And then, of course, with the help of intermediate questions and teaching discussions, the teacher can find out during the learning situation how the learning process is going.
67. 12:06For example, how well the core issues or key concepts, for example, students have understood it.
68. 12:17And then at the end it may be natural to do some kind of summary and discuss with the students in general and leave time for questions.
69. 12:29And of course you can also ask about hopes and expectations and then tell them about the future of the course.
70. 12:38Well if we still think about some things or perspectives related to that good teaching opportunity, at least this kind of feeling from your student's perspective is good to take into account.
71. 12:51So think about the kind of, that for whom the teaching session is held and why and what are the knowledge objectives.
72. 12:58And even if you do not know the students personally, but you can try to find out in some way, for example, the group's starting level and possible prior information on the matter.
73. 13:12And maybe the study background in general and those expectations as well.
74. 13:17And certainly the content and the alignment in general is important in that teaching session.
75. 13:23So the fact that the objectives and then the activity and the learning environment and other things are also related to what is then assessed at the end.
76. 13:34How the learning is assessed and the learning of what things.
77. 13:37And sometimes it can be good to do a kind of core content analysis, i.e. to think about what part of the content is must know content, what is should know content and what is nice to know.
78. 13:51And maybe try to focus on that must know content.
79. 13:56And also, of course, students should be held accountable, because they are responsible for their own learning after all.
80. 14:03In a good teaching session, you should try to listen and observe the students and find out what they are thinking and how they have already understood some things.
81. 14:17Then you can also assess the learning and then change your own activities or the course of the teaching session if necessary.
82. 14:26And then the teaching discussions are useful for noticing that different people have different perspectives on things and that different people think about things differently, which enriches everyone's thinking.
83. 14:42Of course, it is worth encouraging and encouraging students to actively participate and at least to actively think and focus on actively reflecting on things in relation to their own previous perceptions and knowledge.
84. 14:58And it's also really good to get the wrong answers, so to speak, because they help you to understand the issue from the top of your head.
85. 15:09We have ideas about many things, for example, based on our previous everyday knowledge instead of scientific concepts, so we can dive into them better.
86. 15:22Well, in conclusion, I could say that the most important thing in giving a good teaching session is perhaps to be yourself and try to find ways of teaching that are natural to you.
87. 15:35And then perhaps trying to choose the most important things that you hope all the students who have taken part in the teaching situation will learn and then putting effort into them and articulating them.
88. 15:50For example, by studying the students' preconceptions, you can already get an idea of what the students think about it beforehand.
89. 16:02Then, at the same time, in the discussions during the teaching situation, you can do a little detective work to see how the students have changed their perceptions during the opportunity.
90. 16:14And if you do the so-called core material analysis, so here it can easily happen that you end up pruning, for example, content, but those extra materials, so to speak, can well make their own place even in the mud or somewhere else on the learning platform or in whatever way they want to use.
91. 16:34They're also good material of course and additional reading material and so on, even definitely worth making use of.
92. 16:44And it's also essential that teachers are not supposed to know everything under any circumstances. What is essential is to support the learning process of the students and to find out together.
93. 16:57And learning is a skill, just like teaching, so we can constantly improve and learn more in all these areas.
94. 17:06And then you've obviously got to the end of the video here. So now let's revisit the scenario that was presented at the beginning. What kind of thoughts does this scenario now raise?
95. 17:21What tips would you have for this particular teacher? In other words, what could this teacher possibly do in the future to involve the students in the teaching situation from the very beginning?
96. 17:34Once again, reflect on this question and write your answer on the task sheet. Here are a few more reading tips if you want to use them to support your reflection.
97. 17:44Then you can go on to the next scenario once you have answered this one.