Reflection

This subject has changed my mind because I had a different view of education. Now, I know education is one of the most important parts of our life.  Education is a concept that evolve many things, not only memorize and repeat (this is not education) but, development, cooperation, revolving problems, think, be critical… These are the keys of education. We are in society, we have a family and friends, so we need to know how to speak with them, how to express our feelings, how to play in teams, be punctual, be efficiency at work, be responsible every moment, respect other people…

This pype of thinks we should teach to our students. We need to adapt the curriculum and make our own classes. But before, we need to study and finish our degree, build our theory and be critical with the other ones. With Mina We have worked a little bit this, it was great for us.

In this subject we have worked by groups, it has helped to me so much because I developed many skills. In this semester I have matured a lot. Now, I have more reasons to be here, in Magisterio. And I have changed a lot of minds, for example the minds of my friends because before they laugh when I said I want to be a teacher. But I have explained them my reasons. Now, they know education is very important for everybody.

I am very happy with my work; of course I could do better. So the next semester I will strive more. In some years I will read this and I will remember my first days at the University, our philosophy, learning processes, developmental psychology, communication and, of course didactic classes. I am laughing at home because I remember our presentations in didactic, like the day that we danced La Macarena in class. It was very funny and we learned a lot.

PISA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjdYm0fSRmU

PISA: Programme for International Student Assessment. This is built by the OCED: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.  

PISA is a triennial international survey which aims to evaluate education systems worldwide by testing the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students. To date, students representing more than 70 economies have participated in the assessment.

The objective of PISA is to know if the students are prepared to act in the society. With these exams, experts can evaluate different subjects like maths, science or language. Experts don´t want that students are able to repeat the content but to resolve themselves their real problems and use their knowledge to their life.  

PISA wants to control if the skills are being develop by the students. Then, it contrasts the results with the other countries.

Some conclusions that PISA said are that girls are better reading and boys better in maths.

In my opinion, PISA don´t value some competences very important like: cooperation, responsibility, work in groups or be critical. I think they are very important in education. If a student can understand a text but no to work in groups, or for example not to be responsible or to be always late… in the future this student will have some problems to find a job, to have a family or to keep the friends.

I like this type of exam that PISA makes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhtpB1RalDQ

Approaches to the curriculum

Plato.
He thought that education has to produce 3 types of people. Leaders are the best type but they are a minority. The objective of education is getting the harmony.
In primary children need to develop their senses and they have to be inspired by heroes. It is necessary they improve their physique. Teachers are in control and the mustn´t teach, the main method is the Socratic one. Dialogs are the most important thing.

Rousseau.
The aim of education is getting the 3 principles: Liberty, equality and fraternity. Education has to achieve that people have an independent thought.
In this stage experience and sensation are more important the knowledge or reason. Only when the individual is enough mature, he or she is able to get social academic disciplines.
Nowadays children are treated as children, like Rousseau suggested.

Dewey.
The aim of education is that people could be individuals for a democracy. So, the need to know how to solve themselves real problems.
In primary education there are 3 stages: Games and creativity, techniques and reflective attention. Each stage is more complicated than the before one.
Nowadays children work cooperatively and schools have to prepare for life in the real world. So pupils need to solve themselves their real problems.

 

There are a lot of theorists and we have to be critical with them. Everybody has to build his/her own theorist. My theory is a mixture of all of them because, in my opinion, each one has something important. For example: Children are children and not adults, creativity is very important, work cooperatively too, everybody should have an independent thought… And all the time we need to advance and not to stagnate.

The end is closed.

INCERTIDUMBRE

Incertidumbre, inseguridad, confusión, miedo

es lo que siento.

Que dé mis primeros pasos sola

es lo que esperan de mí.

Valentía, fortaleza, seguridad,

dicen que es conveniente para mí.

Por vez primera he de trabajar la práctica

y dejar de estar tan a la teoría atada.

Me siento cual niña antes de ser

de la mano de sus padres soltada.

 

One week and, after that, Christmas.  All my subjects are going to finish. I have learnt a lot of things. These things are different because I was used to learn only contents. In this semester I have changed my mind; now I can understand better the curriculum, I know what is the meaning of child development, I can compare different theorists, I studied the different between behaviourism, constructivism and socio-constructivism. I forgot a many things I studied the last year but I am sure that I will never forget whatever I have learnt this semester because I really understand them and I use them in my live.

When the semester will finish is the moment to practise everything, using the theory that I leanrt.

The zone of proximal development

The zone of proximal development (ZPD) has been defined as "the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more capable peers" (Vygotsky, 1978, p86).

 We, as a futures teachers, have to know where are situated our students and then teach them. Each student has his/her own position in the graphic, so we need to adapt to them. If we want the build new knowledge, we need to teach them they have to use their previous knowledge. Students should help each other sharing their previous knowledge.

 

In class we worked this.  Jesse gave us a problem, we needed to get a mathematical formula and we only had these pictures. We did this exercise by groups, we used our previous knowledge and we share it. For example, Isabel studied “bachillerato cientícico” so she knew more maths than the rest of the group. With her knowledge and our ideas, we got the solution. After that, we explained our result to the rest of the classmates.

 

Didactic unit

We did a didactic unit by groups; my group did it using brainstorming. Firstly we introduced the brainstorming to the whole class because a lot of people didn’t know its meaning.
Brainstorming is a didactic strategy which consists to tell different ideas or concepts that people have in relation with a concrete topic.

 

The objectives of our didactic unit were:

-   Promote the participation.

-   To make the people think in their own.

-   To respect the turn of speaking to the rest of the people.

-   To reduce the shyness, because all the ideas which are connected with the theme are valid.

-   To know how to work in different ways (individually, smalls groups…)

 

We did some activities:

-   ACTIVITY 1: In groups, they have to discuss in which things they save up energy (brainstorming).

-   ACTIVITY 2: Ideas – In each group the students have to work in one of the ideas that they have presented before.

-   ACTIVITY 3:  TABÚ – Each member of their group has to explain with words his/her form to save up energy without saying the words which appear in the sentence.

I think it was funny and at the same time our “students” were learning. Two days ago I thought that brainstorming was a strategy only for children. But when we did our didactic unit, I realized that it is not true. We are not used to do this type of activities. We do usually everything faster. We need to think about our decisions often.

We should use brainstorming before reading a text. If we do it, our brain will be prepared to read the text. Or for example, when we have a conflict, we should keep calm and make a brainstorming to find a solution.

Brainstorming

This is a method for generating many ideas about a topic. 

The rule of brainstorming is to think of many ideas, think of different ideas, and to suspend judgment until students have produced many different ideas. Brainstorming can help “open students’ minds” so they can think of ideas that might not normally have occur-red to them. Not all of the ideas they arrive at will be equally useful, but in thinking of many different ideas, they may discover some valuable ideas among the less important ones.

STAGES:

1.      Training.
Everybody is concentrated.

2.      Topic.
The topic is shown.

3.      Rules.
It is necessary to know how many ideas we need to think about.
The time must be set; this activity should be conducted in 10 minutes or less. 

4.      Critics are forbidden.
All ideas are welcome.
It is necessary to connect the ideas.

5.      Evaluation.
It should be some criterions to evaluate the ideas.

We can work by groups; in this case there will be more ideas. It is convenient that the ideas are written down and then, we can value them. If we want we can see the advantages and disadvantages of the ideas.

 

 

Education

1.    What does it mean education for me?
Education is a process very complicated because it necessary a lot of effort. In my opinion there are many types of education like moral education or intellectual education. Often people get their education when they are young.

 

2.    How do I define primary education?
It is a period of time where children of 6 to 12 years built the basis of their knowledge.

 

3.    What does it mean teaching for me?
Teaching consists in transmitting some new information or ideas to someone. The other person has to understand what we are transmitting.

 

4.    What does it mean learning for me?
To get new ideas.

 

5.    My best teacher at primary school. Why I consider he was a good teacher? What kind of influences did he have on my life?
My best teacher at primary school was my music teacher because he was very friendly with his pupils, his classes were funny, sometimes he gave us sweets and in my opinion another reason is he was young. Since I was his pupil I want to be a teacher like him.

 

6.    My worst teacher at primary school. Why I consider she was a bad teacher? What kind of influences did she have on my life?
She didn´t get that I learn. She was my Spanish teacher, I passed all her exams without studying so I didn´t learn something/nothing new.

 

7.    WHAT DO iTHINK ARE THE MAJOR CHALLENGES TEACHERS FACE IN NOWADAYS?
I think every student should learn. Teachers have to get it. It is complicated because each student has its own rhythm.

 

8.    HOW DO I DESCRIBE TEACHING:
As a science
As a craft
As an art
In my opinion a good teacher is someone who has this vocation.