inyujlimbo

[inyujlimbo]

"Flipped" Classroom?

"Flipped" classroom? How can that happen?

My initial thoughts upon hearing this term is that it is a classroom wherein the roles of the teachers and students become interchanged; hence, we use the word "flipped." It is learner-centered and the teacher becomes the facilitator and one of the listeners of the students' reports. And I was right. But... Not totally. Haha.

That concept of mine was only the surface of it. It is only what is happening DURING class hours. Yet, what happens before and after class plays an important role in the fulfillment of this flipped classroom. Students should make their research before discussing in the class, and they should also evaluate their learning and share their takeaways to others after class as well.

Interesting, right? This does not only encourage independent learning. It also maximizes time as we get to broaden more our knowledge about a topic during our class discussion. No. Contact. Hour. Is. Wasted. And it does not end there. Because flipped classroom promotes more spontaneous and casual collaborations after class. #MustHave!

[inyujlimbo]

Health is Wealth

It has been a tough week for me. A small flu virus reached within my system and made a big difference on how a normal day, and week, used to be.

This experience of mine made me realize that, really, health is wealth. This may be a common maxim, but it simply hits differently now. Health is wealth, not only of its owner, but also of those whom it serves. It is not only I who loses the opportunity to learn more and be as productive as I can. But in the near future, my students would also be relying on this health to be able to grasp the learnings which they deserve.

Indeed, health is wealth. And I am hoping that I would be able to recover that wealth and continue sharing it once again to my community.

Sickly,

Eugene

[inyujlimbo]

It really is a matter of managing the real grounds while still holding on to the ideals.

Some of my courses this week focused on the word "assessment." I made one project-based assessment and one written assessment on two different courses. My initial work is, of course, full of ideals. I just think that these activities and this kind of exam will help them learn more and retain the knowledge, and especially promote critical thinking. But after few days without thinking of what I did, I would return to my sit and realize how awful my first outputs had been.

My first output for an instance is very complicated for a 7th grader, according also to some of my companions when I asked for feedback. And, I honestly find it difficult to put my shoes on the intellectual level of common grade 7 students because my exposure to sci-high created an impression to me that 13-year old students can think critically and maturely. I did not realize that my reality was too ideal for the ordinary.

And so, I decided to raise up the activity to 10th graders. My companions agreed that it fits more to that age. In this case, I hold on to the ideals of my output, but I adjusted it to the reality for whom it fits. However, I realized that there is a greater effort that I need to do to correct my perspective on the intellectual capacity of students on different levels. For example, not all grade 8 students solve more complicated problems than 3rd year college Physics like what I experienced in my high school years. Right now, I just feel like my junior high school life was abnormal, haha. But maybe it is also a revelation to me of how much more are the minds of high school students capable of.

[inyujlimbo]

The most important thing about a test is not the score, but the feedback.

This is my greatest takeaway this day more than the intellectual information discussed (haha). And this is the same with any student. It is not the big load of information that a student grasps, but the little details that touch the heart. I realized that I had lots of exams as an achiever, but I do not remember any of those items now. Not even the scores. I just know that sometime in my life, I did well. And someone acknowledged that effort by simply saying, "Very good!"

I realized that the test result is not the end in itself. It is not the end of the lesson. In fact, it is the most powerful opening for a teacher to touch the heart of that student to give a little insight that will guide him in the real world for a lifetime. Sure, you got 1/10, but you know what? You can do better next time! It is actually when the test results come out that the students become most vulnerable for other's feedback. First, because they are done overloading their minds with intellectual information. Second, because they know that whatever the result is, they cannot do anything about the scores anymore. But third, because deep within they are already wanting to improve themselves even more and they just need to know where to start, and to know that they can. Once the teacher grabs that opportunity, he already won the heart of that student. He already changed the life of that student.

[inyujlimbo]

Filipino learners wear beautiful smile in the classroom.

This has been my belief about who a Filipino learner is. They are very enthusiastic in learning and are doing their best to excel in school. In fact, Filipino children themselves have high regard to schools. They want to begin to go to school with the mindset that studying can be a way to alleviate their family from poverty, or to secure themselves a better, secured future. It is a challenge, then, for me as an aspiring educator to maintain and even bring back the smiles of my students in the future. I personally noticed many of my classmates not anymore wearing their smiles when they enter the classroom. It seems that they already lost the enthusiasm which they used to have when they were still kids. Perhaps, because the school in general already made an impression that it is only a source of burden to students. Perhaps also, because the educators focused too much on content and compliance, that they already missed out the personal needs of the students and the greater purpose of education. Hence, the smiles which were initially produced by the Filipino learners gradually fade as they spend years in schools. I really hope that I can be an educator who can bring back those smiles or Filipino learners in the future. Those smiles which reflect the joy of learning and the enthusiasm to do ordinary things extraordinarily well for a greater purpose beyond oneself.

[inyujlimbo]

"Remember that education is a matter of the heart."

~ St. John Bosco

Teaching, indeed, is the noblest profession. It is so noble that each individual, the whole nation, and even the whole world depend so much on teachers. No other profession would exist and be successful without teachers in the first place. Engineers were first formed by their teachers to equip them with knowledge and skills to build houses and bridges. Doctors first learned from teachers for them to effectively save lives. Even children grow to be good persons through the guidance of teachers with whom they spend several hours of every day.

Sustaining this novelty is the real challenge for teachers. By profession, they are bound to form students to become good Christians and honest citizens, so as to contribute in making our world better, more peaceful, and more humane. This also requires extensive preparations knowing that there are competencies and values that we aim to instill to the students for them to be equipped for life outside the classroom. It is only through these means that teachers can sustain the novelty of their profession. Otherwise, if a teacher would only present the subject mainly for the sake of compliance and not for the formation of the students, it would end up being a waste of time rather than a novelty.

I believe that this was also the grassroots of St. John Bosco. He was focused more on the formation of his boys, especially their morals and values, so that they may become good Christians and honest citizens. He knew that his profession as an educator of the young is so noble that he wanted to ensure that the competencies and values which he aimed them to uphold are formed, realized and accepted with conviction. He did this by appealing to the heart of the young and by establishing closer relationship with them, inspiring them through his witnessing.

[inyujlimbo]

Learning > Lesson

We began our class with Fr. Jerome in Technology for Teaching & Learning this morning. In our course orientation, one thing that poked my attention was the term "Learning Plan." I wondered if it is pertaining to our personal plan of learning throughout the course similar to the "Study Plan" in the seminary or if it is pertaining to our plan as educators for the learning of our students similar to a "Lesson Plan". The former would not really interest me as I already have my own learning habits, but the latter would be enriching for me as a future educator. It was clarified later on that the term "Lesson Plan" is not anymore being used today since we are not really after the lesson itself, but the learning of the students. Hence, "Learning Plan" is the proper term used nowadays. This reminded me of what should matter to me most as an educator: students' learning more than the extravagance of each lesson. No matter how good the lesson may be, if the discussion does help students improve in learning, the entire meeting is a waste.

The key is to put ourselves in the shoes of our students in coming up with a learning plan: Are these concepts and examples relatable for this generation? Will this approach entertain or bore the students? In what kind of project can each student showcase their potentials?