Teaching Training Closing Seminar

The Teaching Training Chapter closed for me today. It was interesting session, especially because I could hear others people experience.
I was very lucky with my practice: the relation with the group and the tutor, the close distance (not so long trip for once) and also possibility to try different teaching method.
We started with a swot analysis and give grades on feelings for general experience from 1 to 4. I would give mine 3-4: I think I still have some weakness.
We discussed about other issues too, going deeply in what we did.
What we learn from the observation of the students and other teachers?
For me was the group dynamics: to see my students hanging around with the same people it was good tool to use int he right moment. especially when we were talking about communication. Other people also mentioned useful stuffs, such as:
- learning to be prepare for difficult personalities
- learning how taxing actual lesson might be
The tricky part in the seminar was: how to assess the learning, meaning not from the final test.
In my case I didn´t assess all the time the learning. I think I was actually seen that from their participation and enthusiasm on the activities. Most of the people had to use quizzes at the end of the lesson or give them at home homework and check in the classroom. exercises, practical tasks, giving them number...We spoke about this last autumn a lot.
So at the end my teaching practise was great. I felt good about it, I still feel so.

My teaching training: a semi serial reflection on the experience

My teaching training in Diaconia went very fast: one month, twice a week teaching Orientation English to Social Worker students. Total teaching hours: 20.
The group was very nice: talented, polite, ready for working in group and to use their English in all the situation that we faced during our path. It was indeed heterogeneous group: some of them just graduated from high school, some of them didn´t finish it. Some of them (even belong to religious group that doesn´t have easy access to TV or internet) could speak English rather well, others they had difficulties to follow what I was saying...It was a challenge. I took it 100 %. 

The tutor was huge help: for the first time since I started my teaching carrier I have got advises on how to improve my teaching...and it felt so good!
The tutor role is not simple and it requires a huge dose of patience and open mind: give to the teacher student an entire course is not easy especially if the student teacher doesn´t have so much experience.
My tutor was one of the special one: we could cooperate withouth problem and he gave me time after each lesson, giving me a feedback. 

The Orientation English is a mandatory course for those students that are studying to become Social workers and also work for the Parish.
My lessons were focused in theme such as: Finnish Welfare System, Family life, Adoption and Foreigner clients. We went through also practical things : dealing at the phone with no Finnish speaker, be able to make a conversation with the client in order to help him/her to face the difficulties in life. I found the group ready to face different situation and I provide my self the material based on the themes from the book and instruction given by the tutor. 

In 20 hours wasn´t possible to cover all the book themes so part of the studies, the students did on their own time. I decide to approach in really practical way: problem solving, role activities, support of technologies for the theoretical part  I also promote quite much the collaborative learning: working in a group and as a group it´s a basic thing for a social worker and the best way for learning. I was also careful about the timing and give enough time for the discussion where it seemed to involve students 100 % but in the meanwhile had always ready extra activities in case that discussion wouldn´t start. 

I tried to cover all the learning styles: I used platform like Prezi and Popplet to support the visualist and the kinestetic learners. My tutor said that my strenghts are my social skills: how immediately I made the contact with the students and build their trust. My weakness? my English pronunciation.......I would like also improve the area of assessment and the observation of the group. I felt (even though I observed them for 30 hours) that I would need to observe other thing in order to get my core plan ready...well I guess I have to trust my memory. Lucky for me I eat fish twice a week ;) 

The difficult part for me was to evaluate their final test and give them a fair assessment: my tutor mentioned couple times that we were working in a University so the level of their English has to be proper for the studies curriculum. For the test please  look here: Test for Social Workers

The experience itself was great and exhausting and that´s why I wasn´t able to write anything until now. I need to breathe especially when at the evening I had long trips to go to work, a 3 years old to take care and housework to do it. A huge help came from my parents that spent 2 months in here without knowing English or Finnish, in the dark and cold December and January....to help me enjoying fully this experience. I would never thank them enough. 

Teaching Journal_ Domestic Violence part 2

http://www.hopeinspiredministries.org/

 Introduction: Efforts to combat domestic violence can sometimes be hinderedby myths about domestic violence. These myths develop inpartbecause it can be difficul to understand why one person would hurt another, particulary in the context on an intimate relationship. Understanding these myths and the realities of domestic violence it´s importan to learn how to address them and think a proper strategy to help the victims.
Learning outcomes:
- recognize signs of batterers and victims
- Learn about different myths related to domestic violence
- Build a proper strategy and give priorities inside the people involved (if there are also children)

Activity:
- Prezi presentation about Domestic Violence, recalling what they did yesterday with Popplet.
See the presentation in here: Domestic Violence presentation
- Power and Control Wheel and Equality wheel: during yesterday and the group activity of today (based on prezi).
Equality wheel and Power and Control Wheel
A video from youtube about domestic violence: video on Domestic Violence
Group work on task 1 and 2 (see prezi) and discuss in plenum.
At the end a short debate about priorities if also children are involve.

Teaching Journal_ domestic violence and Popplet

Learning outcomes:
- getting to know and categorized the different types of domestic violence.
-  to identify the various kind of abusive behaviours that perpetretor uses in order to gain power and control over the victim.
-to understand that a single act could be defined as abuse

Activities:
Popplet and plenum discussion
Popplets are visible in here: Domestic Violence and Power and Control Wheel

In here the discussion questions:

•What is the relationship between physical and sexual abuse and the other tactics identified in the Power and Control Wheel?

•What is the relationship between each of the tactics described in the Power and Control Wheel?

•Under what circumstances might a husband calling his wife a derogatory (=loukkava) name constitute domestic violence?

   

Teaching training journal_4_ About adoption

Discussion in plenum about: 

Learning goals:
review of family basic vocabulary (including family members vocabulary)
grammar: verb to be, to have and to do. Affirmative, interrogative and negative forms.
Face the reality with the word of adoption (foster families and foster children)

Activities:
For the strictly grammar part: activities in pair with vocabulary cards, plenum discussion about the purpose of those verbs.
For the adoption part: we watched a video (provided by the school) from BBC 1996 about adoption situation in UK.
- feelings after the video
- main message of the video
- difficult words

Teaching training journal_4_About family

Learning goals:
Students will:
- review the basic vocabulary about places preposition.
- learn how to say a timetable in English.
- practice on taking personal details from a client, fixing an appointment (date and time)
-know the basic vocabulary about family
- different kind of families (nuclear family, extended families, single parent family, rainbow family)
- work on strategy about the case "Kramer vs Kramer"

Activities:
The today activity were in pair followed by a presentation in prezi about families.
Here is the presentation:
http://prezi.com/bb-0u2lunnyc/family/?kw=view-bb-0u2lunnyc&rc=ref-21221845

activity 1:
- order and instructions in town a) and b)
- pair work: a phone call for a social worker.
- pair brainstorming about family vocabulary
- presentation in prezi and plenum discussion about definitions
- pair work: build a strategy on the case "Kramer vs Kramer"

Teaching training journal _ 3_ working on clients

21.1.2013

Learning outcomes: students will learn how to deal with a client in the phone and ask hin/her personal details. In add students will learn how to give instructions from place A to place B.
Students will work on the social inclusion/exclusion idea, human rights and promote emphaty with others who are different. Student will also: raise awareness about inequality of opportunity in society, foster an understanding to certain social minorities or cultural grops.

activities:
- pair exercise on spelling. Symbols used in a common conversation when asked personal details (dash, slash,dot etc etc).
- pair exercise: what is the basic vocabulary needed when we give instructions and orders? divide into categories: verbs, prepositions and places.
- individual activity: role card > try to undestand fully your client.
- activity "Take a step forward": facilitator reads out a list of situations or events. Everytime they can answer "yes to the statement, they should take a step forward. Other wise they should stay where they are and not move.
- discussion in plenum about  their positions. Ask questions such as:
when you notice that others were not moving as fast as they were?
did anyone feel that there were moments when their basic human rights were being ignored?
what first step could be taken to address the inequalities in society?

 Methods:
pair work, individual work, group work.

Teaching training journal: Working on communication

Picture from:http://www.keyidea.it/servizi-offerti-professionali-competenze/comunicazione-aziendale/ 

Lesson number 2:  16.01.13

 "I am a great believer that any tool that enhances communication has profound effects in terms of how people can learn from each other, and how they can achieve the kind of freedoms that they´re interested in."  

(Gates B., Digital Dividends Conference, Seattle, Oct. 18, 2000 This quotes is retrieved on : http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9101838/The_quotable_Bill_Gates_In_his_own_words

The importance of communication in Social Services fields is one of the topic of today´s lesson. 
Learning outcomes of the lessons: 
- students will be able to spell their names and practice the listening of spelling of foreigner names and ordinal numbers.
- students will learn how to ask personal details in polite way. 
- students will be able to understand what is effective interpersonal communication and what is not.
Activities:
- Energizer in pair. 5´
- group of 3: list the possible clients that would need Social Services. 
- in pair:choose one client and make a background. Ask your partner the basic personal information in order to fill a form
- exercise on spelling and numbers individually (dictation from me)
- Communication activity: in pair the students are sitting back to back. Student A describes to student B a picture as precise as possible. Student B draws as precise as possible.
At the end of the activity students compare the original picture with the drawing.
- Discussion in plenum based on these questions: 1) where the biggest mistakes occured? 2) how an interpersonal communication should work to be effective? 

Method: 
group work, pair work, individual work and discussion in plenum. 

Teaching training journal_1st lesson

PART ONE: ENGLISH ORIENTATION GROUP.
The group was suppose to be around 22 students. In the class only 15. They are studying a Bachelor of Social Service.  All girls from age 20 until 48. Different backgrounds and expectations. English level B1-B2.

I decide to give to the lesson an informal approach in order to create a relaxed learning enviroment. Making jokes and stimulate their creativity was part of it.
We worked on:
- getting to know each other with a creative working activity.
- expectation on language learning and on this course.
- pronunciations of some difficult phonems.
- basic vocavulary of their working enviroment.
- interpersonal comunication. 

The learning outcomes from the day were:
 -pronounce the words naturally and clearly > activities: brainstorming on area of working of Bachelor of Social Welfare studies in English. How do you write or pronounce the difficult words? what is the different between words like "to live" and "to leave"(for example). Differences from American accent and a British accent. Using of the web dictonary licenced by the school.
- reflection on difficult phonems >  We watched together to introduce the theme of pronunciation this video: How to buy an hamburger (Steve Martin). We together reflected about some difficult sounds. Group work: how to pronounce a toungue twister. The group working goal was to let the students feel relaxed and safe to speak English without stress.
- working on interpersonal comunication and thinking what is the best way to learn a language.

I will use also Fronter as learning platform: through that I will give homeworks and answer the questions from the students.

Activities in details for the learning outcomes:
- Ice breaking: individually and in plenum introduce yourself with name symbols for each letter.
- Take a side. 4 statements on language learning.  (move in the class helps to keep the enhancement in learning higher)
- Brain storming-group work: what are the areas where would you like to go to work and why?
- Stop and watch: look the video from you tube and concentrate to the pronunciation.
- Individual work (with me as facilitator): review of the phonetic alphabet and the difficult words.
- in plenum: listen to the different accents (American and British) > use of the internet dictonary.
- group work: exercise with a toungue twister and as a group read aloud to the class.

My plan was to get to know each other, work on pronunciation and understand what is thier level of English.
I think that I could develop the pronunciation exercises giving them practical example in real situation how to improve their pronunciation (maybe role game?)

PART TWO: OBSERVING THE SWEDISH GROUP.

What kind of clients for the future Bachelor of Social Service and Nursing

·         Which group did I observe? Swedish group of Bachelor of Social Service, Nursing and Diak

·         When and where did this happen? on 15.1.13 from11:30-14 in Diaconia University of Applied Science

·         What particular features was I observing? I was observing the first lesson. Introducing each other was done in pair and then in front of the class. Teacher went straigh to the point: how to ask in swedish basic informations such as: name, last names, and other personal information that students might need toask at the phone.

the ice breaking activity of the Swedish class

Which observational methods did I use? I sat in a corner and took some pictures everynow and then. I took some copy material provided by the tutor and I filled my observation checklist.
I focused on: timing, activities presented, introduction and wram up of the lesson, questioning from the teacher and the students. 

My core plan for the teaching training

Here is the link to my core plan.
The core plan is still working in progress since some sections needs still to be covered. Here you are the link, please be free to leave a comment there.
Sandra´s core plan for the teaching training

About the teaching training open seminar

The teaching seminar started in smoothly way: we answered yes or no to the following statements:

- Teaching is easy for me
- I often participate the lessons of another teacher and we develop our work together 

- I get a lot of feedback from my colleagues 

- I plan my lessons several hours 

- I want to control the time of use my teaching very exactly

These statements gave me also what kind of experiences my classmates had. I don´t have high expectation about my teaching training but as far as I know I should:
- write my core plan by the 7.1.13
- write the work contract
-write my everyday diary in here
- read the teacher guide

In add of that I should read the material that Ari (my tutor in Diak) gave me.

What I would like to do there:
- learn the general system of the school not only my class/student
- get feedback from my tutor in order to improve my work
- get new ideas of making a lesson
- establish a new work network with my tutor in order to continue future work together.
- establish also good relationship with the group and give them what they need...

This path is full of obstacles: first of all I have to teach English for those student that will work in welfare field, so I am going to face different English what I use everyday. So I have just to study and study and study.
An other worries is that my work timetable will be crazy: working also 2 Saturdays per month. You will see how I will manage all of this: voc 2, teaching training and basic of educational science.

Let´s listen some music....it will help not to think about it.
yet. I will survive - Gloria Gaynor