Introversion is not Shyness

Susan Cain describes shyness as “the fear of social disapproval or humiliation, while introversion is a preference for environments that are not overstimulating. Shyness is inherently painful; introversion is not “(as cited in Baldasaro, 2012).

(Image from http://watfordhypno.co.uk/wp/shyness/)

Introverts also are not anti-social because they also interact with others but lesser in frequency than extroverts. The collaboration is more on quality than quantity.

Reference

Baldasaro, T. (2012, September 10). Embracing Introversion: Ways to Stimulate Reserved Students in the Classroom.  [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/introverted-students-in-classroom-tony-baldasaro

My Learning Style - How to Learn to Know

Aside from metacognition and self-regulation, another aspect of learning and teaching is the ability to recognize one’s strategy or strategies to approach the sets of information that are  continuously pouring in. Different people at different level of maturation employ different set of approaches to learn something in different situations for different reasons. Philosophers, psychologists and other scientists and researchers labeled these preferences as learning styles.



Learning styles have been described, researched, analyzed and interpreted by many but no specific definition has been agreed upon among them. Different personalities in different disciplines and from among themselves employ different definition. One such meaning that encompasses almost all of the different aspects of how we prefer to learn is the definition of James W. Keefe, an educational writer and consultant (Eye on Education, 2013). Keefe described these learners’ preferences or learning styles as the “composite of characteristics cognitive, affective, and physiological factors that serve as relatively stable indicators of how a learner perceives, interacts with, and responds to the learning environment,” (as cited in Clark, 2012).

Many of us, like me, do not know our learning styles. We were doing them when we were still young and while we were still adolescents. We keep doing them until now and yet we do not know what to call them. To know my learning style, I did the free online assessment of Neil Fleming’s VARK Learning Styles. Fleming described my learning styles as Read and Write, the R in the VARK which stands for Visual, Auditory or Aural, Read & Write and Kinesthetic or Tactile (as cited in Cherry, n.d.).

As a Read & Write learner, Kendra Cherry suggested that most of my information or knowledge come from dictionaries, definitions, handouts, textbooks, readings, notes, manuals and other printed materials.  She further suggested that to “study without tears or SWOT“, I have to convert my “‘notes’ into a learnable package by reducing them.” To do that, the following suggestions have been presented:

• Repeatedly write out new words that I encountered


• Read my notes several times


• Rephrase ideas and principles as much as possible


• Convert diagrams, charts and visual models into statements


• Compare and contrast ideas and concepts

Aside from advising a Read & Write learner how to study, the author provided some tips on how to achieve good result in an examination.  One advice is to practice with multiple choice questions; write complete paragraphs; outline my list of facts or ideas; and write exam papers.

Based on Fleming’s VARK assessment, I could say that I am really a Read & Write learner. I highlighted new words that I encountered in my readings and immediately consulted an online dictionary. Many students do not do what I did saying that it was a waste of time and it interrupted their immersion. What is the point of continue reading when you do not understand a particular new word that might be significant in the entire paragraph or topic?

As a Read and Write learner, I found it challenging as a distance education student. Because I learnt from reading and writing, I need to write what I read. This is very problematic since I do have very limited time reading for my 2 subjects this trimester. It is often than not, since I need to write what I read, I felt I was lagging behind. I sensed that I could not comprehend what I read without writing them. Highlighting texts while reading did not do well either. It only pointed out what I need to transfer on my notes.



Besides writing what I read, the second challenge is citing the source or authors of my readings. While reflecting to write what I have learnt, I always caught on whether what I was writing was my own idea or somebody else. This is true whenever I jot down notes after reading so many articles by so many authors explaining the same concept with different terminologies. In essence, I find it difficult to draw a line between my own knowledge and that of others. For example, if I have to define learning as I understood it based on the ideas of many authors who proposed this new concept, is my definition mine or from them, recognizing that I did not know such idea in the first place? This dilemma is very prominent especially when you cannot recall the persons and yet you know the idea.

I have written my concern on our discussion forum and I would like to add my classmates’ suggestions  here before I finally write mine. As of this writing -May 24, 2013 -nobody give any advice yet. I wish to provide mine in a couple of days.

Images from

1) http://customessaywriting.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/readWrite-cartoon.jpg

2) https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKJDG3VucNVRZILbUZaY32DrUSTj5bjmWbCd5ctijXKxIassdtqrAHUKgUDlt7bQXWvzgABf3PEnDs9nJZJu3f97UoGH6Q0okZwgf-gKvNVkLt-WrK6GIVM-QAPJEIkcnECxZrqyaksVxS/s1600/cartoon_picture_of_girl_writing.jpg

3) http://sportsarock.hu/2012/04/02/hetvegeim-kronikaja-7-megint-vegyesfelvagott/confused-cartoon-face/

References

Cherry, K. (n.d.). VARK Learning Styles.  Retrieved from        http://psychology.about.com/od/educationalpsychology/a/vark-learning-styles.htm

Clark,D. R. (2012). Learning Styles & Preferences. Retrieved on May 12, 2013 from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/styles.html

Eye on Education (2013). James W . Keefe. Retrieve on May 24,2013 from http://www.eyeoneducation.com/Authors/James-Keefe

How Kindergarten Students Learn and How I Teach Them - 1/3

Part 1

Before migrating to Australia in 2005, I was requested by the school principal in our barangay’s elementary school in San Antonio, Quezon, to temporarily teach students in the kindergarten class., I was hesitant at first because I have no prior experience formally teaching youngsters, especially in that age group – 5 to 7 years old - although I used to tutor some of my wife’s nephews, nieces and neighbors. I love children and I want to share my knowledge (in contradiction to Huitt’s view on teaching) the prospect of teaching them scared me primarily because they are always referred to as “little devils”. Nonetheless, I accepted the challenge after the principal assured me that it was only temporary and from persuasion from my relatives and neighbors whose children were entering kindergarten. Bear in mind that I did not study psychology in college nor had education units.



On the first day, after the usual flag ceremony, my 32 kindergarten students, some of whom were accompanied by their mother, quietly entered the room. I could see the surprise on some of these youngsters’ faces when they found out who was in front of the class. After the greeting and while they were sitting on their chairs, I introduced myself. I told them my full name, my nickname and my parents’ name. Afterwards, I told them to introduce themselves. Without telling them what to say about themselves, 84.4% of them stated their name, nickname and parents’ name, just exactly what I said a while ago. Three just voiced out their names and nicknames and were ashamed to tell the names of their parents. Two did not stand at all - one was teary-eyed constantly looking outside for her mother and the other just quietly sitting still.

After the introduction, I told these “kinders” (I do not know if this word is already entered in the English dictionary as we always heard this line in our vernacular: “Napasok na si  Totoy, kinder na siya!) to stand up which they quietly obliged. My aim was to arrange their sitting arrangement. Instead of the usual grouping of boy and boy, girl and girl, according to height or grades in some grade level as instructed by teacher, I told them to personally choose their seatmate. I saw a glow in their faces when I said that. Immediately, they chose their own “partners”.  I paired those few pupils who could not choose their seatmates according to their sexes. After that, I arrange them according to height and told them to sit. I did this task so that my students shall be comfortable with their study and eliminated some barriers.

Just after the sitting arrangement, I told them to get their pad paper and pencil and write their names. I told them to write their names repeatedly until they reached the last line of the paper. Sitting on my chair in front of them, I unconsciously observed them. I noticed a student who was restless and kept on standing. Most were busy and quietly writing. The one who kept on looking outside for her mother did nothing. Few were talking to their seatmates while writing. After 10 minutes, I collected the papers for evaluation. I noticed that some had good penmanship I found out later that they had entered nursery class or attended daycare center before. This observation suggests that these pupils learned because they were exhibiting a relatively permanent change in behavior or skill as a consequence of previous experience or practice as  suggested by William G. Huitt (2011). Few were struggling to write their full name; especially those who had three to four given names (Blame it to their parents!). Two or three needed some improvement: the names were written too big or too small and/or not properly spaced. Watching these papers suggested that I might have daily headache ahead of me.

Just before dismissal, I returned the papers to my students with remarks as “Very Good” or “Good”. To those who did not write well, I gave them a nicely written penmanship of their names and told them to copy them on 2 sheets of paper. For the one who did not do anything, I approached her mother and asked them both what seemed to be the problem. It turned out that this was the first time that the daughter was with other children and she was a bit scared. I told the mother to continually accompany her child until such time that she overcame her fear and had harmonious relationship with other kids.

Image from http://www.brightschool.com/www/docs/100

How Kindergarten Students Learn and How I Teach Them - 3/3

Part 3

 Because of limited time as I was bound to Australia, I was not able to teach these children the whole alphabet or to count more than 10. I did not teach them how to add or how to read. For one and half month, my method was more on conceptualization or learning the why and the how rather than the what. In understanding the concept of number, aside from telling them to write the number “1” for example, on the blackboard or on their pad paper, I also told them the concept of that number. I relayed the story when numbers are not yet invented. Shepherds, in order to count their flocks of sheep, had to use sticks or stones. One stick or stone corresponded to one sheep. The numbers or symbols were invented when there were so many sheep and there were less sticks or stones in the vicinity. To retain what they have learned about numbers, I told my students to close their eyes and write in the air whatever number I told them. In this way, they not only imagined it but they learned it. They knew that the number “1” represents a single sheep or object and not merely a symbol.



The method I used in knowing numbers was also the method I used for recognizing the letters of the alphabet. Aside from pronouncing the letter “A” for example repeatedly until they recognized the sound for the symbol, I told them to imagine and write it in the air. For reinforcement, I told my pupils to bring cut-outs of the letter “A”, capital or small letter, to class and show them to class. In this way, my kindergarten students learned that the letter “A” has many forms and shapes but mean the same thing. In essence, they were also “reading” it.

My last day in class was culminated with the showing of the film, “Finding Nemo”. I found this appropriate because they enjoyed watching cartoons on the television. Besides, I wanted them to show a glimpse of where I was heading.

As expected, all my students were attentive and focused watching the film. It was made more so when I told them I will give a gift to whoever answered my questions correctly after the showing. I observed that all the students were so quiet, interested and involved in what they were watching. They were totally immersed and absorbed. I noticed then that my students are experiencing what Dr. Russ Dewey referred to as the movie theater experience. He suggested that this occurs when an individual is in a trance-like state where he is imagining that he is the one doing the act or in the act (Dewey, 2011).

After the movie I asked my students some questions. They were able to answer such questions as: what kind of fish is Nemo; the name of his friend, who captured them, who caught Nemo, who told Dory the way to Australia, etc. However when I asked them what lesson they learned from the movie, numerous answers were presented depending on their views and experience and what the question actually mean. Some of the answers were: 1) Obey your parents 2) Clown fish are funny 3) It was good to have friends 4) We must go to school.  These answers proved that students learn differently even they were exposed to the same experience.

On March 2012, most of these kindergarten kids graduated from elementary. I might not be instrumental in their learning but the experience teaching them even for a while taught me to learn from them. Below is their graduation photo.



Images from

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Letters_and_Numbers_by_Taric_Alani.png and http://taric25.livejournal.com/

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=329532853775340&set=pb.115887388473222.-2207520000.1368970779.&type=3&theater

 References

Dewey, R.A. (2011). Psychology: An Inrtoduction. Retrieved from http://www.intropsych.com/ch00_chapter_zero/movie_theater_experience.html

Huitt, W. (2011). Why study educational psychology? Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved [date], from http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/intro/whyedpsy.html

McLeod, S. A. (2007). B.F. Skinner | Operant Conditioning - Simply Psychology. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html

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How Kindergarten Students Learn and How I Teach Them - 2/3

Part 2

 On the following day, I asked the toddlers why they were in school. The answers were varied, ranging from “ to learn and make friends” to “that’s what children should do”. Afterwards, I asked them what they want to learn. The answers were also varied. Most of them wanted “to learn to read and write”. Some wished to learn to draw and color. Others needed to “know everything” without elaborating. The common factor was everybody wanted to learn with enthusiasm.

I continued my dialogue with my pupils with these questions  “why do you want to learn?” Some answered, “to have a job” or “to have money”. Few suggested to teach their younger siblings. Others remarked that their parents told them that their future will be good after studying.

The next question I threw at my students was “how they want me to teach them?” Some suggested telling story and writing on the board. Few hinted watching videos showing pictures or drawings.  Others suggested playing or doing things.



Knowing what these “little devils” wanted and wished for, I devised my means of educating them considering their differences in perceptions, goals of learning and level of maturity. Because I could control their maturation or  biological growth and development (Huitt, 2011), the best way to do was giving them guidance on their learning. Since this was first, I consulted a “co-teacher” for different approaches and modes of teaching. I borrowed her lesson plan from previous year. By the way, that lesson plan was intended for Grade 1 pupils. The last kindergarten teacher did not have lesson plan last year since kindergarten class was viewed as experimental and was not compulsory for admission to Grade 1.

The next day, I began my experiment. Since attention-getting was very hard for little kids, I told them at the beginning of the class that I will question them one by one before the closing of the class. Those who did not answer it correctly shall stay until he produced the correct answer.

In spite of this predetermined goal and anticipation, half of the class did not answer my simple question on the first day. However on the succeeding days, very few answered my question incorrectly. After a week, everybody got the correct answer especially when I added additional rewards like giving ten pieces of pad paper or 2 pieces of colored paper. By using this method of reward and punishment, my students became attentive in my class. They listened to my little lectures seriously because they did not know what will be my questions to them and from what subjects. Saul McLeod (2007) cited Burrhus Frederic Skinner that this introduction of reward as a consequence of good behavior is referred to as operant conditioning.



On teaching them different shapes and colors, I devised many ways for them to understand these concepts as simple as can be. Aside from drawing the basic shapes on the board, I asked them to pinpoint different shapes inside the classroom. I told them to close their eyes and imagine the shapes of what I was telling them, like the shape of an egg, a clock, a door, a toblerone or a coin. In one occasion, I told them to bring popsicle sticks and make the shapes that I was telling them. In this way, they knew how shapes were formed and why they were called square, triangle or rectangle.

In teaching colors, aside from showing a pre-made illustration board with different shapes and colors, I told them to name an object and tell its color. Green and yellow were associated with mangoes and papayas. The sky was blue and yellow was the sun. There were red and black ants. The flower was pink with green leaves. I did not stop from this show and tell things of different colors.

The next day, I told them to bring their crayolas and one piece of bond paper. Before the lesson proper, I told them about primary colors and secondary colors. Their wide eyes showed me that an alien thing was unfamiliar to them. I told them that primary colors are colors that cannot be produced by mixing two different colors. To illustrate, I asked them to bring out their red, yellow and blue crayolas and white paper. I asked one group to mix red and yellow and tell me what color was produced. Another group was asked to combine red and blue and the other to combine yellow and blue. After this experiment, my class learned that orange was produced by mixing red and yellow; violet was red and blue; and green was the combination of yellow and blue. To sum up, I told them that primary colors were basic colors and could not be obtained by combining any other colors. On the other hand, secondary colors were produced when 2 primary colors were mixed. My students learned by not only observing or perceiving but by experimenting.

At the end of the month, my lesson focused on the immediate environment of the students – that is, things that they saw inside the house and school. What do you see in a library? What are the things found inside the bedroom? To make them gain remarkable first hand experience, I asked the permission of the principal to allow me to bring these 32 kids to the house just across the streets after I got the nod of the owner two days ago. I got the permit and one by way, in a single line, we visited the house. The owner already expected us and accompanied the kids to the different parts of the house. After the visit, I asked my students what were the things they saw in the different parts of the house. Every body knew what they saw and where they were found. To reinforce their learning, I asked them to bring the next day, cut out pictures of the things they saw in the house, show them to and tell the class in what part of the house they were found.

By the way, I was teaching these toddlers using the vernacular, Filipino and English. In other words, instead of teaching them in only one medium of instruction, I combined them. One child showed a picture of bed pan. He told me that it was a basin (not the English pronunciation) in the local dialect. I told the class it was called arinola in Filipino and bed pan in English. An ant is langgam in Filipino and guyam in the local language. I used this method for them to know that different words may refer to the same thing.



Images from

http://www.123rf.com/photo_8230105_illustration-featuring-a-small-group-of-kids-crossing-the-street-on-their-way-to-school.html

http://sweetclipart.com/colorful-geometric-shapes-733

My First Time Out

I had my first time out from my online study last May 17, 2013. My co-workers invited me to have an outing in a nearby beach in Jubail, Saudi Arabia.



Unlike in the Philippines, most of the beaches in the Kingdom are free. Even with little time for studying, I made a way of enjoying myself with my friends.



I thought before that setting priorities during online education  means giving up some friendship. (That's why my answer was wrong in the exam). I realized now that this notion was incorrect.



The amount of socialization with friends diminishes but not the quality of friendship. Since they are friends, they understand that.



So, even for two hours, i was able to show to my friends that I was still there as they were for me!

Educational Tablets Versus Textbooks

I was fascinated by the result of the observation of my classmate, Jessica Mae Ylagan, regarding the behavior of Thai grade school students. She observed that those who used educational tablets in their study performed well on outdoor activities while those who used textbooks excelled on academics (Ylagan, 2013).



This is interesting because the Department of Education of the Philippines is currently experimenting on the use of the tablets on some elementary pupils because of lack of textbooks. I do hope that they will not get shocked when the pupils using them are outside of the classroom playing or doing some sports.

The observation of Jessica is noteworthy because it somewhat opens my eyes on one of he real advantages of technology in the learning process of children. However, empirical data and additional research should be performed to validate such a claim.

Source:

Ylagan, J.M. (2013).  On Learning & Maturation. A Discussion Forum. Retrieved on May 16,2013 from http://myportal.upou.edu.ph/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=44705

Image from http://www.teleread.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/image66.png

My First Quiz

I did my first attempt of our first quiz on May 14, 2012. It was a true or false, 10-item short quiz. If you think it was easy, you were wrong. The chance of getting it correct is the same as getting it wrong. My result was not perfect but it was good.

I did the second attempt today. This time, it was a variation of the previous test but still focused on Learning, Self-Regulation, Maturation, Time Management and other aspects on how to learn and study  effectively. My score this time was one point lower than the first but it was okay. My aim is not only to improve my grade but also to find out if I learned what I should learn. My learning style is not yet perfect but it is not bad either. My score? It's between 1 to 10.
Good luck for me in the next bout!
Image downloaded from http://adityaece1.blogspot.com/2011/10/4-1-ece-mid-ii-online-examination.html

Beliefs That Make Me Stupid?

After watching the video series of Professor Richard Chew of  Samford University on Youtube, somewhat I feel guilty of some of his assertions that make a student like me "stupid". These are:

1) Learning is fast - many students think that by skimming the whole chapter at one sitting will give him an edge over his classmates because of the numerous information he gathered. The truth is, he just browsed over the whole material and retained nothing.  Learning takes time. More effort should be devoted to learning to get its potential. You have to read the text at least 3 times to grasp its  main points and relate them to similar concepts and previous personal experiences. Focus or concentration is one of the key factors for better comprehension.

2) Knowledge is composed of isolated facts - Jotting down key definition of key terms and memorizing them  is  a no-no according to Mr. Chew because this kind of learning is superficial.  I am surprised to note that what I did during elementary and high school were all wrong. Memorizing the multiplication table was a waste of time. I disagree with Mr. Chew because until now I can still multiply without the aid of a calculator because of that memorization drill. It's still in my head and it comes out automatically and spontaneously when I need it.

3) Being good at a subject is a matter of inborn talent - Genes do not play an important factor in our knowledge, this is what Mr. Chew is saying. Every student can learn no matter what. It is effort that counts. If we believe that knowledge cannot be acquired, learning stops. Student who is poor in some subject will not exert any more effort to study  if knew that it is futile. Likewise, a student who believes that he is a born genius shall not devote any time to studying. I am just wondering, if all students can acquire the same knowledge of those with inborn talents and utilize all the best metacognitive and self-regulated strategies, why is it that their level of intelligence is still not the same?

4) I'm really good at multi-tasking - Well, I was guilty of this while watching Mr. Chew's videos. The downloading of the video was so slow that I exercised, opened my Facebook account and played internet games while waiting. Although, multi-tasking gave unnecessary distractions during learning,  it cannot be avoided if you are a distant learner. While reading my notes, the washing machine is swirling, the rice cooker is on and the chicken is roasting in the oven.

My First Shout Out

WOW!

That was my first shout out when I opened my courses at UP Open University's website.

I was enrolled on two subjects - EDUC101: Philippine Educational System and EDS103: Theories of Learning.

I gasped when I browsed over the requirements of these courses, the study schedule and the modules.

I thought enrolling in Distance Education saves time. Looking at those readings, assignments and writings made me wonder where I could get those extra time.

I really need an effective time management schedule to read all those books, articles and journals, and to watch videos to successfully finish the course.

Whew! Can I do all these things while working from 7AM to 6PM, six days a week?

What a challenge!

I am already on it and I have to give it a go.

Good luck, Pons!

Am I Plagiarizing?

After reading all the article about plagiarism on the website of Harvard University, my mind became in limbo. My mind just got stuck and wondered if  I were guilty of plagiarism for all those years.

(Image from https://www.paperrater.com/page/plagiarism-detection)

I became to realize that all those words and ideas that I wrote and expressed might not be my own. All the thoughts, reflections, insights and realizations might belong to someone else. Worst, my knowledge that I acquired could be taken away by those who put them on my mind!

And this thought came to my mine - if plagiarism if copying verbatim someone else ideas or a portion of it in writing without citing the author or source, what do you call it when you express them verbally? If such is also illegal, do we have to cite the author or the source whenever we speak? If such is the case, all what we say will be full of citations.

Can we say that what we learn is our own? If not, how and when we know that all these ideas are common knowledge that need not be cited? If a mother advised his  son to do something nice and the son obliged, should the mother cite where she got that idea? If the son said that to his future son, should he cite his mother or the source of his mother where the original idea came from?

If we copied an idea or expression from an author who copied it also from an author who copied it from the original author, shall we cited the author whom we copied the idea or the original author whom we never read his original writing?

Since new ideas are rare, we are bound to be guilty of plagiarism. What we write and say might be someone's else idea? What if you write aimlessly without referring to any form of media (like what I am doing right now), am i plagiarizing if those ideas were already written by somebody else?

What and how we know that an idea is common knowledge or not? Who decides that an idea or expression is an original one and must be cited? Is there a maximum period that a work, idea or belief be considered of public domain and should not be cited?

Well, those are some thoughts that I need to address before writing. By the way, what I 'm writing  right now might  belong to somebody else.  Oh, am i plagiarizing?

My First Step

My journey to becoming a teacher started when I made the first step of enrolling at the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) for a Professional Teaching Certification (PTC) program. The PTC encompasses the required 18 units of Professional Teaching studies required by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).