[Dept Meeting (2 Nov 2020)] Reflections

What have I done well this year in Teaching and Learning?

Despite the challenges presented by COVID-19, I was able to help students bridge their learning gaps (I feel). One good thing that came out of FHBL is that I was forced to move many things online.

1. I became better in marking work submitted in soft copy (via Whatsapp or online modes).

• It also prompted me to be more active in scanning students' work for learning artefacts' showcase.
• Instead of waiting for me to articulate their learning, they could easily access the class drive for samples of their peers' work.
• In order to bridge learning gaps, I make use of varied levels of work to clarify with them what teachers look out for in order for them to reach the higher levels, for example.

2. Besides more varied assessments to check for learning, the learning checklists allowed individuals to easily tick off and check their understanding in a more tangible manner.

3. The use of conceptual teaching and continued sharing of news articles to highlight the relevance of topics and geographical content learnt enabled metacognition in students.

• I have more students responding to my initial post of a piece of news, e.g. Excess eggs imported spoiled and became food wastage, the implications of COVID-19 on tourism in Singapore, etc.
• Based on their responses, I see them using geographical concepts of space and time to articulate the possible impacts, and to outline how the effects may vary due to other social and environmental factors.
• These newfound 'enlightenment' enabled them to give more mature and balanced views in subsequent discussions, and also encourage the fast progressive learners to extend their thinking for a more in-depth understanding and/or discussion.

Activity 1 - What I hope to take away from today's meeting?

I hope to be able to continue the synergy and momentum within the department, as we continue to learn from one another through the integration of good practices.

There will be a heightened need for differentiated instruction with the implementation of PDLP. Teachers must be ready to cater to learners learning at different pace, and our lesson designs must be able to allow room for such varied pace.

Having said that, bridging the learning to assessment outcomes must continue to be present, in order to continue fairness, validity and reliability in testing.

I hope that slow progressive learners will continue to feel enough small successes in order to enable them to learn. 

Activity 4 - How would this impact my future designs? 

The short exercise reminded me of the importance of teachers' clarity on the learning outcomes, as well as the understanding of class/student profiles.

Where possible, scaffolds and guiding questions ought to be included as a support for weaker learners who may need more specific/clearer directions.