During the orientation, we were told to reflect and think of our identity as an educator, what our philosophy and values are. Throughout Module A, we were able to look into different educational psychology and learning theories, and educational philosophy. In my previous teacher education training, we had one-semester-long courses respectively on those areas. The courses focused more on understanding the theories; however, in the current program, we were able to study those theories on our own, and also apply the knowledge to the reality. I do not know if it was because the program was designed very much around the core of application or I have grown older and changed my learning method. Maybe it was a combination of both. I particularly enjoy and benefit most from the process of trying to position myself in all the seemingly distant theories. Theories are not rigid texts anymore; they have a meaning in my learning and teaching. This was definitely something I have never experienced before. We were constantly reminded to reflect our teacher identity, and in what ways what we have learned could be applied. Perhaps this is how Finland trains their teachers in teacher education programs defers from other countries, which leads to higher teacher autonomy and stronger teacher agency. Teachers have a voice and their beliefs are not something they made up, but are theory-based and supported. This is why teachers are professional.
Although I resonate mostly with humanistic approach, by looking into how different learning theories might benefit different learners or areas, I learned that they all have certain functions. I also relate most with John Dewy's progressivism and pragmatist philosophy. In this every-changing world, education could empower people to live a better life. Learning by doing and by demonstrating how the learning content is used in the reality helps engage the learners and make learning meaningful to them. In foreign language teaching, connecting the language to real life purposes is not as difficult as some other disciplines. In addition to learning the basics of the language, we would provide more real-life application of the language to the students depending on their interest. For example, meeting speakers of the target language or using authentic materials are different methods. I have always known the importance of making the learning content meaningful for the students. Connecting the methods to the purpose of education, and realizing what it means to teach and learn helps me justify my teaching methods and beliefs.
It has been very nice to learn from one another as everyone comes from such different backgrounds. I especially enjoyed being inspired and motivated by reading others' blog posts and the discussions in class.
Below are my drawings/mindmappings of reflections and summary on Orientation, and the three themes in Module A of TAOK program.
P.S. As I was drawing, I revisited the program curriculum as a checklist of what I have learned. However, sometimes I could not pinpoint my learning. Later in class, I remember Mark saying he had to interpret the given curriculum to design his lessons. I found it amusing that the journey from the curriculum planners to the learners is actually such a long way.
