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Archive for October 2023

  • It's almost coming to the mid-semester! How time flies! During the lecture in week 4, I learned a lot of new and intriguing knowledge as well as theories. 

    Experiences and feelings in week 4 


    In the beginning, Dr. Lina asked us some questions and then revealed three crucial components of digitally competent educators (1. professional competent educators, 2. pedagogic competence, 3. empower learners). Then, she introduced the European framework for the digital competence of educators (DigCompEdu) in detail and specifically explained how educators utilize this framework to evaluate themselves as well as assist them. I felt overwhelmingly curious because I had never known this before and I used to think digitally competent educators should be educators who can make use of PPT, computers, and others. Afterward, she continued to explain the sub-contents (eg. 1. Professional engagement 2. Digital resources 3. Teaching and learning 4. Assessment 5. Empower learners 6. Facilitating learners' digital competence)of each component at great length. I was deeply attracted to and acquired new perspectives towards it. Following that, Dr. Lina asked one question about which sub-content we thought was the most important, and our group had a hot discussion on this.  We thought the assessment was the most important while the answer was empowering learners. I felt shocked and confused because the answer was totally different from our thoughts. Nevertheless, I realized and understood its importance, after the explanation of Dr. Lina. She also introduced the application called DaVinci, an editing tool to enhance our editing skills as well as digital competence. At that time, I was completely excited and expected the coming tutorial because I used to wanna be a game YouTuber who requires editing skills as well (This idea could go back to my middle school period). 😂😂 At the end of the lecture, Dr. Lina assigned one person to be the technology leader from each group. Thanks to Nicholas, he always sacrificed a lot for our group. 😇

    During the tutorial, we were taught how to use DaVinci step-by-step. I was interested in editing videos and expected to learn more. I started to create my own video with the assistance of Dr. Lina, and finally, I made it. Besides, this reminded me of the experience of the foundation year. Due to the pandemic, I had to make the presentation video. At that time, my spoken English was so poor that I could not continue to speak for the whole presentation. To get a higher score, I had to edit the videos by incorporating two videos into one video, and in that process learned a lot of editing skills. Personally speaking, I really enjoyed such courses because I could learn a lot and apply them in the future, or even write them in my personal CV. 😀

    Digital Literacy 

    During both sessions, I found that our courses were designed based on digital literacy education (DLE) by incorporating digital literacy in the educational framework which aims to equip us with the ability of digital competence and fits the teaching objectives of this module as well (This can be seen through DigcompEdu framework, DaVinci teaching, blogs and so on). According to Jones-Kavalier & Flannigan (2008), digital literacy refers to the knowledge and skills of an individual in utilizing information and communication technologies (ICTs) as well as the capacity to proficiently and effectively undertake diverse complex tasks within digital environments. Digital literacy is an essential skill in today's increasingly technology-driven world and it is deemed inseparable from the educational as well as social requirements of the community where we live (Brata et al., 2022). Besides, it encourages students' development in all aspects. Several research studies have demonstrated the benefits of digital literacy including positive learning outcomes (Brata et al., 2022), writing, reading, listening, speaking, and enhancing the frequency of digital technology utilization (Mudra, 2020) and information retrieval as well as critical thinking (Hargittai & Shafer, 2006). Hence, it is imperative to incorporate it when designing curriculums in the future because of its importance and positive influence. 
    (Source retrieved from: Western Sydney University) 

    DaVinci teaching and learning with DigcompEdu framework


    During the DaVinci teaching session, Dr. Lina's personal scaffolding reminded me of the empowering learners part of DigcompEdu, which is also the most important part of the six components. There are three components of "empowering learners" and I will explain them step-by-step (accessibility and inclusion, differentiation and personalization, and actively engaging learners).  

    Accessibility and inclusion

    To ensure accessibility for all learners, Dr. Lina provided us the procedures for how to download and utilize the DaVinci in detail, at the beginning of the class. Besides, Dr. Lina also demonstrated from downloading to editing videos. In the process, accessibility and inclusion are achieved, it also reminded me of the picture Dr. Lina explained in the lecture. Despite there being all kinds of differences between people, all of us (even the students with special needs) were provided with appropriate support (eg. live demonstration, written procedures) and accommodations (eg. to prevent some students from being lost in the classroom, Dr. Lina wrote the specific procedures in word document so that everyone could catch up) to have access to the DaVinci application. According to Lindsay's (2011) research, several effectiveness of inclusion were demonstrated including improved academic achievements, social and emotional development, and even long-term success. Therefore, when we teach in the future, it is important to make sure every student have access with the accommodations (tip: this is the concept of special educational needs, do not mix it up with differentiated instructions.💭 according to McGlynn & Kelly (2019), it refers to modifications made to the curriculum, instruction, or testing format/procedures without fundamental alterations of requirements) and help of us to accomplish inclusion education. 

    Differentiation and personalization (personalized scaffolding)

    In the DaVinci learning session, it also was achieved through the design activities and personalized scaffolding. The differentiation refers to implementing a variety of digital learning activities (eg. DaVinci learning, Mentimeter......), and personalization (eg. editing our own videos, personalized scaffolding for us), from my perspective, refers to utilizing personalized scaffolding to address students' diverse learning needs. During the DaVinci learning session, I also me a few problems when editing my own video. However, I successfully finished editing my own video with the help of Dr. Lina (maybe it is more appropriate to say personalized scaffolding.💭) In the research of Ley et al. (2010), the experimental group that received personalized scaffolding significantly outperformed the control group, and self-directed learning was enhanced simultaneously (I guess the metacognition development is enhanced as well because in the self-directed learning, many components can relate to metacognition development such as monitor, self-regulation, life-long leanring💭💭). It is imperative to utilize personalized scaffolding to help students' overall development. Additionally, when we design the curriculum in the future, we are supposed to design various digital learning activities to provide opportunities for students' growth, while at the same time, providing accurate personalized scaffolding to enhance their digital competence. 

    Actively engaging learners ( Guided project-based learning)

    During the DaVinci learning, Dr. Lina utilized guided project-based learning (eg. requiring us to create one video as the project without constraints on the content ) to foster students' active and creative engagement. Additionally, there are no limitations on the content of our video, which allows students to actively engage with editing the videos because students can edit videos according to their interest, and in the process, the point of actively engaging learners was successfully achieved through activate students' interest as well as curiosity. (I am also interested in such lessons😊) What's more, the PBL used in DaVinci learning sessions helps students to actively participate in complex or real-world projects to develop and apply the knowledge they learned, which further enhances their deeper comprehension and information retention. According to Thomas (2000), the effectiveness of PBL was demonstrated through his experiments such as increased engagement, deeper comprehension, and retention of knowledge. 
    As a consequence, when we teach in the future, it is also imperative to design projects based on real-world examples and try to incorporate the DigcompEdu framework into them to equip students with digital competence as well. 

    Conclusion

    To sum up, I gained a lot of valuable skills and knowledge from these two sessions. I will try to incorporate digital literacy when designing the curriculum and the utilization of technology (eg. teaching editing skills like Dr. Lina, educational apps, interactive whiteboards, and blogs💭...) when teaching to arouse students' interest to search and learn more. To equip students with the competence to be digitally competent learners, I will also teach them approaches to evaluate information and adapt to rapidly developing technologies. In addition, I will provide more opportunities for students to explore technologies and combine education and technology to better enhance their learning and overall development. 

    Personal thought
    To be honest, I want to incorporate my reflection into the video and present it like videos on TikTok like conveying the main points of the reflections through a short video. As we all know, the circumstance of watching short videos is prevalent around the world, and we could utilize it to convey our ideas, thoughts, knowledge, and others through short videos. Will it be better compared with long paragraphs right? I have been too busy recently to edit such a full video. Sorry. If I have enough time, I will try. hhhh😇

    Thank you for seeing until here!😉
    Your reply would be the best reward for me! 
    May every day be a good day! 

    Reference List:
    Brata, W., Padang, R., Suriani, C., Prasetya, E., & Pratuwu, N. (2022). Student's digital literacy based on students' interest in digital technology, internet costs, gender, and learning outcomes. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning. 17(3),138-151. 
    Hargittai, E., & Shafer, S. (2006). Differences in actual and perceived online skills: The role of gender. Social Science Quarterly, 87(2), 432-448. 
    Jones-Kavalier, B. R., & Flannigan, S. L. (2008). Connecting the digital dots: Literacy of the 21st century. Educause Quarterly, 31(2), 8-10.
    Lindsay, G. (2011). Educational psychology and the effectiveness of inclusive education/mainstreaming. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 77(1), 1-24. 
    Ley, T., Kump, B., & Gerdenitsch, C. (2010). Scaffolding Self-directed Learning with Personalized Learning Goal Recommendations. International Conference on User Modeling, Adaptation, and Personalization. 6075, 75-86.
    Mudra, H. (2020). DIGITAL LITERACY AMONG YOUNG LEARNERS: HOW DO EFL TEACHERS AND LEARNERS VIEW ITS BENEFITS AND BARRIER? Teaching English with Technology,20(3), 3-24. 
    McGlynn, K., & Kelly, J. (2019). Adaptations, modifications, and accommodations. Science Scope, 43(3), 36-41. 
    Thomas, J. W. (2000). A Review of Research on Project-Based Learning. The Autodesk Foundation. 


    Week4 Reflection

  •   Warmly welcome to my week 3 reflection. Numerous intriguing and informative things happened this week. During the lecture, Dr. Lina first did a recap session on the dialogic pattern that we learned last week and then we were nominated to share our thoughts according to different groups that Dr. Lina assigned. I heard and learned a lot from this sharing session and I also was called to share my thoughts. When I stood in front of our classmates, I was thinking about what I was supposed to say because I am too shy to share and for that reason, I made full preparation on the topic. But when I was called to share, my topic was changed to the comments. At that time, my brain had been blank and I was speechless. Why when it was my turn, the topic was changed. Never mind, I comforted myself in my heart and started to share my ideas. Hopefully, everything went well and I also successfully shared my thoughts. 



    After that, Dr. Lina explained evidence-based teaching strategies, especially for the top six teaching strategies including cooperative learning, interactive teaching, graphic organizer, reciprocal teaching, assessment for learning, and manipulative (the order is based on the ranking). I felt excited and interested because I could acquire more refreshing knowledge but I also felt a sense of anxiety as I met new groupmates according to the Jigsaw learning strategy. Then we were assigned different work and new groups. Actually, there was nothing to worry about because all of my groupmates were awfully friendly, and we had a hot discussion on assessment for learning. When it came to group presentation in the tutorial session, I was totally at a loss because I joined another group (that group had not enough people and my m classmate called me to join...). In that case, I had to join two group presentations but I felt delighted because I could practice my spoken English which is a weakness for me. Surprisingly, we all did well (I meant two groups both performed perfectly). 

    Interactive teaching VS cooperative teaching

    When I make the comparison between the original curriculum that Dr. Lina designed based on the interactive teaching strategy and the tutorial this week that solely emphasizes cooperative learning through hands-on activities, I find that interactive teaching is more engaging, intriguing, and informative for three reasons including active learning, immediate feedback, and critical thinking (If our class applied interactive teaching and we had used these slides for this tutorial, I thought most students could actively participate in discussion and our comprehension of the top six teaching strategies would be enhanced as well).

    Active learning

      Interactive teaching strategy emphasizes active participation and engagement between students and teachers in the learning process, where students are encouraged to proactively engage with the course through activities (eg. asking questions, providing answers, and engaging in discussion) rather than passively receiving information. According to Bonwell & Eison (1991), the interactive teaching strategy was demonstrated to enhance active learning through increased engagement, enhanced retention, application of knowledge, and collaboration and communication. 
    Besides, one research conducted by Prince (2004) demonstrated that the utilization of interactive teaching strategies such as classroom discussion, group activities, and problem-solving exercises, results in enhanced retention and comprehension of the material, which fosters student's active learning as well. While applying the cooperative teaching strategy that focuses on teamwork, communication skills, and interpersonal development in the classroom, students are not aroused to be proactive learners, and it easily leads to some situations (eg. students talk with classmates about others instead of topic, students do other things rather than discussing with classmates about their group work and so on...). The finding of Boling & Robinson (1999) suggested that the interactive group compared with the cooperative group exhibited a higher level of satisfaction with the learning activities. Based on the above, the interactive teaching strategy is compared to be more engaging. 

    Immediate feedback

      Interactive teaching allows for immediate feedback through teachers' mediation, which is important to foster students' progress. According to Guo (2022), teachers' mediation is needed for students before they can become independent and effective learners. Teachers give feedback to students through mediation and the feedback can not only help students to identify misconceptions and areas where they need to improve and work on but also provide extra information to foster the ability of self-study as well as critical thinking. Studies have shown that immediate feedback has a positive influence on student's learning and performance (Hattie & Timperley, 2007). hence, if our tutorial applied the interactive teaching strategy, our class would be more engaging and informative. On the contrary, in the class based on the cooperative teaching strategy, students learn from each other and it is hard to get accurate and timely feedback due to the various levels of ability, which can not further enhance students' overall development. 

    Critical thinking

      Interactive teaching strategy contains a lot of activities such as classroom discussions, problem-solving exercises, and Socratic questioning that enhance students' critical thinking. Take the Socratic questioning as an example. Socratic questioning provides a series of open-ended questions to stimulate students' critical thinking and interests beyond the topic, which improves student's ability to think critically as well as explore more (eg. Dr. Lina let us think about our feelings about the interactive teaching we used to apply and the cooperative teaching we applied in the tutorial). According to Hook(2010), students were guided to think critically and explore deeper levels of comprehension through a series of open-ended questions. 

    Conclusion

    In conclusion, the Interactive teaching strategy focuses on active participation and engagement while the cooperative teaching strategy emphasizes teamwork or working together. When it comes to situations that require in-depth thinking, critical thinking, or students with varying levels of prior knowledge, it is imperative to utilize interactive teaching. When it comes to situations that emphasize teamwork, communication skills, or others, it is important to use the cooperative teaching strategy. We should utilize these two teaching strategies according to the different situations and goals we want to achieve. For our tutorial, it is more intriguing and engaging to utilize the interactive teaching strategy, which enhances engagement and critical thinking about our topic. 

                                         (nearly at the end of our tutorial) 

    Jigsaw

    Previous experience with Jigsaw

    In the beginning, I was so confused because it was quite different from the last experience (we used to take one lecture based on Jigsaw, and this lecture was

    conducted by Dr. Chu. Previously, we were provided with pre-reading and divided into 6 groups with different numbers from 1 to 6, If I did not remember correctly. For example, If I was in group 1, all of my groupmates were labeled with 1. When reassigning groups, each group contained numbers from 1 to 6. This was the first experience of the lecture based on Jigsaw). Eventually, Dr. Lina clearly explained it to us, and we all started our Jigsaw group activity. 

    Constructivism and MKO

    During the Jigsaw session, we were active participants in the learning process and we constructed our own comprehension through interaction with others, which fits into the construction theory as well. One research conducted by Freeman et al. (2014) that, active learning methods resulted in higher academic outcomes and lower failure rates compared with traditional lectures. In addition, it also reminded me of the concept named MKO (I mentioned it in reflection of week 1).  We could learn from the more
    knowledgeable others in our group through interactions, which further enhance comprehension. 

    Social Identity theory

    This also reminded me of another theory I learned from Yutong's blog. When we were divided into different groups, we had to assign different roles (eg. timer keeper, managers, and so on...) as well as consider diversity, inclusivity, and intergroup
    relations. Henri & John (2004) claimed that social identity theory created inclusive classroom climates of respecting and celebrating diverse identities to enhance students' sense of belonging. Subsequently, we should respect each other to create a friendly environment for further development. 

    Multimodality

      After reading the article that Dr. Lina provided to us, I gained a lot of new knowledge. For example, multimodality refers to the utilization of diverse communication channels or models that an individual uses to effectively convey meaning (Kessler, 2022). On the contrary, monomodality refers to communications or expressions solely depending on a single mode. This reminded me of the experience of our Jigsaw session. During the presentation, most groups only relied on one single mode which is talking while compared with presentations based on multimodality is less effective. Despite the paucity of research on the impact of multimodality, one research conducted by Vandommele et al. (2017) found that in collaborative multimodal writing assignments, participants outperformed a control group in various aspects including perceived communicative effectiveness, lexical diversity, text length, and other measures. Another research conducted by Xu (2021) showed the experimental group in digital multimodal composing (DMS) significantly surpassed the control group in five aspects of L2 writing involving text length, mean length per unit, task requirement, content, and comprehension. Consequently, we as future educators or future teachers should carefully consider and be aware of ways in which to incorporate multimodality into practice as Kessler suggested in the article. 

    Lastly, one takeaway I've learned from these two sessions is to find my own learning style. Each learning style has its own advantages and weaknesses. However, the most important is to find our own learning style that is the most suitable and useful for us. Only in this way, can we achieve faster and more comprehensive development and better utilize knowledge that we learned to help students in the future. 
    Thank you with the most sincerity and utmost gravity for seeing my blog. 
    I hope you can learn something from my blog even though it only is a reflection.
    May every day be a good day for you! (´。• ω •。`)

    Reference List:
    Bonwell, C. C., & Eison, J. A. (1991)l Active Learning: Creating Excitement in the Classroom. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 1. Washington, DC: George Washington University. 
    Bolin, N. C., & Robinson, D. H. (1999). Individual study, interactive multimedia, or cooperative learning: Which activity best supplements lecture-based distance education? Journal of Educational Psychology, 91(1), 169-174. 
    Freeman, S., Eddy, S. L., McDonough, M., Smith, M. K., Okoroafor, N., Jordt, H., & Wenderoth, M. P. (2014). Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. PNAS Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111(23), 8410-8415. 
    Hooks, B. (2010). Teaching critical thinking: Practical wisdom. New York: Routledge.
    Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The Power of Feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81-112. 
    Henri, T. & John, T. C. (2004). The Social Identity Theory of Intergroup Behavior. In J. T. Jost & J. Sidanius (Eds.), Political psychology: Key reading, 276-293.
    Kessler, M. (2022). Multimodality. ELT Journal. 
    Lina, G. (2020). Teacher's mediation in students' development of cognition and metacognition. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 50(5), 458-473. 
    Prince, M. (2004). Does active learning work? A review of the research. Journal of Engineering Education, 93(3), 223-231.
    Vandommele, G., Branden, K.V., Gorp, K., & Maeyer, S. D. (2017). In-school and out-of-school multimodal writing as an L2 writing resource for beginner learners of Dutch. Journal of Second Language Writing,36, 23-36. 
    Xu, Y. (2021). Investigating the effects of digital multimodal composing on Chinese EFL learners' writing performance: a quasi-experimental study. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 36, 785-805.

    Week 3 Reflection

  •   How time flies! It has been to week two and enormous entertaining incidents happened in this week. During the lecture, we were divided into various groups according to the consequence of the 'Lucky Wheel' (To be honest, I forgot the name, and this name was made up by me) and I was assigned to a totally new group with sincerely friendly classmates, which made me feel lucky. Afterward, we learned numerous theories such as Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Bloom's taxonomy, and second language acquisition theory, and reviewed some theories we learned before through other classmates' one-sentence summaries. Then, we have one micro-teaching session that requires each group to choose one strategy from the 50 strategies that Dr. Lina gave to us in total to design a lesson and teach.

      After a heated discussion in our group, we decided to utilize the 23rd strategy named 'communication games: creating opportunities for verbal interaction' as well as using Pictionary games (refers to a game that combines drawing and guessing) to teach basic vocabulary. Afterward, I saw the excellent performance of the other groups and gained some insightful viewpoints. One thing that I bear in mind most clearly was using the 'Lucky Wheel' to choose students and every time I saw it scrolling around, my heart was going to beat out of my chest because I always had the sense of feeling that I was the destined person (Needless to say, I hate this feeling). Inversely, I saw the excitement and enjoyment of everyone through facial expressions. While in the tutorial, Dr. Lina taught us some newfangled and amusing strategies including singing, role-play, and others which are refreshing and impressive to see. 

      Afterward, I realized our lectures and tutorials were well-structured based on the framework of Bloom's Taxonomy such as the instructional objectives and assessments (specifically refer to the micro-teaching activity), which is consistent with students' development from cognitive level to metacognitive level. Particularly speaking, we were taught first with the basic information of these theories (I listed above) involving concepts, facts, and information, and following that with concrete examples to learn step by step from the lower order to the higher order. In this process, students not only need to acquire knowledge (cognitive learning) but also develop skills to monitor as well as adjust their learning strategies to real examples (metacognitive learning) and even create, which links to information processing theory and encourages students to be efficient learners. Hence, appropriately applying Bloom's Taxonomy can effectively enhance students' overall development through observations. According to Krathwohl et al. (1964), understanding is a crucial foundation in students' cognitive capacities because it energizes them to associate and contextualize knowledge(eg. Dr. Lina called students to present their thoughts on ZPD theory, cognition, and metacognition theory). It is added by Anderson & Krathwohl (2001) that students are allowed to demonstrate the transfer of knowledge to real-world situations through the development of application skills(eg. the micro-teaching session that requires students to design a real class and teach). Krathwohl (2022) made supplements that students' critical thinking could be enhanced by evaluating the information (eg. one student of each group was called to answer thoughts, theories that they applied, and reflections). I think the reason why I hadn't realized this point before was that I only stayed at the understanding level without applying as well as analyzing this theory and if I looked it at from a different perspective like a lecturer designing the courses. Then we would realize the importance of this theory and its effectiveness. 
      Moreover, teachers' mediation (eg. scaffolding, effective feedback, asking questions, facilitating discussion, assessing progress, and so on during our classes) reminds me of the mediation of cognition and metacognition as well as mediation theory, and information processing theory. Previously, I only thought such behaviors of teachers served to guide students without other effects and I realized the importance of teachers' mediation until delving into research, which makes me excited because I can make full use of it in the future. This research picture demonstrated the importance of teacher mediation by presenting that students can achieve higher accomplishments and further develop from cognition to metacognition with the assistance of teachers. What's more, it is suggested that teachers' mediation is needed for students before they are able to become independent and effective learners (Guo, 2022). In addition, it is associated with information processing theory. Following Eggen & Kauchak's model of human memory, students will be able to recall information in working memory from what they have learned in the lesson and link it to future lessons. 

      Following the group activity session, the micro-teaching activity reminded me of the dialogic patterns (the picture below) that our group failed to apply when designing our lesson. These four components combined in one comprehensive approach that could prompt deeper learning, critical thinking, and metacognitive growth. I think the reason why our group forgot about it before was we emphasized the selected strategy too much, which caused the situation where we neglected other strategies that could be applied in the teaching. specifically speaking, our group should follow the dialogic assessment involving a two-way conversation between students and teachers to create a co-created learning environment and know their understanding, thinking process, and prior knowledge (eg. asking short questions to identify cognitive strengths and areas that need improvement). Next, provide content and information to establish a concrete foundation for learning(eg. providing the theme or topic of this lesson). It is called cognitive knowledge supply which serves as the initial step in learning where students acquire the necessary information and it forsters students to engage in critical thinking and metacognition. In addition, create activities such as think aloud, and do together to model students' metacognitive process, which can enhance their metacognitive skills to some extent (eg. make a demonstration on how to play the Pictionary game). Lastly, equip students with independent learning skills by providing tools, frameworks, approaches, or methods for self-regulation or independent learning(eg. teach students methods, and provide tools such as digital learning platforms...). Similarly, this pattern could be seen through the order of Dr. Lina's classes through my observations. As a consequence, following the dialogic pattern is effective in improving students' overall development. Following the dialogic pattern can lead to increased motivation as well as interest (Wegerif, 2011) higher-order thinking skills (Mercer & Howe, 2012), and better self-regulation with the development of problem-solving skills (Chapin et al, 2009). 

      Furthermore, the group evaluation gave me a refreshing and insightful viewpoint on cognition and metacognition development. In the group evaluation, Dr. Lina asked one student in each group to verbalize the thinking process, which is the think-aloud, and it forsters students to make explicit metacognitive processes and promotes reflections (Flavell, 1976). On the other hand, this session provided students with opportunities to take on the roles of teacher by clarifying and summarizing ( which is called Reciprocal Teaching) and it was proved to be effective in enhancing comprehension and metacognition (Palincsar & Brown, 1984). Likewise, it reminded me of the information processing model (which refers to human memory as composed of three crucial components: memory stores, cognitive process, and metacognition). In the evaluation process, students are able to be proactive roles who not only deem their group but also compare with other groups, which results in forming effective learning and accurate metacognition. On the contrary, Tulli et al. (2013) indicated that inaccurate or tendentious metacognition may lead learners to take suboptimal learning behaviors, resulting in lower levels of learning acquisition. 


      In the end, as a student as well as a future teacher, I will try to apply different strategies to foster students' development in all aspects such as singing songs (eg. 500 Miles that Dr. Lina presented during the tutorial), using a clip of movie to do a cloze and others.  By the way, to further enhance my metacognitive development, I will apply the cognitive apprenticeship principle, where I will work as well as communicate more with more knowledgeable others. In this process, my metacognition could be enhanced through modeling, coaching, and scaffolding. Besides, I will be affected by others to have better self-regulation, comprehension, and so on. 



    Reference list:
    Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (2001). A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: Complete Edition. New York: Longman. 
    Chapin, S. H., O'Connor, C., & Anderson, N. C. (2009). Classroom Discussions: Using Math Talk to Help Students Learn. Math Solutions. 
    Flavell, J. J. (1976). Metacognitive Aspects of Problem Solving. The Nature of Intelligence, 231-236.
    Krathwohl, D. R., Bloom, B. S., & Masia, B. B. (1964). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals, Handbook II: Affective domain. New York: David McKay Company Incorporated. 
    Krathwohl, D. R. (2002). A Revision of Bloom's Taxonomy: An Overview. Theory Into Practice, 41(4), 212-218. 
    Lina, G. (2020). Teacher's mediation in students' development of cognition and metacognition. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 50(5), 458-473. 
    Mercer, N., & Howe, C. (2012). Explaining the dialogic processes of teaching and learning: The value and potential of sociocultural theory. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 1(1), 12-21.
    Palincsar, A. S., & Brown, A. L. (1984). Reciprocal teaching of comprehension-fostering and comprehension-monitoring activities. Cognition and Instruction, 1(2), 117-175.
    Tullis, J. G., Finley, J. R., & Benjamin A. S. (2013). Metacognition of the testing effect: Guiding learners to predict the benefits of retrieval. Memory & Cognition, 41,429-442.
    Wegerif, R. (2011). Towards a dialogic theory of how children learn to think. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 6(3), 179-195. 


    Week 2 Reflection

  • Last week, we had one lecture and one tutorial in total. During the first lecture, we had a self-introduction session and everyone was required to make PowerPoint slides to present. All of us made extremely excellent PowerPoint slides to present ourselves, which was an opportunity for us to have a holistic understanding of each other as well as make friends who have the same interests or dreams to pursue together. I made one relatively good slide for myself as well and presented my interests, dreams, and others as well. Shortly afterward, we had a fun quiz using the Mentimere within which there are some interesting questions that have no standard questions to smoothly step into the overview of the course. 




    While in the tutorial, we were firstly divided into various groups and we meticulously learned the procedures of creating a blog through Dr. Lina's detailed demonstration for our assignment. To further acquire all-sides comprehension of reflective writing, we delved into reflective writing especially for the 5Rs model through Dr. Lina's explanation. We learned what the meaning of the 5Rs model is and what we were required to write the reflective writing according to the 5Rs model. 

    In the beginning, I noticed the commons between the 5Rs model and the DIEP model that we learned before in the other modules, which confused me at that time. As a result, I asked Dr. Lina to discuss the two different models after the tutorial and I left without concerns. 


    During both sessions, I felt a sense of anxiety and fear because it was the first lecture of this module this semester and I had never seen new classmates before. The unknown situations referring to the course and classmates led to such negative feelings. Subsequently, I felt passionately welcomed. I thought I felt that way because the self-introduction session made the relationship between my classmates and me closer as well as made the environment more friendly than before. Afterward, I no longer felt anxious and scared as Dr. Lina clearly explained the overview of the course, blogger, and reflective writing based on the 5Rs model. Finally, I was unhesitant to say that I was ready and confident for the coming classes.


    In addition, I realize that similar things have happened before when I was taking other modules such as using the Mentimere to do a game-like activity, which actually creates a game for students to participate in. This reminds me of the game-based learning methodology that we learned before and it effectively assists in reinforcing students' participation, motivation, and happiness during the class through my observation. According to Hartt et al. (2020), Game-based learning as an innovative learning methodology could enhance students' motivation, emotional engagement, and enjoyment. Added as well by Liu & Chen (2013), game-based learning is effective in fostering positive attitudes towards learning. Nevertheless, Greipl et al. (2020) supplemented the importance of appropriately applying gamification to help students and enhancing traditional educational approaches, avoiding excessive gamification. Besides, the game contains competition which specifically refers to the ranking in the Mentimere and it can be considered to be intrinsic motivation that we learned previously as it provides opportunities to present challenges, further leading to higher achievements. If we consider it from the student's perspective and pretend we were students during the game-based learning environment, we will be aware of its importance and be professional in the utilization of it. 

    Furthermore, the group that we have during the tutorial is associated with Vygotsky's sociocultural theory. Previously, we all would like to form a group with classmates who have relatively higher ability and it caused a situation where students with high ability preferred to sit together as well as form a group when needed. Unlike the group chosen by ourselves, the groups are randomly assigned which causes group members with mixed abilities. I can understand it and link it to Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, students master problem-solving strategies through cooperative interactions with high-performing students and internalize that information to guide their performance. It is demonstrated by Saleth et al. (2007) that, building collaboration in mixed-ability groups can enhance students with average ability in verbal communication, learning, and motivation. Likewise, this is also linked to students' zone of proximal development (ZPD) and scaffolding because, in the group with mixed ability, students with lower ability can achieve higher achievements under the scaffolding of students with higher ability. Similarly, the group is also related to one concept called More Knowledgeable Other (MKO), where students with high ability can help students with low ability. This can be seen through group discussion as it requires building consensus and sharing ideas and if I consider it from our module convenor's perspective as well as imagining I was the lecturer, is necessary to utilize the concept and theory because it successfully improves comprehension of students which is an important process according to Bloom's hierarchical taxonomy of cognitive domains. 

    Lastly, the reflective writing based on the 5Rs model reminds me of the previous reflective writing based on the DIEP model. Formerly, I used the DIEP model to write reflective writing and after the tutorial, I noticed commons and differences between the DIEP model and the 5Rs model. From my perspective, both focused on gaining deep insights that go beyond incidents and making connections between incidents and theories or experiences to make effective reflections. However, there are some differences as well. Bain et al. (2002) argued that the 5Rs emphasize understanding what is involved in serious reflections and enhancing the ability to self-assess while Boud et al. (1985) highlighted the significance and future action for the DIEP model. For the differences between the two reflective models, If I were the lecturer, I would let students choose proper reflective models according to their different situations because it depends on what the requirements are when writing reflections (someone prefers actual plans for the future while someone prefers analyzing).  

    Based on the previous reflections, I have learned the importance of educational theories and appropriately apply these theories when teaching in the future. What's more, I hope to incorporate some accommodations for students with special educational needs (SEN) because most teachers will not take these students into account when designing the curriculum and teaching during the class. Moreover, limited implements and interventions were delivered for students with SEN in middle and high school settings (DuPaul & Eckert, 1997; Dupaul et al., 2012). I will also establish more activities or methods using multiple educational theories to help students make further progress in all aspects as much as I can. 

    Reference list:

    Bain, J. D., Ballantyne R., Mills, C. & Lester, N. C. (2002). Reflecting on Practice: Student Teachers' Perspectives. Flaxton: Post Pressed. 

    Boud, D., Keogh, R. & Walker, D. (1985). Reflection: turning experience into learning. London: Kogan Page.

    DuPaul, G. J., & Eckert, T. L. (1997). The effects of school-based interventions for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A meta-analysis. School Psychology Review, 26(1), 5-27.

          https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1997-04328-001

    DuPaul, G. J., Eckert, T. L., & Vilardo, B. (2012). The effects of school-based interventions for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: A meta-analysis 1996-2010. School Psychology Review, 41(4), 387-412.

          http://psycnet.apa.org/record/2012-34477-002 

    Greipl, S., & Moeller K., & Ninaus M. (2020). Potential and limits of game-based learning. International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning, 12(4), 363-389.

          https://doi.org/10.1504/IJTEL.2020.110047

    Harrt M., Hosseini, H. & Mostafapour M. (2020). Game On: Exploring the Effectiveness of Game-based Learning. Planning Practice and Research. 35(1), 1-16.

          http://doi.org/10.1080/02697459.2020.1778859

    Liu, E. Z. F., & Chen, P. K. (2013). The effect of game-based learning on students' learning performance in science learning- A case of "conveyance go". Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 103, 1044-1051. 

          https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.10.430

    Saleh, M., Lazonder, A. W., & Jong, T. D. (2007). Structuring collaboration in mixed-ability groups to promote verbal interaction, learning, and motivation of average-ability students. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 32(3), 314-331.

          https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2006.05.001

    Week 1 Reflection

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