Bridge Action Plan

Bridge

webquest

this webquest is about helping out others for grade 6 students.

Philosophy and Education

     Education is an old word that is frequently and commonly used through ages.  Education has taken a great part in philosophers’ and researchers’ lives.  For its importance and need in our lives, we notice that education is a renewable and everlasting process.  However, whatever new educational theory or philosophy reached, it must be constructed and based on old basics.  As we know, philosophy means the love of wisdom which is something broad that includes knowledge, facts, information and truth. There is a number of differences between eastern and western philosophies, yet they all work for the individual’s own sake, in order to prepare humans as independent and critical thinker in the society.  Al Farabi, Avicenna and many other Arab philosophers included education as an integral part of their general philosophy.  Moreover, pragmatism and existentialism are two western philosophies that also involved aspects of education as an essential part of the philosophy itself.  

Teachers must be wise enough, humanistic and aware of all the philosophies.  The teacher has to know what to pick from each philosophy in order to build up a unique one that should be satisfying for both poles.  Old is gold, and without history we can never build up the future.  Even though a number of points seem not to be successful or useful for us but that would teach us, as teachers, the wrong aspects and the right ones.  The most important thing is that teachers, no matter how old they are or what subject they teach, should take the students’ needs and desires as a main objective and consider their background.  When we start treating students as our real infants, then we will be doing our job as it should be and achieving our noble role in life.

Be Thankful

Sometimes, watching a series or a movie inspires us of many aspects in our life.  When we pass through struggles and difficult times, we feel that we are the only on Earth to face such challenges.  Actually, if we look around, we can see that each person has been given a lot of God's blessings.  However, there will always be that specific thing we really love but, miss.  Wealthy people are in need for health, healthy people wish for money, people with disable children wish for normal kids, and sterile couples hope for just a kid.  The point is not for what people aim or wish for, but for being blind of what they already have.  It is a matter of looking for the "what if" and the "consequences" behind the problems we have.  When we put the bad side option while we think of things we really want, we can understand the situation we are put in.  Also if we look toward the deeds after the patience and the acceptance we show for the obstacles, we understand that everything is prepared for our own sake.  We have to be thankful for everything, good and bad, and try to overcome every challenge with all our strength, faith, and power.  We have to believe that when we depend on God, we will all be alright.   

PCELT

As a teacher, I have attended many workshops but they were all about theories.  When I was informed about PCELT workshop, I didn’t have a minimum idea about how much this course is useful, practical and applicable.  At the end of this course, I couldn't but admit that every single moment during this workshop was worth the hard work I did.

Considering my learning in this course, I have a plenty to mention. 

1. I learned how to write a SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bounded) objective. 
2.  I learned a new way to teach speaking skill through ECRIF (encounter, clarify, remember, internalize and fluent use). 
3.  I was introduced to SARS (select, adapt, reject and supplement) in which I can adapt any lesson to the objective I find suitable.  
4. I learned that both receptive skills reading and listening must have the PDP (pre, during and post) stages.
5. I learned how to assess a piece of writing following a rubric.

Those are few of the many things i benefited from the workshop.  Hope you will have a chance to attend such workshop. 

How It All Started

Here is a brief overview on my own teaching experience.   I started my teaching journey before learning how to teach.  Things looked too difficult and frustrating at the beginning.  After being a teacher without a degree for two years, I decided that it was the time to go back to learning and register in the university to improve myself on one hand, and understand the aspects of this job on the other hand.  That was not easy as being a full-time teacher, and I faced many problems.  But, I had the faith on myself and the passion for my job the things that helped me reach what I am today.  Even though it was hard to be an undergraduate for 6 years, but there were many advantages for being a student and a teacher as well.  I had the benefit of learning new techniques and theories and apply them on the spot.  I was able to experiment and try almost everything I learned and see how things work in the real teaching field.  Here is where I started to create my own teaching theory or my own teaching philosophy that I follow with my students right now.

My Own Definition of Teaching

Teaching is a unique soul pill.  It can be given to people at different stages, levels and ages.  It is suitable for the treatment of the soul and mind regardless of the illnesses any person may have.  Teaching is not only a process of lecturing information, it is a life lasting preparation of the individuals' ability to comprehend and understand life.  Teaching is being able to touch students' inner abilities.  It is the procedure that allows teachers to understand the students emotionally and intellectually.  As teachers, our supreme job is to create a big difference in the whole world.  This can be done by developing students' minds and thinking.  Our students are our future; they are our responsibility toward God and the society.  Being a teacher is not an easy job, we shall put ourselves in the students shoe emotionally and intellectually.  They are our future doctors, engineers and so many other community workers who will lead this world into a better one.  A teacher should work using her conscience to deserve the pleasure and honor of holding that title.      

Being Aware of the Students' Minor Problems

Every problem has a solution and for me, every single kid is able to reach the aimed objective but each in a special way and rate.  All what is needed is a person’s will to work, patience, good plan and the will to follow up with the case.  As soon as the problem is diagnosed and detected, the other steps flow consequently.  Nothing is easy but the outcome is worth it.  Correcting a child’s pronunciation and articulation of sounds can save him from a reduced social skill and being unable to be engaged in social interaction.  It can help the child in expressing his/her self with confidence, independence and fluency.  It helps the child in improving reading and spelling skills and getting rid of negative feelings whenever misunderstood.  pronunciation and articulation of sounds is one of the common problems we face daily in classes.  There are other serious problems that students may face which hinder them from learning and feeling belonged.  A key to be successful is loving what we do, and as teachers, our very first concern is the students as individuals.  They are our keys for a successful life journey.   

To Chew Gum or Not to Chew Gum

Students' performance can be influenced by many factors, but sometimes, teachers think that anything can cause students' distraction without experimenting it.  Chewing gum is one of the things that are prevented in most schools for believing that it causes distraction and decreases concentration and achievement levels.   But, after making a study and analyzing the results, we can conclude that chewing gum has no effect on students' performance. This study examines the relationship between chewing gum and the academic achievement of grade four students in an English class.  Two sections were chosen and under the same conditions, one was given chewing gum and the other not.  A lesson was explained in both sections, and then an English test was done later.  The same test was done and the results were almost the same in the two sections the thing that was surprising.  This proves that chewing gum may have negative influence on the class environment for the sound and the smell it might produce, specially for younger students, but not on the students' academic achievement and performance.

Counseling Teachers

There are many ways to follow in order to change students' misbehaving into acceptable ones.  For no counselor available in most of the schools in our region, we as teachers have to be creative, and up to date to different researches and theories, and apply different techniques and strategies in order to help students who are in need.  It needs a deep breath, and too much patience but the outcomes are worthy.  Making a kid able to cope with people around him, change some of his routines and behavior along with taking into the consideration the miserable situation he or she is living in, is by itself an important achievement in our lives as teachers who are holding a holy message to reveal.  At least we are not counselors, but tips we learn can guide us for a treatment of a huge and serious problem.  So, teaching is a multitasking job.  A teacher's job is neither limited nor ever done.  A real teacher is not the one who is successful in achieving her academic goals only.  A real teacher is the one who is able to be a teacher, a mother, a therapist, and a real friend.

The eCoaching Continuum

The e-Coaching Continuum: Digital Age Professional Learning that  Supports the Whole Educator in  Reaching the Whole Child.  The title itself can explain the whole topic.  After attending the webinar with Marcia Rock, I became aware of some extra advantages that technology can provide.  Regardless its importance in facilitating the teaching process, technology here can act as a coach.  Marcia proves that e-coaching help us reach professional learning for it facilitates learning and knowledge transfer.  e-coaching continuum is holistic orientated, low in cost, capacity centered and quality focused.  The e-coaching continuum main characteristics is that it is first based on a job  embedded,  technology‐enabled  continuum, led by teachers and  supported by  coaches, consultants,  and administrators, aimed at  strengthening  teacher practice and  enhancing K‐12  student outcomes. Designed on the  most up‐to‐date  professional learning  theory and research.  It is based on the following theories: Connectivism (Siemens, 2005), Generativism (Carneiro, 2013) and 21st Century Lifelong Learning (Steffens, 2015). The e-coaching continuum has four, nimble,  interconnected, dynamic components: 1-Study 2-Watch 3-Coach 1:1 4-Coach One  Another.  Maria provided her webinar with different examples of questions ad handouts, pictures of how e-coaching looks like, and statistics on how successful, the results reached and improvements achieved after using e-coaching continuum.  While attending it, various questions were asked from people all over the world.  Some could also nag for the bad voice since the microphone was too near to her mouth.  It was a new, exciting and challenging experience.I learned out of attending this webinar that e-coaching can help me in developing in my job by direct evaluating.  e-coaching can be applied in different settings.  it can help teachers and students to exchange knowledge and to spread the e-coaching culture. 

EDUC561

It is really frustrating to use technology for me.  Honestly, i was worried about this course the moment i registered it.  Week after week i see that i was a bit wrong with my judgments since things look easier than i expected.  Your efforts in making everyone following is facilitating everything and you are working hard in making all computers accessibility to internet available.The only disadvantage i have ids that i can't apply much in my career since my colleagues are not used to such things.  Hope my optimism would continue this way till the end of the semester.