The Importance of Teamwork - Assignment Example

?JOURNAL ENTRY ONE 1014 The importance of teamwork Short account of a particular event. In this particular we were required to form small groups and come up with a unanimous stand through collaborative efforts. Everyone has to come up with their own opinions based on their own or another person’s experiences, and assess as a group which one’s method works the best, and reason out why. After everyone in the group had the chance to speak, all methods mentioned and listed were examined. What did you learn from this event about student learning? I learned from this particular event that compromise in an important aspect of a functional group, and that by working out a solution that has input of team members there will be lesser friction in the future as well as building of trust. This way of thinking is important since this allows both people to be more open with their selves and to create ties with others through common grounds. This is not only applicable in the classroom setting, but also in daily living such as in the work place, especially in times when people rely less on the help of other people and more on their own efforts, so in my opinion students must be able to learn this skill to become much more sociable, amiable, and team-oriented professionals in the future. Thus, it is of importance to learn how to communicate with others and compromise in certain decision-making situations to instill unity, trust, and camaraderie with other people. What did you learn from this event about your own approach to teaching and learning? This event made me realize the importance of interpersonal relationships and proper interactions with other people, as well as the fact that human experiences and what every individual knows can be diverse despite having to deal with nearly the same things every day. In addition, this reminds me to try and understand how other people think, and by doing so it is an expression of respect towards them. Lastly, it also increased my open-mindedness to possibilities that I may not be aware of, thus I will increase my efforts to be more aware of other options and not just what I want. I would very much want to apply this knowledge when attending to students, to help them be much more open and aware of other possibilities when analyzing or solving problems with no right or wrong answers. What would you do differently in your own teaching as a result of this event? I would like to encourage students to learn how to create compromises through thorough analysis of available options and choosing the best option, as well as to teach them the importance of creating connections with people through being open-minded and non-judgmental on the abilities and capabilities of other people, as I see that it is an important attitude to have both while studying in the university and once they graduate and move on to their aspired careers. JOURNAL ENTRY TWO DATE: 2013/1014 The importance of dealing with difficult people Short account of a particular event. Group-oriented activities often bring out either the best or the worst of the members. There is one particular group activity where one of my group mates is very unrelenting with her opinion on how to create the group’s presentation and report. It was rather stressful because while others shared their ideas in the most respectful way, she kept putting downother people’s ideas and pushing her own ideas strongly without much explanation. So we just ended up the meeting and decided to meet again after a few days, to cool everyone’s heads off, instructing everyone to write their opinions on how to make the presentation, along with pros and cons. The next meeting’s environmentwas a bit calmer because opinions were written, better than just shouting our opinions out loud. In the end the pushy group mate is still a bit pushy, but because her ideas were discussed and analyzed just like the others’ she was a bit calmer. What did you learn from this event about student learning? I learned that dealing with problems early on is a better option than just sitting and waiting. It is hard to be proactive when dealing with problems of interpersonal relationships, especially when the problems were already obvious from the beginning. The saying that “Nipping problems at the bud” is true because problems have a way of escalating to larger proportions quickly. This is also something that I must do in the academic settings, that I must fully understand fundamentals before moving on to higher subjects, otherwise I will be dealing with problems beyond my comprehension, which I feel is something that other students can also relate to. What did you learn from this event about your own approach to teaching and learning? I learned from this event that while some people are enthusiastic with sharing their knowledge with others, some are too adamant with theirs and feel like what they know better than everyone else, making other people around them uncomfortable. It is very easy for people like these to bring up a heated argument, and in my opinion the best way to handle this situation is to stay calm and civil with a logical standpoint, as well as speaking to the person with enough dignity without damaging one’s own. Also, before a heated argument builds up, group time-out and resolving things at another time is a better option than allowing arguments fueled by emotions to occur. What would you do differently in your own teaching as a result of this event? I would try to understand myself first in finding ways on how to react to difficult people before I deal with the students. This is so that I can react to their behavior with much more respect and reason than relying on my emotions on interacting with them. The last thing that I would want to experience is getting humiliated by school authorities and having a lower morale, and I would not want something like that to happen to them by my own account. Thus before I call out on my students’ behaviors I would personally seek to sort out how to deal with myself so that I will not lose my head that easily and create disturbing behaviors due to emotional outbursts. JOURNAL ENTRY THREE DATE: 2013/1014 Writing a curriculum vitae and a cover letter Short account of a particular event. I had an experience of writing a bio-data in one particular class, and it was an overwhelming experience. I had to recall a whole lot more than my height, my weight, where I spent my primary, secondary education, bachelor, master degree and other activities I did back then, and even some short work experiences until now. What did you learn from this event about student learning? This event was not as stressful as other writing classes but I still had to keep recalling so much information. I learned that I should have spent some time writing or recording details of my activities, whether academic or non-academic in nature, as well as keeping invitations, certificates of participation, or other documentations. In relation to teacher assistant learning, it also highlighted the importance of taking down notes, especially about information that is not written in the blackboard or typed in slide presentations. These additional notes increase both the information that I gain as well as the uniqueness of my learning experiences, and this is something that I had to learn in the real life too. What did you learn from this event about your own approach to teaching and learning? I learned from this event that putting everything in writing is an important part of keeping records, especially the ones that will have a huge weight for my future. In addition, I also learned that writing information refreshes the memory, which is often corroded or manipulated with other things such as emotions or circumstances. As such, I will do the best I can to jot down important information, as well as some ideas that I might have. While for some people something like this may seem tacky or old-fashioned, but after the experience of trying to recall so many past information I have decided that this is a better and much more efficient way to keep track of and recall many important things that I engaged in. What would you do differently in your own teaching as a result of this event? In the future, I will use both pen-and-paper to write down details and information, as well as use the computer so that I will have a back-up system of basically everything or anything that I might need, for future references. For now, I am comfortable with just using pencils and paper for keeping my ideas, so I will work or sort how to do that before I move on to using technological devices. Also, I will encourage the students to do the same, especially while they are still young so that they will have more time to learn how to jot down notes or other information properly, as well as for them to form a good study habit while they are still young. JOURNAL ENTRY FOUR DATE: 2013/1014 Writing a report Short account of a particular event. Nearly every class requires the student to write a term paper of some sort, and there was a particular one that had more demands than normal, there was a greater need to add diagrams, graphs, charts, tables, and other information other than texts. There was also specificity in the information that had to be presented, such as exact figures, as well as using proper citation methods as prescribed by the lecturer. We also had to create outlines before writing the actual paper, and had to submit outline drafts until it was approved. What did you learn from this event about student learning? I learned that in order to write a proper report, there must be a coherent outline. The skeletal structure of the report must be as aligned as the ideas that needed to be inserted in between, otherwise it will be hard to write the report and even harder to write it in the most understandable way possible. Lastly, I learned that the keys to writing a good report are coherence, brevity, and unity in the ideas and words used. What did you learn from this event about your own approach to teaching and learning? Looking back on these events, I have learned that a good outline is one that is logical and easy to follow, as it is much easier to insert the details once the structure has been carefully formed. Writing the content also became more manageable, compared to simply writing just for the sake of submitting something. This is also applicable to learning new modules, as I can take a glimpse of what will be taught, and define my expectations in what I will learn after the course ends. It also inspires me to look at some related information relevant to what the course outline contains, to gain new information that might be useful in the subject. What would you do differently in your own teaching as a result of this event? In the event that I will contribute in writing lesson plans in the future, I will keep using an outline as a structure on which I will base the lessons in, so that everything that the students need to learn will flow in a more logical manner, such that they will first learn basics and other fundamentals before moving on to more complex lessons. It can also save time in redoing lessons by studying the outline first before writing the content, and I could also use this time to ask for opinions from colleagues before finalizing the lesson plan. Lastly, by using an outline I can filter what information needs to be included and what would be optional, so that the students will not be bogged over information that they may not have actual use of, and focus more on what they will need in the future. JOURNAL ENTRY FIVE DATE: 2013/1014 Using a conference paper for an assignment Short account of a particular event. One of the courses that I attended required students to submit critiques or analyses of either journal articles or conference papers. I did not see any particular difference between the two kinds as there is substantial information in each kind and that there are substantial amounts of references that can be looked into. Except for the brief content of conference papers and the longer, more detailed information in journal articles, I do not see anything different. What did you learn from this event about student learning? I learned based on reading both conference and journal papers that information can be fleeting and it can happen that something deemed important today may seem irrelevant in about a year. It is possible that what we learn today will be obsolete in a few months, especially with the fast turnover of information and the rapid influx of new ideas. Thus, students and teachers alike must be open for possibilities and changes, especially when it comes to information brought upon by fast changes. What did you learn from this event about your own approach to teaching and learning? Information is easily exchanged over various media, and by far nearly everything published in the internet spreads much more rapidly than any other media. However, because the information is sent out too fast, it is also likely to be unedited or even be incorrect altogether, and thus it is important to search as much background on the information before accepting it as the truth. This means that a more proactive approach in learning is needed to avoid retaining inaccurate information and causing future problems. I have resolved to be much more vigilant in the learning process. What would you do differently in your own teaching as a result of this event? After reading several articles and papers with only a spacing of a few months to a few years, while there are still relevant information in the older publications, the content is usually analyzed and critiqued by new publications, so I have gained awareness of the need to be always up-to-date, especially with subjects dealing with technology. With this knowledge, I will aid students to learn to not only let information seep in passively but rather be much more active in their search for information. Lastly, I will remind them to not readily trust information seen in the internet without looking for any references or other possible sources of the information, as it is now easy to tamper with information due to the speed at which ideas are exchanged in the internet. JOURNAL ENTRY SIX DATE: 2013/1014 Using the blackboard learning system Short account of a particular event. I was at first skeptical about online and distance education, but after experiencing the blackboard learning system I guess my doubts were somewhat lessened. It was much easier to access lessons, participate in discussions, and sending assignments to instructors since everything can be done in the computer. However, as a people person I still have greater appreciation of actually interacting with people face to face, since it is easy for misunderstandings to occur online or through SMS. What did you learn from this event about student learning? Based on my experience using online database systems for checking courses and readings, I can safely assume that the blackboard learning system is a good alternative for physically going to classes, since it is still possible to interact with classmates and teachers. It also gives chances for shy students to voice out their opinions in discussion boards, which is much easier than doing it in person, inside the classroom. However there are still limitations in the case of personal interactions. Also, using such system requires additional self-discipline since it is easy to get distracted just by using the internet for purposes other than education. Still, having an online learning system has more pros than cons, especially for students that need to stay home for various reasons because most of the elements of studying by attending classes physically in classrooms such as discussions and reading lectures are still present. What did you learn from this event about your own approach to teaching and learning? While teaching students may seem easier with the use of an online system, it is also possible that some might carry their online habits in the courses, such as the use of online terms that would otherwise not be present in hardcopies of submitted assignments and reports. In addition, some people actually forget that discussion boards are meant to simulate actual classroom discussion wherein there is still a need for respect. In this manner, aside from simply uploading lessons and readings the instructor still has to remain a moderator in order to keep the virtual classroom as orderly as possible, much like how one would be in actual class situations. What would you do differently in your own teaching as a result of this event? I will use Blackboard Learning System or any other program with similar functions to its advantage in order to share information to a greater number of students. However, because everything that needs to be taught must be uploaded so that the students will have everything they need, I will have to be doubly vigilant in editing the presentation and content of the lessons. Also, I will have to remind students to observe proper etiquette in the discussion boards and submission dates since it will be easy to overlook these while online. I give students reminders such as these online, just like I would do in physical classrooms. JOURNAL ENTRY SEVEN DATE: 2013/1014 On time management Short account of a particular event. The end of a semester is always a stressful time for many teachers and students, with all the cramming and the reports and other requirements to submit. My particular experience with the need for proper time management came when the deadlines for the courses. I had no choice but to divide my time equally, allotting 2-3 hours for doing student grads, I was able to cut the amount of stress into half, and was able to move to other needs. What did you learn from this event about student learning? I learned that in doing the requirements other than examinations and assignments, a lot of time is involved in making sure that what I will submit will be satisfactory at the very least. I needed to learn not to waste time by looking at efficient ways to do things, as well as to create and rely on a daily schedule, even the rests and breaks. The breaks were particularly important as these allows my mind to think and recall whatever is necessary, as well as to check if there are problems or missing things in whatever I am doing. Also, surprisingly taking frequent breaks such as 10-minute rests every 45minutes to an hour of working or writing helps relieve stress and increase my focus. What did you learn from this event about your own approach to teaching and learning? Based on my experiences, I will do whatever I can not to rely on cramming anymore, as the information does not readily sink in as much as thorough reviewing and long preparations do. I will also try to rely on schedules more in the future, so that I can have better control on how much time I will spend on various activities, as well as to not fall for distractions and other ways of becoming inefficient. Lastly, I will try to create schedules with specific activities and expected times of completion, so I could fully assess the amount of time I spend on activities and rank them in accordance to the length of time spent to finish each one. What would you do differently in your own teaching as a result of this event? I would like to impart this knowledge on time management to the students, as I expect that there will be even greater forms of distractions in the future. If I can encourage them how to make better use of their time by properly following schedules and seeing the rewards, this will prepare them for future work ahead, and that they will acquire work habits that will help them in any career field of their choice. For example I will give them the course outline complete with the number of hours needed to finish each activity and each lesson so that the students can have a better idea on how much time is needed to finish activities. I will also include schedules so that they will be more informed on what the activities are and their respective deadlines. I will try to instill to them the importance of creating schedules as early as possible so that they will not end up procrastinating and cramming towards the end of the semester. JOURNAL ENTRY EIGHT DATE: 2013/1014 On creative thinking skills Short account of a particular event. The classes had an assessment that needed everyone to be on the groups of five students for this assignment. And they had to present a report on ‘The Future of Work: Options, Opportunities and Issues for the Graduate of 2016/17’. And this report must not be longer than 2,500 words, excluding bibliography or any appendices. What did you learn from this event about student learning? Surprisingly, despite the importance of schedules to one’s life, it is still important to relax the mind and use time out to let loose one’s imagination even with things such as reports. This is similar to the learning process, wherein it is important to keep the learning process inspiring and interesting. Thus a little bit of creativity is still needed whether it is on the student’s part or the teacher’s part, so long as it is allowed. As such, I would very much like to try other ways of using my creative thinking process to make my life and other people’s be more interesting and dynamic, as much as taking this initiative well into the time I will spend on my career. What did you learn from this event about your own approach to teaching and learning? Thinking creatively through visualization taught me that there are some questions without a right or wrong answer, and that possibilities are endless. Also, while results are often considered important while the processes of getting the results are often overlooked, I have a better appreciation on the process rather than the results, especially in certain activities where the process can dictate the results, such as person-to-person interactions, relationships that entail trust such as customers and retailers, among other similar situations. Lastly, I have come to accept that creative thinking will always be a part of innovations, and without it advancements to just about anything will not happen. As such, I will strive to improve my creative thinking processes, and start looking for other ways to think outside the box not just while studying and working but also outside academic settings. What would you do differently in your own teaching as a result of this event? Similar to my journal entry about writing a CV, I will assist in teaching students the importance of uniqueness as an essential part of forming one’s identity separately from the crowd, whether or not said creativity is needed in academic or non-academic settings. In facilitating this experience, I can recreate the visualization exercise so that they can experience a form of creative thinking for themselves, or if the curriculum allows suggestions I will suggest to hold a short course on creative thinking as well, so that they can be even more inspired to think creatively and pave the way for innovations. MY VIEWS ON STUDENT LEARNING How and in what ways you want the students, in the classes you teach, to learn. I would like them to learn of various solutions, through either creative thinking exercises or through collaborative efforts such as forming small groups and discussing the answers. I would want the students to think unconventionally, and let their inner-selves be much more expressed both in the academics and their social skills. This is so that they can become innovative in their problem-solving or decision-making tasks, which I consider to be important for them once they have started their careers. In order for the students to be comfortable in thinking creatively, I will aid in the facilitation of an environment for them to think freely by teaching them the acronym SHAPE. SHAPE stands for the words Style, Habits, Attitudes, Preferences, and Experience (Cottrell 54). These five words are unique for every individual, and because some students experience so much frustration whenever they cannot get any result from learning methods taught to them by other people, they must learn that every individual is unique based on the attributes in SHAPE, so they will also understand why learning methods do not always translate to effective learning processes. Also, by helping the students realize that there are many possibilities for learning, they do not have to rely on any one method alone, and that they have a considerable amount of freedom to adjust their learning needs based on how they take in lessons or whether or not a particular course or subject interests them. If students are taught early on the importance of individuality and how the creative process works, it will save them a considerable amount of time worrying and rather focus more on finding ways to solve the problem (10). For me, this is an important skill that they will have greater use to work, and as such it is better to teach them this skill at the earliest possible time. What teaching approaches you prefer and why. Because I mostly prefer situations that allow active thinking and interactions, I would use a student-centered approach that focuses on both active and collaborative learning processes. This is because I believe that having a creative and active-thinking mindset will enable the students to be much more productive citizens in the future by thinking outside the box, looking for solutions other than what are normally available, crafting strategies, as well as contributing their ideas and putting these into motion. Also, by allowing the students to voice out their ideas, opinions, and other concerns they can be more empowered and engaged, especially with areas that they have enough confidence to do better with (Cottrell 52). This will not only boost their confidence in whatever field they specialize in, but also helps them in making better judgment while having enough open-mindedness to make way for other possible solutions. In addition, aside from developing an actively-thinking mind through developing creative thinking processes, I feel that interpersonal relationship skills are important not just in the classroom or work settings, but also in everyday life. This is one aspect of learning inside and outside the classroom that is often neglected, and instead a greater focus is given to earning outstanding grades, at the expense of learning interpersonal interaction skills. However, by allowing students to interact on a daily basis, this prepares their attitude towards different kinds of people that they will meet once they have started their careers. In preparing them for the possible attitude issues, they can make better decisions on how to deal with such dilemmas. As such, allowing students to work together in solving problems by gathering their opinions and deciding which one is the most appropriate one for a particular situation will give them a good opportunity to enhance their people skills such as listening, hearing and analyzing the opinions of others, holding meaningful conversations, how to create compromises with others, how to resolve conflicts, among others (133). How you want your students to behave in the classroom. Do you want them to listen or participate - and why? I would like students to learn how to communicate well and to understand others equally as much. For this to happen, I would need to give them equal opportunities of listening to lessons and of thinking and analyzing the information for themselves and with others. As such, I would like to see them learn how to listen to other people and speak for themselves. This can only happen in a situation that lets them think and speak freely without passing judgment or allowing others to judge them prematurely. I prefer building students’ positive attitudes through the development of important people skills, and for that I want the students learn how to balance between participating and listening or hearing the opinion of others. This is because I believe that in real-life situations, it is less likely that they will either speak more or hear less, and that they will have to express themselves or allow others to express themselves one way or another. If students are not taught early about the importance of balancing participation and listening (or hearing), they will either become too passive to the opinions of others or become excessively strong-willed to entertain the ideas of others and these can cause them to be labeled as difficult people. Because I believe that problems should be addressed as early as possible, I would like to take this opportunity to impart the importance of a give-and-take relationship, in this case having a privilege to speak with listening as a duty. I must not only focus on the information that the students need to learn to succeed in their chosen courses and careers but also on their attitudes, behavior, and skills, as a teacher it is important to make sure that they understand why these things are important, what are the possible consequences of doing or not doing these actions, as well as to give them opportunities to learn these skills naturally. What I have learned about my own learning as the result of keeping a journal. Based on most of my answers in the journal entries, I have learned that I am leaning towards a proactive learning environment, of working in cooperation with others towards achieving a common goal, that I have slight preference of attending classes in real life compared to attending virtual classes, and that I actually have to balance conventional thinking such as keeping work and class schedules with creative thinking and spontaneity. Inasmuch as I would like to remain the same, I feel a strong need to change some habits such as improve my means of dealing with people that have difficult behavior as well as to incorporate little changes in my life for improvement such as keeping journals or records of any academic or extra-curricular activities. I hope to attain these goals in the future and keep them as an important part of my life. Work Cited Cottrell, Stella. The Study Skills Handbook, 2nd ed. Hampshire: Palgrave McMillan, 2003. Print. Read More