Professional Dialogues

Over the course of the last few months I have engaged in a number of professional dialogues on the FutureLearn platform. In relation to ‘The Big Question’ – whether teaching is necessary for learning to take place I raised the question of student motivation. A colleague replied to this and the consensus seemed to be that it ultimately depends to the motivation of the individual student and their particular aptitudes. Every class will have learners of differing levels relative to that subject area and it is important for the teacher to appreciate this and adapt their approach accordingly.

In relation to the topic of ‘What is inclusive learning and teaching?’ I responded to a colleagues comments regarding the difficulty in getting to know your students, particularly where you have a large number of them. I agreed with him that the best way to try and undertake this is to provide as many opportunities as possible for them to approach you with any concerns or questions they may have. A problem is that they may not be forthcoming particularly. In terms of how this can be circumvented, perhaps students could post some biographical information about themselves in a forum? In a previous teaching position I held learners began their year with a ‘Dear Tutor’ letter in which they set out their goals, desires and ambitions in addition to providing some details about their lives generally. This may be a good approach with some learner groups.

One discussion that I felt was very interesting was the one on learning styles. There is a considerable amount of disdain for learning styles generally it seems but ultimately, learning styles cannot be catered for 100% of the time. This all depends on the information or skills / training being delivered. It is impossible to teach someone to play the guitar if the teaching does not involve them picking a guitar up at any stage as an example. My contribution to this discussion involved the example of learning to fly an aeroplane- this cannot be done in a classroom setting.

Another contribution I made was on the topic of Diversity. I presently teach Chinese students at South West University of Political Science and Law in Chongqing. This student group is as diverse as any other – the only thing they really have in common is nationality. Within my groups there are many differnt people with different levels of ability relative to the subject matter. I still believe that ultimately it is impossible to tailor your teaching methods to each and every student you may have when working with such high numbers of students and that ultimately you have to do the best you can in the circumstances. This being said, what you must do, is ensure that you make reasonable adjustments when you are aware of a specific learning need or a particular learning preference a student has, provided that this is both reasonable and proportionate.

In terms of my teaching philosophy I have posted this elsewhere on my blog.