How to be a real teacher in the 21st Century?

Some people think that anybody who goes to school and teaches is a good and helpful teacher. They think it is an easy job, and the main responsibility of the teacher is just to deliver the information to the students, especially, when some countries allow people to have their jobs as teachers when they finish their undergrad with a degree in education. So, they allow them to teach without having a license that proves they are qualified to teach our kids. I think this is a big problem that faces the education.

A real teacher is the one who delivers the information to students ensuring they have received it correctly. The teacher facilitates the learning to make it more effective for students, and he/she applies activities and use technologies and educational tools to make the educational process easier. The teacher tries to solve the learning problems and consider the students’ needs. In addition, the real teacher is who has the humanity, kindness, and the biggest desire in teaching to help students in learning not who works just because he/she has the job.

I remember when I start studying the English language at a school in the United States. I had a teacher who was very ineffective and lazy. As an international student, I was looking for learning in every moment because I know the English language is the master key for completing my higher education here in the United States. But, having the class with that teacher made the learning difficult for me, and I faced more issues that cannot be resolve without learning through this course. However, I have asked to change the class to be with another instructor who was very helpful and amazing. He made the learning easier for me and other students and tried to use many activities and be very helpful and friendly with the students to make the learning effective and the environment fun and useful. Thus, from this experience, I learned to be a great, helpful, and real teacher to facilitate the learning and help in the growth of this community in the 21st century.

The Theoretical Impact of an Inclusive Classroom in Saudi Arabia

Currently, the classroom situation in Saudi Arabia is segregated between men and women. Women are the disadvantaged group, with less access to resources and more hardship endured while obtaining an education. But, what if the concept of an inclusive pedagogy were introduced in the Saudi education system?

Inclusive pedagogy, as I understand it, is a classroom where the students and teacher cater learning that reaches all students, despite background, style of learning, and ability so that the classroom is a social justice charged, supportive, open environment. The main objective is to create a classroom that allows students to feel like they belong and that they are all equally valued.

The first step towards introducing an inclusive classroom is through integration of the genders in the learning environment. Traditionally, women are not seen as equal in the eyes of society, as well as the law. But more recently has there been a push to bridge that gap and women have started to feel closer to equals with their male counterparts. However, there are still inequalities that women face, and one of those is education. By introducing integration in the classroom, women and men are able to interact, allowing for introduction of more idea exchange and enhanced discussions. The application of an inclusive pedagogy excels that discussion through more progressive ideology and the emphasis on equality for all students. Classroom integration, in theory, would prove vital in promoting social justice and furthering equality for women in Saudi Arabia.

Despite the beginning of bridging the gap between men and women in Saudi Arabia, there is still going to be traditionalist and conservative people who will be against the idea of inclusivity. The desegregation of the classroom would cause backlash from those against the idea, and possibly spark protesting, boycotting, and even extremes like intimidation and violence. This could prevent students from attending classes both because it goes against their beliefs or they are afraid to go to class.

The idea of an inclusive pedagogy in Saudi education could be beneficial and provoke further conversation towards social justice and equality. On the other end, there is still a lot of change that needs to occur in the traditional mindset and in the society, both in Saudi Arabia and the world as a whole to allow the ideas of social justice and inclusivity into not only the classroom, but into the culture.

How digital games are changing learning?

Most people like to learn through digital games especially children which means using the games as learning tools. Digital games guide learners to learn subject matter in context, as part of an interactive method (Aurora University, 2019). Those games should be designed well through instructional strategies or learning theories to educate people in the good way and make the learning environment more effective. Games should make the learners more engaged and interested and that could motivate them to learn. Learners are in the position to provide feedback for the designer, the developer or the instructor related to the games if they are useful or not. Thus, the instructor should let the learners evaluate the games because that is the best window to make the education through the games more successful.

Using digital games help learners to learn from failures and successes they face through the learning process. In addition, when the instructor finds a good game and want to implement that in the classroom for the students, the instructor should go through the game and play it to see if that could be helpful for learning before providing it to the students. Also, we should consider some issues in advance to plan for using games in education like which subjects can works through digital games, the age of learners, and the timing of the learning process because all of these aspects play important roles in education.

 

 

Resource

Aurora University, 2019 (https://online.aurora.edu/game-based-learning/).

The Effective Learning

The method and practice of teaching, especially as an academic subject or theoretical concept, is a key element in understanding and accepting a variety of teaching approaches with the common goal of advancing the educational community. The ability to relate personal experiences and future goals as a teacher, is vital in discovering a multitude of teaching techniques that are comprehensible to any type of student. Contemporary pedagogy is explained in the given resources by highlighting the importance of online tools and public writing as a means of progressive learning.

In a live discussion with Seth Godin and Tom Peters, new perspectives of business focusing on blogging are explained as being undeniably imperative. Peters’ says, “There is not single thing in the last 15 years that has been more important to my life than blogging. It has changed my life, perspective, intellectual outlook, and emotional outlook…” Further in the discussion he is quoted: “It’s the best marketing tool I’ve ever had, and it’s free.” This begs the question: should this then not be attempted in the classroom?

From author Jon Udell, linking academia and business, is his steps to “think like the web.” In his manifesto, he describes the importance of working openly and ensuring data is readable by both human and machine. Having a large audience (a public blog post will receive more views than a private email) and unique/memorable URLs allows data to be efficiently managed and available for public use (i.e. Twitter hashtag for an event).

Focusing on academic importance of networking and online teaching tools is where Dr. Michael Wesch explains his research on the effects of social media and digital technology.  He believes that as a global society, technology and education do not always foster significant learning or establish genuine/meaningful bonds between students and professors. While this can be widely understood, it still seems such conclusions are based on students with a specific learning style, and we must keep in mind that although some students may not take with online learning, others may flourish. Opportunities should be merely that, an opportunity, not a requirement.

It is important as educators to understand the magnitude of ways students extrapolate and retain information. Gardner Campell embodies this idea well with this thoughts on higher education: “Offering students the possibility of experimental learning in personal, interactive, networked computing, provides the richest opportunity yet for integrative thinking within and beyond ‘schooling’.” We have the capability to more effectively reach the academic community and have a greater impact on the future of education being open to fundamentally different teaching methods (i.e. using twitter and online forums in the classroom) is the future of a deeply involved and interactive student.