Assignment 3
Skills Analysis Presentation
Cheanel Nolden
November 10,2019
Introduction
Pursuing an M.Ed. program has enabled me to gain many skills.
Such skills include:
Ability to create favorable learning environment
Communication competency, subject matter competency
Cross-cultural competencies
Student engagement skills.
The instructional environment and process is increasingly becoming complex and multifaceted. This is especially true with respect to globalization, which has increased the number of culturally diverse classroom environments. In response to such problems, pursuing a master’s degree in education has enabled me to develop sufficient interventions to meet different patterns that occur each day. There are various knowledge and skills that I have gained in my coursework. Such skills include: ability to create favorable learning environment , communication competency, subject matter competency, cross-cultural competencies, and student engagement skills.
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1. My Skills
Ability to Create Favorable Learning Environment
Allowing students to create productive social environments
Giving learners opportunities to interact and share knowledge
Encouraging consultations with peers and instructors
My master’s program in education has improved my ability to create a conducive learning environment for students. For instance, I have gained the competencies that are needed to allow students to utilize or create constructive social environments and physical environments for learning science and mathematics. In the process, the students have been helped with respect to asking for assistance from their instructors or peers. While self-regulated learning is basically an independent area of study, the independent study is not isolated and alone-learning completely. Therefore, offering self-regulated learning provides students with knowledge that is specific to their needs.
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My Skills
Communication Competency
Language proficiency
Ability to listen to learners
Speaking and delivery skills
Nonverbal communication skills
As an instructor with postgraduate level qualifications, I am equipped with the communication skills and competencies that are needed to interact with students in a productive and collaborative way. Examples of such communication skills include: language proficiency, listening skills, speaking skills, as well as non-verbal proficiency. The key communication competencies that have enabled me to improve learning outcomes include: instructional competency, classroom management and control, as well as human relations competency.
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My Skills
Subject Matter Competency
Ability to provide customized contents
Knowledge of theoretical concepts related to subjects of instruction
Knowledge in teaching areas such as:
-biology
-physics
-general science
-mathematics
Having knowledge in the disciplines that I teach has made it possible for me to provide customized contents that meet learners’ needs. My core academic areas include: mathematics, physics, biology, and general sciences. I have a master’s level of qualification in the areas that I teach. Subject matter refers to the branch of knowledge and competencies that the instructor teaches within a specific course. Within the context of teaching, subject matter refers to the main conceptual knowledge in the daily lessons that a teacher discusses with the learners to promote and encourage learning of the targeted skills, methodologies, as well as social competencies. Therefore, the subject matter outlines the logical coverage of the major points or concepts in each module. Such points highlighted in each module can be treated as the subject matter for successive daily lesson presentations.
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My Skills
Cross-Cultural Competencies
The American classroom culturally diverse
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to learning
Learning strategies must meet the needs of different learners from varying cultures
I have gained cultural responsive learning abilities
The American classroom environment is increasingly becoming diverse. Modern classes are comprised of students from different cultural, ethnic, language, and religious backgrounds. As such, I have developed cross-cultural competencies that are essential to the provision of learning for students from all cultural and ethnic backgrounds (Renshaw & Tooth, 2017). The key cross-cultural skills that I have gained include: cross-cultural capabilities associated with teaching and learning, as well as culturally responsive learning strategies. As significant fraction of pre-service postgraduate level educators without intercultural competences needed to teach and lead students from a global perspective often face challenge of student engagement in classroom environments.
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My Skills
Student Engagement Skills
Ability to promote active participation
Ability to promote interactive class programs
Ability to use technological tools to increase engagement
An engaged classroom environment increases students’ positive learning outcomes in terms of academic performance. As such, I have mastered the art of improving students’ cognitive involvement in, active participation in, as well as emotional commitment to their learning. I also have the ability to engage in interactional activities that are geared towards promoting activities that can improve students’ access and academic attainment. By promoting interactive programs that use both technological and participative models, I have managed to successfully boost my learners’ level of engagement.
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2. How My Coursework Improved My Skills
Knowledge on Learner-Centered Approaches
Meeting the specific needs of each learner
Exploring the weaknesses and strengths of each learner
Determining the strategies that work best for each learner
There are various elements of my coursework that have enabled me to gain these skills and competencies. They include knowledge on: learner-centered strategies, classroom management approaches, instructional strategies, as well as self-directed learning strategies. Learner-centered teaching is a strategy of teaching that is widely being promoted in education. Learner-centered approaches place emphases on a wide range of different forms of methods that emphasize on what the students are learning. It shifts the role of the teacher from a provider of information to the facilitator of student learning. Through self-directed learning, students shift from being mere passive receivers of learning contents to active participants.
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How my Coursework Improved My Skills
Knowledge on Class Management
Improving engagement
Encouraging student accountability
Improving appropriate relations among learners
Enhancing participative learning
Coursework knowledge on classroom management strategies also improved my skills and competencies. Classroom management models increased my insights into different classroom management styles that can help to trigger engagement. Indeed, classroom management plays an important role in promoting student accountability, boosting and improving appropriate relationships with students, and enhancing productive interactions between students to optimize learning outcomes. By gaining knowledge on classroom management styles, I was able to understand how to effectively communicate goals and expectations to students.
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How the Coursework improved my Skills
Knowledge on self-directed learning
Encouraging students to be self-driven
Discouraging students from being mere passive recipients of knowledge
Improving students’ research skills
Gaining knowledge on self-directed learning also improved my understanding on how students can be encouraged to be self-driven to improve their academic performance. Directed independent learning encourages learners to stop overlying on their teacher as the sources of knowledge (Rana, Ardichvili & Polesello, 2016). As such, students can develop effective search and fact-finding skills. Instead of promoting complete autonomy from the start, instructors should work to offer support to students through the whole process.
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How the Coursework Improved My Skills
Knowledge on Instructional strategies
Visualization
Practical experiences
Experimentation
Compute multimedia presentation
There is no one-size-fits all approach to learning
Further, coursework on instructional strategies increased my understanding on how to interact with students in a productive way. Classroom is a dynamic environment that is comprised of students with different learning needs. As such, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to learning. Therefore, the traditional teacher-student directed instructions can be improved by mixing them with other delivery models such as: visualization, providing practical experiences, experimentation, use of technologies such as multimedia computer tools, as well as requiring learners to participate by raising their hands.
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3. My Future Focus in Learning
Opportunities for self-assessment
Students can identify their strengths and weaknesses
Allowing students to provide examples with their cultural experiences
Learners from other cultures can improve can feel free
The main research-based techniques that I plan to use for my future learning experience include: giving students opportunities for self-assessment, and allowing learners top provide examples using their cultural experiences (Schunk, 2012). When students are given opportunities for self-assessment, they are able to identify their areas of weaknesses that the teacher can focus on to improve their performance. Furthermore, giving learners opportunities to provide examples using their background experiences can be relevant when dealing with culturally diverse learning environments.
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Conclusion
Holding a Master’s degree in Education provides many learning opportunities
Such opportunities include:
Ability to engage in learner-centered instructions
Ability to oversee an effective learning environment
Ability to embark on future studies to promote learning culture
References
Renshaw, P., & Tooth, R. (Eds.). (2017). Diverse pedagogies of place: Educating students in and for local and global environments. New York: Routledge.
Rana, S., Ardichvili, A., & Polesello, D. (2016). Promoting self-directed learning in a learning organization: tools and practices. European Journal of Training and Development, 40(7), 470-489.
Schunk, D. H. (2012). Learning theories: an educational perspective 6th ed. Terjemahan Hamdiah & Rahmat Fajar). Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajar.