The compassion demonstrated by your sixth-grade teacher is wonderful. I am sure that
experience has helped you build the tools to become who you are today! b COVID-19
caused a lot of chaos around the world but, like you, I would have expected the professor
to respecting the current learning requirements and apply appropriate accommodations
which would have allowed the student and your group to continue meeting the previously
stated high expectation.Your question regarding the effectiveness of modular learning in
our high-tech world seems to have a lot of attention right now. Because of the pandemic
many medical courses, which were previously 100% in person, figured out a way to move
forward with virtual learning platforms. While there are a number of articles available
from these experiences around the globe, I personally enjoyed an article focusing on the
continued importance of displaying positive emotion during video lectures in order to
promote better learning outcomes (Horovitz & Mayer, 2021).Regarding the effectiveness of
modular learning when compared to in person learning, I really think that depends on the
topic, student, and the overall course expectation. For instance, I would not want a doctor
working on me that has never stepped inside a class or practiced on a cadaver.
Additionally, if the medical students do not meet their classmates in person they are
missing out on critical socialization and networking opportunities within their field of
practice. However, the preparatory lectures and virtual learning labs really can be
completed anywhere and if that learning environment works well for the individual then I
think it should be available as an option. I enjoyed reading about your positive experiences
with teachers. I agree that teachers play an essential role in serving as a mentor, which can
be similar to a parental role. I think about my children, who spend more waking hours
with their teacher during the school year than my husband and me, as we only get a few
short hours in the evening. I was saddened to hear of the unfortunate negative experience
with a group assignment and share some frustrations with group assignments as we had a
lot in my graduate program. However, an article published by the American Society for
Cell and Biology cites how roup work is one of the most widely used and deeply
researched teaching approaches in the college classroom (Wilson et al., 2018).
Furthermore, the article talks about group work promoting students’ collaboration to
achieve shared learning goals and has been shown to increase student achievement,
persistence, and attitudes toward learning (Wilson et al., 2018). However, although this
article speaks of the importance of group work, like in your situation, it can be a negative
experience rather than a positive attitude towards the learning experience when it is taken
to the extreme. In your case, it appears the instructor failed to recognize the limitations of
completing the group assignment in the event one student has an emergency. I agree that
teachers can be parents as well as just your teacher, they spend a lot of times with
students, and I think it is hard for them to sometimes separate. b A good teacher will
provide support and build rapport with their students (Bernstein et al., 2020) sometimes
going above and beyond what is expected of a teacher, many in turn do have high
expectations for their students as well. b It sounds like your 6th grade teacher helped you
through a very difficult time in your life and a made a positive impact that you still
remember. b In you later education we can look at some information from our lecture and
book in that when we look at graduate education you are more of a mentor/role model and
perhaps that is what your professor was going for, but they may not have done a good job
of relaying that. b That professor must not have done a good job of communicating their
high expectations regardless of illness or emergency and that is something they could
potentially work on in the future. b I am sorry to hear that you were penalized for
something that was very much out of your control. I can absolutely relate to your personal
story about your parents getting a divorce and the emotional toll it must have taken on
you. I was in the 4th grade when mine divorced and it affected my grades tremendously to
the point where I would try to just leave class. Your story about your classmate getting
c19 and getting a zero on their group project blows my mind. Did your professor suggest
that the group members should have given the ill group member a different job within the
group? Was the professor upset that the group did not have an alternative plan for the ill
group member? Just trying to figure out what the professor's rationale was for giving a
zero and not understanding a situation that was out of the control of the ill group member. b
To answer your question about online learning yes, I believe online learning can be an
effective form of learning. It really depends on the person though and if they are able to
learn in that fashion. Not all can!. The manner that you described your positive and
negative experiences related to how the different instructors reflected effective teaching
principles of the “good” teacher (Bernstein, Franz, & Chew, 2020) from the Teacher
Behavior Checklist (TBC) who 1. developed a rapport 2. provided accessibility 3.
encouraged you with kindness 4. remained available 4. observed, listened 5. facilitated
learning options 6. helped you meet the expectations for promotion. I am sorry to hear of
your loss. Even divorce of parents is a grieving process. I believe similar to myself, you
began to develop resilience as a child from that loss. I feel the seed planted by the “good
instructor” at that early age was similar to having a substitute parent. That helped form and
develop your strength to stand against the mental attacks in elementary school as well as
graduate school (MEV, Eph. 6: 13) for accomplishing the mission you envisioned. I also
experienced loss at a young age (5 years). My dad was killed but I also had a couple of
“good” teachers during elementary school and a grandmother that grounded me with love
and the scripture. Regarding the “bad” instructor which had no inclination to seek 1.
realistic grading expectations 2. sensitivity or understanding related to the particular
circumstance for you and the others of your group, I salute your strength (Bernstein et al.,
2020). Once again, you and the members of your group endured and fainted not in
graduate school in spite of the instructor not desiring to encourage student-faculty contact
nor cooperation (Bernstein et al., 2020). I grasped scripture as I also encountered a
negative experience in more recent educational pursuits related to memory and physical
attacks (MEV, Gal. 6: 9).
b b b b b b b b b b To answer your question related to modular learning, I believe that modular
learning compared to traditional learning can be effective for individuals particular to the
specific needs. The student may prefer this mode because of the different learning
environment. The options including traditional learning are advantageous only if it fits
related to factors such as: age, learning ability, socioeconomic status and at this time
pandemic considerations. Individuals no longer fit neatly into cohort or classroom pace due
to conflicts regarding time management, the pandemic and obligations such as work and
family (Dargo & Dimas, 2021).
References
Bernstein, D. A., Franz, S. & Chew, S. (2020). Teaching Psychology, 3(20). ISBN – 13
978-0-367-14394-7 (digital).
Dargo, J. M. & Dimas, M. (2021). Modular distance learning: Its effect in the academic
performance of learners in the new normal.
Journal of education teaching and learning, 6(2). 204. doi: 10.2673/jetl.v6i2.2672
Modern Evangelist Version (2014). Breakthrough Jubilee Bible. Military Bible.
