PSYC775 Week 1 Discisson Post 3

  I have to say that I feel that I have been pretty lucky overall in the

education system, having had good (and at least adequate) teachers. I did

have one particularly negative experience early on during high school.

There have been some other instances here and there where I felt the

instructor could have provided more in terms of a particular teaching task

or timely or sufficient feedback. Overall, however, my experiences have

been pretty positive.

    I will begin with a recent positive experience that involves one of my

favorite subjects; adult foreign language acquisition. My interaction with

the information provided following registration were very organized and

transparent. We knew before the start of the course what we would be

studying, her teaching philosophy, the primary methodology, and what

was to be expected of us throughout the course. Several examples of her

character and behavior during the course were commendable and

advantageous for learning efficacy. Chickering and Zelda (1987) published

in the AAHE's (American Association for Higher Education) bulletin a list of

seven principles considered to be foundational for effective teaching. I will

relate several of her positive characteristics here concerning these seven

principles. First, despite this being an online course via Zoom, the

of us speaking French and would offer feedback/assistance. This openness

provided a mechanism to further practice our speaking skills outside of

the more public Zoom classroom. This not only reinforced learning but

provided an additional opportunity for those students who may suffer from

foreign language public speaking anxiety. Something else this instructor

did that I highly admired was her creativity in using a less conventional

teaching method. In secondary schools, teaching a foreign language is

usually heavily focused on acquiring knowledge of grammar. Alice shared

her methodology with us at the onset of the course. She uses a natural,

child-like learning method initially designed by University of Southern

story or a fairy tale. She spoke slowly and in a repetitive manner to repeat

certain words. As she told the story, she would draw pictures on a

whiteboard of the scenes and characters. Via this relaxed and fun method,

we hardly felt like we were doing "work". This technique is reflective of

principle number seven, "Respect Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning".

With the storytelling, the student was able to engage via auditory, visual,

and written means. Finally, in accordance with principle number four, Alice

would give prompt feedback after students spoke. She did this in a

relaxed and jovial/encouraging manner. Like a "language parent," she

would repeat what the student had said (to confirm she understood).

has always been math. As a result, I tend to suffer from math anxiety.

During high school, I performed well enough, earning all As and Bs.

However, math was always the subject where I had to exert more effort.

During the middle of my senior year, we moved to another state. Aside

from the normal stressors of moving during a pivotal time in one's life, I

was forced to start over with a new math instructor. This new learning

environment was disastrous for a student with math anxiety such as

myself. It is not in my nature to complain or pass the blame on an

instructor, but this teacher exhibited some unprofessional characteristics I

had not seen or experienced before. What I remember most is preferential

and chased one of the football players around the room on top of the

desktops in a joking manner. The classroom was chaotic, and not having

adequate, professional contact with the instructor, I began to drown

further in a sea of math anxiety. I ended up failing that algebra class. It

was the first and only class I ever failed. It was undoubtedly my worst

learning experience. In relating this negative experience to Chickering and

Gamson's (1987) principles of effective teaching, what was lacking most

was #1 Encouragement Student-Faculty Contact and #4 the providing of

Prompt Feedback. Overall, what I felt this instructor could have done

better was to reach out to me more in an accountable way when I began

long and often cumbersome and challenging. The scholastic endeavor

reminds me of a marathon race. We can draw support from each other,

self-discipline, creative problem solving, and engage in the continuous

learning process to become better teachers. During a marathon, we will

have these highs and lows. As Saint Paul reminds us,

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let

us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us

run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the

the throne of God". (New International Version, 2009, Hebrews 12:1-2).

What does "running the race" look like or mean for us as students,

educators, and as Christians? To me, it reflects the dedication to keep

going, keep learning, and reach out to each other in encouragement

during this process. As we run the race, we serve to spur one another on

References

Alice Ayel - Le Francais Naturellement. (2022, May 18). Retrieved June 21,

2022, from https://www.aliceayel.com/

Bernstein, D. A., Frantz, S., & Chew, S. (2020).Teaching psychology: A

step-by-step guide(Third ed.). Routledge.

and Rardin.Foreign Language Annals, 25(2), 157-

172.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.1992.tb00524.x