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! e 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. e 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. e 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. e 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. 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. e 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. e 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).
e e e e e e e e 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.
