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! g
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. g 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. g 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. g 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. g 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. g 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. g 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).
g g g g g g g g g 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.
