"...adults are problem-centered, not subject centered, and desire immediate, not postponed application of the knowledge learned." (p. 53) Objective: What have you learned from reflecting on this particular quote? I've never been interested in learning Japanese. In fact, it has just never been on my radar and I probably won't be taking Japanese evening classes anytime soon because it is not a skill I can use immediately and learning Japanese doesn't solve any major problem I am currently facing. If, however, I was asked to teach in Japan, I would not only be interested in learning Japanese I would probably be enrolled in evening classes as well. That is why I can agree with this quote. Problems give us a reason to want to learn something. According to John Keller's ARCS model of motivation (where motivation is based on Attention, Relevance, Confidence and Satisfaction), a problem increases the "relevance" aspect of motivation. Therefore, our motivation to study a particular topic is far greater when that topic is related to a problem that we face. Furthermore, an adult learner wants what they are learning to be applicable immediately. I have seen this first-hand in my classrooms. As an ESL Teacher, I have noticed that students zone out very quickly when they feel that what they are learning is not immediately useful or directly related to solving their problem of speaking English fluently. Reflective: What did you realize about teaching as a result of this quote? I realized that my teaching has to be relevant to their problem in order for them to learn effectively. Merriam & Bierema, when examining the problem-centered orientation, explains that adult learners wouldn't investigate the topic at all if the topic didn't present a problem to them (p.53). This is very telling of the motivation behind why my students end up in my class. Regardless of their level of competency and fluency, they are in my class because they have some problems speaking and communicating in English. Through reading this quote I realize that the material I teach and the activities and methods I use to present content to my students have to directly address their issue or they will not be fully engaged in the material. As I continue to teach I have to remember to choose activities for my class that they can apply right away to help them with their English. In other words, it is the teachers' responsibility to keep the content that we have to teach, relevant and applicable to the students. Interpretive: What was your "Aha!" moment when you read this quote? In what way(s) did this quote change your mind about being an adult educator? What was one key insight that you now have as a result of this quote? I didn't really have an "aha!" moment when reading this quote. I agree that people are more likely to learn something when they are presented with a problem vs. studying it because it piqued their curiosity or interest. I have seen many examples of this in real life for it not to be true. For instance, a friend of mine who knows nothing about painting, recently took on the task of changing the paint on her bedroom walls. Since she had no prior knowledge on this task, she began researching the indoor painting process and looked up various techniques and colour schemes. By the end of it she knew so much information on this subject that not only was she able to apply it to her bedroom walls, but she was also able to give me advice on the basics of indoor painting. It was a similar story when my father suddenly fell ill and was rushed to the hospital. Since I had no idea about the illness affecting him, I remember hanging on to every word the doctors and nurses said. When I went home I researched everything they had said to find out if there was something I could do to help. Without these problems presenting themselves we wouldn't have pursued learning about them. This quote has helped me understand the motivation behind some of my students, and it has given me some insight on how to plan lessons to be a facilitator of discussion instead of simply delivering content. Decisional: How has this quote and the insight that you have gained from reflecting upon it, influenced your notion of teaching or how you will teach in the future? Problem-based learning, although new to me, has been widely researched in the past. In their 2015 article, Rico and Ertmer looked at the role of instructors in problem-centered instruction. With traditional learning the teacher is seen as the content knowledge expert relating the information to students. However problem-based learning uses a different approach: Problem-based learning embed(s) the content within an ill-structured problem or open-ended case narrative. The instructor then facilitates discussion of the problem or case details to enable students to acquire the knowledge and skills that, ultimately, will be critical for their future job performance (p.97) As an ESL teacher, most of my content consists of grammar rules. If I were to apply problem-based learning to a lesson on pluralization, I would introduce a problem as follows: I would draw a person on the board and draw 1 apple, 1 orange, and 1 banana below him and ask my students what he has. Most of them would say, "He has an apple. He has an orange and he has a banana." Once I have elicited that I will add an extra apple, orange and banana under each respective fruit so that there are 2 apples, 2 oranges and 2 bananas. And I would ask them, "How many does he have now?" For my beginner students, this would be a problem. They know how to talk about fruits in singular, but they are not sure how to use the plural just yet. Using the problem-based learning model I would act as the discussion facilitator helping them work through the different possibilities of pluralization and getting them to think about how we pluralize words in English while guiding their discussion in the right direction. Problem-based learning is beneficial for all types of learners. In fact in her book Energizing Teacher Education and Professional Development with Problem-based Learning, Barbara Levin (2001) claims this method can "engage and challenge bright as well as reluctant learners, especially those whose preferred learning style is active and interactive or who have been turned off by more didactic teaching strategies." She adds that problem-based learning not only reaches a wide variety of learners, but even "encourages creativity and higher-order thinking"(p.124). Since the problems are meant to mimic real-life situations, making them more authentic to the field of study encourages students to want to solve the problem. Futher proof of this comes from Kima-Rosenberg's study looking at the effects of task-centered vs. topic-centered instructional strategies. This study found that the task-centered instructional strategy resulted in increased confidence, better performance on the post-test, and greater self-efficacy (2012). Self-efficacy and confidence are very important to me in my class. I have seen a direct correlation in my students between higher self-efficacy and improved scores on exams and participation in class. I would like to encourage problem-based learning in my class in order to help my students think critically and more creatively, helping them gain confidence in their work and problem-solving skills. Below is a great example of how Problem-Based Learning works from Maastircht University in the Netherlands. ReferencesLevin, B. B. (2001). Energizing Teacher Education and Professional Development with Problem-based Learning. Alexandria, Va: Assoc. for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Keller, John. (2016, March 23). ARCS Model of Motivational Design Theories. Retrieved from: http://www.learning-theories.com/kellers-arcs-model-of-motivational-design.html Merriam, S.B., & Bierema, L.L. (2014). Adult Learning: Linking Theory And Practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Rico, R., & Ertmer, P. A. (2015). Examining the Role of the Instructor in Problem-Centered Instruction. Techtrends: Linking Research And Practice To Improve Learning, 59(4), 96-103. Rosenberg-Kima, R. B. (2012, January 1). Effects of Task-Centered vs. Topic-Centered Instructional Strategy Approaches on Problem Solving--Learning to Program in Flash. ProQuest LLC,
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