Reflection III

Anchored Instruction, Case-Based Learning, Cognitive Apprenticeship, Goal-Based Scenario, Inquiry-Based Learning, Knowledge Building, Problem-Based Learning and Project-Based Learning... Some of these were really new to me but was truly an eye-opener to have these strategies explored this week. All along I'd taken them for granted, thinking that "hey... what that teacher did was very engaging and I can use that in my future classes". But this week, I learnt that these tactics have already been around a long time and are actually being strategically employed by educators and are not simply accidental.

I remember one project I did in Primary School, where the teacher organised us into groups and made us collect different types of wild grass/flowers, name them and classify them according to their modes of dispersal (wind, water, animal). Back then, I thought it was simply a project for project ends, but I had a lot of fun looking out for unique species that weren't already collected and naming them. Even till today, I can still look at some common grass species and ramble off names like "cow grass, carpet crass, egyptian fingers, lalang, elephant grass, yellow wood sorrel, etc..." because the learning that took place at that moment was so engaging. In retrospect, I now understand that that was a form of project-based learning and/or goal-based scenario. And it was good because in the group we learnt to identify based on observing and comparing features from guide books (back then didn't have Internet...). The mini-competition to try and identify as many species as possible also gave my group motivation to look for more species in locations that were less convenient. Most groups only got their samples from near the school or their homes. But I recall we actually went to relatively distant fields to get some unique grass types. It was a very fun project.

If ICT was more readily available then, it would have been possible to upload all our findings onto a common database that we can still refer to today. Cos' I have forgotten some of these lesser-known species and it's nice to just remember so I can show-off from time to time! Hahas. Alas, our projects back then were presented on vanguard-sheets and they have been long chucked and trashed I believe. And we probably could just take a digital photo of the species instead of plucking and killing them (even though the few we took wouldn't have been missed since there are soooo many of them around anyway!).

So moral of the story: we should exploit ICT in today's digital age since it's already so accessible. Project presentations can now be done on Powerpoint or Keynote instead of on vanguard paper; data-logging and calculations can be easily achieved using Excel or other software; group discussions can be done online via Skype, MSN, email or forum boards instead of always having to do it F2F after school hours; and resources have never been so easily available thanks to Internet and Google. Good-bye to Britannica and long hours in the library! And if all these exist to make teaching easier... no. It means different types of classroom management issues will have to be addressed.