reflection on Students
Since 2019, I have made it a point to include an activity that requires students to participate actively in the learning process in every lesson. Students taking ownership of their education has been primarily motivated by the emphasis on active involvement. Students should not regard the university as a silo, or solitary, socially isolated learning environment. Regardless of the lesson's activities, students in my classroom are expected to participate in their own actively and their peers' education. They are not allowed to be spectators.
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To understand and enhance my students' learning experiences, I integrate a student learning needs assessment, using a Google survey at the start of the year and a mid-year module evaluation to determine students' progress. I firmly believe that these surveys inform my teaching strategies and classroom activities. The main focus is to ascertain whether the teaching strategies used for the lesson evoked student learning. Additionally, I believe that this assessment benefits not only me as a lecturer but also the students, the orthodontic department, the dental faculty, and administrators. The results of the survey done in 2019 can be accessed via the "Data Collection" link. Also, refer to 2 mid-year evaluations.
Conducting a student needs assessment increases the likelihood that learning will result in a change in practice. Various teaching strategies are appropriate for various pupils and their recognized learning requirements. The major goals are to diagnose specific learning issues, enable student input in curriculum design, and efficiently evaluate student learning.
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The majority of students responded positively to interactive learning methods, particularly group discussions and collaboration. Comments such as, "The lesson was interactive," "It was easier to grasp what was taught," "Practical learning is always the best way of learning," and "The class interaction is fun and interesting" were common. One student commented, "I got to do more interactive work with classmates, which is new. It helped me stay awake." Another said, "I like the group work part as it helps us revise and apply what we have learned." Others appreciated the comfort of calling out answers during interactive sessions and learning from peers and the lecturer.
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Well, not everyone agrees and this is to understand. Not every lesson will cater 100% to each student attending. Hence, diverse teaching strategies need to be employed to accommodate the majority of the class. Some students had reservations. One student mentioned, "I prefer the PowerPoint. I did not benefit from the addition of group presentations." Others were unsure about the new methods, with comments like, "It's new, so I'm not sure yet," and "Maybe at the end of the month." Some suggested improvements, such as having a venue with tables for group work, while a few preferred to study on their own.
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Reviewing these comments served as a powerful tool for self-reflection and highlighted which teaching strategies are most effective. It also provided crucial information for strategic planning for future lessons. I am aware that highly motivated students who are integrated into the higher education system and provided with support are more likely to achieve academic success and improve retention rates. This, in turn, positively impacts society as students become more competent and confident professionals.
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As I reflect on student learning experiences coupled with their social background, it is crucial to recognise the complexities surrounding student retention rates. It's a dual approach, according to Spady, involving the dynamic interplay of the university environment and the student. Every student at a tertiary institution has distinct qualities and is impacted by a range of factors. I can better understand that learners function within two primary systems—the academic and the social—thanks to the social constructivist approach.
Grades are used in the academic system to determine success, but personality traits, interests, and attitudes that are in line with the institution are used to determine success in the social system. Students may drop out of university for a variety of reasons, including excessive tuition costs, trouble adjusting from secondary to tertiary level, a lack of system integration, employment and family responsibilities, and language challenges. Therefore, I find it crucial to get to know my students and understand the daily challenges they face. This awareness allows me to better support them in navigating both academic and social hurdles, ultimately aiding in student retention.
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Student learning needs
"A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions."
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
Every lesson I teach includes an activity that involves students becoming interactive in the learning process. Active participation is the main focus and driving force behind students taking responsibility for their learning. I do not wish for learners to view university as an isolated learning experience disconnected from that of others. In my classroom, learners have no time to be spectators but need to make a meaningful contribution to their own and their peer's learning experiences, whatever the activities are for that lesson.
The reason why I have conducted a student learning needs assessment:
Learning theories provide important insights into what makes students effective and efficient learners. I have integrated a student learning needs assessment using a Google survey and a typed-up questionnaire that I handed out to students during the first lecture of the second semester this year. I firmly believe that a survey outcome would inform my teaching and learning theories and classroom activities. The main focus was to ascertain whether the teaching strategy used for the lesson evoked student learning. In addition, I believe that a student learning survey would benefit not only me as a teacher, but to students, the orthodontic department, the dental faculty, and administrators alike. The results/outcome of the survey could be accessed via the "Data Collection" link.
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The rationale for a student learning needs assessment:
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This kind of assessment plays a fundamental role in teaching and learning. Tangent to continuing professional development, learning would more likely lead to change in practice when needs assessment has been conducted. Different learning methods tend to suit different learning students and different identified learning needs. The main purpose is to allow student involvement in curricular design, diagnose individual learning problems, allow for learner intervention, as well as assess student learning.
As a lecturer, I am persistently driven to understand these theories and offer students the benefit of learning proficiency. By familiarizing oneself with learning-theory domains you are automatically provided with insight and perspective to your understanding of the role of a lecturer versus the role of the student within the higher education context.
A student needs assessment "has been increasingly recognized as a necessary part of curriculum design" (Pratt, 1980, p.79).
SEE SNIPPET
Student Survey
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A synopsis of the survey outcome:
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The majority of the students were positive about interactive learning methods, which involved group discussion and collaboration.
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Positive student comments included the following:
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The lesson was interactive.
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Yes, it was easier to grasp what was taught.
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Yes, practical learning is always the best way of learning.
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The class interaction is fun and interesting
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I got to do more interactive work with other classmates, which is new. We never do that during lectures. It helped me to stay awake.
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I like the group work part as it helps us revise and apply what we have learned.
Yes, it was very interactive and I felt comfortable enough to call out answers.
Yes, enjoy the interactive lectures. Get to learn from peers and lecturers.
Some of the positive comments
STUDENT FEEDBACK
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Negative student comments included the following:
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I prefer the PowerPoint. I did not benefit from the addition of group presentations.
The practical activities should be done during tutorial sessions.
It's new, so I'm not sure as yet.
Maybe at the end of the month.
Yes, but maybe in a venue where there are tables that we can sit around in a group.
I prefer to study on my own.
It depends on the content. Sometimes information pertaining to clinical application, especially when it was not done before is difficult to understand.
NEGATIVE COMMENTS BY STUDENTS
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Reflection:
Having reviewed the comments, it greatly served as a tool for self-reflection. It also highlighted which teaching strategies would work well for maximum learning to occur. It also provides important information for meaningful strategic planning for future lessons and how learners cope and acquire new skills and knowledge. I am aware that if my students are highly motivated and are integrated into the higher education system and provided with support, student retention rates, as well as academic success, will improve.
This would also have a positive impact and contribution to the society in which the students serve.
Student Retention & Success Strategy
One of the challenges that many universities face is student retention rates.
Spady (1970, 1971) starts by emphasizing that the process of student attrition is a dual approach. It should be interdisciplinary where there is an interaction between the student and the university education environment. Students come with different characteristics and are exposed to influences from a variety of sources at a tertiary level.
The social constructivist theory assumes that students operate within two main systems within the institution: the academic system and the social system.
The theory relies on the idea that students are challenged and exposed to various influences. They are impacted differently; success in the academic system is measured by grades and in the social system by attitudes, interests, and personality dispositions that are in line with the institution. Factors that influence student drop out include high university fees, unable to adjust from high school to university, not being integrated into the system, work obligations, family responsibility, language barriers, just to mention a few. It is crucial to get to know your students and the challenges they face on a daily basis.
Teaching Philosophy
Philosophy of Teaching: Social Constructivism
I consider myself to be a mentor, facilitator, and teacher. My mission is to inspire young minds to pursue their greatest potential by guiding them toward knowledge acquisition. My main goal is always to keep learning at the forefront of every lesson, and it is learning itself. It concerns the student's educational journey and their capacity to properly understand and apply new ideas to real-world circumstances. In other words, the journey is just as important as the destination.
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It is the job of the students to take ownership of their education, and as a facilitator, my goals are to inspire, encourage, and change them. Since they direct the learning process and make students active participants in acquiring new knowledge, active engagement and learner participation are essential. A diverse student body with a range of backgrounds, including gender, sexual orientation, religion, socioeconomic status, and learning styles, has several advantages. Interactions on a social and cultural level are essential to learning. Students who learn about many cultures can grow to embrace variety and their personalities. Students who feel empowered are more capable, self-assured, and important while interacting with the community and acting as change agents.
Students need to understand the significance of the material in order for learning to take place. Through group conversations and worksheet completion during lessons, students actively develop their understanding rather than passively receiving it. Learning creates a link between the known and the unknown, increasing the significance of new information. It is important to foster critical thinking in students and to push them to pose challenging queries. By promoting the acquisition of new ideas and abilities, social constructivism helps students function in the zone of proximal growth. Scaffolding is an essential tool for facilitators to implement this learning approach
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As a teacher, my goal is to help students view orthodontics as a process and to personalize their education. Learning needs to be a methodical, scientific process with an eye on clinical results. Instead of knowing definitions by heart, students should apply them to real-world scenarios. I employ a guided learning strategy, working one-on-one with pupils and teaching the class as a whole during scheduled lessons. Learning cannot occur without spontaneity, eye contact, and visual aids.
I keep improving my methods as a result of thinking back on these encounters and techniques to make sure every student is encouraged to participate fully in their education. I try to establish a classroom climate where each kid may flourish by comprehending and addressing their various needs and problems.
My Teaching Philosophy
Social Constructivism
Active participation
Group discussion
Social Interactions
My ultimate objective has been to increase students' orthodontics competency and provide them with the tools they need to interact with classmates and patients in a clinical context. Through social engagement, I hope to pique my students' interest in learning and implementing new information. To create a strong foundation for addressing problem-based scenarios in clinical sessions and real-world circumstances, this technique builds upon theoretical components, pre-clinical abilities, and phantom clinical curricular components.
My teaching tactics have been greatly influenced by my understanding of the context of the learning demands of my students. I used Google Forms to create a student learning needs assessment at the start of the second semester, and I gave out questionnaires to the third-year class during their first orthodontic lecture. My teaching strategies and classroom activities have been greatly informed by the data analysis from these tests, allowing me to customize my approach to best support my students' learning experiences.
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on my teaching philosophy, social constructivism—which holds that learning is grounded on practical problem-solving in a social setting—has had a particularly significant impact. Students exchange experiences and integrate new ideas with what they already know through conversations and hands-on experience with patients in the orthodontic department. They are able to make sense of the unfamiliar and apply what they have learned in useful, meaningful ways thanks to this process.
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In order to provide a thorough and productive learning environment, my teaching strategies are not predicated on a single learning theory but rather take inspiration from a number of them. Since each learning theory is relevant to a particular classroom practice, it is imperative to comprehend the foundations of multiple learning theories. Engeström's Activity Theory, which expands on Vygotsky's ideas of guided help through mediation and the Zone of Proximal Development, is one of the major theories that influence my classroom. Activity Theory describes how people think about social interactions and how they use items.
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​To accomplish their objectives in the orthodontic clinics, students make use of external resources such as study models and radiographs in addition to cognitive maps. Whiteboards, computer displays, posters, and online tests are examples of sociocultural instruments that have a big impact on how students behave and learn. Through the provision of progressively challenging tasks and diverse resources, I foster social engagement among students, expanding their group's understanding by means of the creation of significance.
References
Engeström, Y., Mietinnen, R. and Punamäki, R-L. (Eds: 1999) Perspectives on Activity Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kolb, D. A. (1976). The Learning Style Inventory: Technical Manual. McBer & Co, Boston, MA.
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Keesee, G. (2010). Andragogy-Adult learning theory. Retrieved from http://teachinglearningresources.pbworks.com/w/page/30310516/Andragogy-- Adult%20Learning%20Theory
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Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development (Vol. 1). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
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Kolb, D. A., Rubin, I. M., & McIntyre, J. M. (1984). Organizational psychology: readings on human behavior in organizations. Prentice Hall.
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Sanders J, Walsh K. A consumer guide to the world of e-learning.
Student British Medical Journal 2006:14:240-241.