Starting my Journey as a Pre-service Teacher

Passion.  Inspiration.  Love.  Learning.  Children.  Knowledge.Music.  Singing.  Acting.  Performance.  Future. . .  Passion.

Me: Emma Louise McGuire

All of the words above, in one way or another, have led me to the road I am now on, the road which is leading me - through the Graduate Diploma of Learning and Teaching - in the direction of becoming a teacher. A road which I have often thought of (in many different ways), but never had the courage to actually follow. It is with trepidation, and a great excitement, that I begin this journey. Hoping to make a difference in the life of the students who walk into my classroom, or even a colleague that I work with along the way.

I have a flair for the dramatic, I always have. It has helped me through my Bachelor of Theatre (specialisation Music Theatre) Degree, and in many other facets of my life. I believe that I have the incredible friends I have because of theatre and music; I believe I have had the experiences I have had - in all different parts of the Australia, and the world - because of theatre and music; I believe that my family and friends all think I'm a little weird (but loveable) because of theatre and music; and I strongly believe that I want to use my loveable weirdness to help people to believe in themselves and the world around them, to believe that they can achieve anything they put their mind to, to believe that performing on a stage for a room full of people (in whatever genre they choose) can be liberating, exciting and life changing - not cringeworthy, horrible and terrifying.

Week One on this journey has been eye opening - I have realised many things about myself as a student and a person, and am finding that I am actually starting to read things from a teachers perspective - envisioning how I will implement the different techniques I'm learning into my future classes, even thinking of the different types of students I may have and how they're learning will differ from the other learners surrounding them, and how I can help them as their teacher/mentor, and genuinely make a difference in their life.

I've gone from being completely terrified about the teaching itself and how I would go about trying to be more knowledgable than a bunch of 12-18 year olds, to relaxing about the actual teaching side of things and moving on to being terrified about the coursework I now need to do that is going to bring me to my next journey, as an actual Secondary teacher - teaching real live children!

Learning Theories

When learning about the specific learning theories that have been mentioned in A Brief Overview of Learning Theory, it comes to my attention that all of these different "ism's" have been used on me as a student in one way or another - whether it was specifically directed by a teacher, or voluntarily done because I was interested in learning more about a subject (connectivism). Also, as I'm writing this, I realise that each of these different theories will absolutely not work for all of my students the way they may have worked for me, and that I will need to use a different variety/combination of the theories to enhance each individual learning experience.

For this reflection I have tried to relate each theory specifically to my learning areas of Drama and Classroom Music, and in doing this have come to believe that Constructivism (particularly Social Constructivism), and Connectivity are the areas that would work best in a classroom environment for my students and for the information/practical components that I will need to communicate with them. My thoughts are listed below:

Behaviourism – This is helpful when it comes to students learning lines/lyrics to their performance pieces, and also the history behind them. Very important to these specific learning areas, however possibly more when it comes to trying to learn or memorise information at home after school.

Social Constructivism – I believe that Drama/Music students would work very well in this learning environment, as the subjects NEED students to work together and co-operate, bounce off each other, act and play TOGETHER, and do it well. Learning like this every day develops the skills they need to go on and complete group practical assessments, and to even get work in the industry outside of school!

Connectivism – Connectivism plays a big part in my particular area of study also, as when students are learning, they may search for different youtube videos of performances/plays/concerts and reflect or critique what they see. By doing this, they may learn what they’re doing in a different way, or take what they’ve seen/heard and incorporate aspects of it into their own work to improve it. For drama and music especially, knowing what to sing or present for an audition is paramount – and this is ultimately what they’re learning, by using different networks, you can find many opinions, suggestions and new works to utilize and help the student.

Although connectivism and constructivism (other definitions also found below) are probably my favourites, and the two that I think I will use most in a classroom environmentI do believe that all of these theories are very relevant to learners in every way, and when used together  - catering to your specific group of students - they can be extremely effective.

Dr. Julie Willis and Sir Ken Robinson

When listening to these two very different people, speak on quite different topics, that both relate to teaching and how we can be more effective as teachers, I came to recognise something about myself... I do not learn well in a still video format where all I can see is a mouse moving around a screen and a voice without a face coming from my computer. It made me want to sleep - in fact, I actually did that! I went and had a nap because I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer! But it made me think - why?! Why couldn't I stay awake for this particular youtube video, why couldn't I take in any of the information that it was giving me on a deeper level than the notes I had written on my page? I was relaxed - I certainly wasn't afraid, so I figure that all of the filters to my Pre frontal Cortex should have been wide open and channelling all of that information! So, why? 

The one thing I can think of is that it wasn't presented in a format that I myself, as a very kinaesthetic learner, could enjoy. I was bored, and I know that when I get bored I get very easily distracted, therefore everything around me became a distraction - mainly my bed in the next room, my phone sitting beside me, my iPad, the numerous tabs open in my Safari browser, my new puppy! After my nap, I tried to finish watching/listening to the rest of the Eduroam youtube video of Julie's findings and quickly decided that I needed, or wanted, to watch something else. Which is frustrating to me, because the topics of Neurosciences and Neuroplasticity in relation to how students learn best, and to learning in general actually really appeals to me. It is something that I absolutely want to learn more about, and have researched in my own time since first hearing about it. I just couldn't seem to concentrate on this one.

Sir Ken Robinson was up next, and although Ken was still on a screen and not in my study area talking to me, I found myself involved, interested, motivated and wanting to learn more. So much so that I watched two more of his youtube videos after the prescribed one. Now this could have been because I could actually see the video of him as a person actually moving around the stage talking to other real live people in the audience who were also reacting to him as I was - laughing and contemplating the things he was saying - OR it could be just that, that I was actually laughing and contemplating the things he was saying. The information he was giving me was profound, it was challenging, and it certainly made me think. Now, I could have had the same reaction to Dr Julie Willis and her Neurosciences information - especially given that I have a genuine interest in the subject - but I just couldn't seem to engage.

I believe that:
Humour... leads to Enjoyment... which then leads to Attention... closely followed by: Concentration... Learning... Motivation to learn more... and Retention!

Sir Ken Robinson certainly did that for me, and I want to do that for my students. But to do that I may need to go sit through a few more lengthy lectures that don't necessarily inspire the above things in me. Which is the same for my future students (I think!) - I believe that at one point or another, all of the students are going to have to do things that they do not want to do, they will have to sit through sessions that they don't find particularly interesting, simply because each student's learning style is so different from the next. This is particularly true of the Arts sector, as students tend to be easily distracted (much like myself). I think that by taking a leaf out of Dr Julie Willis' video, and personalising every 10 minutes of class, you can try and combat this reaction in your students and aim to reach each different learner at some point throughout each session. This requires me to acknowledge when students are fading out of concentration and to move on, and also when they are really engaged in a lesson to perhaps make the most out of it and stretch it out.

I am looking forward to really getting involved in this subject and learning as much as I can about how to utilise different ICTs available to us to enhance my students'  learning journeys as much as possible, and make it as enjoyable as it can be. I know that young students are getting much more technologically savvy at an earlier age in this particular day and age, and I genuinely believe that being able to implement the right ICTs well in a learning environment would engage learners more, and keep them interested for longer, regardless of the topic being taught!

Until next week ladies and gents! :)

Emma