Week 7 Reflection: Learners’ Autonomy and One –Computer Classroom

This week I learned mainly three new things: Learners Autonomy, One-Computer Classroom and creating one-computer classroom lesson. I would like to share what I learned in a bit more detail:

Learners Autonomy

Helec describes Learners Autonomy as the ability to take charge of one’s learning. It is ‘essentially a matter of the learners’ psychological relation to the process and content of learning -and a capacity for detachment, critical reflection, decision making and independent action (Little1991:4). It is defined in terms of the learners’ willingness and capacity to control or oversee her/his own learning (Helec)

The autonomous learner takes a active role in the learning process, generating ideas and availing himself/herself of learning opportunities, rather than simply reacting to various stimuli of the teacher (Boud 1988). It is not simply ‘a rote memorization’; it is a constructive process that seeks meaning from events.

In addition to these, I learned three dominant philosophies such as positivism, constructivism and critical theory with the view to examining how each of them connects up with learners’ autonomy. Positivism assumes that learning can only ‘consist-in the transmission of knowledge from one individual to another (Benson& Voller, 1997:20) which is the congruent view of course is the maintenance and enhancement of the ‘traditional classroom’

Constructivism is another philosophy which leads directly to the proposition that knowledge cannot be taught but only learned (i.e. constructed) because knowledge is something ‘built-up by the learners’ (von, G & Smook: 1974). It encourages and promotes self-directed learning as a necessary condition for learners’ autonomy (Thanasolus).

Critical theory shares with constructivism in the view that knowledge is constructed rather than discovered or learned. Within this approach, learning concerns issues of power and ideology a process of interaction with social context.

Moreover, Thanasolus provides ideas of conditions such as learning strategies Meta- cognitive strategies for Learners’ Autonomy and ways to promote it such as Self-report, Diaries and evaluation sheets, persuasive communication are the main ways.

One- Computer Classroom

I love 7 categories of classroom computer use given in notes on a presentation by Donna Ashnus in the note entitled ‘But I Don’t Have a Computer Lab! Using One Computer in the Classroom ‘. It was prepared to provide teachers with methods of effectively using a single computer in the classroom. The 7 categories of classroom computer use are: Administrative tool, Presentation tool both for teacher and students, Communication station, information station, publishing tools, Learning tools and simulation center.( for detail  I recommend to go through: http:// www.seirtec.org/present. onecomptr.html , http:// www.lburkhart.com.elem/strat.htm )

One-Computer Classroom Lesson

Beside these, I created a lesson for one-computer class which enhanced my knowledge in teaching language skills with the focus in reading interactively with the help of one-computer in the classroom. It can be the best way to teacher better using limited number of resources.

Idea Sharing

I like idea sharing with others!

I am hurried to share these ideas with my colleagues, to transfer the idea by implementing in the classroom and by sharing it among NELTA friends, member of ELT Club (Blog). I am aware that ‘the more we give the knowledge, the more we gain.’

Greetings!

Harimaya