In this maiden post of ESLounge, I am going to share with you my writing experience of going through the application process of Advanced Higher Education Academy (AHEA) of UK fellowship program. A fellowship affiliation is an essential qualification for ESL teachers in institutions of higher learning.
My fellowship application has five parts. Each part reflects into my practice on a particular aspect of the teaching process. Each aspect of the teaching process must illustrate the impact of my teaching practice by demonstrating valid, reliable and quantifiable evidence. Honestly, I say, this is the most challenging part of the fellowship application.
In this first episode of the five-part series, I will discuss the theoretical framework by which I design and plan the learning activities. In the second episode, I will explain how I teach and support learning. References will be appended in the last episode.
My fellowship application has five parts. Each part reflects into my practice on a particular aspect of the teaching process. Each aspect of the teaching process must illustrate the impact of my teaching practice by demonstrating valid, reliable and quantifiable evidence. Honestly, I say, this is the most challenging part of the fellowship application.
In this first episode of the five-part series, I will discuss the theoretical framework by which I design and plan the learning activities. In the second episode, I will explain how I teach and support learning. References will be appended in the last episode.
The pedagogical framework by which
teaching and learning in Bahrain Polytechnic operates is problem-based learning
(PBL). Hence, within the framework I plan and design learning activities for my
students. This I carried out under the overarching philosophy of outcomes-based
education (OBE). Essentially under OBE-PBL framework, I have to ensure that learning
outcomes and learning activities must inform assessments (Derntl, M. et al,
2010). Learning outcomes and the context in which learning activities must be tailor-fitted
to the assessment standards of my students’ field of specializations in
business and logistics. I have observed that when synchronization of these
instructional elements is laid out satisfactory mastery of essential employability
skills are demonstrated in the students’ performance during assessments (Solvie
and Kloek, 2007).
In
the second semester of academic year 2017-2018, I have taken the lead of
updating instructional resources on Moodle for EL5001 or Introduction to
English Communication course. I have designed a number of communicative
exercises and formative assessments on enabling skills in reading, grammar and
vocabulary in order to build a stronger foundation for second language writers
and speakers of English. I believe that when foundation skills are scaffolded to support learning, intermediate-level
students as defined by Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) can gain
more confidence in approaching academic text and in meeting the standards of
the learning outcomes during assessments. Evidently, the cohort average score
in reading and writing assessments has comparatively improved from 63.7% last
semester to 72.5% in the current semester. This indeed confirms the important
role of scaffolding in the teaching of language as espoused by Ovando, C., Collier, V.,
& Combs, M., (2003).
Concurrently,
I have also been part of a departmental team tasked to develop EL6003 or
Critical Reading and Writing course. The course is delivered as a flipped workshop-based class. Specifically, I have
contributed to the design and creation of the face to face phase of the
workshop. Along with this are teacher’s notes, model answers and in-house criterion-referenced
tools or rubrics to guide tutors in the delivery of lessons and in the
evaluation of students’ works during formative and summative assessments. I have
realized that in blended learning, face to face session is an indispensable
component. It is in this session, that students are provided the opportunity to
work in teams in analysing a task, negotiating meanings in it, probing facts
and opinions within it, and formulating a collective synthesis about it at the
end. I have observed, as supported by students experience survey, that they
have become more engaged since the face to face group activities require them
to think critically and creatively together. This has translated to a higher
average performance scores during the post activity compared to a pure online
activity without the face to face component. However, there are identified
issues with timing and pacing the lessons in the face to face session. I
realized that future improvements of the course design, particularly on the
structure of face to face delivery, should be largely contingent on the review
feedback of tutors especially on the aspects of efficiency and quality of
students’ work outputs or performance in the post activity (Davis, 2014).
Finally,
I also recognized that all learning designs must have a feedback mechanism that
is anchored on the principle of timeliness, relevance and validity [(Wiggins,
2008). Thus, I ensure that students’ works uploaded on Moodle are assess
against the articulated standards/criteria on the rubric on a weekly basis and
that constructive feedback focusing on the areas for improvement are
highlighted and followed through regularly. In most cases, I set a one-on-one
conference with my students so that I can involve them directly in the
instructional loop. Students who have followed through the feedback performed
better in the assessments (Roll, I. et
al, 2006). This is currently evident in the difference of pass rates
between formative and summative assessments in reading/writing from 65% to 78%
and in listening/speaking from 73% to 90%. In addition, the efficiency rate of
completing the assessment tasks has remarkably improved after the feedback is
given and followed through. This clearly indicates the critical role of
feedback in my teaching practice.
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