In spending a few weeks to finish our data logging experiment, I found that I have learned a lot of new knowledge from here. Although I am not so sure and still confused about what to do in engage, empower and enhance, I still can complete my work with my friends. This is also a new way of teaching and let students think more. Their prior knowledge is the things that we want to get. The knowledge can be built from students existing knowledge.
This is the first time I get in touch with such kind of teaching method. From planning to get the topic which we decided to do, until setting catchy title, we have put a lot of effort in it. Catchy title plays the main role in the presentation as it can attract student’s attention. In engage part, it can elicit student’s prior knowledge by giving them an open ended question. We can found that their mind set is different from what we aspect. For empower part, it include the procedure of our experiment and the results. A good planning and experiment can help us to focus on what we going to get in the results. Some questions related to the experiment that have been done need to be ask to help students think more and compare their data. In enhance part, a question of critical thinking is asked to let student wider their mind set and related it to the topic which they learn from there.
In implementing engage, empower and enhance model, some problems or difficulties have been faced. First of all is finding question for engage and enhance. These two parts required us to think wisely and differently, and it really different from what we have learned during our school time. Luckily, Dr Sopia was there to help us to solve our curiosity. Other than that, experiment which we have chosen to do is easier but it seems like tougher when we handling and start to conduct the experiment. We are still new to these technology and apparatus.
Although difficulties were faced, but yet we found that data logging, simulation and modeling are useful for students. Each of them has its own unique features and they are tools for teacher to create an interactive communication with students. By implementing these in the classroom, students are able to do it rather just sitting in the classroom and listen to the lecture. We also help student to visualize something that we are not able to see in real life. For example air and water molecules. Through visualization, student will be more active and have interest to know more.
We know and admit that data logging, simulation and modeling are useful in teaching and learning but there will have some problem when we fully integrate it in the classroom. We are still new for all these technology stuff. For this, we need to experience it and try to make use of it as far as we could. We also try to adapt to different teaching-learning approaches.
Other than that, teacher maybe feel that they need to do more in preparing materials for data logging, simulation and modeling. What can I say is, experience is needed. None of us is full with knowledge since the day we born. We need to try and take it as a challenge to overcome this situation as teacher determines the success of students. If teacher did not start to doing these, how we going to tell our students to do it? We need to undergo some evolution in teaching-learning skill to make use of the resource that we can found easily around us actually. It really useful compared to tradition way of teaching.
We need courage to be different and to learn more as we do now. We can’t just teach our student by sitting there and talk until the end of the class. However, ICT is just an enabler. We can’t really depend on it fully. Uses of technology are important, but face to face communication is the most important things between teacher and students.
