My university has transformed from semester-system to credit-system for nearly 2 years. I think it’s pretty out-of-date in comparison with the educational development of other universities in the world. It is in the semester-system that administrators or selection committee didn’t have the right to choose our own textbooks, had to focus more on quantity than on learning and teaching quality and also put pressure on teachers and students. As a teacher, I can see the difficulties in encouraging teacher and learner autonomy in that educational system. Over the past 2 years, applying credit-system in the curriculum and technologies in teaching and learning, both teachers and learners in my university have known the importance of learning autonomy, especially teachers’ role in guiding and instructing students to learn autonomously. As mentioned in Thanasoulas’ article, it’s right that autonomy is a process, not a product.
To encourage learner autonomy, teachers have to foster teacher autonomy first by updating themselves with a variety of materials, resources, and methods to meet the learners' needs. Using various materials, new methods and updated resources in teaching can draw students’ interests and motivation. This results in students’ need in exploring the world of learning.
I definitely agree with Thanasoulas’s ideas that teachers should act as a facilitator of learning, a counselor, and as a resource to get students learn autonomously inside the classroom. I plan to use retrospective self-reports that include semi-structured interviews and structured questionnaires to raise awareness of learners.
In addition, outside the classroom teachers can encourage learner autonomy by introducing interesting books and on current newspapers, English programmes on TV &/or radio or recommending students to read along with subtitles in English as watching. Moreover, asking students to write journals/diaries on their personal blogs is one of the best ways to enhance students' self-study. Even shy and unmotivated students can write whatever they like and share with others.
I think teacher and learner autonomy is not very difficult to enhance provided that we as teachers are whole-hearted to encourage students to learn autonomously with or without the help of technologies.
Hi Phuong,
ReplyDeleteYou have studied the things very minutely. Quite impressive.
I read about the shift to credit and semester system of your university. What I believe is, it is easier to change the system than the teacher. To unlearn something is the most difficult and painful experience in the world and no one would willingly like to have that experience. So according to me in achieving learners' autonomy, the teacher plays the vital role.
The other thing I would like to discuss here is,instead of motivating teacher should inspire the learner in order to achieve the autonomy of the learner as the motivation is the outer force and inspiration is something from within.
Take Care.
Mithun Khandwala (India)
Hi Phuong-Mai
ReplyDeleteI like the way you focus on autonomy both inside and outside the classroom. It is interesting to hear about educational structure in different countries.
Robert