Creating a Reflective Online Community

1. Creating a Reflective Online Community Arlinda Lopez Rodriguez MWWP 2010 June 15, 2010

2. Arlinda López Rodríguez • Teaches at UPR, Aguadilla (5 years) • EDPE 3018 Methodology in the TESL- elementary level • EDPE 4005 Seminar- secondary level • EDPE 4246 Supervises teaching – secondary level • Started teaching in 1989 ( 21 years)

3. Contextual Factors • Classrooms have technology and AC. • UPR, Aguadilla – small campus and community supported • Students are mostly local. • Third and fourth year student

5. My Educational Philosophy • Learning should always be student centered. • Learning is a two way process, teachers and students learn from each other. • Respect is a must and is tied in with caring and having a passion about your work. • Teaching has to evolve; this takes time and is propelled by action research, reflection and praxis. • Students prior knowledge, cultural background (schema) has to be taken into account when developing curriculums and learning activities. • There is no one way of teaching; one size does not fit all!

6. My Educational Philosophy • Students must feel at ease so that they may become intimately involved in their learning process. • Learners are responsible of their own learning. • Educators will support and serve as guides as students seek, process, and internalize new learning (scaffolding). • Learners will be able to apply, transfer, their acquired knowledge to real life situations.

7. My Educational Philosophy • Student learning must be active. • Students will ultimately become lifelong learners, having the tools to think critically about the world that surrounds them and empowered so they can decide what they will accept and what they will challenge. • It is evident that my personal educational philosophy is supported by the educational theories of Dewey, Freire, Bruner, Vygotsky, Gardner and Krashen just to name a few.

8. Approach: Reflective writing • Reflective writing within a learning community of future educators. • Reflection + learned theories pedagogy • http://reflections-edpe4005.blogspot.com/ • http://reflectionsfromtheorytopractice.blogspot.com/

9. How it happens in class • I explain to students that reflection needs to be an integral part of their pedagogical practice. • Through reflection they make choices that they believe will help students achieve success in their classes. It also allows the teacher to think about their thinking (meta-cognition). • Reflection serves for educators to continuously think about what they are doing in their classes and how they can improve.

10. Learning Theories • Project Based Learning • Problem Based Learning • Critical Pedagogy • Ultimately, students should better understand their beliefs, how these affect their strategy for teaching and visualize their future pedagogy.

11. Cited works • Freire, P. (1998). Pedagogy of freedom: Ethics, democracy, and civic courage. Lanham, ML: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers. • Myers, J. & Beach, R. (2004). Constructing critical literacy practices through technology tools and inquiry. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education,4(3), 257-268. • Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. (2005). Focus on effectiveness. Integrating technology into research-based strategies. Retrieved July 10, 2007 from http://www.netc.org/focus/challenges/literacy.php

12. Procedure • Create online blog or community. • Plan prompts and set goals – Why is this an important task? What will those who participate gain? How will it be assessed? • Define reflection and explain that participations must be substantial. • Set deadlines and guidelines.

13. Author’s Chair • http://mwwp2010.ning.com • You were invited to create an account and become a member of this online community created just for you. • Feel free to look at everything that is available and think of how you can use this type of community to create a reflective writing community for your own students. • Please participate in the forum and blog.

14. Your Feedback • Thank you.