extended_reflection_week_1_sonia_albertazzi feedback.docx

8/11/2019 extended_reflection_week_1_sonia_albertazzi feedback.docx

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LEARNING, AGAIN?

I have learned a lot this week. The first thing I was reminded of is that learning happens

everywhereand it happens allthe time. From the day we are born and until the day we die,

learning is the constant force that moves us through life. As a learner, this week I have learned

that I enjoy movement a lot. I love to read and study and hopefully that will never change;

however, I was always told to sit down, listen and work in silence. This week; on the contrary,

I have been asked to move around, stand up and work with people I hardly know. As a result,

I have been engaged in a new cycle, a new dynamics of learning. This week has been quite

an adventure and I love voyage and exploration. What will come for me as a learner for the

remainder of this journey? I hope lots of laughter, reflection, self-awareness and maybe one

or two new friends.

A quote I relate to very much from the ones we read this week is The real voyage of

discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in seeing with new eyes. by Marcel

Proust. I have been an English teacher for a long time and I feel this week I have been driven

to see learning with renewed eyes. I have been propelled to reconsider myself as a learner

and to remember what it feels like to be a full-time student after many years of being on the

other side of the mirror. It has been enriching and I am sure it will become very handy when I

go back to my context and to my teaching practice. I always thought about myself as a good

person who respected others and who was in general what you would call a nice person.

During this week in the course, I have had the opportunity to analyze myself and reflect about

my beliefs and paradigms about how people learn and how people relate to one another.

What is after all a good teacher if not someone who is able to show consideration andcompassion towards another human being who happens to need a helping hand at a given

moment? We should ponder on the fact that we are, at one point or another, that human

being in need of a helping hand. Perhaps empathy should become more a daily practice and

less a poster decorating the wall of one of my classes.

There are many theories about the way in which people learn and especially about how we

acquire language. If I could come up with the answer to those questions I would become a

millionaire and maybe I would be out of a teaching job in a short period of time. All the

theories about learning try to explain processes that occur in the brain of the learner. This

week I have been wondering if perhaps we should be looking more closely at what happens in

the heart of a person when he/she learns something new. Maybe we should be wondering

about how that learning can change a persons life and bring him/her closer to the person

he/she is meant to become. This week I learned about the motivation that drives a person to

learn a language and how that motivation keeps taking that person back to the classroom for

years, regardless of daily activities, distance, occupation or origin. I learned that we should be


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questioning ourselves about our true role as teachers and stop being concerned so much

about standards or examinations.

DAPA 1

DESCRIPTION:

On Tuesday, during Korean class Roger asked us to practice the numbers by hiding one

hand behind our backs and then our partner had to guess that number. I was working with

Migue and even without saying anything, we agreed to show each other the number of fingers

we were holding as a way to confirm our answers. During one of Migues turns I tried to guess

what I thought was number three but he kept saying NO! NO! so he showed me his hand and

because of the way he was holding his fingers it could also be interpreted as a number zero.

What is wrong? I thought, and then when we realized what was happening we started laughing

and said both numbers. It was a confusing situation for which we could find a solution by

communicating in a non-verbal way.

INTERPRETATION GENERALIZATION PLAN OF ACTION

Something that hindered my

performance was that I had

never been exposed to Korean

before.

Yeah! Being exposed to a

foreign language for the first

time can be very frustrating.I noticed that in your

description you talked about a

situation with Migue in one of

the activities. You mentioned

that there was a

misunderstanding between the

way he had his fingers and

what you interpreted; therewas nothing about not

understanding the foreign

language. This is why, I

cannot make a connection

between this interpretation and

the moment you described. In

It is important to be

exposed to the L2 as much

as possible when learning a

language.

I can make a clear

connection between this

generalization and yourinterpretation. It is clear that

you have become aware of

the importance that

exposure has in language

learning.

I will provide my students with

plenty of oral practice so that

they feel confident when they

have to use the L2.

In your interpretation and

generalization you highlighted

the importance of exposure tothe L2. As Im reading your plan

of action, Im wondering if when

you said oral practice you are

referring to exposure to the L2

or to opportunities for students

to use the L2?


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description and also

remember seeing you all

having a good time in the

Korean lesson.

atmosphere have in

learning, right?

which you can promote a safe

classroom atmosphere?

DAPA 2

DESCRIPTION

On Friday, we were discussing our annotations about Lauras class which we had observed

the night before and I was pretty sure I had identified the Encounter stage in her lesson. When

Laura explained the reason why she had used a picture at the beginning of her class, it was

pretty obvious for me that she was activating prior knowledge and not presenting the

vocabulary as I had assumed. That moment helped me understand a little more the first stage

of the ECRIF framework.

INTERPRETATION GENERALIZATION PLAN OF ACTION

Something that hindered my

understanding of the new

framework is that I had just

recently been exposed to it.

I also find that it is not so

easy to grasp the idea of

new concepts the first time

we encounter them. There is

always a first time for

everything! What was it

about this experience that

really hindered you? Could

you describe it?

Sonia, it is hard to make

connections between this

interpretation and your

description above. There is

no information there that

supports the fact that it was

It is convenient to provide

students with many

examples of possible

applications for new

knowledge.

I agreeexposure and

opportunities for practice

make the difference when

learning new concepts.

How do you think the amount

of examples provided would

help students learning?

I will try to expose my

students to many examples

for every new structure or

vocabulary item we study.

Good idea! Im sure you will

be able to lower your

students frustration when

they encounter new

language.


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the first time you interacted

with ECRIF.

My understanding of the new

concepts was hindered by

the fact that ECRIF is a new

framework for me,

completely different from

anything I had studied

before.

This interpretation is very

similar the previous one. Im

wondering if what hindered

your learning was the fact

that your previous

knowledge of other

frameworks led you to make

interpretations of the

purpose of the first activity of

the sample ECRIF lesson.

What do you think?

It is important to provide

students with many

examples of the new

structures being studied.

What are some of the pros

and cons of doing this in the

classroom?

I will expose my students to

the structure being

presented through different

sensory channels.

Wow! This sounds really

cool! Id love to get to know

one example of how you

want to do this.

Something that helped me

was that I had the

opportunity to observe Laura

using ECRIF and then we

could analyze it in class.

I can totally connect this

interpretation to what you

described above!

Students benefit from the

modeling provided by the

teacher.

You did a good job with this

generalization. It is both

connected to a part of your

description and the previous

interpretation.

I will provide my students

with modeling when giving

instructions for them to be

able to use the given

structures.

This sounds like a SMART

plan to help your students

get a better idea of the

concepts you want them to

learn

Another thing that helped me

was having different

strategies as a learner to

interpret the purpose of

having the picture at the

beginning of the class.

When I read this

It is important to help

students develop strategies

in order to interpret the

information given to them in

class.

Yes! I think those strategies

can help them even when

I will plan different activities

in an effort to help them

interpret relevant information

in and out of class.

I cant wait to see you in

action doing this


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interpretation I couldnt find

information in your

description to connect to it.

they are not in class.

Everything happens for a reason.

The best is yet to come. Reality is when it happens to you.

From where I am standing right now, these phrases summarize my views of this first week.

So, if I were asked what I think about the experience I would probably say that it is growing in

me. Lets say I am only beginning with my ECRIFication.

Sonia,

Congratulations on completing your first written assignment! It has been a pleasure reading

and commenting on your extended reflection this week and also to know that you are having

such a positive experience on the course so far. I really enjoyed reading about the new

journey of learning you are going through, discovering and re-discovering new aspects of who

you are as a learner, but most importantly, as a human being.

From your essay, I was excited to see how this first week on the course has helped you shift

your attention to students learning by having the experience of being a learner yourself. From

what I read, it seemed to have been such a significant learning experience for you to be put in

the learners shoes. Something that struck me was when you said: All the theories about

learning try to explain processes that occur in the brain of the learner. This week I have been

wondering if perhaps we should be looking more closely at what happens in the heart of a

person when he/she learns something newThis is a very powerful realization that I am sure

will guide you towards deeper realizations not only about teaching and learning but also about

human beings in general. I believe that now that you are aware of some of the factors and

conditions that affect learning, you will be able to connect to your students learning needs in a

way that will make learning an almost inevitable result.

In terms of you DAPAs, you did a great job choosing relevant moments to describe. Anotherhighlight is that you provided some detail to describe the general context in which the

moments were taking place, which is very helpful to get a better idea of the conditions that

affected the moment described. However, one of the most important parts of DAPAs is the

description, which helps support our interpretations, generalizations and action plans with

consistent facts and events. In your descriptions, I noticed there was not enough detail of the

moment you chose to analyze, so there was not enough factual information to base your


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interpretations, generalizations and action plans. I also noticed that a number of your

interpretations, generalizations or action plans werent really connected to your description.

The idea is that you make an interpretation based on your description and then you make a

generalization for that interpretation. And then finally, you come up with an action plan based

on your generalization. I would suggest that next time you write your DAPA, you provide as

much detail as possible about the specific moment you chose so as to base your four

interpretations, four generalizations and four action plans on that specific moment.

Sonia, your paper has met the requirements for this extended reflection and is a pass.

If you have any questions, let me know.

Once again, thank you for all your hard work, dedication, and passion.

With gratitude,

Laura.

extended_reflection_week_1_sonia_albertazzi feedback.docx

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