Most of my teaching experience is face to face. just last year, I have decided to use part face to face and some online teaching. My online form of teaching was mainly via email and google meet. One good thing about online teaching (in my case) is that a student would not be able to know if you, as a teacher ‘negatively or positively impacted by your student behaviour, attendance, comments etc, because students don’t see you. In my online class, I gave notes, announcements and updates regarding our face to face and online class time. We conduct our online class in our school computer room, this room is usually filled by students and teachers when no one is on for class. So I always remind my students to be in the room on time for all our online lessons. I get easily annoyed when I am online, and my students do not turn up. After sending a few comments but no responses, I then put up my note and say - ; when you are available, refer to the link provided, and if you have questions, send it to my email, and will try to attend to as soon as I can’. I have learnt a lot from this CS4ODFL. Thank you for designing this course.
In boarding schools, we tend to feel learning environment is and should be to teaching and learning expectations. But sometimes, students themselves can be a disturbing concern - they don’t turn up for your classes, they repeatedly come late to class (though food and everything is all provided) and many times, they will repeatedly asking permissions for leaving your class! This can always and will definitely create negative teaching experience. For me, I always let them as they wish and try to pretend I am ok, but deep in, I am fully annoyed. I guess, online and blended type of teaching environment may be something to consider to remedy this negative environment? 100% online teaching/learning environment must be considered as a remedy to such a negative teaching environment??
Yes, it is really annoying when teachers put in so much effort to learn and teach online and students do disturbance or leave classes and at times “know it all” attitude is there. I always use these students to lead by online class discussion…when they are engaged or are given attention, there behaviour changes and my class becomes better. 
Hi @Mokuaro …Yes, it takes and lot of effort, commitment and patience to conduct online classes. Just today, I sent a message to my students for online classes this week, and some students wrote that their books are in school… 
They asked me if they can come and pick. 
Also, when talking to students in my department, one of my colleagues said she forgot certain features on Google Meet… 
Online, Face to Face and again online…making us learn and keep practising for better online classes 
Greetings Mokuaro - You are 100% correct. Learning to be patient is sometimes a real challenge to some of us. I know the challenge is directed to me. Thank you Moku for the reminder. Let us face this year 2022 with our individual known challenges so we can face our 2022 students with their unknown challenges! Happy 2022 to one and all of CS4ODFL.
Yes, its really true whereby at times some students really test our patience level. There are some children with special needs or attitude problem. Its always good to involve them in the discussion and if left unattended they will definitely disturb the class.
The problems you are encountering while conducting online class is really true. In my school we are providing the data to all year 12 and 13 students with financial issues. However, its quite sad to say that only few students turn up for online classes, despite several reminders made by teachers.
Think of a time when you had a positive/negative teaching experience that involved you and a student. Why was it a memorable experience?
Bula vinaka.
All teachers face challenges either positive or negative teaching experience.I faced positive challenges where students were able to complete advance set of notes and other activities ahead of other students.So during time like this, I had keep them busy with a set of revisional questions.On the other hand a common negative student issues that I face is when students do not attempt home work or activity questions given to them and complain about book being forgotten at home or being lost or stolen by a student. So,if similar situations, occur, then we as teachers need to be very positive and be patient, and then give them another chance to complete their work.
It was a memorable experience since it really tested our patience and our faith as students in this modern and technology days are so advanced. As at time, some teachers are lacked of knowledge and skills with modern technologies, that they would not been able to adapt to the modern age that we live in.
@geeta.krishna …making us learn and keep practising for better online classes
Hi Geeta, yes - we need to keep sharpening ourselves!
It is worthwhile to be aware of the “learn, unlearn, relearn” concept as teachers.
Teachers go through an unlearning process when they enter a new learning environment outside the mainstream model. “transformative change is very challenging because participants not only must learn new skills, but also must “unlearn” almost unconscious beliefs, assumptions, practices, and values about the nature of […] learning ”…Please see the following link for a primer on the - learn, unlearn, relearn - concept: https://blog.learnlife.com/learn-unlearn-relearn
“The illiterate of the future are not those who can’t read or write but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. ” Alvin Toffler
So correctly stated Geeta. When we began with online classes there were some students who are really into technology in comparison to me. Sometimes we forgot the basic steps such as unmute of mics, sharing of lectures or it being hidden. So when students corrected me, I always accepted my mistakes and apologized and informed that we are learning with them
@bkabuatioer this would be a stressful situation to be in. As we become more experienced and reflective (these courses are valuable for providing insight and understanding) we learn to recognise personalities and human ego. If we can manage these negative distractions, and focus on the majority of learners who do want to be taught, we mature as better more patient teachers.
@DeepakPrasad thank you for this link!
Module4_Forum Post
A negative comment received a few years ago helped me take stock of my team’s communication strategies between us faculty as well as with the learners. The complaint was that feedback of online submissions was not being provided. I was a co-faculty teaching into the course and not the coordinator. This was a good lesson for our faculty to ensure clear delineation of roles and responsibilities for marking assessments as well as in teaching.
I enjoy teaching and having positive teaching experiences. Positive feedback is the icing in the cream bun! I have kept one such feedback received last year. I felt a sense of satisfaction that I was able to transfer not just knowledge, but attitude (soft skills) and practice (competencies). Except for a reputation for being excellent, ambitious, assertive, and a high achiever I was not aware of this particular student. My first impression of her was that she was impatient and critical of everything. Almost two years after completing my course she sent me a long text message thanking me for being her mentor and role model and teaching her to value human interaction. She had found great satisfaction in her tasks and role as a junior doctor because of what she had learned in my course. And she was passing on the soft skills as well as clinical organisational skills to others coming after her. The feedback was memorable because the teachings were able to be translated into life skills that continue to be used in daily work.
Some proactive measures that I would consider to prevent conflict are:
- · Establish ground rules using a netiquette guideline
- · Welcome video which I can use to introduce myself, my experience with online teaching (in brief to help establish a sense of security for the learners). I would also use the welcome video to introduce any other faculty co-teaching and outline the faculty roles and responsibilities.
- · An Orientation post which outlines the expectations of the course and the schedule for learning activities, communication pathways, assessments, and feedback.
- · In the Zoom session (first day of class) I would try to establish rapport and build a sense of learning community
- o Introductions by everyone beginning with me thus setting my social presence online and then ensuring that I am in the online classes when I say I’ll be there. Students are more likely to interact and engage if I can project an interested, enthusiastic teacher.
- o Everyone would get the opportunity to introduce themselves and this could be done as an icebreaker activity
- o Ensuring everyone is included in the online activities such as forum boards, live chats, or interactive discussions
- o Using student names in greetings and acknowledging their contributions helps to ensure they feel less isolated and more part of the learning community
- o providing clear channels of communication, including online office hours.
In terms of conflict management, things to keep in mind are as follows:
Checking my perception and interpretation of the offending post/comment or chat
Asking for clarification from the author about what was stated/written and the intention of the message. This ensures that I have not misinterpreted the message. If it is a definite conflict situation and depending on the nature of the message and the context, I can either request that the post be removed or reworded in keeping with the Netiquette guidelines. I might also invite the student to a meeting with me for an Office Hour session to determine if there are underlying issues that have led to the conflict. There is also the option to introduce a neutral party if the student feels that I am biased. I would have no qualms with doing so if a student requested.
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There have been many positive experiences however there is one particular negative teaching experience that I can recall where a particular student used to come in drunk to class most of the time and unnecessarily disrupting class however I decided to get to know the student better and managed to make a positive impact.
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The highly prescribed “proactive measures that you could employ to prevent and manage conflicts amongst your course participants on chat rooms or discussion boards” is setting out of netiquettes.
Have you tried to investigate as to what is the root cause for the mentioned children with “attitude problem”
Conflicts are never harmonious to any environment let alone learning environment however an openminded discussion would be a better path to adopt.
hi
i totally agree with your point of view. As teachers we have to be fully equipped before entering the classroom. Students are smarter these days with technologies.
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Teaching is the most loveable and beautiful experience specially when we meet our ex-students outside who are with white-collar job or skilled workers.it puts a bright smile on our face when they come forward and greet us with a smile. It all depends on how will motivate and mold our students for future.
Regarding my positive approach I know that not all students cannot be a lawyer, teacher or a doctor. We have skilled students who are very fantastic with their artwork. I had some interesting students who heeded my instructions and joined FNU to pursue their career as a Graphics designer/ Joiner/ technicians. Today they are working at a stable places where their skilled are so well recognized.
Regarding my negative approach.
There is a saying that it cannot be a sunny day always and same happened in my teaching experience where a student pointed that teacher is unfair with the collection papers that she have given extra time to some students to complete the paper. Well Well i was so frustrated when camera’s where placed in all classrooms for safety reasons that we are being policed up at all time by this camera. And i really thank almighty that the same camera protected me. It was the lunch time and the prayer was in progress and we all have to respect and keep still till for that particular moment.
This also gave me a lesson that at time we blame some of the things that we are not in favor of, but at times these decisions to assist us a lot…
Despite all this i never gave up or pointed to those students because at the end of the day they are our children and my negative impressions can create hatred and the students will never trust me. We should always have a forgiving nature when we chose this profession. Not all children are same. Some come from very difficult background and we have to accept them and nurture them with love and care.
This is my 17th year of teaching and the journey till now has been really challenging. Well, after 2019, it has become even more challenging due to COVID-19.
I have encountered many positive teaching experiences with my students. These include community outreach, parents feedback, celebration of teachers day by students, entertainment by students, disciplined children and so forth. One of the most memorable teaching experience was with my student who was not that good at studies. Today, I am pleased to see that student as a teacher.
One of the negative experience with a student was that when I was spot checking the bags for a reported theft in the class. That student told at home that I threw her lunch box while checking her bag. Her father then threatened me that h won’t leave me. Quickly, I made a police complaint to save that parent from reaching me. Other negative experiences were indiscipline cases, children not following rules, boys having fancy hair cuts, social cases like rape and physical abuse.
All the above mentioned cases are memorable ones and have become part and parcel of my teaching career.
Some of the proactive measures that I can take to prevent and manage conflicts amongst my course participants are by following the netiquette guideline, being clear and precise with my message, not using abusive language and being humble and kind.
So true. Not all students can get white collar jobs and this is actually what COVID has taught us. The ones who have progressed really well in this pandemic are the farmers who are self-sufficient. They grow their own and eat. Those pilots and hotel workers were at home without jobs while the farmers have work everyday.
So, COVID has shown has the right direction.