Libya and EFL - first ever workshop conducted here on this subject.

I am now in the Department of English, Faculty of Educuation, Sukh Al Khameez, Al Mergib University, Al Khums, Libya.
We conducted a workshop for EFL Seconday School students and teachers of Sukh Al Khameez and AL Khums.
The main organizers and conductors of the workshop were the Dean Dr. Rajabh Ghate,and Mr Abdul Salam Bel Hajj, our wise and able Head of the Department,and Mrs Jones Sudha, Mrs Hemalatha Morari, yours truly, that is, Dr. A.V. Koshy and Mr. Ramadan Shalbag. Others who helped included the other teachers of the Dept., especially Santhosh Howdekar and Shyam Vootnoor. Dr. Ghulam Rasool Mir, Mrs Meena Kumari, Anil Koshy, Abdul Khalik and Mohammad Azhrak were the other facilitators.

Here are the proceedings. I actually prepatred a questionnaire of much higher standard but four of us, namely Sudha, Hemalatha, me, Santhosh and Shyam worked on it to make it simple to suit the school students.

The Proceedings of the Workshop
“Developing ELT in Secondary Schools in Khoms, Libya”
held in Khoms’ Faculty of Education by the Department of English.

















Al Mergib University
Faculty of Education
Khoms
Department of English
Workshop
on
Facilitating ELT in the Secondary Schools in Khoms, Libya
2009-2010.
Monday & Tuesday
23 & 24 November 2009
Venue: Conference room & Auditorium

Chief Guest: Dr. Mohammad Ahmed Aldwaib
Honourable Chancellor of Al Mergib University

Dr. Rajabh Ghate Mr. Abdul Salam Bel Hajj
Dean of Faculty of Education
Head of the Dept. of English







PROGRAM
DAY 1
23.11 .2009 (Monday)
Time: 10.00 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Venue: Conference Room, Faculty of Education.
Registration.
The compere, Mr. Abdul Khalik, announces the program.
Welcome speech: Mr. Ramadan Ahmed Shelbag.
Address: Dr. Rajabh Ghate, the Dean, Faculty of Education, Sukh Al Khameez.
Keynote address: Mr. Abdul Salam Bel Hajj, Head of the Department of English, Faculty of Education.
Giving out of questionnaire and stationery.
Discussion 1 by five groups facilitated by faculty and student volunteers of the English Department.
Tea break: 15 minutes.
Making of main points into 5 charts by the facilitators, student volunteers, and student participants.
Display of charts.










Day 2
24. 11. 2009. (Tuesday)
Morning session
The overall facilitator, Mrs. Jones Sudha Vijai, chalks out the program:
Discussion 2 by five groups facilitated by faculty and student volunteers of the English Department.
Making of 5 charts of remedial suggestions by faculty, student volunteers, and student participants.
Reading of all 10 charts by all the student participants and visiting faculty.
Tea break: 30 minutes.
Afternoon session
Introductory speech: Mr. Abdul Khalik.
Welcome speech: Mrs. Jones Sudha Vijai.
Speech: Chancellor, Dr. Mohammad Ahmed Aldwaib, partly translated by Ms. Ebtisam (4th year student).
Distribution of the mementos, certificates for faculty and student volunteers and certificates for participating schools by the Honorable Chancellor of Al Mergib Univ., the Dean of F.o E. , the Head of the D.o E., the Dean of the English Language Centre and the Head of the Examination Section and Dr. A.V. Koshy.
Compere: Mr. Santhosh Howdekar.
Speech: Mr. Ramadan Ahmed Shelbag.
Short Documentary & MS PowerPoint: Mr. Abdul Khalik & Mr. Anil Koshy.
Summation: Mrs. Hemalatha Murari.
Speech: Ms. Ebtisam.
Poem recital: Ms Safia Al Shereef.
Vote of thanks: Mr. Mehmood Ali Azhrak.




Developing ELT in Secondary Schools in Khoms, Libya
Workshop Questionnaire 1:
1. Which foreign languages are you learning?
2. Why learn English? Give at least five reasons.
3. Is learning English difficult or easy?
4. If your answer is yes, why is it easy?
5. If your answer is no, why is it difficult?
6. Do you like learning English?
7. In what class is English started in your school?
8. Are the four skills of Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing taught to you right from the beginning?
9. Do you listen to tapes and repeat sounds and sentences?
10. Are you taught to read and write the letters, words and sentences properly?
11. Through what exercises are you taught grammar?
12. Is English taught to you mainly in Arabic?
13. Is this better than being taught English mainly in English?
14. Are you able to listen to, speak, read and write English fluently in class?
15. If yes, how or why?
16. If no, why?
17. Are you asked by the teacher to use English outside class frequently?
18. Do you use English outside the class?
19. What listening exercises are you given?
20. What speaking exercises are you given?
21. Does the teacher connect these two?
22. What teaching aids are used in the classroom? List them.
23. Do the teachers use extra aids like atlases, clocks, maps, encyclopedias, globes, display boards, posters, notice boards, thesaurus etc., in the classroom?
24. Do the teachers use old and new technological aids like the computer, internet, CDs, DVDs, CD players, DVD players, TVs, tape recorders, digital projectors, slides, overhead projectors etc?
25. Are you enjoying the English lessons?
26. If yes, why?
27. If no, why not?
28. Do you do individual, paired and group activities and exercises in class?
29. Do you get homework?
30. Do you get the chance to do paired and group activities as homework?
31. Do the teachers check your work done in class regularly?
32. Do they give you suggestions for improvement?
33. Do they check your homework?
34. Are you encouraged to read extra material?
35. Do you have a library with English books?
36. Do you read them?
37. Are the teachers good in English?
38. Does the teacher encourage creative writing?
39. Does he allow you to use your imagination?
40. Do you have a class magazine with an English section?
41. Do you have a school magazine with an English section?
42. Do you have different competitions based on listening, speaking, reading and writing, with prizes?
43. Are you taught literature in different forms and genres like essay, poetry, short story, novel, drama etc?
44. Are you shown films, TV programs and videos or made to listen to the radio, CDs etc?
45. Do you have regular quizzes and tests?
46. Are you taught to use a dictionary properly?
47. Are you given sheets?
48. Do you like only English being used in the classroom?
49. Do you get the chance to apply the English you have learned outside?
50. If yes, how, when and where?
Developing ELT in Secondary Schools in Khoms, Libya
Workshop Questionnaire 2
51. Is the class at which English was started for you early enough?
52. Do you think English should be started earlier? When and why?
53. Should English be taught to you right from the beginning as the four skills of Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing?
54. Is the way that English is taught to you now, that is, mainly in Arabic, a good method?
What do you think would be a better method?
55. Are individual, paired and group exercises and activities better than learning by heart?
56. Can the lessons be made more enjoyable by introducing word games, puzzles etc? How?
57. Should the teachers check your work in class and homework regularly?
58. What do you expect them to do after they check it?
59. Should you be given the chance to practice the English you have learned outside class? How?
60. Are the marks for the examination the most important thing or your actual knowledge of English?
61. How can this be measured?
62. Should you be given the chance to take part in school competitions etc?
63. Should you be given the opportunity to have group discussions?
64. Can you start school or class magazines with English sections in it?
65. Which is better, learning individually or in groups?
66. What more can you suggest to change things for the better?



Developing ELT in Secondary Schools in Khoms, Libya
Workshop Questionnaire for the Teachers
Answer as briefly as possible.
1. Is there a proper curriculum for English Language teachers?
2. Is it given to you at the beginning of the year to read?
3. Is there a syllabus and prescribed material of a high quality from places like Cambridge and Oxford suited or adapted to your local cultural needs?
4. Is it supplied to you early enough at the beginning of the academic year?
5. Are you given time to read and plan its delivery and execution?
6. Does the school have enough facilities to help you in your teaching, specifically teaching and technological aids?
7. Are you given any kind of orientation program in teaching before you start if you are a new teacher? Does it include ELT, EFL, ESL, ESP, TESOL and other kinds of FLA training?
8. What do you think should be the basic qualification for an English Language Teacher in secondary schools?
9. How do you motivate both the weak and strong students to improve in learning English?
10. Are you given refresher courses to keep you up to date with new methodologies and pedagogies in teaching?
11. Are you trained in assessment, test making, question paper making and correcting answer scripts?
12. Do you have a good library and internet to keep up to date with the latest information regarding your subject?
13. Do you make lesson plans, unit plans and year plans for the completion of the syllabus?
14. Are you able to complete the syllabus to your satisfaction?
15. Are you given enough teaching time to do this weekly, monthly and in a year?
16. Do students get enough time to revise before the exam??
17. Do you check at the end of each lesson, unit and year plan if the learning objectives have been satisfactorily met?
18. If there is a gap between the learning objective and learning outcome how can it be bridged?
19. Is assessment of teachers done twice a year?
20. Are you given constructive feedback on how to improve your teaching followed by adequate support?
21. How will you teach literature through language?
22. How will you motivate weak and strong students equally, to learn English?
23. Do you have any other suggestions for improving the teaching of English in secondary schools in Libya, regarding any aspect of secondary school English language teaching?
Classroom management.
Discussion topics:troubleshooting
24. Consider what you would do in the following situations:
One or two students are keeping very quiet and are not volunteering much contribution.
25. One or two students are dominating the discussion.
26. The students are making a lot of mistakes in grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation etc.
27. The students are not interested in the topic.
28. The students begin to go off on a tangent.
29. The groupings are not working well because of personality clashes.
30. Some students get angry with each other when sharing opinions.








Findings, Recommendations and Remedial Measures
1. Which foreign languages are the students learning?
The only foreign language being taught in the secondary schools of Sukh Al Khameez and Khoms that were represented in the workshop is English.
This shows a clear and welcome awareness and recognition of the importance of English as the twenty first century’s primary international language of communication. We hope that this continues.
Some students said that they are learning Italian, French or German privately.
This is a good thing because these languages will be of much help to them.
2. Why learn English? Give at least five reasons.
The reasons given by the student participants for learning English included
a. getting a job easily,
b. getting a high paying job,
c. communicating with native speakers,
d. travelling abroad,
e. learning about English culture,
f. learning the 4 language skills properly,
g. communicating with friends on the internet through chat,
h. using the internet and watching English programs and films on TV,
i. talking to teachers and friends in and outside class and
j. improving their general knowledge.
The list was quite comprehensive and if these can be focused on as long term learning objectives the students will achieve much.
3. Is learning English difficult or easy? 4. If yes, why is it easy ? 5. If no, why is it difficult?
Most of the students said that learning English was easy but this was because of a high level of motivation on the part of such students. The ones who said it was difficult said that it was mainly because some of the lessons were difficult and the teachers did not explain sufficiently or try to make them simple or easy. They said that the teaching was not up to the mark sometimes because some of the teachers were not well qualified.
This shows that teachers must try to motivate their students more and try hard to make complicated lessons comprehensible to all the students. They should also try to make them autonomous learners.
6. Do the students like learning English?
All the students who came for the workshop said that they liked learning English.
This means the teachers are at an advantage and they should take care to retain and develop their interest.
7. In what class is English started in school?
English is started in some schools in seventh and in some schools in first. All the students agreed that English should be started in the first. By this time they are seven years old.
Our recommendation is that English be started as early as possible, even in kindergarten if it exists; so that English can become a Second Language and not a Foreign Language.
8. Are the 4 skills of LSRW taught right from the beginning?
English is not taught according to the English as a Foreign Language methodology of teaching the four skills, Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing, separately; right from the beginning.
We recommend that English be taught as the four skills simultaneously from primary class onwards. But in the initial pre-schooling stages more stress may be given to teaching the Listening and Speaking skills.
9. Do the students listen to tapes and repeat sounds and sentences?
Students are taught sounds and sentences by the drill and repetition method.
We recommend that for listening and speaking tapes and audio clips of native speakers be supplied as role models so that the students can pick up the correct pronunciation of sounds, words, sentences, stress, accent, intonation etc.
10. Are the students taught to read and write the letters of the alphabet, words and sentences properly?
The students say that they are taught reading and writing properly.
But our experience as teachers at the university level shows that they are mistaken in this assumption and the interference of L1 is actually hindering their learning these two skills effectively. Learning of proper handwriting, punctuation, capitalization, mechanics, paragraphing, essay writing, reading comprehension, skimming, scanning, fluency etc., should be adopted right from the primary class and expanded on in the higher classes.
11. Through what exercises are the students taught grammar?
Grammar is taught to the students only in the traditional and classical method.
But it should also be taught in a more interesting way by making use of handouts, puzzles, crosswords, interactive word games etc.
12. Is English taught to the students mainly in Arabic?
13. Is this better than being taught English mainly in English?
The students said that English is taught to them mainly in or half in Arabic though many wanted it to be taught mainly or even only in English.
We recommend that English be taught right from the beginning only in English with the teacher resorting to Arabic only in the event of there being no other option. The grammar translation method should be avoided. In higher classes Arabic should not be used at all, either by the teacher or by the students, as it is being used in all the other disciplines.
14. Are the students able to listen to, speak, read and write English fluently in class? 15. If yes, how or why?
16.If no, why?
Some students said that they are able to use English fluently. They are highly motivated autonomous learners. The students who are unable to use English fluently are the ones who depend mainly on the grammar translation method of learning.
17. Do teachers encourage students to use English outside the class frequently?
Teachers ask students to use English outside the classroom.
Opportunities must be consciously created to use English outside the classroom. We recommend that the students can be taken on field trips to places like Leptis Magna where they can perhaps interact with native speakers, to libraries in Khoms or in Tripoli where English books are available and to places like the English Language Centre in Khoms for opportunities to interact in English.
18. Do students use English outside class?
Some students said that they use English outside the class for chatting and browsing the internet. They also use it for travelling. They rarely use it with friends or teachers.
Such use of English outside the class must be maximized.
19. What listening exercises are students given?
20. What speaking exercises are they given?
21. Does the teacher connect these two?
No listening exercises are given to the students and only some speaking exercises are done.
The teachers almost never connect the two.
Conversation practice, dialogues and not just the lock step method, role play, simulations etc., must be done along with listening to declamations, dialogues, speeches, poetry recitations and video and audio programs on CDS, DVDs etc. These must always be connected for maximum effect.
22. What teaching aids are used in the classroom? List them.
23. Do the teachers use extra aids like atlases, clocks, maps, encyclopedias, globes, display boards, posters, notice boards, thesaurus etc., in the classroom?
The students told us that only traditional teaching aids are used in the classrooms. These aids include black board, chalk, duster, texts, notebooks, pens, pencils, rubbers, white boards and markers.
We recommend that additional aids like flashcards, charts, posters, notice boards, display boards, maps, rulers, clocks, atlases, globes, encyclopedias, thesaurus, lockers, shelves etc., should be compulsorily made and used.
24. Do the teachers use old and new technological aids like the computer, internet, CDs, DVDs, CD players, DVD players, TVs, tape recorders, digital projectors, slides, overhead projectors etc?
The students said that no technological aids whatsoever are used.
We strongly recommend that computers, internet connections, tape recorders and tapes, CD and DVD players with CDs and DVDs, radios, digital projectors, digital cameras etc., must be invested in and these aids can be kept in the headmaster’s room and used by teachers as and when needed and returned to the headmaster safekeeping so that students do not get the chance to spoil them.
25. Are you enjoying the English lessons?
26. If yes, why?
27. If no, why not?
Students do enjoy their English classes somewhat. The main reason is self – motivation.
Classes can be made more enjoyable if the extra and technological aids mentioned above are used, interactive learning is introduced and an element of fun or play is allowed through bringing in word games etc.
28. Do you do individual, paired and group activities and exercises in class?
29.Do students get the chance to do paired and group activities as homework?
30.Do the teachers check student work done in class regularly?
31.Do they give the students suggestions for improvement?
32.Do they check homework?
The students said that while they get paired and group work occasionally in class they are not given such homework or projects to be done outside class.
Paired and group work and paired or group projects as homework must be encouraged.
The teachers check the work done by the students, giving suggestions and they also check homework but students wanted the chance to rewrite and improve, after the corrections are done. In short, more follow up is required.
33.Are students encouraged to read extra material?
34.Do students have a library with English books?
35.Do they read them?
Students are asked to read extra material. Some of them have English books at home. So they read.
We recommend that all schools have a library of English books or a section in the main library with only English books and a library hour for each class plus facilities for students to take out and return books in a week or two.
36. Are the teachers good in English?
Some teachers are good in English but not all. We recommend that the basic qualification should be at least a Bachelor’s Degree in the subject plus a teaching degree in English. The teachers should also be given orientation and refresher courses on teaching, the latter on a regular basis.
37. Does the teacher encourage creative writing?
38. Does he allow students to use their imagination?
39. Do students have a class magazine with an English section?
40. Do students have a school magazine with an English section?
41. Do they have different competitions based on listening, speaking, reading and writing, with prizes?
The teachers do allow creative writing and the use of the imagination but to really foster these skills more we recommend starting class magazines and school magazines with English sections in them as well as holding school and inter-school competitions in elocution, debating, poetry recitation, short story writing, poetry writing, essay writing etc. The students should be given proficiency prizes.
42. Are you taught literature in different forms and genres like essay, poetry, short story, novel, drama etc?
The students said that they are not taught literature, except for excerpts.
We recommend that syllabus makers compulsorily include a specimen of each genre, suitable to the level being taught, to raise the standard of English. In the case of novels or dramas , abridged versions can be prescribed.
43.Are students shown films, TV programs and videos or made to listen to the radio, CDs etc?
The students said no.
We suggest such activities be included in homework as group projects and students be made to write reports on it. Screenings of films etc., can be done at school too.
44. Do students have regular quizzes and tests?
45. Are students taught to use a dictionary properly?
The students said yes.
These are strengths of the system and must continue.
46. Are students given handouts?
The students said no.
Handouts make class interesting. Please use them. It also prepares them for university learning.
47. Are individual, paired and group exercises and activities better than learning by heart?
The students said yes.
Change the emphasis to understanding and not to memorizing.
48. Are the marks for the examination the most important thing or your actual knowledge of English?
49.How can this be measured?
The students said only marks matter.
No, the marks alone are not the only criterion. Yes, actual knowledge of the language is what matters. So this must be tested by continuous and cumulative assessment.
Introduce continuous and cumulative assessment that is diagnostic, descriptive, prescriptive, remedial and finally summative.
50. What more suggestions can you (the students) make to change things for the better?
1.The students said that they want reading rooms and supervised library hours with a library that has English books in it.
2.They also want audio- visual room and language labs.
3.They want class magazines with English sections in them.
4.They want a school magazine with an English section in it.
5.They want field trips to use English in real life situations and modern methods of teaching. For this the teachers need to be trained.
6.They want handouts and extra teaching aids in the class room plus technological aids like computer, internet etc .
7.They want handouts.
8.They want classes to be made more interesting by using word games, puzzles etc.
9.They want paired and group activities in class and as homework projects.
10.In class they want the teacher to teach less and facilitate more, so that there is more interaction.
11.They want the teachers to be better qualified and improve constantly through being trained.
12.They want class work and homework to be corrected and rewritten or re-done at least once.
13.They want teachers to be impartial, as marks matter a lot to them as do exam results.
14.They want the library books in English to be given to them to take home and read and return after a week or two.
15.They want competitions in English with certificates and prizes. These competitions should be intra-class, inter-class, intra-school and inter-school.
16.They want to be equipped for higher studies, receive counseling for what jobs to enter and even for travelling and studying abroad.
17.They want occasional screenings of films, videos and TV programs and the chance to listen to role models, that is, native speakers in English , with the help of CDs and DVDs.
They need lots of practice in all the aspects of learning English, especially listening and speaking initially and then in mechanics, syntax, semantics, contextual use, pronunciation, grammar, reading comprehension, fluency , writing paragraphs and essays correctly and in the use of structure. Practice makes perfect.
The students are aware to some extent of standards and their requests need to be taken seriously.

Recommendations for the managements of the schools, the curriculum makers, syllabus makers, , headmasters, examination committees and teachers based on the teacher questionnaire.
Please read the entire proceedings carefully.
1. Our suggestions are that English language learning be implemented at the earliest in schools, parallel to Arabic. It should be taught right from the beginning as the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing , with the teacher resorting to Arabic only in the event of there being no other option. The students can shift from being EFL to ESL students if this is done. Paired and group exercises must be done in class under supervision and as unsupervised homework projects. A good language curriculum and syllabus from a place like Cambridge or Oxford must be used. The teachers must be supplied extra aids like charts and technological aids like the internet and the computer in the classroom, to help make their teaching more enjoyable. After checking homework the teachers must follow up to see that their suggestions for improvement are implemented. The students must be given the chance to use English outside the class. For this there should be field trips, intra and inter-class competitions, class magazines, school magazines, libraries with English books and reading rooms and student websites and blogs monitored by teachers. Assessment should be continuous and cumulative and not just term-wise and final , that is, summative. Interactive peer learning must be optimized for best results.
2. We also gave out questionnaires to the teachers , checking both classroom management and overall English language teaching capability. We see that they are good at classroom management, but due to lack of exposure they will find matching international standards of education and teaching an uphill task. Basic qualifications for the post must be a degree in English and in teaching. Our suggestion is that every year new school teachers in the English language be given an orientation course in ELT and the older ones refresher courses, both incorporating modules o n the latest teaching methodologies and pedagogies as well as updating their subject knowledge. Our Head of the Department of English has offered to conduct such courses which will be run by the Department of English, if the Dean of our Faculty and the Chancellor will give him the required support.
Thank you.

EFL in Saudi Arabia

I worked for a year in Saudi Arabia. I was in King Abdul Aziz University's English Language Institute.
The new Dean who came in after we had been there for hardly two months was not an English Language and Literature teacher. He was a science man. His name was Dr. Abdul Raheem Abdul Rahman Kinsara.
There were nine of us who were Indian Christians.
At the end of the year, after eight of us - one of the nine had already decided to resign having got a better job in Qatar - were observed by non-English teachers in class and, humiliatingly for me since I have a doctorate in the English language and literature, made to take a written test and an interview, conducted by a new Vice Dean who left midway through my being interviewed and a black American Muslim, we were informed that we were not fit to teach in such an esteemed university. They refused to give us extension of the contract. Instead they made us take an interview for Northern Borders University in which I came first. I left for India giving my email address, phone number and address to Dr. Musa the New Vice Dean, who did not contact me. Kamal Fatani, the administrator didn't too. Dr. Kinsara too did not bother. My phone calls and faxes and emails regarding the interview were not replied to.
They did not reimburse the return ticket money as promised, for my family.
They have not paid me for overtime work in the second semester but have allowed the cheque to lapse because I do not have a bank account now in Saudi.
This despite my leaving an authorization with a teacher there.
This is ethically wrong according to any law.
I was also cheated by Majeed Travels of ticket money and by our Saudi landlord and his middleman Ayman Kabli, an Afghanistani, of three months of rent.
It is clear to the nine of us and many others that we were thrown out and some of us given another offer due to religious discrimination.
Less qualified Indian and Pakistani Muslims who were appointed with me but whose contracts were not renewed initially, if at all, were all taken back.
This injustice needs to be spoken of.
Hence this post.
My request to all is to boycott such places that are run on false principles.
America should not give such universities accreditation.

flood in jeddah

i never wrote on my saudi experience
except in disguise
now i feel i can tell the story

Students whom I have officially guided or am guiding in Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology

1.Ashwin Bhaskaran
2.Shakti Dash
3.Vaibhav Raghunandan
4.Shyamli Panda
5.Prerna Gupta
6.Roanna Rahman

The world only recognizes official work.
Some students who acknowledged my unofficial guidance:

Anand Victor - for M Phil.
Vinay Ghodgeri - Srishti final year dip project.
Radha Pandey - Srishti dip project.
Pratapaditya N Deb - Srishti dip project.
Samia Singh - Srishti dip project.
Narayanan Poomulli - Srishti dip project.

Older officially guided projects:
Michelle Norbert. - M.A. dissertation on Propp and Rowling
Blaizy Bindhu - Computers and English - again an M.A. dissertation.

So many others.

news

was in saudi arabia
now in libya

just got a poem in my head after a long while

the awe of the ewe

i dug a well in trivandrum
the water was fresh and clear
it tasted good, it tasted pure
till one day i had to go

i went north, then over land
then over the sea, kept digging wells
they gave me water
to keep thirst at bay
but always then came
the ones who said
move over, this place is ours
so i packed up, now wonder where
the well is there that when i dig
no one will care and i can drink
sweet water, to my fill

till then my lot
to dig and dig
here and there
my spade rock-hard.

Change returns success - I Ching

Si, I'm finally off - back to univ - eng dept.

to be or not to be

to go or not to go - that is the question

12 C
many of them actually read mill on the floss - i'm proud of this achievement
they may surprise me yet....

kalpana's feedback on my lesson

1. The activity was introduced quite clearly and explained well to students.

2. Each student was asked specifically to contribute (my feedback from the last class was incorporated) and though the nature of contributions was mostly free style, it did serve to get them speaking out during the lesson.

3. The quality of discussion that ensued was good and some very relevant questions were asked especially by student 1 who was supportive throughout. (though I felt atudent 2 and 3 were trying very hard to emulate the image of a been there and done that type!!)

4. Fleshing out of student responses was done to some extent in the limited time that was available though some will have to follow in the context of the novel itself.

5. It would have been useful to take students through one chapter of the novel in class, highlighting to them how the aspects of a novel that were discussed manifest themselves. Reading independently may not always be fruitful, as you probably know by experience.

6. Alternately you could have taken them through one or two paras in the 1st chapter so as to explain how mood, atmosphere and style etc. is evident.

7. Words like dialect and ideolect, if not used in earlier classes, may need some explanation and examples.

8. A tip - discourage students from using simplistic sounding words like 'good' and 'nice' which are not precise and really do not tell you anything about the quality of the plot or character or situation.

9. A follow up class later to see how students' understanding of these terms has improved/ enhanced may help.

10. The class ended well with all the main points being reiterated again.

Thank you and it was good to have observed your class.

The class that Kalpana observed.

It was 11 C . AICE. AS Level Litt. I had written out the lesson plan. I wanted to incorporate a few of the things we had learned in our latest PPSE session like bridging and hugging and also use a GO and one of the tech tools Shuchi had introduced to us, namely concept mapping (CM).
I'm teaching Chinua Achebe's Anthills of the Savannah.
But I wanted to start with an intro to the novel. My lesson plan went through dfferent revisions and never came to a kind of fixity, but it was clear in my mind in its basics. Unfortunately I couldn't use the tech hub that day but I still used concept mapping on the board.
I'm putting in the finished lesson notes now.
Dr. A.V. Koshy
Lesson Notes
Class held on 26th October 2006.
Block F
Venue: The terrace
Time: 1.45-2.45
Subject: The novel
Content: Elements of the novel.
Activity: Had a discussion on what the elements of the novel are. Stressed how most of the elements are common to the drama and the short story. The discussion took about 20 minutes.
I used the Classification web as a GO from Suchitra Narayan’s buffet.
The answers I expected from the students were: The Plot & the story, Characterization and characters, Themes, Language, Style, vocabulary, wordplay, symbols, motifs, emblems, images, figures of speech, Background and foreground, hero, heroine, (protagonists),villain, (antagonists), flat and round characters, stock characters, prototypes, archetypes, stereotypes, static, evolving, complex, simple or one-dimensional, milieu, setting, mood, tone, voice, atmosphere, sub-texts, sub-plots, point of view, perspective etc.
It emerged yet again that students are generally confused about the difference between plot and story. Character and characterization.
I wanted to divide them into two groups – one group to find definitions and examples and read them out.
Another to make a cmap of the connections between the main elements using verbs for the links.
They were then supposed to read out what each group came up with to the other group
But since the tech hub was not available I changed my lesson. I made them all do the definitions through the discussion together.
I made them write down the elements of the novel on the classification web, with novel as the word in the centre, then four main branches and then sub-branches of three elements each.
Then I did concept mapping with them on the board. Linking the concepts by using verbs.
For example – “Atmosphere builds the novel”.
Interesting digressions were into the need
To know about the author and his life
To read criticsm.
The students came up with everything on my list except wordplay.
I summed up and asked them to come to the next class with the first chapter of the novel read.
Learning objective: Learning the elements of a novel.
Assessment opportunity: Whether understanding has happened to some measure, enough to start out with.
Aim: A kind of revision, an intro. and a bridge between prior learning and present need.
Final comment: My lesson plans have to become even more simple. Awaiting feedback.

fleetwood mac - sara - man, i love this song

Written by Stevie Nicks.

Wait a minute baby...
Stay with me awhile
Said you'd give me light
But you never told me 'bout the fire

Drowning in the sea of love
Where everyone would love to drown
And now it's gone
It doesn't matter anymore
When you build your house
Call me home

And he was just like a great dark wing
Within the wings of a storm
I think I had met my match -- he was singing
And undoing
The laces
Undoing the laces

Drowning in the sea of love
Where everyone would love to drown
And now it's gone
It doesn't matter anymore
When you build your house
Then call me... home

Hold on
The night is coming
And the starling flew for days
I'd stay home at night all the time
I'd go anywhere, anywhere
Ask me and I'm there, because I care

Sara, you're the poet in my heart
Never change, never stop
And now it's gone
It doesn't matter what for
When you build your house
I'll come by

Chorus

All I ever wanted
Was to know that you were dreaming
(there's a heartbeat
And it never really died)

Shuchi Grover's feedback

Hi Koshy,

Here are my notes on your lesson which I observed. I don't believe we ever received the entire 12 lesson unit plan from you.

Regards,
Shuchi
------------------------------

------------------------------

Lesson observed on Tuesday, 5.9.06 Block F, 1 hour by Shuchi Grover

Teacher: A.V. Koshy

Std 11 AICE

Literature

The topic was a poem "The Spirit Is Too Blunt An Instrument" by Anne Stevenson

Setting:

5 students (3 girls G1, G2, G3 & 2 boys B1 & B2) sitting in a semicircle in front of the blackboard in the Tech Hub, with Koshy in the space in between.

Specific Observation Notes:

• Koshy introduces the lesson by writing "Carol Ann Tomlinson" on the board and saying that the aim of his lesson was to teach in a way that different kids would be able to understand the poem and that it would become "fuzzy --> clear" G1 responded "You've lost me already." and Koshy smiled and dropped that thread.
• Koshy gave a brief introduction to the poem saying that it was from the "Sceince" Poetry genre.
• The students by turn then read about 4 lines of the poem each.
• Then he asked the kids to split into 2 groups; B1 & B2 in one and the 3G's in another with a short explanation from Koshy that he was leveraging "Multiple intelliegences" and verbal/ling and spatial/visual capabilities of the students. The boys were asked to look up meanings of various words on the internet and list out adjectives, see how the words were being used in the poem. The girls were asked to use the internet to pull up images of the various parts of the human body that were being talked about in the poem. Both groups were to make presentations after 20 mins.
• The kids got to work.
• After 20 mins they made their presentations along with all-class discussions about their views. The discussions were awesome!
• The class was not too impressed with the poem and questioned the poet's objectives in writing such a poem.
• Koshy asked in the end if the poem had become fuzzy--? clear and one of the kids said that it was fuzzier then before which made Koshy smile. He clarified to the student that perhaps the intentions of the poet or the subtext of the poem may be fuzzy, but he believed that they all comprehended the poem at least. I agree with this assessment of his.

Analysis:

• I did not see any reason for the teacher to explain things like Differentiated Instruction and MI to kids. It is part of the teacher's strategy and not part of the lesson. Koshy stressed that he wanted the students to know.
• Koshy explained in his lesson plan as well as to me in person that this was a very bright class and that they were all very bright kids. I felt that perhaps differentiated instruction was then not a necessary strategy at all!
• That said, I think the lesson was very well thought out and executed. I found myself enjoying the lesson thoroughly
• The tie-ups with DI were evident and well-executed

More PPSE

What is the connection between multiple intelligences, multiple literacies and multidisciplinary integration?
Worth thnking about.
Hugging and bridging are good concepts to remember David P/Berkins?
Graphic organisers are many . There's even a meta-organizer floating about.Interesting.
Geethu gave us a nice handout on docuenting and making your own book.
End of the sessions. Tara asked me if I've chewed off more than I can handle. I always do. Something makes me live on the edge. On the verge of breakdown.
Kalpana observed my class. Observed is a peculiar word. Yet to receive the feedback.
Shuch has sent me some handsome feedback on my class demonstrating differentiated instruction.
I'm tickled pink because Shuch's from Harvard.

I am caught in the vicious trap of the jungle of urban work.

PPSE Update.

We had two days of a workshop held by Geetha Narayanan.
The concepts we dealt with were teacher/bricklayer and teacher/architect , not to forget teacher/archaeologist.
The new template we dealt with was "literacy as code," "ways of world making or sense making," "materials, tools and processes" and "vulnerabilities and deprivations."
GN is an architect. Cognitive architecture is what she aims for.
Now for the assignment.
A few other things I picked up that I need to look into - null curriculum
Jo-hari window
STAD
UDL

I learned the fishbowl exercise.

The need to post and get readers/hits.

So I am going to finally move this blog into the public sphere and showcase it as one worthy of reading bcause of the fine writng it contains.
I thought I will start by putting my essay on Bruner and constructivism in here, now that it's been corrected and I got an A for it. So here goes. Heavy, but worth reading:

Deconstructing Brunerian Constructivism

Intro: The Concept Of Significance
A major development in the twentieth century for the student of theory was the evolution of a few defining terms that were seen to be highly utilitarian in their ability to refer to many of the humanities and arts disciplines simultaneously, making multiple interfaces possible. These terms are the sign, signifier, signified, signification, referent and the text - in their fullest connotations. Readers of learning theories may notice that these important terms did not leave much of an impact on the discourse of Education. My effort in this essay will not be to ask why, but to connect these theoretical terms to learning theory and my practice, finally generalizing on the output. The obvious fear that comes to the surface, whenever theories that stem from Saussurean linguistics, structuralism, post-modernism, deconstruction and political empowerment are discussed in connection with learning, is the one about whether these are anarchic and subversive and will undermine the foundations of what child-centered education is supposed to be. Deconstructionists would laugh at the idea that education is supposed, a priori, to be this or that. It is true that polyphonic discourses deconstruct commonly held assumptions. But to believe that they are automatically against learning theories like Constructivism, which is the theory I want to examine, is misleading. Au contraire, to rigorously test the philosophical concepts that underpin a system, an institution or a philosophy is to do it a great benefit.
So, to frame my present effort, through which I hope to temporarily discover my philosophy or theory of learning, let me start by asking a few questions that seem relevant. To rephrase things in terms I am familiar with as a theorist, what will be my main signifier and what will it signify? What will be its referent? What is the text and what are the subtexts? My temporary answers, simply put, are: The learner – whether in singular or plural - is the signifier under consideration. No learner, no education. The signified, consequently, is learning. The referent of the process of signification which is naught but the process of learning is - a surprisingly DesCartesian finding - the interaction and interface between the learning self and the world from which it partially learns. The text, or education, is naturally the sum of these four parts. This self-sufficient and significant system has been, contaminated, at least for me, by three subtexts which area. the ideology of powerb, the theories of learning andc. the need, due to financial, political, social and economic constructs, for ‘entrepreneurial’ middlemen between the learners and actual learning.This impasse has to be faced now because it is a reality. My attempt will be to deconstruct the subtexts after discussing some of the salient principles outlined in Bruner's version of Constructivism, of which he is only one of the proponents.

Constructivism And Bruner.
This essay is constructivist in shape. That derives partly from choice and partly from the fact that the course which is eliciting it is also, to some extent, deliberately or unconsciously, constructivist. Concurrently, the metaphoric framework I have evolved is both constructivist and deconstructive in that my key words and concepts are typical signifiers that slide in and out of one another and overlap in phallogocentric jouissance that is a reflection of the amorphousness of words and the indeterminacy of concepts that resist, ideally, fixity. Constructivism, based primarily on what Piaget stressed, the concept of cognitive structures – i.e. ; schemas - , is a wide theory of learning that comprises several perspectives and includes thinkers as diverse as J. Bruner and the neo-Marxist Vygotsky. Bruner's contribution can be summed up in the following points.1. The signifier or the learner should be the active agent in the give and take of the signified; learning.2. In the process of signification or learning the learner is not a finished referent-product, but has a sign on him that reads 'under construction,' like a good website.3. He learns not only to construct ideas and hypotheses but also to make decisions based on models that have a cognitive structure embedded in them. He thereby arrives at meaning, and patterns experience towards a definite qualitative end result and, in a sense, constructs himself with help from the world (environment) as referent.4. He learns extrapolation and transcending of subject boundaries, both typical outcomes of constructivist endeavors.5. Facilitation has to bring about the learner’s ability to recognize first principles on his own initiative.6. It must lead to a profitable exchange of views (the Socratic dialogue and method of learning).7. The top-down approach of ‘delivering’ knowledge and information has to be jettisoned for simplification, taking into consideration age and level- appropriateness.8. The building blocks or spiral method is to be followed so that by the end of the project the learner can build the entire ‘project’ by himself.9. The facilitator has to motivate structure and sequence learning, besides planning the interval and ratio of interventions that negotiate the minefield of reward and punishment.10. The historical, social and cultural aspects of the signifier have to be taken into consideration to inculcate in him the "readiness" to learn.11. The learner needs order and organization so that spiral learning will take place, whereby the learner has the skill to build on what has been previously constructed.12. Facilitation leads to the ability and potential of the signifier to learn being maximized to the extent where inferences that go beyond the mastered level lead to facility with abstractions, filling in of gaps, and decoding and remixing of all the relevant aspects of textuality. Bruner doesn't take Skinner’s concept of reinforcement into consideration and seems to place little emphasis on the learner's past, emotions or physiological needs. These can be considered flaws; not just in his theory but in constructivism in general. It is too psychological in its orientation and seems to deal only with the mind, brain, intellectual prowess and mental processes, to the detriment of other aspects of the learner and learning, unlike in the more holistic approach of Gardner. However, I remain drawn to Bruner's theory, because I am more mind- oriented than heart or body-centered.
Constructivism as a theory of learning and its postulates like Brunerism have already proved themselves quite application-friendly in U.S. and Europe and the degree of difficulty experienced by educators in trying to implement them is moderate. The Indian context requires that it be tweaked for our circumstances. It is a user friendly theory because it deals primarily with patterning the process of learning into cognitive structures for best results and thus, in its crux, is aiming at the essential. Its implementation becomes difficult only if complicated by aiming too high.


Illustrating The Theory
Coming to current practice, I would like to illustrate, using the above twelve-point explanation I have given of Bruner’s form of Constructivism, several things that I have done that parallel almost exactly his theoretical viewpoints.
To ensure that the signifier in one particular learning situation I was in last year was involved in active give and take I made them engage in activities like
a. listening to “novel readings” by two accomplished readers,
b. participating in a video-viewing exercise (the film of the novel) followed by discussion and
c attempted movie-making of one section; along with the usual activities of
d. reading and
e. writing.
The results were, I admit, mixed. But the active give and take definitely occurred.
By the end of the year, exposed to the idea of reading a by-any- standards ‘long’ novel, the group of twenty-one I have taken as the case for presentation exemplified clearly the truth that in the effort to construct and situate themselves as mature readers they varied widely in terms of achievement. While six of them actually read the entire book, which was task- fulfillment at its best, two of them read the lengthy allotted portion. The other thirteen coped by reading some of the more relevant sections of the text, listening to five chapters being read out to them, having it reinforced for them visually through watching the movie and by trying to make a section of it as a film, using auditory aid in the form of literary readings and lastly by making use of a study guide available on the net. The results of the exams showed that those who had constructed themselves as mature readers scored the highest, the ones who had done the required work came second and the others lagged behind in spite of the active give and take of the sessions. The reason for this is obvious. While all these signifiers are ‘houses’ under construction, the ones who read the entire text by themselves were the ones who participated most in the process of signification, with least intervention from the outside, and hence they were able to collect and assemble the most number of building blocks for the project. They have almost reached the target of becoming the signified in whom learning has taken place. They were deeply engaged in the process of signification – or of making sense of the text for themselves, to put it in a more germane fashion.
This was seen in their writing that is gradually developing, - reflecting not only their growth in the discipline but also personal growth – suggesting that they are beginning to imbibe not just content but the pattern of the cognitive structure embedded in the efficacious practice of learning that the theory of constructivism is when applied. They have not yet gone on to extrapolation and beyond the textual paradigms, but recognition of first principles is beginning to take place. For instance, now the group under observation has begun to understand the generalities that go into the make-up of a good novel like story, plot, setting, themes and characters and next year, by the end of the present module in its totality, they will also be able to recognize the specificities and peculiarities of a novel’s tonality that makes it stand out in literary terms due to elements like aptness of dialogue, the pictorial quality, characterization, depth in treatment of themes etc. Gradually, the constructivist approach has begun to yield profitable exchanges of views and dialogues that are definitely Socratic in nature. My approach has taken age and level- appropriateness too much into consideration. As a result of pitching the standard too low and trying to transfer concepts and knowledge in too simple a fashion to meet even the supposedly lowest common denominator, instead of delivering learning from top-down, not as much ground was gained as might have otherwise been possible. In the attempt to motivate the group as facilitator, I was able to bring the power of collaboration into play by arranging for two fine readings of sections of the novel, especially one by an expert in the field that took into consideration things like the exact accent of the local dialect that was spoken by some of the characters in the novel. The content was divided into structured units for ingestion and the ratio and interval of interventions was planned appropriately with the stress being on reward and reinforcement – an element borrowed from Skinner – rather than punishment. This bred its own kind of chaos and slackness in the group but the philosophy was not sacrificed for a year. What was most interesting was the process of whole class reviews held in camera, so to speak, to gauge the measure of group and individual learning that had actually taken place. It was an innovative venture that the group had never gone through before and led to a lot of discussion and proactive results, especially in the updating of notebooks by some of the members. An interesting facet that emerged was that gender seemed to play a part in receptivity to constructivist techniques of facilitation. Hopefully in one more year, if this whole method is fine-tuned, the group which now shows much improvement in that nineteen of them seem to have become more focused, may eventually come to a stage where all twenty-one show enough acumen to go beyond the texts and prescribed syllabus to a place where making hypotheses, spiral development and maximizing of learning potential - leading to self-improvement which is the constructivist aim - all become possible.

Conclusion: Deconstructing Constructivism As A Means To Power
Several issues swam into focus in my attempt, of a very specific nature; therefore not addressed by constructivism directly. If the three or four areas that needed to be addressed urgently were reading, writing, student variability and lack of know-how regarding researching and thinking skills; perhaps it was because Bruner’s suggestion that the historical, social and cultural contexts also need to be taken seriously into consideration to bring about a solution that would actually create “readiness” in the group was ignored. However, to do so would have opened a Pandora’s Box, one which I would love to address next year. The predicament in doing so consists of the following question. What is the price tag on education for rich kids? Is advanced theory applied to learners in select Indian settings a modus operandi of the convoluted machinations of power, whereby the children of the rich get immunity from having to do what their less fortunate counterparts have no choice but to, while being assured that power will remain in their hands because of the superiority of the quality of education they get? Does the effective implementation of theories of learning like Bruner’s indirectly foster and maintain in a country like India a new caste system, more rigid than the old, in its raising up of a class of learners who are elite because of the training they can afford and who learn, beyond cognitive structures, the only lesson valued by the ‘strong’ of the world – how to increase in power and wealth and become rulers; an end for which the means is this kind of specialized learning?
If it is so, it is a case of the ‘constructivist’ text called education being falsely constructed, without recognizing the gaps and discontinuities in the arbitrary and perennially changing relationships between the signifier, the signified, the referent and the world. The gap becomes fatal if the system does not realize that textuality is closed and kinetic but just outside of it, un-quantified by any theory, there are large human factors that consist of much more than parents, business entrepreneurs, position, fame, assets, high finance, aristocracy, influence and .... expensive education! The ‘much more’ is signified primarily, for the present writer, by elements like the children themselves, elementary and high school teachers, learning support staff and counselors, the work- force that cleans an establishment daily and the non-teaching staff, to name just a few, and many other factors that are not quantified by most of the advanced, learned theories of learning. The factors include respect, equality and a developed awareness that the earth is part of a vast, beautiful, living web of life that always finds amusing the attempts of a few strands in it to consider themselves greater than the sum of the parts. In brief, theories of learning must be supported by a socially viable network like the one Aditi is certainly striving to be, communities of practice that take history and the world into consideration in such a manner that those in the echelons of power like the management and the parents and the facilitators in authority are sensitized to the adverse effects of a system that relies only on intellectual, aesthetic, scientific, technological, economic, bodily- kinetic or academic achievement. At the same time, this shouldn’t result in a loss of motivation in creating achievers in these fields. None of these achievements are essential life skills, if they stand in isolation.
To sum up, theories with constructivist goals seem to me pragmatically sound but not humanizing enough, if its application is only limited to international schools. Education’s general theoretical drift today is similarly constricted by such theories being boxed into narrow strips in vibrant democracies like India. Any theory of learning which ultimately doesn’t send the learner in the direction of truth, and that includes responsibility to all one’s fellow men; is, by inference, incomplete and needs deconstruction so that one may come up with a practice that creates in the signifier the innate drive to ask the age-old question: What is really "significant" enough to learn in the brief life each human being has on earth?
Bibliography attached in an earlier post.

farewell to three of my wonderful students

Artist: John Cale
Song: Hallelujah
Lyrics
I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do ya?
It goes like thisThe fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah

Your faith was strong, but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya
She tied you to a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
Hallelujah etc.

Baby I've been here before,
I know this roomI've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew ya
I've seen your flag on the Marble Arch
Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah etc.

There was a time you let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show it to me, do ya?
I remember when I moved in you
And the holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah
Hallelujah etc.

Maybe there's a God above,
all I ever learned from love
Was how to shoot at someone who out drew ya
And it's not a cry you can hear at night
It's not somebody who's seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah etc,
Hallelujah etc.

I know your dream

findings

1.teaching creatively and teaching for creativity
2.dimensions of learning
3.integrated curriculum
4.multiple intelligences
5.learning about, from and with technology
6.differentiated instruction
7.bloom's taxonomy
8.maslow's heirarchies
9.understanding by design

my tool box of theories is full

i can pick and choose

makes skills and attitudes clearer for me now....

plus learned a lot of things like what a project is etc...

last part of my essay

A Select Bibligraphy

Bruner, J.S. (1960) The Process of Education, Harvard University Press, U.S.A
Lye, John (1993) CONTEMPORARY LITERARY THEORY, Brock Review Volume 2 Number 1, pp. 90-106, USA . http://www.brocku.ca/english/courses/2P70/contemporary_literary_theory.html. Last updated July 2001
Smith, M.K. (2002) 'Jerome S. Bruner and the process of education', the encyclopedia of informal education http://www.infed.org/thinkers/bruner.htm. Last updated:January 2005:
http://carbon.cudenver.edu/~mryder/itc_data/constructivism.html
This is a gateway to much material on Constructivism
http://www.psy.edu/PsiCafe/KeyTheorists/Bruner.htm
This site is a gateway to much material on Bruner.

finished

it's done - now for the bibliography and the formatting - yay!!!!

exactly below 2750 words.