Week 2 - The Nature of Digital Pedagogy

 

Pedagogical Principles

What are the Pedagogical Principles (defined in the Learning Materials)?
Pedagogical Principles are a set of guidelines that encourage the learning of a student. Some Pedagogical Principles include;
- Enabling collaborative learning and providing opportunities for conversation.
- Planning real life contextual problem solving questions.
- Applying the subject to make the learning more relevant to the students in the class.
- Enables deep knowledge through critical thinking skills.
- Encourages the cultural knowledge between the different groups of students.
- Encourages students to explore the management of their own learning.
- And more!

What do the Pedagogocial Principles mean to you in common language?
In 'common language', the Pedagogical Principles are teaching students to become more self-sufficient by relation to their own lives, encouraging communication and acceptance, and boosting critical thinking skills.

Consider whether the Pedagogical Principles make sense to you in terms of your own experience in learning that has a) been pedagogically sound, and b) been pedagogically woeful?
In my own experience, I believe that my learning has been pedagogically sound, as I have good communication, problem-solving and critical thinking skills. I also have a deep appreciation for all walks of life and encourage others to drop the stereotypes assigned to every community.
There have been few instances where I have noticed teachers not engaging with the Pedagogical Principles and have seen their students suffer from this lack of attention. There have been teachers that will give instructions while their class is fully distracted, then allow the students to pursue whatever they wish during the lesson, including playing games.

Can you recognise these pedagogies in the experiences you have identified in the sound category? Elaborate.
From the pedagogies that I listed above, the ones that I have personally identified in my experience have been;
- Enabling collaborative learning and providing opportunities for conversation.
- Enables deep knowledge through critical thinking skills.
- Encourages students to explore the management of their own learning.
Although I listed problem-solving and cultural appreciation in my last note, I do not feel that this pedagogy has been applied in the ways of the Pedagogical Principles (with the exclusion of my most recent university units). The problem-solving throughout my schooling was mostly irrelevant to my life, and the only true appreciation of cultural differences presented in my education have happened during my university experience.

Beyond this, can you identify the links between Judy Willis' knowledge of the brain and learning, Sir Ken Robinson's perspective on creativity, the needs of your contemporary learners and these pedagogical principles?
To be honest, I did not read Judy Willis or Sir Ken Robinson. I can identify links between learning, creativity, the needs of contemporary learners and the Pedagogical Principles. Creativity is created by inspiration. Inspiration is learned through study and analysis. Study and analysis allow the brain to grow and prosper. Contemporary learners need to have access to many new kinds of learning opportunities, as the world is now filled with so much information that they will burn out with repetition. By keeping students inspired and creative with an abundance of learning opportunities, we are enabling the Pedagogical Principles to remain relevant to this generation.

Why is it important to engage social interaction and prior knowledge, and plan for individualised and socially supportive, valued learning?
To gain an understanding of where to start teaching a class, a teacher must be able to identify what the students already know. Through conversation and gentle quizzes, a teacher will be able to gain an idea of where to begin. If a teaching plan is too generalised, many students will struggle to complete the work set for them, as they will have gained no understanding of a concept and will therefore have no problem-solving skills to allow them success in that particular subject.

Reflect on your experiences of pedagogy as a learner. How many of these pedagogies are you familiar with?
I am familiar with most of the pedagogies presented in this week's study guide, although I never would have been able to specifically point them out before seeing them written before me. Seeing these pedagogies has made my learning clearer to me as both a potential educator and a student.