Week 4

 💖Welcome (again) to my Blog!💖

I bet last week was a bit challenging for all of us as novice bloggers. However, I believe that this week we all got the hang of it and feel like some kind of ''Gossip girl'' anonymous narrator. 😎😅 

Now let's get back to the topic. This week we talked about several things, so let's take them one by one. 

To begin with, part of our class discussions this week was 👦👧Cooperative Learning and Collaborative Learning💬. Nowadays, children are trained from a very young age to work with others and achieve things not individually but as part of a community or group. Both cooperative and collaborative learning are two approaches to education and teaching processes that emphasize student interaction and engagement. Cooperative learning is a teaching technique that encourages students to work together in small groups in order to achieve a common goal. Some examples of activities that use cooperative learning are: Think-Pair-Share, Jigsaw, etc. In these types of activities, specific roles are assigned to each member of the group who is responsible for contributing to the overall success of the group, just like in real-life situations. The goal of this strategy is to utilize the strengths and skills of the students to achieve the wanted outcome, and not only. Thanks to this strategy, the teacher is able to promote problem-solving skills and teamwork. Consequently, students build trust and learn how to manage conflicts.

On the other hand, we have Collaborative Learning, which is a method similar to Cooperative Learning, but not identical to it. What I mean is that collaborative learning, in contrast to cooperative learning, doesn't necessarily mean that students work to achieve a specific common goal. It rather involves students sharing ideas, asking questions, and working together to fully comprehend the subject matter. Nevertheless, despite these differences between them, both cooperative and collaborative learning can be used to build crucial life skills. However, an important piece of advice for teachers using these methods would be to never feel content with the students' progress. Always reflect on what could have been done better and/or differently so the group could have achieved more?

Another key point we discussed this week was 🧠Multiple Intelligences🧠and Multimedia. The term intelligence in itself is very broad and abstract. For this reason, there have been numerous definitions of what intelligence might be, and all of them are correct. We, as future teachers, need to be aware of the various definitions of intelligence. That's because we will have to deal with students whose intelligence we need to know in order for us to approach them in the right way.  Multiple intelligences refer to different ways that individuals process and understand information. It was Howard Gardner, a psychologist, and professor at Harvard University, who first developed the theory of multiple intelligences in the 1980s. According to his theory, there are eight different types of intelligence that humans might possess: linguistic, spatial, logical-mathematical, bodily-kinaesthetic, musical, intrapersonal and interpersonal, and lastly, naturalistic. As I mentioned above, as future teachers, understanding the concept of multiple intelligences can be beneficial. Rather than teaching one specific learning style, educators can use a variety of teaching methods that cater to the different bits of intelligence of their students. For example, an educator who understands that a student has musical intelligence may use music as a learning tool to help engage the student in the lesson. By acknowledging and catering to the multiple intelligences of students, educators can create a more inclusive and meaningful learning environment. This can lead to increased engagement, understanding, and retention of information. 

Multimedia, on the other hand, is the use of multiple forms of media to deliver information. In education, multimedia has proved to be a useful tool for both teachers and learners. For example, teachers use multimedia to make the class more interactive for students or help them grasp complex concepts by showing videos, summaries, etc. Furthermore, during quarantine, multimedia was used in online classes by both teachers and students too. Thanks to it, we could overcome some big challenges and continue with the learning process as normally as we could. Modern teaching cannot go without multimedia. Through it students master new concepts easily and retain information for a longer period of time. 

❗21st Century Skills❗ is the 3rd topic I'm going to chew over since it was one of the things we mentioned. While society evolves and further develops, the need for new life skills emerges too. "21st-century skills'' are the set of abilities prerequisite in the current digital age. It would be nearly impossible to find a place in the world nowadays with the skills people used to have in previous centuries. Among these skills, we can mention: communication skills, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, creativity, innovation, media and technology skills, leadership skills, adaptability, and the list goes on. These skills are deemed crucial for being successful in life. As future teachers, we need to be aware of these skills to equip our students with them. For instance, we can integrate activities and use materials that promote critical thinking, creativity, and so on. Moreover, we should provide opportunities for students to engage with each other in group work and use technology for learning purposes. Developing these skills will prepare students for the demands of today's ever-evolving world. 

That was all. We've come to the end. 

I'll see you guys next week, until then, stay safe and drink water! 💧😃💪