It feels strange to be the student and not the teacher. Following a very interesting Introduction into pedagogy, I am thinking about how I might be able to change some things in my teaching practice. This is of course normal for me, as I am always looking to develop new ideas and improve. That is part of the joy of learning and using experience to inform practice. I have always looked at the
challenges of teaching, inclusion, engagement as practical exercises or
activities. Now I am beginning to learn the theories that my practices might fall under.
When I first started working in the school as a librarian, teaching was
alien to me. Pupils had a folder with worksheets, and they worked through these
with some instruction from me, explaining how to find information, and what
Dewey is, etc. It was all so very dry and boring. Things had to change. Even I found it boring.
Over time and after attending training workshops for Information Literacy,
I saw examples of how different activities could be used to engage pupils in
their learning, which made much more sense to me. I began to understand a
little bit about different learning styles and the importance of different
activities, to ensure inclusion.
Having done some initial reading, Douglas Cook, (2008), I now know that I have moved the
teaching of IL in school away from Direct Instruction, to a more student centered
approach of pedagogy. This is something I need to learn more about.
Somebody used this quote by Plato in their presentation on pedagogy today, which struck a chord for me.
“Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.”
It is not always easy in the classroom, but I will be keeping this quote to hand to remind me of why I try so hard to create engaging lessons.
I think that I have always been responsive to the students that I teach at school and have developed some understanding of some of the different pedagogies. Now I must learn how I can put these into practice in a HE setting.
There are many different pedagogies available to teachers. These have grown in number over time as new ideas are explored and evolve. Game Based Learning and Gamification are two of the new (newer) kids on the block! GBL has been around for a while, and I first came across this at a CILIP (Chartered Institute of Librarians and Information Professionals) training event, quite a few years ago. I had not realized until now, just how important GBL has become in HE or how widespread. It is not just used by librarians in teaching different elements of Information literacy, but by departments far and wide from STEM subjects to the Creative Arts, all around the world. Gamification has been around for about 15 years, first making an appearance in the literature in 2008. Miller, C (2013).
Cook, D (2008), ‘Why Should Librarians care about Pedagogy?‘ in Cook, D & Sittler, R (2008), Practical Pedagogy for Library Instructors: 17 Innovative Strategies to Improve Student Learning: Chigago.pp1-19.
Miller, C (2013),The Gamification Of Education. Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning. Vol 40. Available at: https://absel-ojs-ttu.tdl.org/absel/article/view/40. (Accessed 24/1/23).