Dearman

   Use “DEARMAN”. One specific strategy to use to teach students interpersonal effectiveness skills is “DEARMAN,” which is taken from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (Linehan, 1993; Christensen,et. al, 2005).

This is a strategy students can use to calmly ask for what they need.

“D”     is to describe the problem.

“E”     is to express feelings and opinions.

“A”     is to assert oneself by directly asking for what is wanted.

“R”     is to reinforce/reward, meaning to tell others what they will gain  from the idea being   presented.

“M”    is to (stay) mindful or do not be distracted.

“A”     is to appear confident and positive.

“N”    is to negotiate (i.e., be willing to give to others to get something in return).

 

Learning Together

You entered the room with your beautiful silence

You seldom talk, but I see how you like my presence,

How would I tell you that we should connect?

What kind of techniques should I select?

 

One by one answers each time I ask

But my little schoolgirl feared to respond

She smiles a bit and remained silent

What is the matter with you, pretty kid?

 No mother, no father at home now I understand

Lack of parental care could be the reason behind

But let’s talk about it and stop being sad

You could get over it with me at your side.

 

I like it when you like to react and raise your hand

I like it when you know where to step behind,

I like it when you join your group and play around

I like it when you show how hard you tried.

 

Let’s work together to enhance you more

Have pride in everything you explore,

There are marvelous events in store

Anchor your dreams on me and let them soar.

 

Personal Bubbles

     Comparable with teachers, not all students wear identical shoes. Some are silent, others are naturally talkative, a quantity with friendly attitude, or few are less cooperative. We have observed that a handful misbehaved by touching unsuitably, excessively their classmates either by hitting, grabbing, pulling the hair, kicking, pinching, or squeezing visible parts of their classmates’ bodies. Physical aggression is highly possible that teachers are advised to be observant in order to maintain the boundaries by strategizing alternative approaches to avoid this kind of scenario.

       In the outset, it is imperative to teach the kids the limit they should maintain. It’s nice to let them imagine themselves inside a bubble. “The bubble defines their personal space. When other people step inside the personal bubble, it can pop. So it is important to tell them when they are in one’s bubble, it can pop. To best demonstrate this, let’s provide them with simple activity. Have students pair up and walk towards each other. Have them say “pop” when they think someone is inside their personal bubble. Let them discuss how they felt when their bubble was “popped.” (Christensen, et. al, 2005).      

     Teaching students “no touch” alternatives like singing rhymes, doing cheers, drawing, or role playing to move away from their usual behavior and adopt positive attention proved helpful too. We could use charts that show what kind of touching is allowed, like handshake or hug, to let them understand that their classmates might feel uncomfortable, afraid, or threatened by his behavior. Inappropriate touching may be dealt with also by letting the child hold something like a ball or paper for a period of time. Teachers may also use masking tape on the floor, by drawing lines to set the boundaries. Each time the student stepped on the line is an indication to return to his position in order to avoid touching his/her classmates improperly.

    Getting started with classroom management should also gear towards recognition of individual’s personal bubbles, so as to remind each learner that every student has his own boundaries and respect for every bubble would maintain harmony in their learning environment.

 

Of Extra Piso and Nutribun

My primary years were best remembered with extra piso and nutribun. Those were the days when I could still buy different colors of candies for my twenty cents. Tricycle fare was only fifty cents and a kilo of rice ranges from 7 to 10 pesos. I saw my childhood in lower standard of living but one peso had bigger purchasing value.

To receive an extra piso for my baon from my dad or mom was tough. My dad, I, and my two (2) sisters had a deal that an extra piso would be earned each time we went home with a 100% score. That was hard for a seven-year old Majie! Several weeks passed since the opening of classes when I just hit 90 or 95%. I could not perfect the exams.

My sweet teacher named Linda would give a nutribun (a bread bigger than a burger bun) once in a while when I topped our tests though it was not 100%. The texture of nutribun was compact, it was soft, yummy, and the taste was milky. Nutribuns then were supplied by the American government as part of their advocacy support in some regions of the country to combat Filipino children’s malnutrition. My love for nutribuns was irresistible, not only because it was appetizing, but because it was like a voucher for my good performance.

Sometimes, I gave my test paper to my dad with a 90% or 95% and showed to him that though I didn’t have an extra piso, at least, I had my nutribuns. It was not a perfect token to speak of, but it somehow gave me a positive feeling that my efforts were recognized and pressured me to be more persistent in order to rein triumphant in our deal and receive that elusive extra piso.

Finally, I made it! I got 100 % in our test on national heroes. Al last, I had an extra piso and topping our test means another nutribun. I felt satisfied with what I achieved and those rewards allowed me to respond positively to what my parents and teachers wanted me to do.

The extra piso upgraded my behavior towards learning. My nutribun was a positive reinforcement. I viewed them as my famas trophy designed with a nutribun on top. The moment I received them, oh, it was just like walking on the red carpet, too comic though, but it felt like I belonged to the hall of famer.

     Behaviorists believed that behavior is reinforced by desirable outcomes. It could be affected by a general situation or a specific stimulus that increases or strengthens behavior. Rewards are often used to mean positive reinforcement because it describes how consequences affect behavior. But there are many instances too when what is expected should be a positive reinforcement but it turned out to be a negative punishment.

 

Developable Intel

Man is a rational being that his capacities for speaking a language, thinking, and reasoning are characteristics that make him superior to other animals. Thus, no man is born without intelligence, but the level of intelligence varies as man grows and as his thinking is influenced by his environment. The richness of the human mind is not only due to the highly developed brain of man but also to the experiences that man encounters in his environment. Man’s thinking and reasoning powers are among his greatest assets which need to be developed and utilized throughout life.

Intelligence in my own perspective is the ability of the mind to analyze, create, and utilize the knowledge learned in a given situation. Whether intelligence is brought by genetic factors or influenced by environment, man’s deep level of intelligence is manifested by application of knowledge. As mind is from the beginning an empty vessel, so as intelligence is absence if it is not developed. Talents and skills would not be classified as intelligence if it is not practiced . Thus, it is right to conclude that intelligence is a developable potential where learner can put effort in learning and performing developing strategies that would enhance learning for long term accomplishments.  

 Robert Sternberg on his view of intelligence explained that “successfully intelligent individuals succeed in part because they achieve a functional balance among a “triarchy” of abilities: analytical abilities, which are used to analyze, evaluate, judge, compare and contrast; creative abilities, which are used to create, invent, discover, imagine; practical abilities, which are used to apply, utilize, implement, and activate”. These abilities which makes a man intelligent though may be inherited are also developable. And if we continue to see intelligence as developable potential, we do not stop learning, searching, and discovering knowledge.

My Basket Essentials

To learn is to discover anew and to find out these novel pieces, learning should come in different strategies. A basket full of variety of fruits would be exciting to offer than a basket of mere oranges. Just like in learning, to focus on one strategy in order to learn would be boring.

Learning for me is an art as this process develops me to discover several techniques to facilitate my learning. Personally, I do not settle on one style of studying but I searched of other styles that would be applicable on the lessons I need to learn.

Basically, mere reading of my materials is not enough, that it leads me to write down notes to fuse in the essential elements of the subjects. Just like other learners, I used to highlight important words or phrase in the book for an effortless recall. If it is necessary, I put it in a comparative graph, draw, and illustrate it in the manner where I can easily comprehend. In areas where I should memorize, I create mnemonics so that I could easily remember the topics. During discussions, I learn by taking down important inputs form the lecturer and before the scheduled exams, I do loud reading of my notes for a worthwhile review. Another strategy in learning that I tried is recording the lecture of my professor then listen it over and over again. In this latest study of online learning, I strategize learning by online research and interviews to persons in authority. From all these experiments of learning strategies, I was able to identify which style would be applicable best for the lessons I am learning.

I do believe that some of my learning strategies are inherited, as my Mom have collections of her old notes as she was used of taking down notes in most of her readings. I got it from her as this was been effective for her and to me as well. Other learning styles that I practiced in my studies are influenced by my classmates and friends. As these were their routines in studying, I also tried to see if learning would be successful also on my part. Both genetic inheritance and environmental factors play roles in my learning strategies. I do not count which is the best, but I trust that both are avenues to facilitate my learning process. To concentrate on one learning style is not wrong, but to attempt learning using variety of learning strategies would make learning exciting and fun.  

The Virtuosa Percussionist

“Every area of human endeavor has its stars. Highly talented champions who contribute to the popularization of their chosen field. However, once in a while someone is born with such great talent and power of personality that they exist beyond the bounds of the times in which they live. These exceedingly rare individuals not only popularize and dominate their field of endeavor, they actually redefine it. They cause the rest of us to re-evaluate our concept of the impossible. Within her field of endeavor EVELYN GLENNIE is such a person. To individually list all of Evelyn’s awards and achievements is not only impossible but a pointless exercise. For the first ten years of her career virtually every performance Evelyn gave was in some way a first. The first time an orchestra had performed with a percussion soloist, the first solo percussion performance at a venue or festival or the world premiere of a new percussion concerto.” http://www.angelfire.com/mac/keepitlive/drummers/Gledie/gledie.htm

IMPRESSIVE, INSPIRING, EXEMPLARY are the accounts I could give to EVELYN GLENNIE.  EVELYN was born in Scotland and has been the world’s foremost percussionist. She was a Grammy-winning percussionist and composer who became profoundly deaf by the age of 12. “She hears sounds at a reduced volume and their quality is poor. To her, a phone sounds like crackling and she must lip-read to understand speech. As a young student, Evelyn stood with her hands against the classroom wall, listening and sensing vibrations while her music teacher played.” (Passer, et. al., 2003). Her husband explains that Evelyn managed to distinguish the rough pitch of notes by associating where on her body she felt the sound with the sense of perfect pitch she had before losing her hearing. The low sounds she feels mainly in her legs and feet and high sounds might be particular places on her face. (Malcangi, 1997). In her performances, she is in her barefoot to better feel the music up to the lowest portion of her body.

I’ve seen in her that her deafness was not an obstacle to master and excel, Instead, she was driven by a goal directed behavior combining her superb technical abilities to her appreciation of the visual elements and the vital senses she possessed towards a definite and desired goal. Her intrinsic motivation took her to the levels beyond the elite. Every so often, I remembered EVELYN and I placed her as one of my brainwaves. The learning style she protracted in her youth was distantly comparable to my own learning style, but her inspiration taught me how to see  further than my own insufficiency, barriers, and human frailties.

This is the kind of motivation every learner should learn…to dance against the rain, to feel the verve in the stillness , and most of all, to hear the music behind the silence.

Thrilled …

       Just over three months ago, I was offered an OWWA scholarship as a returning OFW to study in Computer Aided Drafting and Design with 3D. At first, I was hesitant because I’ve been used in studying law subjects and it was too hard again to break the ice. On second thought, if I declined the offer, opportunity to explore other learning avenues would slip away and supposing the course is of no use for me today, it might be of importance in the future. Since it was a free package scholarship, I accepted the challenge of studying again after seven years of being out of school.

      During our first session, our professor instructed us to draw the exterior portion of a typical house in front of our desktops. I tried and tried to make it, but at the end of the day, I was able to draw only sets of parallel lines. My concept was zero and as I watched my classmates, they were able to make the full house effortlessly in a very short time. I consoled myself by saying, “of course, they are architects and others are civil engineers.”For me, the lines I drew on the first session weren’t that bad for a neophyte. As I drove home, I promised to myself that in our next session, I would be able to draw too.

       My need for achievement was to be able to draw house design in 3D no matter how difficult it is regardless of how outstanding my classmates were. I felt curious and interested to understand 3D house designing together with all the furniture, lightings, and fixtures. To process my goal, I spent digitally drawing, drawing, and drawing even at the wee hours of night. Practice influenced me to be more persistent in order to master both theories and actual digital designing.

       After three sessions, I was able to adapt the strategy and I finished just in time with my other classmates. I felt thrilled with a big dose of relief…my mind silently applauded me for what I achieved – that was the sound of self-fulfillment.

       On my personal account, I share similar psychological view that motivation is a process that influences the direction, persistence, and vigour of goal-directed behaviours. The word motivation is derived from the Latin term meaning “to move”. (Passer, et. al, 2003). In the foregoing narration, my motivational goal was to understand 3D house design because I wanted to learn how it is done, no matter how obscure the pressure behind the familiarity of the process to most of my classmates. Perceiving that I am the only one who is responsible for the outcome, I placed valuable time, energy, and effort to give the best shot I could possibly throw for the task.

         It is true that the need for achievement is a relatively stable personality characteristic that energizes and guides our achievement and behaviour. Each learner differs in their motivational goal considering the different types of their personalities, their need for achievement, and the task to master or perform.

        The motivation for success is the thrill of victory. Motivation within one’s self along with other situational influences makes it multi dimensional which advances a delightful learning endeavour. Let’s get motivated, let’s give our best shot, and let’s be thrilled to succeed.

 

 

 

Multi

Multiple Burdens… Multi Tasking… Multi Faceted. Teaching is a process of stimulating, directing, guiding, and encouraging learning. It is given that the fundamental role of teachers is to inculcate the minds of students with knowledge. Rachel Ann Penuliar posted on September 16, 2012 that it is a teacher’s role to be cognizant observers  and facilitators of learning to ensure that each student would be able to gather the learning we intend for them to attain. A teacher then should provide opportunities to increase experiences that would insure understanding. Such opportunities that would challenge the attention of learner to improve his thinking and reasoning would make learning more valuable.

I would not consider teaching to be very basic. As pointed out by Agaton Abawag, Jr. on his post last September 15, 2012, the teacher would simply present and discuss the subject matter and after that, he listens to the concern of the students. Looking at different perspectives, a teacher’s role is complex because it  contributes in the shaping of children’s personalities as well as harnessing their minds to what might become of them including their dreams. Such entails the involvement of physical, mental, social, and philosophical ideals that a teacher usually imparts to every learner.

Nonetheless, teachers are not just teachers for dispensing information. Part of his role which is usually overlook is the role of teachers to act as agent of government in promoting, protecting, and conserving the individual. Teachers play a vital function in producing intelligent citizens who are wisely conscious of their rights and faithfully discharge their responsibilities. Teachers are guide of young minds to carry with unflinching determination the principles of humanity, justice, freedom, and peace. Teacher should not only develop the intellect of students but infuse in them moral quality and self-respect.

Chief among these roles is to breathe life to the spirit of the Philippine Constitution that educational institution where a teacher belongs should foster patriotism, love of humanity, respect of human rights, the duties of citizenship, and moral character for personal discipline, scientific, technological and vocational efficiency.

Raysel Evarem Palisoc cited in her post on September 8, 2012 that the role of teacher does not end in the four corners of a classroom. The learning that the student get from us are not only about lessons we presented to them but, other learning experiences such as values which were evident in the way we taught them.

Thus, a teacher suffers multiple burdens, work with multi tasks, and carries out multi faceted roles not only for the learner but to his family, profession, educational institution, community, and the State where he pledged equal love and commitment.

 

Daily Dressing

 

A salad dressing is a mixture of oil, vinegar, pepper, lemon juice, yogurt, cheese, herbs, and other condiments. The cheesier it gets, the more palatable it tastes. Toppings of myriad colors from red cherry, sunny potato, and green goddess veggies elegantly intensify the hunger of any stomach. Learning for me is like a salad dressing. Learners vary from one person to another and no two or three of them has the same appreciation of what style he has to adapt in order to make that dressing pleasant according to his taste.

Neither two (2) learners have the same manner of preparing a salad dressing nor do they have the same level of savoriness in learning. Basically, each learner has different experiences which he tend to accept and when repeated, these experiences are quite satisfying. Each experience allows him to have personal adaptation in order to gain new knowledge or skills. Once this new skills have been found, learning took place and he can move ahead. The sky could even be the limit on what he can and will do. He is primarily at hand to make such experiences exciting, dramatic, challenging, or creative through guided opportunities that would be provided by teachers.

Much as any learner hopes for the most palatable salad dressing he could prepare, the best cook and salad makers are the teachers. Their choice of the most opportune styles to reach out the majority number in a class should lead them to a more creative, innovative, and enjoyable learning experience.

I believed that a good teaching style should arouse interest, create a need and importance for the subject and give it to them in an amount that they could digest and enjoy. I suppose, it is more productive to make a learner “a little hungry” rather than “overstuffed”.

A teacher has the responsibility to modify her style in order to suit the cravings for ideas of majority learners. She also has the privilege, not a right to stick to her teaching style in order to help learners adapt in such a way that they could use other learning styles for their individual improvement.

Learning how to prepare the best salad dressing for different learners is such a tough exercise, but I prefer it simple yet fresh, innovating yet inspirational, stressful yet palatable.