On Personalized Learning and Teaching
It is wildly believed in America that “learning
has always been and always will be a personal matter”, quoted from Changing
the School Learning Environment. In comparison, language teachers in China
have begun to recognize this fact in recent years, yet most of us have not
realized sound personalized teaching. Fortunately, I came to Yale and learned
several effective methods from my tutors Carrie and Siggy to personalize
education.
Last week, I observed Carrie’s writing
class, which will definitely impact on my personalized teaching in future.
Factually, I have never thought of a way to connect students personal feelings
with the reading material; instead, Carrie did it by asking students to
describe their sense of hearing in their house after reading a vivid
description in The Class Castle. Hence, each student had solid
experience to share and to write.
Also I will never forget Carrie’s beautiful
tone with which she read the article for her students, successfully leading
them to walk in to the author’s life. So when she asked who would like to read
the next paragraph, I prayed there was no volunteer, for I aspired to continue
listing to her voice, emotional and clear, perfectly matching the story. And
this is the way a teacher shares her personal feelings with the students when
they read together
The most forgettable scene is that
yesterday Carrie shared her experience in Qinhuangdao, Hebei in China, which is
also my hometown. She told her personal story and feelings so sincerely that
she could not help shedding tears. At that time, I suddenly felt we were so
close to each other as if we had known each other for many years although we
come from different countries across thousands of miles.
In short, this is the power of sharing
personal experience and feelings with students and personalizing students’
learning, thereby not only stimulating learners’ inspiration to write, but also
helping them set up a harmonious relationship, which further improves students’
trust in their teacher.
hi, country fellow, thank you for sharing, and I said country fellow, for my grandfather was a native of Hebei.^-^
回复删除It is a sincere pleasure to learn how ones teaching affects others...something we in American colleges rarely have the opportunity to realize through another's eyes. You taught me something, Anna, which I would never have otherwise known...that simply reading aloud is a sharing of emotions. I've never thought of that. It was delightful having the opportunity to share so many experiences with you all. You showed me my own world through new and fresh eyes.
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