Reflection on 1 October Skype Session

From what framework am I motivated? What cultural beliefs inform the way I learn, teach, and communicate with others?  How has it changed since I have returned to studying academically?

I teach how I do firstly, I think, because of the experiences that have shaped me as a person, but also as professional performer, and teacher.    I am definitely a very authoritarian teacher, and this is because of all the teaching styles I have learned best from as a dancer, this way seems to work.  Also, those teachers who influenced me and made the most impact in my life have had a very authoritative presence. Also, it seems to me to have been very teacher centred training.  I have always been an independent learner and thrive in this way.  However, I do understand and see the benefits of collaborative learning.  I would say that a fault of my own is that I gravitate toward wanting to lead in a collaborative setting rather than staying in my lane at times with repose to simply follow or lend a helping hand.  I appreciate a very structured environment, although my own lack of organisation and time management causes me fail at providing a very structured learning environment for others.  I often times stray off the subject at hand or go off in a completely different direction from what I originally plan in a lesson.  I believe that my older students find this to be quite frustrating, because they either become confused about the point of my deterence from the task at hand.  My young learners thrive with my authoritative way of dealing with them and the subject material and my ability to change direction encourages their own creativity as we explore together in learning.  I enjoying coaching as an authoritarian. However, I appreciate and grow from the feeling I get when I delegate and facilitate collaborative learning.  This type of learning takes pressure off of me to be responsible for all of the teaching and empowers my students and their own creativity.


I also understand that my teacher-centred approach is not the most effective for all of my students.  According to Howard Zhenhao in his Brief Review of Literature about the Spectrum of Teaching Styles states, “The increasing awareness of the constructionist nature of learning suggests that the teacher centered (versus) style of learning may be ineffective in maximizing student learning (Cothran and Kulinna, 2003) “

Culture, ability, gender, motivation, and purpose must all be considered when teaching, because  they certainly affect how we view and see the world.  Doesn’t how we see the world directly affect and influence how we take in information and process it?  Won’t some policies in school systems create anxiety rather than  encourage learner responsibility and participation?  Do differences in culture, gender, ability affect the motivation and purpose someone has when learning?  By making information relevant to personal subject matter, is  motivation to learn encouraged.  Is this a framework of Dewey's, for he did advocate that behaviour modification should be learner centred?  Also, independent learning results from experiences that are designed with open-mindedness and acceptance of the diversity in culture.  Doesn't social  involvement help learning. In this framework, more opportunities are certainly created for the learner.  As I explore these questions, I still have some confusion about how to provide for learners in the best way, provide as many opportunities in the best possible way by understanding important educational trends, and yet developing my own personal philosophy that will allow me to communicate, relate, connect, teach, and learn with learners in a way that is uniquely my own and is authentic rather than imitating some template of predecessors who have gone before me.