#ELTchat summary for the evening session on September 14, 2011.
The writing of this summary came as a strong response to my previous post. YES! Collaboration DOES happen in the ELT world. I am just so glad to have been given the opportunity to co-write this summary with lovely Ceri Jones!
Thanks for accepting my suggestion... I've learned a lot!
#ELTChat
Summary:
'Affective' or 'Effective' teaching: which shoes should we wear?
INTRODUCTION
A note on the summary: this is
a two-headed summary, a collaboration between someone who was there (@cerirhiannon), and someone couldn't
be, but who followed the chat on the transcript (@teacher_prix). We wrote it together
on typewithme.com, both synchronously and asynchronously, across a 5 hour time
zone.
Ceri's introduction
Last Wednesday's 9pm chat was a
discussion of affective and effective teaching, and the relationship between
the two. We touched on a whole range of issues and questions, including whether
the two can actually be separated one from the other- The chat kicked off with
a definition of terms, which had initially confused some chatters, and a
re-casting of the opening question and moved on to discuss first affective
teaching and then the relationship between affective teaching and effective
learning. Towards the end quite a few big questions were raised which we didn't
really have the time or space to tackle, but which could well be put forward
for other chats in the future.
Priscilla's introduction
In a humanist classroom for teaching
to be taken as 'effective' the affective variable should be taken into account.
As most humanistic approaches claim the learners' feelings and reactions
regarding the learning process are of crucial importance to the success (or
failure) of the learning. The more we get involved with our students the closer
we get to this humanistic way of teaching. What is the impact of this closer
contact with our students in our teaching? How far should we get involved?
Should we ever get involved?
The chat started with a definition of
terms. Quite a few
chatters seemed a little confused by the question:
@sandymillin My first questions is:
what exactly are 'effective' and 'affective' teaching? Not really sure I know
what they are! #eltchat
SOME SUGGESTED
DEFINITIONS
A number of answers were offered as
the chatters moved towards a working definition.
@Marisa_C
Effective = it works Affective= appealing to the emotions?
@perkypawn: isn't 'affective'
.. what impact we have on a students life and
"effective" simply doing a job efficiently ?
The emphasis moved away from
effective to affective:
@pacogascon dont think the point's
highlighting ss affective needs when teaching,jst being aware of em
& predicting hw they cn affect t process #eltchat
@hartle
RT @Marisa_C: An encouraging teacher sees mistakes as learning
opportunities #ELTchat
@mscro1
RT @pacogascon: affective teaching: being aware of ss differences,
shy, naughty, bold, talkative and trying to balance/compensate for
deficiencies #eltchat
And then the chat focused back on the original
question:
@Marisa_C:
'Affective' or 'Effective teaching': which shoes should we wear?
There was a general consensus that
there really isn't a conflict here. Throughout the course of the chat, chatters
reiterated that it was not a matter of choosing one or the other way of teaching,
but that both should combine to achieve positive goals.
@esolcourses RT @Marisa_C: RT @cerirhiannon: I
don't really see a dichotomy...
@mscro1 I think we all combine effective
with affective teaching
@SueAnnan surely they are both needed and not a
question of either or?
@Timek:
Isn't this a false opposition? If positive affect enhances learning, then it's
a factor in effective teaching
@Raquel_EFL: I personally believe
there isn't a dichotomy...
@Marisa_C Indeed is it possible to be an effective
teacher without connecting to one's learners at the affective level as well?
@pacogascon: kind of bringing together
teaching, counselling and group dynamics #eltchat
Having agreed on this basic premise,
it was time to redefine
the question. Sandy Millin was the first to take the chat in a new
direction:
AFFECTIVE
TEACHING & LEARNING
@sandymillin How would you define a
learner's affective needs?
A question which received the
following responses:
@cerirhiannon how about to
feel comfortable and not threatened / daunted?
@sandymillin Need for love, praise,
belonging, positive self esteem, encouragement, security,
acceptance.... I could go on
@cerirhiannon to feel confident that
their contributions will be valued and their questions listened to
@SueAnnan
to feel safe in the environment and able to make mistakes #ELTchat > @Marisa_C
feeling safe v important
@sandymillin ... how you ensure that
you can creative an atmpsohere which takes care of your learners' affective
needs
Various suggestions were
offered:
@sandymillin for YLs creating an
atmosphere to cater for their aff needs would involve: praising
production of lang
@janebarden affective teaching for me
is ALWAYS asking the question before nominating a student to answer. This stops
sts feeling so nervous
@sandymillin create a positive
atmosphere in class by giving all SS time to speak/listen & try not to let
SS dominate
@hartle
important to make each std feel their contribution is valued and wht they say
is important
@naomishema maybe the Q actually
refers to the Ts having to be careful not to let emotions take over, like when there's
a S she doesn't like?
@mscro1
have to be careful with Ss domination I agree @sandymillin
@hartle
#eltchat feedback activities that really foster discussion and exchange rather
than simply display questions help too
EFFECTIVE
TEACHING & LEARNING
The conversation then shifted to
discuss effective
teaching and learning.
@sandymillin what can you do to help
learners work together to become more effective learners? #eltchat
This last question derived a new
round of definitions and discussion, with chatters listing some of the key factors in
effective teaching and learning:
@Raquel_EFL What makes an effective
learner and what makes an effective teacher? Just a case of Motivation?
@sandymillin An effective learner has
one or more goals for their learning> @cerirhiannon realistic, achievable
goals
@sandymillin Motivation key for both.
Without it you get nowhere
@Marisa_C
An effective learner=a good language learner - is not inhibited or shy (which means
s/he feels safe in class)
@mscro1
So teachers need to be also very motivating in the class, I use a lot of
demonstration to engage Ss in their work
@SueAnnan
yes enthusiasm very infectious
@cerirhiannon I think patience and
knowing when to take a back seat imp [for the teacher] too
@mscro1
I had one [an effective learner] during holidays, she kept asking me for more
ideas to work on her glogsters- was very enthusiastic
@SueAnnan
I think preparation is key [for teachers] #ELTchat
@sandymillin First part of effective
teaching is knowing what makes an effective learner ;-)
@Timek
yes, but an effective learner can learn even with an ineffective
teacher.
@SueAnnan
So if they've been taught how to be effective learners, they can cope when
better when they get ineffective teachers!
Once more, as in many previous
chats, chatters agreed that motivation was one of the main keys to both affective
and effective learning. The links and suggestions at the bottom of the page
include some useful ideas for fostering motivation in the classroom:
SUMMING UP
At the end, the chat came round in a
full circle in this final exchange between Raquel (@Raquel_EFL), the proposer of the
topic, and Marisa (@Marisa_C), our
moderator.
@Raquel_EFL I like wearing one shoe
from each pair (Affective Teaching-Learning X Effective Teaching-Learning)..
and Marisa's parting tweet closed
the chat on a very positive note.
@Marisa_C
@Raquel_EFL Hope ur
[A final apology to everyone who
took part: the chat was a little bit difficult to follow at times, both on
twitter and on the transcripts, please let us know if we left anything out.]
LINKS, SUGGESTIONS
AND FURTHER READING
@Timek
A is for Affect - Tips for YLs: http://t.co/GoD927Ab
@Marisa_C
Can I suggest a great book for improving Classroom Dynamics by Jill Hadfield? I
love this book #ELTchat
@Marisa_C
Here is a great article by Rebecca Oxford #eltchat http://t.co/I6odypQb
@Timek
Lessons from Good Language Learners by C Griffiths
@Marisa_C
Here are pages from the original book on Good Language Learners by
Naimn & Frolich http://t.co/kNHbsrtI #ELTchat
@Timek
@Marisa_C yes, Rebecca Oxford has written good stuff on area of Learner
Strategies also - http://t.co/cIeGx3qZ #eltchat
@sandymillin RT @Marisa_C: RT
@Raquel_EFL #eltchat turning some of their work into displays makes them proud
of ...(cont)http://t.co/OZYZep3L
@Marisa_C
Here is a link I found on affective teaching - receiving, responding &
valuing seem to be key conceptshttp://t.co/9rL7gqAy #ELTchat
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