Why I Grant Autonomy to My Students, Part Two

[Granting Autonomy, Part Two)

In my classroom, just because I grant autonomy, it doesn’t mean that it’s a free-for-all.

Guidelines still have to be followed.

For example, when I allow my learners to name their groups or their projects, the only guideline I lay down is: “As long as you can repeat it to your mother and not get into trouble, you can use it”.

For presentations, I allow them to do it in any style they want, as long as it won’t result in injury or distress.

The point I try to get across to them is that they have the freedom to express themselves, but that freedom cannot and should not result in harm to others or themselves.

Why I Grant Autonomy to My Students, Part One

[Granting Autonomy, Part One]

When it comes to showcases, something I touched on in an earlier post, I give my students the choice of what sub-topics they want to present and how they want to present them.

This sometimes leads to tussles because there are some modules that are more popular.

Nevertheless, I won’t intervene as long as there’s no physical violence or verbal abuse. And I’ve never needed to.

Disagreements and working them out is part and parcel of working together and I allow them a safe space to work out their differences.

The results of granting my students autonomy?

I’ve been repeatedly impressed by groups of students who take great efforts to research and prepare for their presentations, even scrounging up resources from I-don’t-know-where.

And I've also witnessed the less-enthusiastic students suddenly kick into high gear during Showcases.

I know that there is a certain fear of granting autonomy here, but, if you're an educator, I strongly encourage you to try it.

You will be impressed.

Are You Ready to Start Teaching Your Workshop Without Worry?

When I first started teaching 15 years ago, I had no idea what in the world I was doing.

 Yeah, I sat in on an experienced senior’s workshops a couple of times, I had written my lessons out, and planned my slides.

 As best as I knew how.

 But I still felt totally out of my element the first time I did it.

 I didn’t know what to do, where to place my hands, when to move on to the next slide, or how to get my students to start or end their experiments.

 I even nearly forgot to start off with the customary “Good Morning, class.”

 It wasn’t a great experience, and I didn’t have much fun.

 By its end, I was a ball of nerves and wondering if I’d made the right career decision.

 Fast forward to today, I have my workshops designed the way I will run them.

 I know where everything is and needs to be.

 And I have my timings down to a tee.

 Of course, there will always be some factors outside of my control, and some unknowns.

 But everything I can control, I do.

 Everything I can find out, I do.

 And I have made contingency plans for the unlikeliest of unforeseen circumstances.

 Thankfully, I’ve almost never had to use them.

 I often wished that I had learned then what I know now.

 I wouldn’t have struggled as much, and I would have become much more effective earlier.

 Not to mention that I wouldn’t lose so much energy being worried and nervous.

 And this is why I designed a mini-workshop - Start Teaching Your Workshop Without Worry - to help new and aspiring educators / trainers, both to address their most pressing concerns, and to start at a higher level than I did when I first started out.

 I’ve found that, by focusing on a few basic principles and key areas, anyone can get a huge headstart:

 So, in this mini-workshop, we will go through together, in 90 minutes:

1) The 3 Most Important Parts of your Workshop – just follow the steps I lay out for you.

 No more worries about what to do next or how to start!

2) What to do, When to do it, and How to do it

 So you look Calm, Cool, and Collected in front of your learners.

3) How to be FULLY Prepared – using the scripts and templates I’ve prepared for you.

 By the end of the mini-workshop, you’re going to feel a confidence you’ve not had before about teaching your own workshop.

And all those worries? They’re going to melt away because you’ll be armed with what you need to run it well.

 Now, all you have to do is click here: www.tinyurl.com/teachwww

 See you on the inside!

I've Been Listening To Podcasts And Audio Info, Wondering If I Should Do Some Podcasting Too...

I used to teach a podcasting workshop.

But this was a long time ago. Mobile devices already existed, but they weren’t anywhere as feature-packed and powerful as they are now.

My students had to find a quiet spot (at least as quiet as a school could be), record their podcasts on to a laptop using a small plug-in microphone, and save the file before submitting it for evaluation by the teachers.

A large part of the time was spent on activities other than the actual recording: writing and perfecting the script, as well as practising. I would have liked to give them the freedom to do off-the-cuff recordings, but time was very tight and the school wanted specific results.

Nevertheless, some of the groups of podcasters did very well.

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During the slowdown in Singapore, I had the opportunity to listen to a rather large number of podcasts. In some cases, they were videos of the interviewer/ees in the studio. I also listened to a number of audiobooks (though I still prefer reading physical ones).

And all of this started to reignite my thoughts on potentially taking up podcasting again.

It’s surprising how affordable a proper microphone and shield are these days. You can have a decent set up for under $150.

I’m still not certain, though.

As with a lot of things, I’m not entirely sure what I would talk about.

I’ve had suggestions of just having conversations, talking about subjects that come up, and just working through them.

For that, I’m going to need to either have regular fellow podcasters or else a list of people to interview.

And, of course, a list of subjects to cover.

That’ll take some work, but it may be worth exploring.