Education 101
I have had the pleasure of being able to observe and be a
co-facilitator at a couple of educational facilities in the tri-state area. My
experience has allowed me to teach sex-ed to a variety of young people from
various educational and developmental backgrounds. The methodology that I used I gained from my
experience here at Widener, which has allowed me the opportunity to come in
with at least some type of educational strategies from the beginning. One thing
that I have noticed is that due to the lack of educational training many
educators are not equipped to teach young people any subject let alone
sex-ed.
Due to these deficiencies, the educators are fighting a
losing battle. I have observed some
professionals begin a new lesson or topic without even trying to determine the student’s
prior knowledge or abilities. Also many teachers ignore the notion of ever
trying to make the subject matter interesting or trying to attract the
attention of the students. Even though I
know I have a lot more work to do as far as developing my teaching style, one
skill I have learned is, preparation. This is a key concept to becoming an
effective educator.
When beginning my classes I use discussions as a part of Direct
Instruction in the “Warm-Up” or “ausubel” activity as a part of a
concrete/shared experience. This allows
students to become engaged in the topic (Eggen & Kauchak, 2006). This
concrete/shared experience appeals to the student’s affective (emotional) side
to engage them and create a comfortable environment. Also, this gives students
a chance for reflection and to establish prerequisite knowledge on the topic.
Establishing prerequisite knowledge can serve as a “hook” for new learning as
students can link prior knowledge to what they will soon learn (Eggen &
Kauchak, 2006).
Also by using direct instruction, both concepts and
procedural skills are being taught (Eggen & Kauchak, 2006). For example,
concepts such as HIV and STI’s are being explained, and the procedural skill of
putting a condom on effectively is being taught. This model is effective in
helping to reach the learning goals and objectives because it helps to present
the material in clear and logical steps (Eggen & Kauchak, 2006).
Additionally, guided practice in the learning activities is useful in attaining
the goals and objectives because it allows the students to practice procedural
skills such as putting the condom on a woodie with the instructor to learn how
to do it properly (Eggen & Kauchak, 2006). Also, modeling as a part of social
cognitive theory is used in the condom demonstrations because people have the
tendency to mirror behaviors they observe in others (Eggen & Kauchak,
2006). This facilitates transference of
these learned skills in the classroom to their being able to use condoms
effectively at home or to teach others how to use one properly (Eggen &
Kauchak).
Of course not all of the young people are actively engaged
in any educational arena. But at least they were provided with auditory and
visual stimuli. So they may have internalized the information in some way and
are able to process that information at another time. I know that I at least attempted to get their
attention, listen to what they had to say, give them new information and
skills, and allow them to demonstrate their newly learned skills.
REFERENCES: Eggen, P. & Kauchak, D. (2006). Strategies and Models for Teachers: Teaching
Content and Thinking Skills. Boston,
MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Lynette, I cannot agree with you more that good and thorough preparation is the key to successful teaching. I, too, have gained invaluable skills through the Widener program that have prepped me to be the best educator and the best sexuality educator I can be. I will carry the tools I have been given in this program as I continue to work to advance my teaching skills.
ReplyDeleteSo many educators find themselves in the role of sexuality educator without any formal training or education. To teach any subject effectively, a good educator has to do a lot of legwork. Effective educators need to assess the developmental level as well as prior knowledge of the participants, their topics of interest, work to understand the learning environment of the participants, research the issues to be discussed and the relationship of those issues to the target audience, etc. All of these steps need to be taken before a curriculum and lesson plans are developed if the goal is effectiveness in educating.
You noted that many educators are not equipped in this way. Realizing how much work it takes to be a good educator and the awesome demands on teachers in settings where class sizes are very large, academic support is minimal or absent, and participants involved are highly stressed at home and in school, it is easier for me to empathize with colleagues in these settings. While I am not condoning ineffective teaching, I can see why corners are cut and ineffective teaching continues. People get burned out without adequate time and support to do thorough preparation.
If we can step up and help our fellow educators teach more effective sexuality education by sharing our tools with colleagues or teaching some of their classes, then more students will benefit from the pearls of wisdom we have gained in this program.