Month: October 2022

The idea behind our group’s Interactive Learning Design is how we can teach and provide different teaching methods to future French teachers. We’ve found that the most effective method is learning a language through music and singing. With singing and learning a language through music, we focus on the interactivity element, incorporating interactive videos, therefore, allowing our audience to feel encouraged to learn. A video that I found on Youtube focuses on French Greetings, and it is an excellent way for future French teachers to learn and review their vocabulary. This song is short and informative, allowing the audience to maintain their focus and grasp the overall concept. This particular French greeting song is effective because it’s a song which is scientifically proven to have a stronger impact on the memorization and comprehension of another language. In addition, the song repeats each greeting three times. It translates the greeting from French to English, allowing the audience to be familiarized with the French saying before connecting it to the English meaning. Our focus for the Interactive Learning Design is tailored to the method of designed interactivity. We chose a medium of song learning that will require students to watch, learn, and listen to the song. 

Any interactive method is effective because it pushes the students to connect to the topic/concept they’re learning. We chose this interactive resource because we associate words better when we can physically say them aloud rather than just looking at French vocabulary on the screen or paper. When you say words aloud, your brain can comprehend the information more clearly, enhancing your learning ability. Because this activity is going to be singing-based, the audience is most likely going to be listening and comprehending the video to the best of their abilities. They are welcome to make notes on what the video talks about, such as the French words and translate them into English. Afterwards, we prepared questions to ask the audience what their thought process was after watching the video. This process allows for analysis, critical thinking, and synthesis. In addition to asking questions, we prepared a short article they could read to understand further why we chose this particular topic. The article aims to provide the opportunity for them to dive deeper into why the activity was introduced in the first place and help them make the connection about how and why it’s effective. After the two activities, we’ve created a Kahoot that will have questions catered for what they had just learned to see if the knowledge and skill have resonated with them. This is an efficient way to see how much information has been retained and whether or not these methods are supportive in terms of the various teaching methods. One way students can get feedback on the activity is through discussion. Instructor-to-learner feedback is intimate and prioritized; instructor-to-group feedback is interactive and allows for deeper analysis and critical thinking. 

Resources: 

French Greetings Song for Children: ​​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXkJ88ygPY0&list=RDQMeEPHNfetHdY&start_radio=1&ab_channel=MLSnatasha

Our group interactive learning resource is designed to encourage and promote various teaching methods to future French teachers. The method with which we are working is experiential learning. Queen’s University (2022) has stated that experiential education is a philosophy that informs many methodologies in which educators purposefully engage with learners in direct experience and focused reflection on increasing knowledge, developing skills, clarifying values, and developing people’s capacity to contribute to their communities.

The Association for Experiential Education has established that through the experiential learning process, learners are actively engaged in posing questions, investigating, experimenting, being curious, solving problems, assuming responsibility, being creative, and constructing meaning (Queen’s University, pg. 1, 2022). During our webinar, we will also make sure that closed captioning is on for attendees who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as for those who have cognitive, learning, or other disabilities. We want to ensure that the needs of everyone attending the webinar will be met to the best of our abilities. 

Our goal for our interactive learning resource is to guide future teachers to learn and develop different teaching methods that can benefit the classroom environment. We’ve structured our webinar to be easily accessible as it would be held over Zoom during the evening, therefore, allowing the opportunity for those who are working through the day to participate during the evening. It would also be recorded so those unable to make it would have the chance to experience the webinar on their own time. We have also designed our learning resource to be interactive and engaging as we’re incorporating a series of experiential learning in the webinar. We plan to share teaching methods that have been proven successful in classrooms, especially the incorporation of music. We want to make sure that everyone that attends the webinar feels as though they are in a safe and comfortable space where they can be open to participating in learning French through singing. The singing activity would be adjusted to suit everyone’s needs. When the time comes, we encourage our audience to turn on their cameras to participate in the singing portion. We would also add that everyone would have their microphones off to avoid overlapping voices while the song is playing. That way, the audience can feel a sense of comfort and control singing at their own pace. Learning works differently for everyone; we have provided other methods of teaching, such as doing a short lecture, reading, group discussions, testing their knowledge through Kahoot, and of course, through music incorporation.

References:

University, Q. (2022). What is experiential learning? Experiential Learning Hub. Retrieved October 22, 2022, from https://www.queensu.ca/experientiallearninghub/about/what-experiential-learning 

The experiential learning approach is the process of learning by doing. By engaging students in hands-on experiences and reflection, they are able to understand and acknowledge the theories and concepts better. As stated by Queen’s University, “experiential education is a philosophy that informs many methodologies in which educators purposefully engage with learners in direct experience and focused reflection in order to increase knowledge, develop skills, clarify values, and develop people’s capacity to contribute to their communities” (Queen’s University, 2022). Experiential learning occurs through carefully chosen experiences that are supported by proper analysis, reflection, and synthesis (Queen’s University, 2022). It’s an approach that encourages the students to take the initiative, make decisions and be held for the consequences of those decisions. Throughout the experiential learning process, the learner is actively engaged in the material, maintaining curiosity, solving problems, assuming responsibility, being creative, and constructing meaning (Queen’s University, 2022). 

The most common framework for experiential learning is focused on the work of David Kolb. Kolb’s experiential learning cycle guides the development of experiential learning activities (Queen’s University, 2022). It is made up of four concepts that outline the process of a learner’s experience. Active experimentation focuses on the priority of planning and the effort of trying to figure out what you’ve learned. Next, the concrete experience is focused on doing and having the experience of physically working on that particular lesson/activity. Reflective observation is the concept of reviewing and reflecting on the experience. Lastly, the abstract conceptualisation grasps the concluding message of what the learners have grasped from the experiment (Queen’s University, 2022). 

The experiential learning approach does align with our method of teaching. As experiential learning is concentrated on the physical hands-on integration of teaching and learning, our lesson has incorporated a virtual verbal and physical approach to enhancing the skills of learners.

Here is David Kolb’s model: