WEEK 1: SELF-INTRODUCTION AND SET UP BLOGS

    Our class was having a self-introduction activity during the prior lecture in order to get to know the classmates. Each of them created fantastic and fascinating slides that featured their personal information to make their introductions unforgettable. While in the tutorial session, we learned how to set up our own blogs where we could upload our reflective essays for peers to view and comment on. Besides, we were divided into groups before the lesson began by drawing lots.

    I initially felt a lot of anxiety during the self-introduction session because I am a introverted person. When I get nervous, I tend to stammer and get stuck which leads to being unconfident in my presentation skills. Due to that, I did not hand in my slides until Dr Lina noticed that I had not introduced myself and came to encourage me. After that, I eventually had the guts to go in front and introduce myself to all my classmates. Since I had conquered my internal anxiety, I felt incredibly delighted and glad after that. It is to be said that the encouragement of my instructor gave me the motivation to push myself. In my perspective, encouraging students to believe in their own potential to be the best is a potent strategy educators can employ to nurture and promote the abilities of the young (Wong, 2015).

    This experience brought back memories of a speech competition I participated in in high school. Recalling that day, as soon as I walked out onto the stage, I started to get nervous that I had stumbled over my words. My mind became blank, and I even started to shake. However, when I heard my teacher sitting in the audience cheering for me, I regained my confidence and continued. Raja (2017) mentioned that individuals who lack confidence require encouragement to be motivated to involve themselves in the event. Ultimately, those encouragements resulted in my breakthroughs which made me feel more accomplished and boosted my confidence a little.

    On the other hand, from the tutorial, I had learned some new strategies from group work. I believe that the purpose of group work is to develop self-learning skills instead of just enabling us to learn from and help each other. According to Stone et al. (2013), small-group instruction allows students to better focus on planning their own learning activities and fostering self-directed learning. From the various methods, the one I have learnt is peer learning. For instance, my friend would assist me in creating my blog when I was struggling to follow the teacher's instructions. Likewise, I helped her with any issues she ran into. The advantages of peer learning are to promote conversation, thinking, and students' participation as they progress through a sequence of "scaffolded" learning activities that assist them do so (Vygotsky, 1978).

    

Social constructivism is a theory that I gained from peer learning. According to this theory, language and culture shape how people interact, experience life, and perceive the world (Idaresit Akpan et al., 2020). Through peer learning, we work together and communicate with one another to resolve issues, make sense of information, and gain a deeper comprehension of the subject. In addition, it is connected to Lev Vygotsky's theory of the Zone of Proximal Development. This theory holds that learning occurs best when individuals work together, and new concepts, psychological strategies, and skills are better absorbed through such cooperative initiatives with more experienced people (Shabani et al., 2010).

    

 

    As a result, in my future profession as an educator, I will keep encouraging my students and will not let their insecurities prevent them from performing. In addition, I now understand the value of collaboration and social skills in getting tasks done. These enable us to do work quicker and more effectively. In the end, I must acknowledge that social skills are a need when working in groups to prevent conflicts from hindering the flow of the task. Based on this, I will employ these skills in all of my group work.

References

Idaresit Akpan, V., Angela Igwe, U., Blessing Ijeoma Mpamah, I., & Onyinyechi Okoro, C.  

(2020). Social constructivism: Implications on teaching and learning. British Journal of Education, 8.                                                                                                                            

Only Anshuman. (2021, September 8). Peer learning // Intro video [Video]. YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzYp4Wl0OAQ&t=46s

Raja, F. U. (2017). Anxiety level in students of public speaking: Causes and remedies. Journal

of Education and Educational Development, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.22555/joeed.v4i1.1001

Shabani, K., Khatib, M., & Ebadi, S. (2010). Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development:

instructional implications and teachers’ professional development. English Language Teaching, 3(4). https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v3n4p237

Stone, R., Cooper, S., & Cant, R. (2013). The value of peer learning in undergraduate nursing

education: A systematic review. ISRN Nursing, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/930901

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind and society: The development of higher psychological processes.

In Harvard University Press.

Wong, Y. J. (2015). The psychology of encouragement: Theory, research, and applications. The

Counseling Psychologist, 43(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000014545091