WALO 1 REFLECTIONS ON MY TEACHING PRACTICE

Submitted by: Mohammed Khimani Critical friend: Shridhar Jagtap

Each session of HTH training has been relevant and inspiring for me. Before attending the session on WALO, I had absolutely no idea about what it is? At the end of the session my perception was totally changed towards teachinglearning process. I have been using various tools, techniques, methods to make the subject interesting but never took the pain to reflect upon that. I was surprised by the outcome when I started reflecting on my teaching practice. My first WALO is my reflection on learning while implementing BLM (Blended Learning Model). Process involved in BLM: Teacher identifies videos relevant to the topic / chapter and shares with students. Students watch videos from home and next day, the teacher summarises the key points or bridges the gap between the actual content and the content in video. Teacher displays the assignment prepared based on the video. Students sit in a group of three, discuss each question and write answers in their own words. Teacher facilitates each group, every individual by moving around. Finally, teacher displays the model answers. Students tally their answers with model answers and find out their mistakes on their own. What did I do? Few students were identified from entire 10th grade with help of Vimmi Maam and Sarvashreshtha Sir. A video on simple machine was given to them.

 Next day, few terms related to machine were explained as a part of bridging the gap. Students sat in groups of two and discussed the answers of questions displayed. Model answers were displayed at the end of the session for the reference. The model was implemented for the same chapter (machine) in sections where I teach physics. Hurdles: It was difficult to convince the students to download and (or) watch videos from e-classroom. To make sure that they discuss only about the subject/topic while sitting in groups. (Especially in boys classes).

My reflections: I was very excited to implement BLM when I heard about for the first time but at the same time, I was little scared that how students will look at that and how will I be able to take it forward when I was struggling to keep pace with annual planning. But I must admit here that I have discovered BLM as a powerful strategy that can help me meet my objectives. I could make the learning student-centric. I was able to provide foundational knowledge through videos, which, in turn, allowed me more time to engage myself with students to deepen and extend their base knowledge in classroom. Additionally, the more meaningful, small group and one-on-one interactions enabled me to encourage communication, collaboration, and critical thinking skill development. At the same time, the biggest fear in mind is of losing the control of the classroom because of unsuitable strength of students in the classroom for BLM.

Whats next?

To follow BLM rigorously to glean its benefits, i.e., to maximize learning time, differentiate instruction and achieve a total view of student progress.
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