Ammatillisen opettajakoulutuksen kasvatustieteellisissä perusopinnoissa tarkastellaan keskeisiä käsitteitä mm. Tightin kirjan perusteella. Hakeakseni henkilökohtaista kosketusta aiheeseen, piirtelin Tuulion rantapatiolla käsiteryppäitä, jotka tuntuivat merkityksellisiltä.
Kun puhutaan opetuksesta olennainen triadi on kasvatus-opetus-ohjaus. Kasvatus kytkee opetustapahtuman yleiseen yksilölliseen ja yhteisölliseen kasvuun. Opetus on tavoitteellisesti orientoitunutta tekemistä, joka kohdistuu (pitäisi kohdistua) toisten ihmisten oppimiseen. Ohjauksessa painotetaan oppijoista tekeytyvän oppimisen tukemista.
Opetuksella tavoitellaan oppimista, mutta tavallaan oppiminen kuitenkin on opetuksesta riippumaton tapahtuma. Kasvatus-opetus-ohjaus -triadin rinnalla onkin tärkeää tarkastella kasvun, kehityksen ja oppimisen kolminaisuutta. Kasvu on jotakin luonnonvoimaista, “evolutiivista” ja kaikkiallista, johon voi vahvistaen tai ehkäisten osallistua. Kehitys on kasvuun verrattuna fokusoituneempaa sekä tilanteisiin ja ympäristöihin sitoutuneempaa. Kasvun ja kehityksen (vaiheiden) rajat ovat kuitenkin häilyviä ja vaikeasti määriteltäviä. Oppiminen on aina läsnä ja se on hyvin konkreettista, vaikka sitä onkin vaikea “juuri sillä hetkellä” nimetä. Oppinen on samanaikaisesti yksilöllistä, sosiaalista ja verkostollista.
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In basic studies in pedagogy of vocational teacher education in Haaga-Helia key concepts are examined e.g. using Tight´s book. To get a personal touch into these concepts I sat in Tuulio patio and drew concept figures, which seemed meaningful for me.
When speaking about instruction a basic triad is education-teaching-guidance counseling. Education connects teaching events in general growth of individuals, groups and networks. Teaching is goal-oriented activity targeted in learning of others. In guidance counseling the emphasis is in supporting of independent and emergent learning of learners.
Aims of instruction are (or should be) in learning, but at he same time the learning itself is an autonomous phenomenon and separate of certain teaching endeavors. Alongside the education-teaching-guidance counseling triad it is also important to explore concepts of growth, development and learning. Growth is something “evolutionary” and overall, which still can be cherished by people. Compared with growth development is more focused and contextual. Boundaries of growth and development (phases) are of course lively and difficult to define. Learning is an event always present, and it is also very concrete although it is often hard to name it as something. The learning is simultaneously individual, social and network-like.
Some about teaching and learning.
I couldn’t but revise my own terrific experience of teaching a boy of 16 who had mental retardation. It was during the time when perestroika started in the USSR. Understanding that her disabled son had no chances to survive in a new non-social state his mother decided to train her mentally retarded son in using a computer to give him a chance to get a job in IT field. But before studying how to use PC he had to study English because during that time in the USSR there were no Russian Microsoft versions. So, she asked me to teach him English.
Certainly I started with the basics, that is I AM, YOU ARE, etc. I was using a book written by Tatiana Klementyeva and Bruce Monk “Happy English”. One of the tasks made my student so upset and unhappy! The task was to read Alexander’s letter to Ann and answer the following questions. My student got tears in his eyes after he had read the task…… D’you know WHAT made the boy awfully upset?
After reading the task he told me that he would not do that, it was impossible for him to do that because it’s wrong to read strangers letters. At first I was at loss, then embarrassed. The mentally retarded boy gave me a great lesson to think properly before giving a task to my students. I was non-moral asking him to read a stranger’s letter. Everybody knows that it’s wrong to do it. It’s as bad as stealing. So, from the moral point of view he was much better than me. I got a nice lesson while teaching – a lesson on morality. Since that time while using such “non-moral “ tasks in my classes I always made a pre-speech: “ Everybody knows the fact that to read strangers letters/personal papers/telegrammes/cards is not right, but how I can teach you, my students, to write letters if we have no example?” I also asked them if they believe that that letter given by Klementyeva –Monk was a true one. Certainly they told me they did know the letter was not a true one, so we could use it like an example how to write letters.
You are right, Pekka, that teaching is goal-oriented activity targeted in learning of others. But teaching others means that the teacher itself is learning. I believe that while teaching or instructing others I always get a new learning for myself.
Hey Vera, I agree that teaching is the best way to learn. Does it mean that as teachers we should organize situations for our students to teach their peers and teachers? 🙂
I don’t think that I would like to organize situations for my students to teach me 🙂
Hey Vera, I believe that students still teach us instructors – do we want or not; the point is to realize it, isn´t it?
Yes, it is. And it is important for us, teachers, to accept this phenomenon as it should be though it was not the goal while teaching students. Otherwise we, teachers, can miss a lot for our own growing like professionals. Teaching is goal-oriented activity targeted in learning of others but it also means that while teaching a teacher or an instructor is learning himself/herself. And it is great, isn’t it?