My emerging thoughts on MED858 from Session 3

Today's lecture on LE was useful as it adds and clarifies my knowledge after viewing the Podcast. A larger picture is now constructed in my mind when the 2 jigsaw pieces of 'phycho' and 'social' are placed together. For now, I understand a psycho-social Learning Environment as the interrelatedness of a person with its personal needs and behaviour in relation to the interaction among people and the environment one's in. This was similar to Vygotsky's theory of social constructivism that children actively construct their knowledge. In conjunction to this notion, it has bought me to greater belief that the influence of parent and families has GREAT short-term and long-term impact on a child's development. Examples include the development of language acquisition to the character development of the child. Speaking of the LE lecture, I was also glad when I saw the Big Picture of LE on the screen and quickly copied it down. :) It looked SO SMALL in the Podcast... >_<

During our (real) class discussion today, Dr. Quek asked us if we prefer to be observed by a detached observer or an individual/a group of people who is familiar with the LE. My answer would be BOTH. I would like to hear and reflect upon both group's observation and share their evaluation with me. To me, having an external observer to observe my lesson is almost like a norm for me as there were formal and informal observations conducted by the various MOE initiatives' personnels such as STELLAR to Principal's observations. From there, I was given constructive feedback and was able to work towards improvement. On the other hand, I also asked my pupils to give me feedback on the delivery of my lessons or activities that they enjoy as they are eventually my frontline customers. To a certain extent, they are the people who shaped my pedagogy approach too. From here, I adjust my teaching approaches to suit their needs better and in turn, aim to improve their performances.

G.R.A.C.E
Oh, I had learnt a new meaning to my name too. G.R.A.C.E = Group Research and Collaborative Expedition. Wow, what a wonderful and meaningful name. :) I will go and explore that website when I finish reading the articles.