Posts made by Iqra khan

I don't think that there is any problem if a teacher uses mobile phone in the classroom as long as it is being used for facilitating students' learning. In my view, technology is the need of today's time and students would stay behind if teachers don't make use of gadgets like telephone, laptop, projectors. Using it for purpose other than students' teaching and learning is of no use and will only make it a distraction and divide teachers' attention.

@Heba-Ali-Mohamed true! This can be helpful but unfortunately, this is not sth very common in our country. Only self motivated teachers go for such trainings and workshops whereas, others prefer not to upgrade themselves once they are in the field.

@Ani-Bareghamyan agree! Teachers should always show willingness to upgrade themselves with the currents trends n demands of students.

Hi, what are the ways & techniques to manage large classrooms?

Hi,
To much extent do you think professional development is important for teachers? Share some of the way for teachers to upgrade their teaching skills?

We are teaching in a context where students have different and backgrounds. If we try to fit all students in one shoe, it will not be effective as other students will be left behind. Better strategy is to go for differentiated teaching and adapt content and topic according to students' level and strength.
For example: If a teacher has to teach students about a topic, she can divide students levels and give them different task i.e. some can just write simple sentences whose structure is not fine; other can start writing a paragraph.
In my classrooms, this strategy always does wonderssss!

My favourite classroom strategies are:

• Fun Activities

• Involving students in games

• Role plays

*Discussions

Yes, I have participated in the competition and the category that I selected was "Gamifying Classrooms to Enhance Students' Engagement".

We can always get students' attention in the class if we have prior knowledge about them (their needs, interests, lacks). Knowing the students and plan classroom activities accordingly can make much difference. The first things teachers have to do is to know names of their learners; when students feel they are known, acknowledged, they automatically build a connection with their teachers and everyone around. Besides, reinforcement has significant importance in the classroom. Teachers should rewards their students whenever they respond, participate and behave in a certain way. This conditioning will encourage other students too to participate in class and pay attention to every task they get.

I believe that experience helps teachers to be prepared for all the upcoming challenges while planning their classes. They are well aware of the systems, do's and don'ts of institutions, parents reservations, students needs and ways to scaffold but experience alone is not enough as teachers have to update themselves every passing day. They have to familiarize themselves with current trends in education as both of them are pillars of quality education

Exactly! We are living in the world where ignoring technology in education/teaching is equivalent to keeping our learners in darkness. Children of today's generation need to be updated and we can't solely depend on textbooks and traditional methods for their learning. Planning our classrooms on daily basis with the integration of technology can be a great help!

Hi,
It is a great platform to connect with educators from different regions and read about their classroom teaching strategies and views on the use of different tools. I will take this platform as an opportunity to introduce myself:
My name is Iqra Khan and I am from Hyderabad, Pakistan. Currently, I am working as JEST at Sindh Education & Literacy Department. I love my job because it gives me opportunity to connect with young minds and discuss with them because I believe children are the future and if we work on them; we can make a big difference in the society. For making our learners intellectual, critical, and change makers, we have to discuss issues openly with the. As far as my hobbies are concerned, I love travelling and trying different foods.

In an English language classroom, teachers can ask students to plan an imaginary trip and think of activities that can be done. like plantation, beach cleaning drive, etc. For this purpose, students can work in groups, plan spots from where to start/stop, activities including hiking, watching movies and a lot more. Then, they have to make a journal and write their whole journey in it.

This project can improve their language skills, writing skills, and raise awareness among them related to environment and environmental issues.

Hi Aqsa,
It sounds great! However, there are different websites that you can use in the classroom for teaching science and check students' understanding. You can use TED Talks, Youtube for it. With this, you can design quiz on Bamboozle, Nearpod, and Wordwall.

For language teaching, teachers can make use of different platforms to enhance learners' engagement and participation in the classroom. Few of the tools that can be used in the classroom are:

1. Padlet: Here, teachers can ask students to post their work on the padlet wall. It makes easy for teachers to give feedback to all the students at one place. Along with this, learners can also read others' post which helps them to know common mistakes, improve, learn and even make comment on others' work. This can be very engaging in language classrooms.
2. Wordwall: This tool can be used to provide fun learning experience to students. Teachers can use it by the end of the classrooms as exit tickets and check students classroom learning. Wordwall has quizzes, spin the wheel, speaking cards, matching pairs, and flip tiles.
3. Nearpod (Time to Climb): Nearpod has hundreds of activities for almost all the subjects and it can be changed according to classroom content. What I love about nearpod is the activity i.e. Time to Climb as teacher can ask all students to open the link, choose the character, and answer questions. It is more like a race where speed and correct answers make students win. This can be highly engaging and provide fun learning experience to students.
4. Spin the wheel: Spin the wheel can be fun and maximise students' participation in the classroom as it has names of students. While teachers spin the wheel, students have to speak on the topic and they cant skip as it is their chance to win points.
5. Canva: This can be used to ask students to make flyers, posters etc and helps teachers to evaluate students' writing.
6. Bamboozle: It has different games, quizzes, and activities for all students at different levels. This makes learning fun and provides quick results to teachers about students' progress. Teacher can divide students in teams and allows them to select number of their choice. Every student participates in the class and have fun learning experience.