Of TXD: Teacher Experience Design

Education has changed.

A new trend in education has risen over the last few years: classrooms have become learner-centered; lessons are focused on the process of creating learning experiences, which should enable the learner to achieve the desired learning outcome in a human-centered and problem-solving environment. Learners are given a more empowering role in their own education: they have been given ownership of their learning.They have been fostered to unleash their creativity in a collaborative way; they have been given a space to think critically; they have been given a voice.

Empowered learners are motivated, confident, engaged, and ready to tackle whatever task they are given. We are preparing an entire generation of thinkers, makers, and go-getters. 

Have I forgotten anything...?

Of Circular Sharing

As teachers, we know the importance of sharing our experiences. Some of us have a blog - such as myself; some of us have a YouTube channer - many brave teachers like to record videos, which I myself don't; some of us belong to a Facebook Group related to teaching - if you are an English Language Teacher like me, I strongly recommend joining BRELT; some of us follow other teachers on Twitter, and in all of these cases we SHARE.

We describe our lessons, ideas, proud moments, doubts, frustrations, great and not-so great moments. We expose it all out there, with our community. And these spaces are also great for us to read about lessons, ideas, moments from each other; we can learn from other teachers.

But the thing is, are we really learning?

I came to doubt the efficiency of our sharing practice a few months ago. I was attending a conference where the plenary speaker was talking about the importance of developing 21st Century Skills in our classroom, by getting students to collaborate and learn from each other, communicate and think critically in a problem-solving environment, as opposed to a teacher-centered classroom with students sitting down making notes and nodding only.

I couldn't agree more; in fact, I know this shift to learner experience is a reality in most classrooms today. And that is thanks to us, teachers.

However, something bothered me deeply. Do we follow what we preach?

Of Halloween, the strange and the unusual

"I, myself, am strange and unusual."

And that was something I identified in myself at a very early age: when I was just a kid, and I watched the movie Beetlejuice for the first time, and I completely fell in love with it! I started dressing as Lidia, and I actually cut my hair like her, a memory that haunts me to this day because it was hideous (I didn't know back then that they have "people" to make her look beautiful; and I didn't have "people"). The movie is great: it is funny, colorful, fast-paced, full of action; Tim Burton at his best!

But that was in the late 80's, early 90's. Movies back then were much, much different than they are today. 

Of getting into the world of Comic Strips

Teaching teens is a great experience; one thing I really appreciate is that they are not yet adults, with formed opinions and preconceptions; but they are old enough to think for themselves.

However, treating teens as adults all the time can be tiring, on me and them. 

So, getting inspiration from the date we are celebrating (today is Children's Day in Brazil, and it happens to be a long weekend) I decided to have a new approach: I encouraged them to get in touch with their childish side!

How did I achieve it? Comic strips!

Of having ideas, and sharing them (CHECK THIS SITE!!!)

https://sites.google.com/view/inovacao-ou-recriacao/p%C3%A1gina-inicial

Of Alice in Educationland

Recently I was asked the following question: if there was a movie about your life, what would the name be?

I didn't even have to think for too long about it! I simply blurted out the name: "Alice in Educationland".

Of midtech, cultural misunderstandings and pronunciation

This week, I had another mishappening: a student said that she had traveled to the US, and while she was there, she went to a dinner party with her husband and some of his friends. During dinner, she decided to tell some stories about her kids, and she didn't understand the look of sheer shock on people when she said her kids were 'terrible'. She told me: "teacher, they are really terrible kids!"