In the discussion forum, you are expected to participate often and engage in deep levels of discourse. You are required to post an initial response to the question/issue presented in the Forum by Sunday evening and then respond to at least 3 of your classmates’ initial posts. You should also respond to anyone who has responded to you.
In your discussion, please address the following points:
- Introduce yourself and tell your classmates and instructor where you are from.
- Explain what you teach or plan to teach (e.g., grade level/s, subject/s).
- Explain how you have applied or plan on applying the constructivist approach in your classroom.
- If you are currently teaching, share two pedagogical practices (e.g., constructivist, collaborative, inquiry-based, etc.) you find most effective in your practice.
- If you are not currently teaching, share two pedagogical practices (e.g., constructivist, collaborative, inquiry-based, etc.) that you consider could be effective in your future classroom.
The story of my family began long before I was born. My grandfather was born into the family of a merchant and descendant of Boyarin Lukin in the Orenburg region of Russia in 1927, and in 1928, his family was forced to leave and start a new life in Uzbekistan. Later, my grandfather went to Kazakhstan and met my grandmother there.
My grandmother was born to a mother who fled to Kazakhstan after the death of her grandfather, a Cossack. And my grandmother's father came to Kazakhstan because he did not like his stepmother. Thus, my grandfather and grandmother have Russian roots, but I was born in Kazakhstan. My father was a German whose parents fled from Germany to Ukraine, and he came to Kazakhstan to earn money.
That is why I studied German at school from the age of seven, but with time, I practically stopped using it. Now I teach English as a foreign language online for all levels and ages.
I like to take a constructivist approach (PHILO-notes, 2020) in my class because the results of the students' work make them more meaningful in their own eyes. Of course, at first, there are challenges that I explain how to overcome.
For example, at the beginning of the lesson, I make a riddle with different clues, which students have to guess by asking me questions and getting answers.
As I work through the text (EnglishPracticeOnline, 2022), I may ask them to use it to create a similar text about themselves or their partner.
Another one of my favorite ways to work is to give eight Story Cards (n.d.), where the story develops gradually and students take turns choosing pictures in random order.
EnglishPracticeOnline. (2022, January 15). Practice listening and speaking English for daily communication - If My Fish Could Talk.
English Practice Online. https://english-practice.net/practice-listening-and-speaking-english-for-daily-communication-if-my-fish-could-talk/
Story Cards. (n.d.). Learnhip.com. https://learnhip.com/storycards/
PHILO-notes. (2020, September 1). What is constructivism? [Video]. YouTube.
