Learning Diary

INTRO

This learning diary is constituted by deep reflections on various topics, which include lectures, articles, ted talks, and books.

The Learning Diary aims to develop critical and reflective statements regarding various topics which are of interest to me for my future research. The development of knowledge and understanding is expressed through my own intake of these topics as well as research and investigation on key points of my interest.

This Diary done as voluntary work, compiles various questions and concerns raised during my Erasmus exchange at University of Helsinki, Spring 2021.

23/02/2021

SESSION 1: BULLYING THROUGH A SOCIAL PERSPECTIVE

Credit summary – 1 ECTS: -part 2: ch1- 26 pages -5h ch4- 26 pages -5h -part 3: ch7-20 pages -4h ch8-28 pages -5h article n°1 – 13 pages- 2,4 hours article nº2- 13pages- 2,4 hours ▪ Writing of the learning diary – 6 hours Total = 24,8 hours

TEd Talks – 1hour and 20 minutes Book: Bullying, rejection, & peer victimization: A social cognitive neuroscience perspective.

TED TALKS: PLAYLIST: STAND UP TO BULLYING

1- To this day: For the Bullied and beautiful: This ted talk is based on a poem by the poet Shane Koyczan. The objective of it is to make people reflect on the consequences of bullying by telling a personal story. To shine a light on the victim's world so people also stop seeing him/her as a victim but also as a person. It is a very good introduction to the topic. I want to highlight the sentences: " they asked me what I wanted to be, then told me what not to be". "I was thought to accept the identity others would give me". 2-How the worst moments in our life makes us who we are: The talker is Andrew Solomon he explains the hardships of his childhood, the bullying he suffered, and how overcoming that, has made him become who he is now. He tries to use positive psychology in order to teach how good meaning can come from struggles. How a victim can stop being a victim and trauma can be relieved if we look at our wounds and help with the scarring. Personally, I find this exceptionally important when leading with trauma. I myself sadly have experienced bullying and curiously many things were very similar to Andrew's. In my journey trying to better myself and understand my past, I have found that after some years bringing the memories back and working on them is what helped me.

3- The price of shame Monica Lewinsky puts the focus on public shaming and its impact on people's lives, especially online public shaming also known as Cyberbullying. She warns about how deadly can public shaming be based on her story as well as statistics from Childline which stated that 87% of

SESSION 1: BULLYING THROUGH A SOCIAL PERSPECTIVE

Bullying-related calls and E-mails they received between 2021 and 2013 were about cyberbullying as well as its linking to suicidal ideas Now in 2021, this situation has aggravated with social media having no proper filters identifying bullying and horrendous trends such as the "blue whale " which completely exposes the main idea of this talk: Online abuse translates to a reality of depression and suicide. Moreover nowadays with the extensive use of the internet, this is becoming more and more dangerous Who has never heard of the case of Amanda Todd ? and how cyberbullying lead to her suicide or the case of Tyler Clementi? This has to be stopped efficiently

4- I am the son of a terrorist, here is how I choose peace Zak Ebrahim was raised by an Islamic terrorist ( his father El- Sayyid Nosair) but he chose a different path, thanks to proper referents He talks about the need for proper figures of affection in a child's life Figures that can even be external but can inspire the child to get out of a horrible situation. In my opinion, this is linked to Bullying because it emphasizes the need for these figures of affection as well as the need for bullying awareness and the need to show testimonies of people who have overcome bullying. All of this in order to inspire children to identify this issue, overcome it and seek for help

5-

texting that saves lives

Nancy Lublin is from a teenage advocacy organization where they launched a project of a texting helpline for bullied teenagers They discovered that by leaving the teens that "secret" space in form of a text, they started talking about their anxiety, depression, and abuse. It is certainly an inspiring project that can be a referent to teachers, a way to remember that "sometimes things are best-written tan said"

6- Fighting with non-violence

"Sicilia Elworthy exposes the question: How do I deal with an aggressor, without becoming one? " She uses some tips such as how to dominate fear by asking the needs of that fear, what can be done to improve the situation? She evokes other peace activists in order to explain the importance of this non violence treating This is because the bully can become the victim and the victim the bully if the situation is treated incorrectly by teachers. In order for the bully not to become the victim, teachers should base their approach on Social and emotional work in order to help with the situation by making the bully understand the consequences of his actions, instead of targeting him. In order for the victim not to become the bully the damage of the victim should be treated and liberated by also social and emotional learning.

- OverallOverall the Ted talks were very instructive as they shed different light to the problem from different perspectives each one of them.

Chapter 1:

The first chapter of the book is a brief introduction to each topic. From this brief introduction, the concept that I want to highlight is that bullying can hurt as much as physical pain. The receptors of the brain which receive physical pain are the ones that activate when being bullied, especially when being excluded. Also, this affects learning because it maintains the victim in a constant fight or flight mode where focusing on tasks is almost impossible. This is because by perceiving each task as a threat ( due to being under the constant influence of bullying) the amygdala of the brain activates and it enters in survival mode, not allowing higher mental processes to occur. I find this introduction very clear about the diverse topics treated in the book, such as social cognition, social neuroscience, and emotion regulation.

SESSION 1: BULLYING THROUGH A SOCIAL PERSPECTIVE

Chapter 4: Why’s everybody always picking on me? Social cognition, emotion regulation, and chronic peer victimization in children.

In this chapter, the cycle of victimization concerning bullying and mistreatment is very well explained as well as the initiatives that need to be developed in order to break it. Chronic peer victimization is the result of a reciprocal treatment where victim schemas are reinforced. These schemes are based on the fact that a mistreated and bullied child, which is victimized, develops an association of himself as a victim and creates “an expectation of victimization as a result of perceived threat”. This means that children ( and anyone who has been bullied and victimized) often have negative emotional arousal in many social situations ( also due to the very low self-esteem from being bullied) resulting in the immediate victimization of themselves.

By identifying the social and emotional parts of the schemes of chronic victimization it is expected to help the children to show less distress in the presence of threat allowing them to have regular social interactions. Of course as also explained in the chapter,r this has to be done in a constructive manner where self-improvement is the main goal. It can’t be worked on by placing any guilt in the child for being bullied, this would cause more victimization and even worse self-esteem.

Chapter 7: contributions of three social theories to understanding bullying perpetrations and victimization among school-aged youth.

Chapter 7 gives a deep insight into the social theories concerning bullying. The social factors that contribute to this. Usually, bullying is seen as a confrontation between the bully and the victim, whereas it truly is a complicated exchange between the social environment of individuals and even their culture. The chapter bases on the premise “ All individuals influence and are influenced”

From Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory ( or theory of social environments). This theory is complemented with social control, which suggests that bullying and delinquency are due to a break of the bully with society’s bonds. The bully feels ostracised too. To prevent this, there is an emphasis put on establishing healthy bonds with parents, teachers, schools, and other peers.

Another theory that matches violence and the conditioning of society is social disorganization which is also discussed in the chapter. It explains that socially disorganized cities which are characterized by bad economic and social conditions, limit the community's ability to supervise a child’s behavior.

Also, a study is developed that demonstrates how these theories are on a correct path regarding the conditioning of bullying and violence. This study leading to a fusion of various theories resulting in the social-ecological theory which has also been applied to understand chronic victimization, child abuse, and engagement in school affected by bullying.

To prevent and eradicate bullying, the author suggests taking into account these theories as well as working through Social and emotional learning techniques.

SESSION 1: BULLYING THROUGH A SOCIAL PERSPECTIVE

Chapter 8: sex differences in aggression from an adaptative perspective.

There are some theories that propose the existence of different genetics that condition-specific behaviors related to each sex. In spite of this, the differences in the form of aggression from one sex to the other rely mainly on culturally prescribed sex differences ( as so do the behaviors). Boys usually use more physical aggression than girls but these do use very harmful exclusion techniques. Despite this, it is important to know that from an animal behavioral point of view, aggression has some benefits, being a natural part of socialization in order to compete for food. There are some of society's norms of aggression accepted by all ( for example job competition or school grades) since there aren’t resources for all. When aggression violates this norm is when adults become concerned.

The author concludes the chapter by explaining that both were of aggression ( physical and verbal) hurt the same and that the importance is to be able to recognize each form, address it and diminish the harm of this strategy.

A R T I C L E S :

Comparing Face-to-Face Bullying and Cyberbullying: 1 (Baier D., Hong, J., Hong, J., Kliem, S., Kliem, S., Bergmann, M., & Bergmann, M. .2019.)

The study is based on 10,638 ninth-grade students of one federal state in Germany. The Aim of it was to compare cyberbullying, face-to-face bullying, and teacher's bullying and their impact on the mental health of the students. Gender differences are taken into account.

For me personally, it is interesting that one of the findings of the paper is that depressive symptoms supposedly don't exist for physical bullying, but in the paper, it is also stated that usually physical bullying is accompanied by verbal one and social rejection and this does cause depressive symptoms. In my opinion, this is stated in order to demonstrate that sometimes words can hurt more than actions and also as a way to introduce cyberbullying and its great impact on mental health. This is because psychological cyberbullying is very strongly associated with poor mental health in students, especially with girls regarding the sexual variation of it.

Not much of a surprise came when I read about teacher's bullying where although the study showed that there are not many reports, teacher victimization and ridiculization of students also help in targeting him/ her in class. As teachers the contrary should happen, bullying should not be reinforced.

2-Learning Disabilities and Bullying: Double Jeopardy

Mishna, F. (2003).

It is well known that the effects of bullying can be long-lasting and far-reaching for victims and bullies. This, as the article states, can increment when having learning disabilities ( LD). It poses a great threat for adjustment. There is a stable finding that "youth with LD are more likely to be rejected, not accepted, and neglected by peers " Mishna, F. (2003). In the study, approximately 8%-16% of students are bullied without LD, and with LD, about 25%-30% which are very high percentages. So not only the double jeopardy comes from the bullying and the sum of LD alone, but the fact that more people with LD are at risk of being bullied and victimized. This poses a very high risk for emotional, psychological, and social problems. Apart from the risk factors explained in the article of what makes children with LD vulnerable to bullying, I want to highlight the way of how to treat the problem to improve the situation. This must be done, as the article states, through a systemic-ecological framework. According to this approach, bullying problems don't only reside with the bully and the victim but also in social interactions, individual characteristics, and cultural conditions. So addressing the environment is also key when addressing those problems that affect victims, rather than accentuating the deficits of the child and the family.

Personally, I found this very important, when I suffered bullying myself in elementary school, I was the one set apart to work on my social skills instead of addressing the bullies as well as the environment I was in. This made me feel more alienated and distant from the class as well as more targeted.

Verbal Bullying can hurt as much as physical pain, due to the similarities in the neural receptors that identify both aggressions. Many types of bullying can affect an individual, and if this individual is in an intersectional crossroad ( For example bullying + Learning difficulties) life as well as learning can get harder. Bullying should be studied from an interdisciplinary perspective to understand fully the implications of it, as well as the different types which tend to proliferate nowadays with technology and social media. This should also allow us to tackle bullying through pacifist measures, without targeting the bully. This is because the bully can also be a victim and the victim also is a bully. Overall it is important to treat the root of the problem, the psychological aspect of the pain. It is also important to approach the problem from a systemic-ecological framework where not only the bully and victim are considered but the whole environment they are embedded in.

SESSION 2: INDEPENDENT LEARNING SKILLS + LLL 09/03/2021

Credit summary – 1 ECTS: ch1- 20 pages -4h . Book 2: Promoting Independent Learning in the Primary Classroom ch1- 21 pages- 4h Ch 5- 20 pages - 4h article n°1 – 2,8 hours article nº2- 2,4 hours ▪ Writing of the learning diary – 7 hours Total 24,85 hours

TEd Talks – 1hour and 15 minutes Book1 : Applied Pedagogies for Higher Education Real World Learning and Innovation across the Curriculum

TED TALKS: PLAYLIST: THE LOVE OF LIFE-LONG LEARNING

Video 1: The nerd's guide to learning everything online- John green John Green talks about his journey from finishing high school and missing his learning community, to find it online through Dave Frank. A content producer who made interesting videos and lead to the creation of learning groups that transferred the online to real-life learning especially in geography. He also explains the learning communities created on youtube where the classroom instructor is the content producer and the students are the viewers. Learning nowadays is for everyone and not only for the young since information is at our reach and it only depends on will power and personal interest.

Video 2: The life-Long learner-Bernie Dunlap Bernie talks about Sandor Teszler, a man who survived the holocaust and taught Bernie about passionate living and lifelong learning. Teszler had been through indescribable pain and hurt but despite this, he still had the urge to improve, to learn, and progress in his own knowledge acquisition. Regardless of this pain, he still believed that " human beings are fundamentally good". This is a factor that contributed to his irrepressible desire to know, no matter what the subject was or what was the cost. In my opinion, this affirmation is very important because if you start with the premise that human beings are good then you are open to learning from them too. To learn from the experiences you have from them and to build a propper learning community.

SESSION 2: INDEPENDENT LEARNING SKILLS + LLL

As Bernie also quotes in his talk: "Live each day as if it is your last," said Mahatma Gandhi. "Learn as if you'll live forever." This is the mission of teachers, to transmit these values to children promoting their lifelong learning skills as well as a passion for knowledge.

Video 3: What we're learning from online education- Daphne Koller

Daphne Koller introduces online learning platforms and courses, precisely one that she created called Coursera. In 2012 (when the Ted Talk is from) since the website opened, they had: "40,000 students from 190countries. and 1.5 million enrollments, " (we have to imagine how many they have now) This is just a demonstration of a platform that does work regarding the implementation of quality education online. The goal of the platform is to form partnerships with universities as well as with professors and other entities to ensure this quality and open education for all.

Also, the reason why this platform works is that the courses start on a specific day with weekly assignments and teacher feedback. They promote active learning. If implementing these courses could be done all around the world, it would :

1- establish education as a fundamental right where anyone with motivation could get easy access to education anywhere.

2- It would enable lifelong learning due to the fact that the information would be available anytime and adjusted to self routines.

3- It would also enable a wave of creativity and innovation because amazing talent and ideas can be found anywhere, they just have to be worked on and developed by a really good education.

Ted talk 4: on being wrong

KATHRYN SCHULZ introduces being wrong as a strategy for improving and developing lifelong learning. She explains that usually, people do everything they can to avoid thinking that they are wrong, but that being wrong is actually what makes us grow. In the ted talk, she quotes St. Augustine “ Fallor ergo sum”- “ I err therefore I am”. This philosophical thesis demonstrates to us that being wrong is fundamentally who we are. We need the moments of wrongness and surprise in order to have new ideas, innovate and rediscover wonder. We have to embrace being “wrong” and stop having fear of “failing” in order to keep learning every day. Embracing this also allows us to have an open mind, because many times the feeling of righteousness that we have is just an internal one where we don’t see the world around us, we don’t have a global vision, just ours.

From my personal point of view, I have not done some things because of this fear of failing, and life is teaching me as it goes that sometimes failing is where you learn the most.

TED talk 5: ADORA SVITAK – WHAT ADULTS CAN LEARN FROM KIDS.

Adora Svitak bases her ted talk on the genuine curiosity of kids and on the dangers of underestimating their capacity of thinking, reasoning, and creating. Kids are usually told what to do by their parents and teachers, but this is not the proper dynamic for educating a critical thinker. Kids can also teach adults ( Nowadays this is perfectly demonstrated by Fridays for the future, the movement that Greta Thunberg started). Adults have to be open to this learning.

The way progress happens is that new generations improve over time and question the decisions from the past ones so adults should stop trying to implement their thinking into kids, but let them create learning communities where adults ( including teachers) learn from kids, and kids from the elderly and adults. This is a way of promoting lifelong and active learning for all.

IBOOK 1: Introduction: Real-World Learning— Recalibrating the Higher Education Response Towards Application to Lifelong Learning and Diverse Career Paths

In this first chapter, the bases of the book are introduced. First, there is a review of current higher education and its provision for employability. The rapid changes in society nowadays and the ever flow of information are discussed in order to criticize constructively the old ideas higher education is based on. It highlights the need for educational reform based on lifelong learning. It is stated that: “ learning cannot be straight-jacketed into a curriculum but requires a broader foundation to be responsive to the wider goals of learning”.

Then changing pedagogy for employability is introduced as well as the emerging power of real-world learning. These ideas are based on active learning, competence-based learning, and inquiry-based learning where real-world problems are addressed. Subjects work in a transversal way in order to promote start-up projects and challenges which motivate students.

In my opinion, this chapter is very important for the future and present of student’s capacities not only in academics but in life.

BOOK 2: Chapter 1: An independent approach to teaching and learning, rhetoric or reality?

In the chapter, it is explained that independent classrooms were at first viewed as ‘isolationist’. This is because children have to work themselves and organize their own learning without the recourse of adults. Later on, with the implementation of methodologies such as flipped classrooms, this view started to be more ‘interactionist’ where children are given independence in order to foment investigation, research, and critical thinking. Despite this, the balance is between the two approaches, it is important to have an organization and a teacher who acts as a guide in the learning process. This way the teacher will make sure that students acquire basic skills by allowing their knowledge and creativity liberation.

Regarding this, in my opinion, it is important to take into account the different social, economic cultural, and educational backgrounds each student comes from. This is because as Bruner explains, mental models exist and these are also determined by the mentioned above. From a socio-constructivist point of view, it is crucial that the teacher exists as a guide to help students with more basic mental models in order to fully develop their skills.

Teachers have the challenge of guiding and managing the classroom allowing at the same time the children to construct their own expertise

Chapter 5: Independence in practice: inspiration for change

In this chapter, there is an attempt to understand how independent attitudes to teaching and learning evolve. There are three situations or cameos where the teachings of respective children and their cognitive and emotional development are present. In situation 1 the child works independently and creatively and the concept of “teacher as a guide” is introduced. In situation 2 there is classroom interaction and responsibility between students and within the teacher. Finally, situation 3 is based on the curricular approach to independent learning through the methodology of Reggio Emilia.

It teaches us that the three situations have to be developed in order for the child to learn independently.

ARTICLE 1: SOCIAL MEDIA AND EDUCATION

In the article, it is exposed that social media has the power to bridge formal and informal learning. This is done through participation and engaging the learner through interesting and interactive content. Nowadays it is true that people usually adopt the role of consumers instead of full participants of social media, especially regarding the creation of educative content. Despite this, in the article, it is proposed that by theorizing social media, through constructivism and conectivism theories, can be properly applied to education.

In my opinion, uses of social media such as blogs, can connect different users and create an adequate learning community when guided by the teacher and used properly

ARTICLE: The Patras Blended Strategy Model for Deep and Meaningful Learning in Quality Life‑Long Distance Education

The article is focused on the university of Patras e-learning courses. It has been discussed that for elearning to work, there has to be synchronous learning as well as asynchronous. This way students will have time to learn themselves as well as in groups and therefore create authentic and realistic learning contexts. To create this learning situation, case studies and simulations can take place as well as methodologies such as flipped classroom, project-based learning, inquiry-based learning, and so on.

In my opinion, it is very important that the two types of learning are promoted, especially synchronous learning so that students can still participate online in activities as a group.

Lifelong learning is an innate characteristic to human beings, despite this, it has to be promoted, trained, and developed, especially when learning new academic skills. Independent learning is also a part of lifelong learning, where the learner is encouraged to search for their own path in Learning. These skills have to be trained in order to adjust to the 21st-century society of ever-flowing information and changes. This has to be promoted in all stages of education. Also, modern technologies help develop these skills by letting the learner guide their own learning, through the access of different information. This is why also critical thinking has to be practiced to be able to classify this information.

L I T E R A T U R E :

Article 1: Mystakidis, S., Berki, E., & Valtanen, J. (2019). The Patras Blended Strategy Model for Deep and Meaningful Learning in Quality Life Long Distance Education. Electronic Journal of e-Learning, 17(2), 66–78.

Article 2: Greenhow, C., & Lewin, C. (2016). Social media and education: reconceptualizing the boundaries of formal and informal learning. Learning, Media and Technology, 41(1), 6–30.

Book 1: Morley, D., & Jamil, M. (2021). Applied Pedagogies for Higher Education Real World Learning and Innovation across the Curriculum (1st ed. 2021.). Springer International Publishing.

SESSION 3: ONLINE/ OFFLINE ENGAGING EDUCATION 23/03/2021

Credit summary – 1 ECTS: webinar cambridge: Education week webinar

supporting special education larners online

Supporting SED in times of covid 19 Total: 1h and 15 mins

Interactive Learning Best Practices: Creative Ways Interactive Displays to Engage Students - 51 mins

Book1 : Project Based Teaching : How to Create Rigorous and Engaging Learning Experiences

Suzie Boss and John Larmer Larmer Ch1-27 pages-5.4 ch 8- 5 pages- 1h

article n°1 – 6,2 hours - Guidance for special need article nº2- 1,7 hours article nª 3- 2.6 learning methodologies ▪ Writing of the learning diary – 6 hours Total Article 3: 24,56 hours supporting special education learners online

Webinars cambridge:

In the webinar, the speaker is Jessica Minaeian the education manager of Cambridge international assessments. She exposed the challenges of moving from face-to-face learning to online learning and the challenge it poses for special needs education needs. Some challenges encountered may improve in face-to-face learning in school, but not in the online classroom, while some others especially in children with autism can improve in online learning. The webinar not only focused on special education needs but in how to improve online education for all ensuring inclusivity. One strategy that was interesting for me is the break-out room strategy. I have experienced this in online learning in the University of Helsinki, but in the webinar, they put the focus on creating small groups of children with different roles and then having a few teachers supervise those break-out rooms where they discuss what they learned in the class. This way also respect and empathy from the classmates are worked on.

Supporting SED in times of covid 19 : This second webinar has a very similar approach to the other. The same themes are discussed but as a debate between professionals. Which are:

Jessica Minaeian ,Teca Antunes ,Bianca Caligher Aubrick,Padmarani and Leena Rao

SESSION 3: ONLINE/ OFFLINE ENGAGING EDUCATION

Education week webinar: Interactive Learning Best Practices: Creative Ways Interactive Displays to Engage Students :

The webinar is promoted by Samsung, but the information given is very interesting. Through the webinar we can see how interactive learning can help students to engage in education. First some data are exposed such as: “According to the International Institute for Science, Technology, and Education (IISTE), increased engagement stimulates thinking and leads to an increased personal understanding of concepts”.

This is because 65% of the global population are visual learners (according to SSRN). And for non-visual learner’s technology has helped to adapt other mediums for them. Such as audio learning and the reading of audio books for the deaf population. Later in the webinar, some Strategies are presented such as converting the classroom into an interactive place where students can also modify learning slides or use interactive activities with points and prices.

For example, to ensure good behavior (behavior management) the app: “Class dojo”. Where children are small monster avatars and are rewarded points for good behavior.

I think that overall that interactive learning based on technology is just as important as manipulative learning which connects children with the world around them. This is why it is important to promote both.

BOOK 1:

CHAPTER 1: build the culture.

The first chapter of the book is about building the culture in order to promote Project-based learning which is an interactive and creative way of learning engaging with the development of projects which lead to innovation in the classroom.

PBL is a methodology that promotes the creation of a grupal problem regarding a world problem, it is more focused on the project rather than the problem ( as opposed to a problem or inquiry-based learning). There are some strategies key for building this culture but most importantly some deeprooted beliefs such as having high expectations for all and letting students know that you are sure of their success. Creating a culture against competitive excellence but towards grupal excellence is key to PBL in order to create a safe learning community. The chapter also inquires ways to approach conflicts in the learning groups which create the project such as shared norms and increasing the flexibility of the space in order to work independently.

Chapter 8: Closing reflections.

I decided to read the closing reflections of the book since I am researching various ways on how to engage the learner rather than exclusively focusing on one ( In this case PBL). The final reflections were rather interesting, the final scheme full of questions is a very proper way to research. The most useful idea for me was to reflect on the project. Sometimes learning processes are finalized when the projects are presented, but from the reflection ( usually the most underrated part) learning also gest consolidated. It is also important that this reflection is done as the whole classroom, grupal, and individual way for it to be meditated from various perspectives.

SESSION 3: ONLINE/ OFFLINE ENGAGING EDUCATION

ARTICLE 1: Guidance for the inclusion of students with Special Educational Needs for online learning

The article is based on guidelines regarding online learning and special educational needs. As it is stated it is important to acknowledge that all needs can’t be met due to the variety of different special education needs, but bases are possible to set in order to improve their online learning experience. Personally, the most valuable base is to involve peers in the special needs education process. This way proper inclusion can be achieved by understanding the peer's needs, thus helping to develop empathy.

Regarding online learning for children with special needs, it is stated that it has to follow a few principles in order to be adequate. I consider the principles basic and they are: “a diversity of teaching strategies, multiple opportunities for learning (e.g. tutorials, programming, word processing, drill & practice, simulations, problem-solving), the student is in control of their learning speed, the collaboration and peer learning are spurred and the feedback is consistent and continuous.”

ARTICLE 2: Active Learning Strategies in Synchronous Online Learning for Elementary School Students. IJIE

The article discussed the implementation of proper online learning strategies to promote active learning in online classrooms. It is important to remember that the shifting ( due to the covid 19 pandemic) from face-to-face learning to distance learning has carried out many negative consequences, as well as positive ones and research on how to improve online learning. In this case, the research is done through the teacher’s experience in learning and the most important conclusion that I get from it, are 5 strategies to ensure active synchronous learning. The first one is to have response systems in order to give immediate feedback. The second one is to use the “think pair share” method in order to get into an interaction flow mode. The third one is to use the “one minute paper” strategy to promote questions. The fourth one to create small group discussions and the fifth one to use short student presentations as a way of evaluating what has been learned.

ARTICLE 3: Educators, learners, and active learning methodologies.

Active learning is a key methodology to ensure the learner’s engagement and inclusion in the classroom. In the article, it is highlighted that active learning relies not only on the methodology itself but also on the relation between the methodology and the learners. In my opinion, it is also important that educators don’t only focus on the methodology itself but rather on how to implement it correctly in a broad and inclusive way. If the implementation of the methodology is superficial, then the true objectives of it won’t be met.

Regarding active learning, ( or participatory learning), it is also important to state that the objective is to present the educator with some pedagogical techniques in order to promote participation in the classroom and constant feedback leading to improvement. It may sound simple In theory, but as stated before ( and also in the article), the crucial part of the methodology is the correct implementation of it mediated by the educator.

SESSION 3: ONLINE/ OFFLINE ENGAGING EDUCATION

23/03/2021

S M A L L C O N C L U S I O N :

Making education engaging is the key to success. This can be done by developing intrinsic motivation within students ( linked to LLL). Nowadays with the pandemic closing schools, it's very important to find alternative ways to educate online, especially for special needs students who need specific adaptations to be able to work and develop their capacities. This is why when teaching SE students remotely, it's very important to focus on positive psychology highlighting their aptitudes.

Also, different learning methodologies such as PBL or Active learning flipped classroom and more, are crucial for engaging the learner developing an active classroom that can easily adapt to changes.

L I T E R A T U R E :

Book: Boss, S., & Larmer Larmer, J. (2018). Project Based Teaching: How to Create Rigorous and Engaging Learning Experiences. Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development

Article 1: jardo Bravo, I., Gómez-Merino, N., Jury, M., Mannik, S., McDougal, E., Klang, N., Lüke, T., Perrin, A., Pittas, E., Ranzato, E., Rubio Jimenez, A., Sormunen, K., & Van Herwegen, J. (2020). Guidance for the inclusion of students with Special Educational Needs for online learning / Ohjeita erityistä tukea tarvitsevien oppijoiden in

Article 2. Hatta, P., Aristyagama, Y., Yuana, R., & Yulisetiani, S. (2020). Active Learning Strategies in Synchronous Online Learning for Elementary School Students. IJIE (Indonesian Journal of Informatics Education), 4(2), 86–93. https://doi.org/10.20961/ijie.v4i2.46019

Article 3: Kane, L. (2004). Educators, learners and active learning methodologies. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 23(3), 275–286. https://doi.org/10.1080/0260/37042000229237

ART AND EDUCATION 15/04/2021

Credit summary – 1 ECTS: NAeyc webinar: National Association for the Education of Young Children

Creativity: Nurturing Creativity: An Essential Mindset for Young Children’s Learning" 1h 2 ted talks: - Do schools kil creativity? - the importance of art education in well being total: 40 mins Book 1: Art equality and learning - Pedagogies against the state ch 4 subjectivities and school art education 20 pag - 4 h ch 6: tensions in art education 20 pag- 4h article n°1 14 pages – 2.8h rart of learning article nº2- 12 pages 2.7 creativity art and learning psycho article nª3- 24 pages - 4,5 h artivism higher education ▪ Writing of the learning diary – 6 hours Total 25,2 hours

Ted Talk 2: The importance of art education in well being. In this ted Talk, Howard Rose, discusses the “importance of art education for well-being”. He talks about creative technologies and how they can help to develop this ability. Examples such as VR technology used appropriately can have positive and lasting benefits. It offers limitless possibilities which make people more productive. Despite this, the bad use of technology can lead to addiction and then other mental health problems such as depression and anxiety can arise. Nevertheless, innovative VR can lead to positive experiences such as treating pain and phobias. Thanks to therapy with virtual reality, other improvements can be made in other areas such as education. Also in the ted talk, it is discussed that art education can also be done with material mediums, but technologies are the point of focus. Apps such as “art and culture” from google are also mentioned.

I completely agree with Howard on the use of creative technology to improve well-being, because I have experienced it myself by using VR simulations of beaches and peaceful places and noticing how it calmed me on a stressful day.

Ted talk 1 Ken Robinson - Creativity:

In this ted talk, ken Robinson talks about how schools kill creativity. For him, creativity: “is as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status”. This is why he exposes how schools don’t manage to promote it, but to reduce it by imposing traditional ways of learning. This si why he proposes awareness about creativity and the richness of it. It doesn’t have to be only related to art, but also to other subjects and topics. Creativity is essential for everything in life because it is the basis of problem-solving.

Webinar(

NAeyc) Creativity: Nurturing Creativity: An Essential Mindset for Young Children’s Learning"

Creativity is needed for young people to succeed not only as “success” is viewed in society but as improving within themselves and working on their well- being Young children have this capacity when it is nurtured and teachers have the opportunity to inspire it. In the webinar there are some tips for doing this as a teacher:

1 Include creative opportunities through all domains of learning

2 Design a space for creativity (a classroom that promotes it)

3 Document the children’s creative process

4.Reflect on the beliefs in creativity with yourself and the children

5 Involve families and community in children’s projects (artistic and for other subjects)

In my opinion, this Ideas are very helpful in order to ensure that creativity is promoted in the classroom

BOOK 1: Chapter 4: subjectivities and school art education

In chapter 4, a recent research project by Downing and Watson on art teaching in secondary education is addressed. The findings of the project are very interesting because it exposes the irony of teaching arts through rooted ideas in technical ability and skill as well as through a transmission model of teaching where the teacher is the dominant figure in the classroom. There is irony in this because nowadays ways of doing art have abandoned specific attachments to the curriculum and revolve upon creativity and self-expression.

Students subordinating to a knowing all teacher does not work for teaching art and through this approach, it can also be discussed that it does not work for other subjects too.

Ch 6: Tensions in art education

This chapter continues with chapter 4 regarding the theme of art education. Practices of contemporary art are also introduced as a way to depict the tensions occurring in art education. On one hand, there are still educators, educating in art through a traditional way, and on the other hand, there are modern educators who push the boundaries of the established and work through the natural relation with art that human beings have. Through creating art as a community with the learners, learning and practice create possibilities for new pedagogies not only in art but regarding other teachings.

ARTICLE 1: ART OF LEARNING

Art can help regulate Executive functions which can be conceptualized as a way of self-regulating behavior. In the article, the study revolves around 66 children who were given an intervention based on arts and culture in order to improve their executive functions. The children were assessed immediately after the six months of intervention with the Behaviour rating inventory of the Executive Functioningteacher. The results were compared to another school without the art intervention and it was found that although both groups showed improvement, the group with the art intervention improved significantly more than the other group. Children improved especially in collaboration, conflict management, inclusion, vocabulary, and confidence which are very important factors for behavioral managing. From this, I learned that interventions based on arts, do truly work.

ARTICLE 2: ART AND CREATIVITY:

The article art and creativity made me wonder about what are my own art processes and how I want to transmit that to my students. It raises the question of “What makes it possible for artists to stay with the anxieties and uncertainties of the creative process?”.

Is this capacity acquired and learned or is it innate? From reading this article I got to the conclusion that neither of both, is innate but also learned and worked on. This is why it’s crucial that teachers promote creativity which also helps deal with emotion management, anxiety, and understanding problems.

ARTICLE 3: PROMOTING HIGHER Learning through artivism.

Artivism is the concept of activism done through art. It is responsible for initiating various forms of dialogue between distinct groups of people. The study focuses on two mural projects from the US in Florida and Washington where the interaction of individuals and their approach to the theme is observed.

From the study, I learned how artivism impacted their learning of social justice matters. In my opinion, artivism also helps oppressed people empower themselves. And as it is stated in the article, it promotes higher education because it starts theoretical and practical dialogue regarding different matters. Even specific subjects such as chemistry which can seem unrelated to artivism can be treated through it, for example, creating a performance about the forgotten women in science and then conceptualizing feminist and scientific concepts ( for example what each of them researched about).

Artivism helps open dialogue of difficult themes.

S M A L L C O N

C L U S I O N :

Art has various ways of developing the human mind which can be studied through neuroscience. Art can be used to motivate learning as well as a visual tool for developing critical thinking towards information received.

The educational system ( in general) nowadays tends to exclude art as an important subject, not acknowledging its multiple applications as well as its an incentive for change. Art can also be used as an engine for change where multiple alternative pedagogies are applied searching for social justice in education.

L

I T E R A T U R E :

BOOK:

Atkinson, D. (2011). Art, Equality and Learning: Pedagogies Against the State (1st ed. 2011.). SensePublishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6091-454-6

ARTCLES:

ART OF LEARNING: Andersen, P., Klausen, M., & Skogli, E. (2019). Art of Learning - An Art-Based Intervention Aimed at Improving Children’s Executive Functions. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1769–1769. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01769

Carabine, J. (2013). Creativity, Art and Learning: A Psycho-Social Exploration of Uncertainty. The International Journal of Art & Design Education, 32(1), 33–43. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.14768070.2013.01745.x

Roig-Palmer, K., & Pedneault, A. (2019). Promoting Higher Learning Through Artivism. Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 30(1), 91–113. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511253.2018.1439514

MENTAL HEALTH IN STUDENTS

Credit summary – 1 ECTS:

Education week webinar: Making Connections on Student Mental Health in the Pandemic." 1h article n°1 – 3h refugee mental health. article nº2- 1,1 hours teachers+ students mental health ▪ Writing of the learning diary – 6 hours Total 24 hours

Book1 : Students' mental health needs : problems and responses ch 1- 5 pages 1h ch- 7- Identifying Students’ Mental Health Problems in Primary Care Settings- 17 oages- 3 7h ch 11- Using structured self help material- 20 pages - 4h ch 13- responding to student suicide -18 pages- 3 8h

Education week webinar: Making Connections on Student Mental Health in the Pandemic.

Mental health in the pandemic has been affected by social distancing and online interactions. In the webinar, some data from studies is explained: In the US ( according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), it has been observed that. “ In April-October 2020, the proportion of 12-17-year-olds visiting an emergency department due to mental health crises was 31% higher than during that same period in 2019 “. Also regarding schools, 68 percent of counselor explains that gaining access to students in virtual environments is extremely challenging.

This puts mental health at high risk due to the pandemic effects. It has also been observed that there is a huge link between remote learning, race and class challenges, and bad mental health. The studies discussed in the webinar, made me think about how the negative impacts could be reduced. It is very complicated to treat mental health problems from remote communication, but I’m sure that some psychological dynamics can be done in order to improve.

MENTAL HEALTH IN STUDENTS

Chapter 1: Introduction

This chapter serves as an introduction to the topic. It is stated that the book is primarily addressed to higher education institutions but that despite this, the information is for general use. Mental health issues in students do affect various characteristics of their life. Mental health can also be affected due to various factors, such as disabilities, discriminatory practices and legislation as well as personal problems. The emphasis is put in addressing issues of class, gender and other ways of discrimination in higher learning in order to improve.

In my opinion it is important to highlight this problems as well as work on the acceptance of mental health problems in society which carry various negative consequences if not addressed.

chapter 7: Identifying Students’ Mental Health Problems in Primary Care Settings

This chapter focuses on the mental health of students typically in ages 16-23. From a personal point of view, I agree with the premise that nowadays higher education is seen as a very stressful situation for students due to its complexity but also to the increased competition within peers, the lack of finance and living away from home. The pressure to obtain good grades in higher education has led to mental and emotional turmoil. These mental problems triggered by stress can lead to serious long-lasting consequences. If we add the bullying suffered in higher education fields to the concoction, student suicided raised, as showed in the chapter. To prevent this, dynamics in higher education classes should be reversed and group collaboration should be the focus of the methodologies. Also, it is important that there is an awareness of mental health problems especially in these higher education settings, where selforganization and self-learning are in demand.

Chapter 11: Using structured self-help material

This chapter is about self-care and identifying someone’s own problems. From my personal point of view, nowadays self mental health and seeking help from mental health experts are starting to be normalized. Despite this, there are still many taboos regarding mental health that stop people from seeking help, especially regarding lower social classes. This is why awareness has to be promoted regarding what mental health is and how to seek help, as well as normalized.

In relation to the mental health of students, in the article, it is also implied that an approach to more acceptable mental health can be done through self-help but this self-help has to be oriented for it to be an effective psychosocial treatment. In fact, there are some issues that can’t be properly improved with self-help such as severe depression which can be very damaging for students especially due to the lack of concentration.

MENTAL HEALTH IN STUDENTS

Chapter 13: Responding to student suicide

This chapter was pretty emotionally hard to read because two cases of student suicide were addressed as well as some opinions of the family of the affected. The conclusions that I abstract are:

1-Student suicide is an issue that is increasing especially due to individualism in society nowadays and the feeling of loneliness and overwhelming higher education work. Especially in situations with high amounts of student debt.

2-In order to prevent suicide and severe mental health problems, the following can be improved by the institution :

A) invest in the creation of reliable figures where students can verbalize their mental problems as well as their concern, especially on the campus.

B) As a teacher or mentor, identify vulnerability in students who might have a propensity to suicidal thoughts due to their social, economic, cultural, and mental background.

C) Create mental health programs for those students who drop out of higher education institutions, in order to help them improve as well as normalize their worries by acknowledging that there are for other students.

Article 1:Caregiver–child mental health: a prospective study in conflict and refugee settings

In the article, there is a study conducted in order to evaluate caregiver-child associations and the mental health of both in refugee settings. This has been done through fieldwork in Afghanistan. Warfare settings have been associated with post-traumatic stress, depression, psychiatric difficulties, impact, and prosocial strength.

Despite this, it has also been observed that caregivers contribute to improving these mental health issues but that they have to fit in the role of a truly close person involved. Also caregiver’s mental health can be threatened due to observing the state of the situation, this is why efforts to improve child, caregiver, and families’ mental health require thoughtful consideration of the situation around them, as well as the cluster of adversities they face.

The idea is to identify meaningful leverage points for building family-level resilience with the help of a caregiver.

MENTAL HEALTH IN STUDENTS

Article 2: Is teachers’ mental health and wellbeing associated with students’ mental health and wellbeing?

The article refers to a study where a strong association between the mental health of teachers and students has been found. Different data from high schools in England and Wales was collected for the study where the direct impact on teachers' mental health could be seen amongst students. Student well-being is associated with teachers and vice versa. If teachers are stable, they can also help identify various red flags concerning students and they are able to transmit motivation to students as well as to focus better on their job. It was found that student-teacher relation was mediated by: 1- teacher and student mental health. 2motivation with the subject of study 3- teacher presentism and positive guidance ( no authoritarian).

Despite long-term studies have to be done to understand better these relations, openly talking in class about these issues is the start towards improving.

S M A L L C O N C L U S I O N :

The nowadays demanding society causes severe damage in student's mental health. This is why mental health should be supported in education through various strategies. Nowadays the pandemic has aggravated the situation so more interventions are needed.

BOOK: Manthorpe, J., & Stanley, N. (2002). Students’ mental health needs: problems and responses . Jessica Kingsley Pub

ARTICLE 1: Panter-Brick, C., Grimon, M., & Eggerman, M. (2014). Caregiver-child mental health: a prospective study in conflict and refugee settings. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 55(4), 313–327. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12167

ARTICLE 2: Harding, S., Morris, R., Gunnell, D., Ford, T., Hollingworth, W., Tilling, K., Evans, R., Bell, S., Grey, J., Brockman, R., Campbell, R., Araya, R., Murphy, S., & Kidger, J. (2019). Is teachers’ mental health and wellbeing associated with students’ mental health and wellbeing? Journal of Affective Disorders, 242, 180–187.