Reflection journal

What strengths do you bring to your facilitation and what challenges do you think you will face?

A thrilling roller-coaster ride is an apt description of my first days in Republic Polytechnic. Prior to entering the institution, I have wondered about the differences between ‘teaching’ and ‘facilitation’, being brought to the challenge on several occasions when people question what I would be doing in Republic Polytechnic. While I struggled and had to make do with the perfunctory statement of ‘helping students learn’, the PBL Foundation Programme has provided an insightful glimpse of what the term entails and the observation class I had of my colleague Pamela that took place yesterday allowed me to shape a clearer picture of the the whats, hows and whys of the process. Facilitation, from my own understanding, seems to be engaging in activities that promote self-directed learning in students and the presence of internal motivation seem to go a long way in fulfilling that goal. Such a task is uphill, but I think I can hone my strengths and deal with the challenges that arise as I believe that experience, coupled with an open mind, is the best teacher.

Through the perceptive eyes of the Teaching Perspectives Inventory (TPI), I received confirmation of comments received in the past that I am patient and supportive in allowing learners room to explore. I am also constantly mindful of thought processes that go on within learners, customizing approaches such that they are aligned with the abilities of learners. On top of these, from observing a class in action, I think being articulate and having a keen interest in diverse disciplines allow borders to be expanded by considering the problem triggers and sharing alternative ways of thinking to pique interest beyond the classroom.

Nevertheless, challenges abound the facilitator new to the RP-PBL classroom. For myself, I believe the pertinent issue of grading and justifying such decisions to confrontational students in particular will be a difficult hurdle to overcome as it demands me to be fully aware of the reasoning process behind each grading. As I encounter more situations which reshape my professional judgements, it will be a challenge to reconcile possible assumptions that have not crossed my mind before. To that, I think allowing myself the space to grow as well as emphasizing to students that it is the process and not the end-result that is most important may alleviate the situation. Sharing experiences with both new and experienced colleague-facilitators may also help in the learning process as well. On another note, I think that classroom management will also be an aspect that I will strive to work on, especially in the RP-PBL process which demands a high level of listening and distillation skills. This is particularly so during group discussions where the facilitator has to process a multitude of comments and ask insightful questions in the midst of a rowdy classroom, always mindful of how every student is participating and responding to their learning. To that, I think it will be very important to seek the cooperation of the students and a strong sense of camaraderie developed over time will go a long way in achieving that.

As it has been mentioned on several occasions, this is just the beginning of a journey with its trials and tribulations. While I might not know what I do not know at times, I firmly believe that value comes not only with the realization of the unknowns but also the appreciation of how that realization came to be.

I can’t wait to start facilitation!