TASK 4. ‘’KEY COMPETENCES’’ - Analyst
ANALYST: Emilio José Ruíz Franco
What was the best part of the activity?
The best part of the activity was when we finally structured the four parts of the activity that the students would carry out because it take us such a long time to look for and decide the appropriate competences and the activity related to that competence. It take us so much time because we wanted to develop a good activity that had sense, and it was an enormous relief when we finally find out the connexion between the four parts of the activity. this feeling of relief was because we had done a lot of hard work. At that moment it became more present and real that phrase that our elders used to tell us as children "work hard, and you will get rewards", or that phrase that my grandfather repeated to me "the field is for those who work hard". And the fact is that hard work is the basis on which the whole society is built, or would we have reached where we are thanks to people who are not hard workers, lazy, and who do not strive to achieve the best for themselves and their loved ones? So, hard work, and effort, bring rewards and bring something special to the lives of all those who participate in that work.
What was the worse part of the activity?
The worse part of the activity came out when we have been struggling through all the competences of the book and we didn’t manage to find a good activity to create. We were so confused and it caused us a little discouragement. However, we started connecting parts to finally reach an appropriate activity, but we have been previously in a moment of darkness. As we studied in the course Educational Psychology when an activity seems too difficult to the student, or he/she sees it as unachievable, this can discourage him7her from doing the activity. We managed to pass through this difficulty, but this made me think about the little ones. Is the level of demand of the activities in primary education correct, is it too much demand, or not enough? Many times I have seen my little sister come home after school and say that she has nothing to do. Is that really correct? Should children have homework, and work outside of school? Maybe the question is not whether or not they should have homework, but rather what vision we have of homework. if we see it as an obligation, boring and meaningless, it is because something is not working in the educational system. We should not forget, as future teachers and parents, that education should form, and therefore should respond to the needs of the child, approaching him through active methodologies in which the student participates in building his own knowledge.
What was the best moment of the week (in the work of the group)?
The best moment of the week as a team took place in Tuesday’s class because we worked together in class and cooperate at the same time in doing the task, I think because we enjoy being in group-working, talking to each other and sharing opinions about the task. This happens thanks to a great advantage of our group: we all listen to each other and we all are heard. This attitude of respect I guess is due to the fact that we are in the same context situation; we are 1st-grade students at the university, being in the same group, and having to accomplish the same task, so we need to cooperate, and we understand each other’s thoughts.
What was the worse moment of the week (in the work of the group)?
There was a moment in the group when we didn’t find a solution to the activity we must create, and we were stuck. It happened at the very beginning of the task, and at that precise moment, our mood declined. I think it happened because we had run out of ideas, and we were creatively stuck. This can happen to anyone, especially to the ones in the society whose work is based on creativity, imagining, marketing… But, for progressing, both (they and we) should overpass that block and find out a solution. Stagnation is something that goes unnoticed, but we have all felt at some time that feeling of being trapped, always in the same thing, unable to get out of the loop. Each person must find their own way out of this stagnation, because everyone is different and there is no general way. Of course, there is something that can never be missing, and that is the support of those close people, feeling accompanied and sun factor that plays a key role and can give a glimmer of hope. In our case, the stagnation was purely creative and we only needed a little time and a break to get back to work with our batteries recharged.
What have you learnt?
First of all, we have learnt that we need to follow the Key Competences when designing an activity, and also that these competences should be chosen according to the curriculum of the subject matter to be taught. If the educational system had not established some bases to follow, some standards to respond to, there would be the risk of leaving education in the hands of subjectivity... Not only each school, but each teacher would teach what he/she wanted, in the way he/she wanted and from his/her point of view. In this sense, we have realized how important it is for a higher organization to establish competencies and standards, in order to avoid any kind of elitism and to intend that all citizens of the same society can have access to the same type of education, regardless of place of birth, social position, race, beliefs...
What do you need to conserve -as a group- for the next weeks?
I think the best characteristic of our group is the collaboration between us because none of us just “do our job”, we also help other team members to finish his/her work. Another interesting aspect as a group is that we try to do the task in the best way possible, we look for the most suitable Canva presentation, or the best words to express in our task… These two aspects go, in a way, hand in hand, since collaboration leads to the best possible result, not only individually, but also as a group. This collaboration is what has given rise to the feeling of "people" during the previous centuries, and when they worked together they were able to create cities, discover new inventions... That is what an atmosphere of collaboration, mutual support and teamwork allows, and that is what we would like to maintain for the rest of the course.
What do you need to improve -as a group- for the next weeks?
I think that, as a group, we work in a great way, we listen to each other, we are respectful and kind, we finish the tasks on time, we feel comfortable with each other… So I should admit that we didn’t need to improve anything at all. However, we must work and put all our efforts into maintaining this healthy relationship, and not getting used to anything that can make our job fall apart, or relax and start working worse. This is something that usually happens in nowadays society; for example, when a person gets a full-time job and has the certainty that he/she cannot be fired, he/she starts to relax and to do his/her job worse and with less effort. We should keep working so that we don`t fall into mediocrity.
How THIS content is related to other contents in the course and your degree?
This task is very related to TPACK in the way that Technological Knowledge is needed for developing the activity because there are many online tools required for this task. Technological Pedagogical Knowledge is also needed when thinking about an appropriate activity that fosters learning through the use of technological tools such as Evernote, Canva, ArcGIGs… ACAD is another content related to this content, because ACAD is activity-centered analysis and design, while we are developing an activity for subsequent analysis if the key competences have been met and the student has learnt, in order to change something if needed.
There is any evident social connection of this content (news, politics, etc.)?
This article talks about the opinion of some teacher who defend that the key competences should be included in the primary school curriculum. This research was conducted conducted among 1,000 teachers, an present an interesting view of what education means to them giving some important ideas to change and improve it.
Another interesting article about Key Competences is the following one, which talks about a current educational approach very present nowadays, the STEAM project, and relates it to the topic of key competences:
STEAM projects with KIKS format for developing key competences
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