After just a few short weeks, I’ve managed to achieve my goal. I chose to learn American Sign Language - at least enough to introduce myself and ask basic questions. That wasn’t even the challenge though. The real challenge was accomplishing this task by educating myself online, through YouTube videos, social media, and other resources. Check out my final results here: Learning in this way, completely online, had its advantages and disadvantages. I did appreciate the opportunity to learn when and how I wanted, as I enjoy discovering information on my own. I also liked the versatility of learning through a variety of resources, like videos, articles, infographics, and more. Learning this way was also completely free, which was beneficial to me as well. At the same time, I struggled to find resources that were engaging. I was responsible for my own learning and I had to be extremely focused, or my brain tended to wander and wander, more often than not, towards my cell phone. According to Jamie Berke (2019), “...learning any language after a certain age is far more challenging than doing so when you are young. Moreover, with sign language, you generally don't have the ability to immerse yourself in the language outside of the classroom.” I didn’t even have a classroom. It was also hard to learn a language online with no opportunity for correction by an instructor, especially with a language that is entirely visual - not written down or spoken aloud. I could watch a video hundreds of times and still question whether I was doing the sign correctly. Even with my final video, I find myself fearful to publish it because I don’t know if it’s right. At this point, I am just a learner and don’t feel that I have a deep understanding of the language. If I want to keep pursuing learning American Sign Language, I feel like I should sign up for a class in person, because a professional can tell me if I am correct, which is something I found that I need to be successful. I know some of my colleagues in my Professional Learning Network (PLN) have taken these classes. I may reach out to them for more information. If I were to challenge myself to learn something online again, I might pick something with a clear product as an end result. That way, I can clearly evaluate if I have done it properly or not. This connects to my role as a teacher because without giving my students time to self-assess, they are unclear if they are doing it correctly as well. According to Bransford, Brown, and Cocking’s (2000) How People Learn, formative assessments “should provide students with opportunities to revise and improve their thinking [and] help students see their own progress over the course of weeks or months…” Without this crucial step, it is hard for all students, including myself, to truly develop a deeper understanding of the skills being learned. ReferencesBransford, J., Brown, A.L. & Cocking, R. R. (2000), How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. Retrieved from http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309070368.
Berke, Jamie (2019). Challenges of learning sign language. Verywell Health. Retrieved from https://www.verywellhealth.com/challenges-of-learning-sign-language-1049296.
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Jennifer StirlingThis is my #MAET journey! Thanks for reading! Archives
August 2020
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