Learning from Mistakes

By mistake I gave out a listening exercise to the MEP 3 class which I have earlier this year already done with them. Since I did not have any other exercises with me, I just went ahead to do it again, using it somewhat like a recap lesson. The girls were definitely able to do it faster as some of the answers were recollected based on their memories rather than using the required musical skills. Apart from those which were recollected from memory, I was surprised that despite them having done it before, there were still some questions that they could not do. It was a good opportunity to help them recap the skills in dealing with the question-type rather than just getting the right answer per say. I realize question-type such as Melodic Dictation, Rhythmic Dictation, Cadences and using the right terminology were some of the areas that needed work in. This helped me to understand their learning needs better. For future exercises, I would like to streamline to more of such question-type. I had to then ensure they still get another fresh listening exercise for the week. I emailed the class the listening extract together with the question paper and score. Then I started wondering about if I did the right thing by ripping that track from the CD and disseminating it just like that – copyright issue! Given a choice I would not, but I can’t think of any other options. In fact with e-learning day coming up, I’ve been looking around for good websites that can host online lessons. Edulearn Portal is terrible with no doubt. Super user-unfriendly! My student introduced me to this virtual classroom but I have not had the time to explore that site. I tried using my blog but there were lots of limitations to the things I could upload on it. I would really like to look for a good site which allows me to put up lesson and listening resources which students can explore at their own time especially to help them with revision for the exams. Girls here are on the whole rather keen on their own learning. Therefore I would like to ensure learning can continue even without the teacher.

Advertisement