Fengchen Zhao, Shuli Liang, Junpeng Ma and Ou Qi*
Army Academy of Amored Forces, Changchun, China
This paper has brought an interesting perspective to my technical pedagogy journey, intensely I vocalised the importance of active learning modes in technical teaching the participation of the students and the engagement of activities during workshop sessions.
Particularly in the sense of relating my job (specialist technician) as a problem-solving solutionist in the moment of need and necessary engagement with students. The introduction of this paper highlights the importance of a solid foundation building around knowledge within contemporary teaching modes. The disadvantage is that this mode of teaching ignores the ‘enlightenment of thinking’;
“which is not conducive to the cultivation of students’ practical ability to apply knowledge to solve practical problems. The transformation of talent training mode puts forward new and higher requirements for the teaching mode of College English.” pg1.
It is interesting to see that this mode of teaching, has been in the conversation since the 1980s, but in retrospectively speaking in 2023, how are we still having similar issues around technical teaching and creative teaching?
“The essence of human society is innovation. Innovation ability is not only a prerequisite for a nation and a society to be full of vigor and vitality, but also a symbol of the development level of a nation and a society’s civilization.” pg2
Guiding ideology and teaching objectives.
Students are the Masters of teaching activities.
* Enthusiasm is the basis of successful teaching
* Active learning is the basis of innovative education.
* Innovative education can only be realised in the process of students’ active learning.
Students are active explorers of knowledge
*Analysis of the internal relationship between the old and new knowledge.
*Knowledge seekers in the teaching process.
* Teaching processes is a complex system that reflects, experience, knowledge and culture.
*Understanding this complexity can make teaching more creative and make students develop better.
Students are the reflectors of learning activities.
*Learning has a reflective nature, which is metacognition.
*Critical thinking is extremely important to learning activities.
*Problem-solving hypotheses are verified through novel and unique answers.
*Reflective critical thinking is an important part of innovation ability.
Students have different personalities
*Efforts, environments, heredity and education make up students’ learning personalities.
*Student differences are colourful embodiments of their subjectivity development.
*Promoting education generality, education should also promote the development of individuality.
*Innovation education should respect and protect individual personality development.
The Innovation of classroom teaching should be mediated by problems.
“The transformation of knowledge to innovation is mediated by problems. In the view of innovation education, problem refers to the inherent contradiction of knowledge itself, that is, the limitation, relativity and deficiency of knowledge. Therefore, finding, raising, analyzing and solving problems are the process of knowledge development and innovation. The problems discussed in traditional teaching are superficial and repetitive, which lack the function of innovation.” pg3
The Problem is the beginning of classroom teaching.
*Questions are the starting point and driving force of thinking.
*Asking the “why”, “what” and “how to do” can thinking really start.
*The innovative classroom is to guide students to find all kinds of problems.
*To learn knowledge with all kinds of problems.
Problem is the main line throughout the process of classroom teaching
*The problem is the logical power of knowledge accumulation and development, and the seed of new ideas, new methods and new knowledge.
*Problems should not only be at the beginning of classroom teaching but also exist in the whole teaching process.
*Classroom teaching revolves around raising and solving problems.
*Problems drive the display and learning of knowledge, so the students’ and mastery of knowledge reaches a deeper level.
The problem is the end result of classroom teaching
*Extending the problem to the end of the teaching.
* Not to eliminate problems with knowledge, but to initiate more and more extensive new problems on the basis of initially solving existing problems.
* This significance of new problems can make teaching activities go on endlessly.
* Eventually leading students to the road of innovation and become innovators.
Classroom teaching should be characterised by innovation and openness.
“The openness of innovative classroom teaching corresponds to the closeness of traditional classroom teaching. The closeness makes “classroom teaching become mechanical, boring and stylized, lack of vitality and fun, lack of challenge to wisdom and stimulation to curiosity, so that the vitality of teachers and students can not be brought into full play in the classroom.” Closure will inevitably lead to fossilization. Only by opening up can it be enlivened. Openness is a prominent feature of innovative classroom teaching.” pg4
The opening of teaching materials
* Innovative teaching materials should enrich, surpass and make teaching materials become the real “springboard” of teaching activities.
*Teaching materials should become a powerful tool for innovative activities.
* Restoring teaching materials around language, image, superficial and vivid expressions to bring knowledge into the physical experience.
*Expand and allow for gaps/space this can factor in innovative teaching, allowing students to expand, speculate, imagine, fill and describe.
*Adaption/reorganisation of teaching materials can allow prompts to exist in teaching environments. “changing the role”, “changing one topic”, “Changing the angle”.
*Through adaptation we can change the way of thinking and cultivate the flexibility and flexibility of thinking.
*Questioning includes criticising the textbook teaching materials and allowing viewpoints on taught materials.
*Questioning allows space for innovative quality, which is a requirement for improving the taught material.
*This questioning is a tool for using textbooks or resources allowing students to engage inquisitively bringing a higher level of learning with textbook/resource aid.
Process openness
*The closed process is presupposition and the open process is generative.
*Teaching should be planned, but also not planned or over rigorous. (active learning).
*Classroom teaching should not be a closed system nor be a preset for fixed and unchanging.
*Teaching objectives must potentially and openly accept the unexpected experience.
*Encouraging improvisation between teacher and student learning experiences.
*The opening of the process may affect the teaching progress.
*Classroom teaching should ‘cultivate students’ independent learning ability and innovative quality.
*Independent learning development (ILD) fundamental strength of teaching development.
*Innovative classroom-retaining teaching environments create a diverse experience through software and hardware, allowing active exploration, discovery and thought, balancing both creative and cognitive abilities.
“kraftky, a German educator, has made a brilliant argument: “to measure whether a teaching plan has the quality standard of pedagogy is not to see whether the actual teaching is as consistent as possible with the plan, but to see whether the plan can enable teachers to take flexible actions arguably in teaching theory, so as to make students carry out creative actions Learn by contributing to the development of their conscious abilities – even limited contributions.’“pg4-5
Teaching mode reform plan
Reduce theoretical teaching hours and increase self-study links.
*Vocational and technical teaching should be connected with the cultivation of thinking and with the expansion of thinking.
*Compression of theoretical teaching can be used to expand practical learning hours.
*Focus on cultivating students’ ability to apply ideas and solve practical problems/
*Learning for use and learning for application (learning for purpose/practicality).
Pay attention to the inspiration and guidance of ideas
*Theory is displaced from the practical, resulting in abstract ideas around the subject.
*Creating blindness around solutions for problem-solving, excluding practical study/space for thinking and problem-solving to occur.
*While teaching specific knowledge points, educators should focus on the idea of solving problems.
*Encouraging technical and vocational learning opportunities, lays the foundation for individual learning opportunities.
Add Practice link
*Practical teaching is to improve students’ learning enthusiasm, and awareness of application and cultivate their ability to understand and solve practical problems.
*This emphasises the student’s cognitive relationship between hands-on experience and brain-based learning.
*Schools/institutes should provide good practice learning environments, for both vocational and technical learning.
*Educators should combine vocational learning with technical problem-solving scenarios for said applications.
Improve the examination system
*Traditional examinations are closed book, with learning outcome completion.
*Traditional methods are not conducive to the cultivation of students’ thinking ability and hands-on ability.
*Combination examinations/assessments could use a hybrid concept that both considers the innovative thinking of problem-solving and their basic mastery of the knowledge needed.
Evaluation of the teaching mode
*Complex process of multi-parameters.
*Extremely difficult to know each parameter and how to be coherent amongst parity.
Concluding thoughts
This paper is extremely interesting as considering the referencing they have studied to conclude their question and findings, it is overwhelming to see science look into the creative arts subjects to see how practical subjects enhance their learning experience.
What this paper, brings to my question is the importance of process and problem-solving to develop a theoretical approach to understanding technical pedagogy in the development and importance of student learning and understanding.
I might use some of this information to bring further evidence to my argument of the importance of technical environments, and practice space allowing students the space to develop thinking and problem-solving solutions to their practice. I also feel this connects to my theory around technical staff being involved in rhizomatic pedagogy and how their creative teaching becomes more involved in ‘real-life’ scenarios (practical environments) when a technician becomes involved and those obstacles and barriers become problems to solve.
The risk and purpose of practical teaching is necessary to understand the purpose of learning through failure and encouraging a scaffold-like journey in building a higher ability to problem-solve and creatively think through solutions.