I knew that I was a teacher, but this week I also discovered that I am a constructivist.

When I started teaching ESL to adult newcomers in Canada, I was introduced to Portfolio-Based Language Assessment (PBLA) – a teaching and assessment model that is widely used in Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC). The more training I did in this model and the more I applied it in my classroom, the more I approved of it and tried to adhere to it.

Only now I realize that PBLA is to a great extent based on the principles of constructivism. For example, social constructivists believe that learning is more effective through encouragement and social interaction (A.W. Tony Bates). In PBLA, peer feedback is highly encouraged, as well as working in pairs or groups. Moreover, according to the principles of constructivism, students must work towards building their own meaning and knowledge (A.W. Tony Bates). Similarly, one of the main PBLA guidelines is that students should be the owners of their learning – they should be given a choice of what to study, they have to perform regular self-reflection, and each learner tracks their progress by updating their portfolio. Most importantly, constructivists consider process to be as important as the outcome, and so do PBLA adherents, as the students’ skills in the classroom are being assessed regularly and not just at the end of a term/academic year.

Although I can now call myself an eager advocate for constructivism, I must admit that my classroom practice is not free from behaviourist and cognitivist influence. For instance, I have always believed that praising students for their achievements, however big or small they are, will reinforce their progress. Little did I know that evoking certain responses by specific stimuli (A.W. Tony Bates) is a key principle of behaviourism! In my defense, by encouraging the students to react certain way to my verbal rewards, I have always been appealing to their emotions and their self-esteem, while behaviourists try to view human activity objectively, rejecting reference to feelings and consciousness (A.W. Tony Bates).

Furthermore, twice a week, my students work individually on an online platform (usually Ellii or RazKids) under my supervision. Mostly, they have to read or listen to a text adapted to their language level and complete a range of comprehension and/or vocabulary exercises. The program then rewards them for correct answers and suggests to improve the wrong ones. However, now I realize that such activities are basically a new, more modern version of Skinner’s Teaching Machine, and though it can be an effective teaching tool, it should not be overused.

As for cognitivism, I believe I largely comply with this theory of learning when I plan my lessons. Some parts of my lesson plans are a vivid reflection of Bloom, Anderson, and Krathwol’s hierarchy of learning (A.W. Tony Bates) and Gagne’s 9 events of instruction: I tend to start a class with a warm-up speaking exercise (gaining attention), then I briefly inform my students about the objectives of the lesson, then we revise what we studied before, and after that, we learn something new and put it to practice, until eventually the students are able to use the new material independently (create). Nevertheless, I like experimenting with different order of activities during class – for instance, I have tried introducing more complicated new material right after a warm-up, before the students get tired, and review the previously learned matters towards the end of the class. This approach also worked well, but I am still yet to observe and decide what would be the absolute best lesson structure for my students – perhaps I could make it a part of my future research?

In conclusion, I must admit that studying the theories of learning more deeply helps me see my teaching through a new, more detailed lens. I can now identify which theory has influenced each of my teaching strategies, and I am able to see which ones of those strategies I would like to improve.

As a modern ESL instructor, I cannot imagine my class without technology. Until recently, I would identify only electronic devices in my classroom as technology. However, having carefully studied Tony Bates’ publication A Short History of Educational Technology, my understanding of this term has significantly broadened.

How can we define educational technology? This term would definitely be rather broad as it can encompass almost any teaching means. In his publication, Tony Bates starts tracing the history of educational technology from oral communication and the introduction of written communication. We would hardly associate these teaching media with the word “technology” nowadays, which reminds me of Neil Postman’s statement in his talk Five Things We Need to Know about Technological Change: tools and devices become “mythical” over the time and start being treated like a part of nature rather than an invention. However, I do not see this as a degradation of our understanding of technology, quite on the contrary – the more technologies we get used to, the more motivated we are to keep creating new ones. So, if I had to define educational technology from the perspective of a modern instructor while considering the contributions of the past, I would define it as means, devices, or tools that make the process of learning efficient and engaging.

Till now, I would say, my understanding and practice of educational technology had been forming both consciously and subconsciously by the historical and philosophical contexts. On the one hand, I had never thought about how such seemingly common invention as printing has brought me, my peers, and numerous generations before us to where we are now. I had never valued the fact that, thanks to the printing press, we are able to obtain standardized education (Tony Bates) and keep passing this knowledge on. On the other hand, if we view technology in the present day context, I have always tried to stay aware of the new technological advancements and incorporate them into my teaching process. For instance, my students and I have been using various online ESL resources and platforms, such as Wordwall, Ellii, Raz Kids, Miro, etc. I have even started using Twee, an AI tool created specifically for teachers to make task and lesson preparation faster and easier. My students and I also use multiple electronic devices in the classroom, such as computers, a smart board, and even smartphones.

Some instructors might argue that such tools as AI or smartphones would not be a good addition to a class, but I believe that every new educational technology can prove to be useful if applied rationally and moderately. While it is natural for humans to fear new developments (Neil Postman), it is also true that we cannot avoid them, and they will eventually become an inseparable part of our lives. Therefore, I firmly believe that educators should do their best to make technology their friend, not their enemy, and use it to advocate and support effective learning. Following this principle helps me understand educational technology better and be open to new innovations and ideas.