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FINAL BLOG POST - OUR "DAILY TRIPLE" (DUE 12/1).
This week I would like you to use your imagination. You have just won the lottery and will leave your teaching post immediately to travel around the world. As you leave your keys you meet your replacement. You are asked to give this new teacher just ONE piece of advice. What would that be, and why? Enjoy your world expedition!

Blog Post - Week 7
This past week in my own teaching I felt a little disconnected which prompts my question to you, "What was the moment (or moments) when I felt most disconnected or disengaged as a teacher - the moment(s) I said to myself, I'm just going through the motions here?"

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 6
For the past couple of weeks you have experienced asynchronous online learning (doing modules by yourself). Previously this semester you have experienced synchronous online learning (all together in the Collaborate room). Which do you think is more effective and why do you think that? Which do you like better, and why?

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 5
This week we have what we call "open mic." You can write a post about anything related to your teaching that you would like responses from your classmates.

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 4
Here is this week's question: "What was the event that most took me surprise this week - and event that shook me up, caught me off guard, gave me a jolt, or made me unexpectedly happy?"

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 3
Please write a post about the following question, "In thinking about my past week teaching what is one thing I would do differently, and why?"

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 2
Please write a post about the following question, " In thinking about my teaching activities this past week, of what do I feel most proud? Why?"

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 1
Describe something you used in your program in the first weeks of school that you learned in the summer NTI program. How did it work? Did it get you off to a stronger start than last year?

Monday, October 10, 2011

Good and Bad

After the last several Tuesday sessions, I decided to step out on the limb and actually try some of the different activities discussed. One of the new activities I tried was Reading Groups, as I attempted to implement this into my strategy for introducing new material.

Reading Groups is an activity where you assign students to small size groups so they can read, cover, and hopefully learn new material. I was circling back to finish my safety unit and was introducing fire safety to my Intro class. I broke the students into groups of 3 and assigned roles of Reader (audibly), note taker, and timekeeper.

My first surprise came when the first time we tried this as a class it actually went well. The assignment was to complete their own group notes, complete a short research project, and each do 5 review questions at the end of the section. 90% of the class completed the assignment in it's entirity. I did have to prompt several times with us doing this for the first time, but I expected that.

My second surprise came when I did a verbal formative summative assessment with the class to determine what they actually learned. I was surprised because despite the fact that most completed the review questions, participated in the active reading of the short section, and had a hand in their group notes along with a short research project that some still had a difficult time applying critical thinking skills to some more complicated questions.

The good is that they completed the new assignment. The bad is that upon completion they were only able to regurgitate simple information and few could assess or evaluate situations based on what they had covered.

2 comments:

Tiff said...

I think the way you did this lesson was awesome. I think maybe the students who is the notetaker should add a bit to their job. Or, all of the students may need to. They could all take notes as they read and discuss the info. They could come to you with any questions or discretions they may have.

But, I think you did your job well in this lesson. Good job.

Steve M said...

I am also amazed that it seems like no matter haw many ways you try to go about teaching a concept, the majority of the students just don't get it. I find myself getting a little discouraged especially when the concepts are things that they should already know. I can give them a complete task list, and they will still ask me endless questions. Are they unable to think for themselves? How are we supposed to get these students to learn at a higher level when they can't even learn at the lowest level. I am thinking of making a banner to put up in my classroom that reads " Thinking is Encouraged" I guess we need to just keep trying different ways and hopefully in the end they will get it.