First weeks blog assignment

1st Blog Assignment

Has worked well

During the first four weeks of school, I divide my three different classes into precincts. In each precinct, I assign different ranks to each student. The ranks are captain, lieutenant, sergeant, corporal, and officer. I have four precincts in two of my classes and two precincts in one class. By giving each student a chance to become the leader of their assigned precinct, students stay on task and put extra effort into their assignments. The students regard the rank structure as a goal setting accomplishment. The majority of the students respond in a positive manner. Therefore, I have fewer disruptions during both lectures and hands on assignments. The precinct concept is an excellent way for students to work together with structure and teamwork.


Hasn't worked well

I use a blog to give information for my three different levels of law enforcement. The levels are Intro, Concepts of Public Safety, and Constitutional and Criminal Law. The blog informs the student what is going to be taught, and what they will be doing during a certain week for each level. On the blog, I place ten vocabulary words after each level's information. According to some of the students, it was difficult to determine which vocabulary words went with the correct level because the vocabulary words were listed in a jumbled manner. This caused confusion for some students. I am currently looking at different ways to correct the problem.