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