I have continued implementing my plan in my classroom and some lessons have gone better than others. This comes as no surprise to me. For instance, the lesson where we talked about how and why graphs can be misleading, looked at a few examples and then the students were to write, in their own words, how graphs can be misleading did not go as well as I would have liked. For the most part, the students in my class hate to write and will try to get away with writing one sentence. Of course, I let them know that I expect much more than that from them and hand them their paper back.
The lesson where the students had to work in pairs to graph data in a bar graph went well. I picked the pair teams, using a mixed pair grouping. Overall, the students enjoyed working together and, judging by the resulsts, most of them understand how to graph data properly in a bar graph.
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Yeah- that is about right- I would guess that some lessons would go better than others. I am glad you have found some successful ways to engage students. Sounds like the kids need some more work in writing and also ways to write that does not feel so onerous. One thing I have played around with is to give the students different types of paper to write one- I have had students write on styrofoam cups, balloons, colored paper, paper bags, index cards, post-its- sometimes just a different medium helps to motivate kids.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds as if we are having similar experiences with lessons in our inquiry plans. Flexibility is key when teaching. It helps to sit back and think about what went well with a lesson and what just didn’t quite click. Even though you are working with much older students there are many similarities in our lessons as far as working in groups, etc. I am looking forward to seeing your final product.
ReplyDeleteI think it's great that you give the students your expectations each time your have a project. I think it helps to remind students of your expectations to help with engagements. Group work helps engage students, even when the students don't like each other. Many students will step up to the plate and play nice if they know it's expected. Great job!
ReplyDeleteGive the students a rubric for projects may be the way to go. With my group of students, I have to thoroughly explain exactly what I am looking for. Often times it is necessary to give the students a copy of the rubric with examples of expectation.
ReplyDeleteI understand that some projects do not go as smoothly as others. Sometimes I think it is based on student interests. If they are not interested that day, it can be difficult to keep students engaged. This happens to me too.
I thank all of you for your feedback. All of it is very appreciated. Professor Clarke, I really liked your ideas of using different mediums to have the students write. I am going to try that tactic and see how it works.
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