If I may speak in an unprofessional manner for a moment...holy shmolly!
The 2 students who are the first to produce work on the SSO WH5T wiki have put so much effort into it, and are asking for my opinion and so carefully considering my opinion (and not just accepting it), that I'm freaking out! You have got to see this. A lot of comments already generated in only 3 days. All I did was create the home page! LOL
I'm proud of these students! I know that other students may not react the same, but it is nice to see some spark in students. I'm sure these 2 students will be great in teaching the other club members how to contribute to the wiki.
Dig its grooviness here.
By the way, SSO WH5T stands for Science and Society--Who, What, When, Where, Why, How, and Think. There was once a course called Science and Society, but it got canned by the provincial government. The students, though, wanted it continued as a club!
Showing posts with label Reflections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reflections. Show all posts
Monday, October 09, 2006
Thursday, September 07, 2006
How Time Was Wasted in the First 2 Days
I am giving a review quiz to my grade 9 math class tomorrow. I feel uncomfortable doing this, because I won't be able to do a decent homework take-up. True, it is a review quiz and the last 3 days were review, and the kids today demonstrated that they knew most of the review material, and they should already know this material.
So why the uncomfortable feeling?
Because I won't be able to do a proper homework take-up.
Well, I can do what I always do, that is, take-up at most 1 question (time constraints). For bellwork, I can write the question "is there a question from homework you want looked at?" Write some of their questions on the board, and take a vote on which they want looked at. And remember, it is a review of grade 8 math.
Because the lessons finished just before the bell sounded. I feel that I was not able to teach in the manner to which I'm accustomed, i.e. I guide the class through a problem, then I let them do a very similar problem on their own, then give them homework time in class. Two days should have been enough for my usual method, but I didn't know I'd have to factor in administrative tasks, because this is a homeroom. So I needed time to write locker combinations, and collect tracking sheet info. Next time, I will let them take home the tracking sheets.
Still, it is a review.
I will see how many homework questions they want me to cover tomorrow. I may postpone the quiz until Monday.
So why the uncomfortable feeling?
Because I won't be able to do a proper homework take-up.
Well, I can do what I always do, that is, take-up at most 1 question (time constraints). For bellwork, I can write the question "is there a question from homework you want looked at?" Write some of their questions on the board, and take a vote on which they want looked at. And remember, it is a review of grade 8 math.
Because the lessons finished just before the bell sounded. I feel that I was not able to teach in the manner to which I'm accustomed, i.e. I guide the class through a problem, then I let them do a very similar problem on their own, then give them homework time in class. Two days should have been enough for my usual method, but I didn't know I'd have to factor in administrative tasks, because this is a homeroom. So I needed time to write locker combinations, and collect tracking sheet info. Next time, I will let them take home the tracking sheets.
Still, it is a review.
I will see how many homework questions they want me to cover tomorrow. I may postpone the quiz until Monday.
Friday, July 28, 2006
Technology In The Classroom
I recommend you read this blog entry from a Canadian math teacher. You'll need to read it to understand the rest of this entry, which is related to an issue I wrote about a few days ago. What follows is my comment to what was written about in the other teacher's blog. His insights are good, and I suggest you bookmark his site.
Be distinct or be extinct? I don't think so. What is the point of being distinct only for its own sake? Why be distinct if it does nothing to improve learning? True, one reason for the use of technology in education (like videos) is to motivate students, but a teacher should recognize that there is a point beyond which a teacher's use of technology is chasing after the students' fads. That makes us beggars, not teachers i.e. beyond a certain point, I'd be begging the students to pay attention to the course content.
Videos and other media are from the arts, and perhaps they are best used in the teaching of the arts. There is a place for them in the teaching of math and science, but let's face it, there will also ALWAYS be a more highly prioritized place for "chalk and talk" in math and science. Math and science rely on symbols and ideas which cannot always be best, nor easily, represented in other media.
I believe the question I ask is similar to yours: are the kids who are making videos learning the curriculum or are they learning how to make videos? Which is being stressed? I have experimented with the use of videos on my blog, and I'm thinking that with the tools that are FREELY available, the students would be concentrating on the technology and not the math. Video production has a steep learning curve. The experiments on my blog will attest to that.
However, I am not going to exclude the idea of using videos. When students can make tools, like videos, they are motivated, especially when they know the tools will be used by others. To ensure that the students concentrate on learning the math, I think I will develop other tools to make the production of videos much simpler. But that will take a lot of time.
Ahhhh, time. I have discovered in my first year of teaching that this profession is a balance between giving the time you want to give to the students and giving yourself time for having a life. :^)
I think I will post this comment on my blog. May I link to your blog?
Be distinct or be extinct? I don't think so. What is the point of being distinct only for its own sake? Why be distinct if it does nothing to improve learning? True, one reason for the use of technology in education (like videos) is to motivate students, but a teacher should recognize that there is a point beyond which a teacher's use of technology is chasing after the students' fads. That makes us beggars, not teachers i.e. beyond a certain point, I'd be begging the students to pay attention to the course content.
Videos and other media are from the arts, and perhaps they are best used in the teaching of the arts. There is a place for them in the teaching of math and science, but let's face it, there will also ALWAYS be a more highly prioritized place for "chalk and talk" in math and science. Math and science rely on symbols and ideas which cannot always be best, nor easily, represented in other media.
I believe the question I ask is similar to yours: are the kids who are making videos learning the curriculum or are they learning how to make videos? Which is being stressed? I have experimented with the use of videos on my blog, and I'm thinking that with the tools that are FREELY available, the students would be concentrating on the technology and not the math. Video production has a steep learning curve. The experiments on my blog will attest to that.
However, I am not going to exclude the idea of using videos. When students can make tools, like videos, they are motivated, especially when they know the tools will be used by others. To ensure that the students concentrate on learning the math, I think I will develop other tools to make the production of videos much simpler. But that will take a lot of time.
Ahhhh, time. I have discovered in my first year of teaching that this profession is a balance between giving the time you want to give to the students and giving yourself time for having a life. :^)
I think I will post this comment on my blog. May I link to your blog?
Filed in: Reflections
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
STUFF TO REMEMBER--PART 1
- Stick to the lesson plan.
- Don't hesitate to write on the board what is already on the paper.
- Slow down--for one thing, it will make my writing neater.
- Be more more organized and neater on board.
- Don't be afraid to tell students to be quiet.
Filed in: Reflections
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Math Blogging vs. Arts Blogging
I regularly read the blogs of several teachers who use blogging as a part of their teaching. Only one of them teaches math and the rest teach courses in the arts. Two examples are here and here, and another (from my town) is here. I won't include all of the URLs because there are so many and because I want this post to be a summary of the arguments. Their ideas sound great, but I keep reading a lot of theory and not much of what is practical. I'll finish reading a blog entry and think "that sounds great, but what do I DO?" Much of what they write is great for teaching the arts but needs modification when teaching math and science. Don't tell me that our schools need more problem-based learning, that involves digital tools, to help the students solve the problems. I knew that from the time I was in the Faculty of Education! Many of us know that to maximize learning, students need the freedom to experiment, make mistakes in those experiments, and start again. Tell me instead how I can get the board to buy the digital tools, and let me have (or see) some course outlines and lesson plans that involve those digital tools. In return, I would contribute some of my lesson plans and BLMs (Black Line Masters i.e. handouts).
The majority of these teachers teach classes in the arts, such as History or English. So they write about giving an open-ended question to the class and letting student groups deterimine the answer, with little guidance from the teacher. The teachers write of not recognizing answers as right or wrong. They emphasize the process, not the answer. Due to the phrasing used, these teacher-blogs can lead one to believe that the students are just dying to blog about the homework assignment, because all that is mentioned are those reactions to blogging from the students who are enthusiastic for blogging. Nobody, however, is giving an estimate on what percentage of the class is enjoying the blogging.
In my opinion, the ideas they put forth sound great for arts classes. But could you see a math teacher telling the class "we've seen average, mean, and mode. Now here is the equation for standard deviation. It is the average deviation of all data points from the average of the data points. Tell me why this equation makes sense." Or "your answer of the calculation is neither right or wrong, it's the process." I don't think so. There has to be more guidance from the math teacher. The lecture format will always have a place in math instruction. And there is the point of time--many curriculum expectations mandated to be taught in 1 semester allow for limited experimenting done by the students. Also, my experience tells me that there will always be students who don't give a damn about blogging or learning, they just want the credit to get into university.
These blogging teachers stress making the content relevant to the lives of the students. This is an excellent idea. I do want to make the math more relevant to the students, but that is very tough. For example, how does one make derivatives (from Calculus) relevant to students? It is possible, I'm sure, but this confidence is based more on gut feeling and my strong faith in my skills, than it is on evidence and experience. I teach Data Management, so I'm sure I could find some modern, in-the-news ideas on which I could produce problem-based lesson plans. I must try.
So...I must try to develop more open-ended questions or tasks, which are as student-relevant as possible, and which involve digital technology, all so that the students become better thinkers, and so that they will be more motivated to learn and become better writers, respectively.
I can use Bloom's Taxonomy, EQAO questions (for the grade 9s), newspapers' RSS feeds, and data from other countries . I hope to use Web 2.0 tools to motivate them and get them to practice their writing. I don't think I should expect myself to perfect the implementation of these ideas all in the next academic year. This will take time to do well. But I want to start this September.
Your thoughts? Any ideas?
The majority of these teachers teach classes in the arts, such as History or English. So they write about giving an open-ended question to the class and letting student groups deterimine the answer, with little guidance from the teacher. The teachers write of not recognizing answers as right or wrong. They emphasize the process, not the answer. Due to the phrasing used, these teacher-blogs can lead one to believe that the students are just dying to blog about the homework assignment, because all that is mentioned are those reactions to blogging from the students who are enthusiastic for blogging. Nobody, however, is giving an estimate on what percentage of the class is enjoying the blogging.
In my opinion, the ideas they put forth sound great for arts classes. But could you see a math teacher telling the class "we've seen average, mean, and mode. Now here is the equation for standard deviation. It is the average deviation of all data points from the average of the data points. Tell me why this equation makes sense." Or "your answer of the calculation is neither right or wrong, it's the process." I don't think so. There has to be more guidance from the math teacher. The lecture format will always have a place in math instruction. And there is the point of time--many curriculum expectations mandated to be taught in 1 semester allow for limited experimenting done by the students. Also, my experience tells me that there will always be students who don't give a damn about blogging or learning, they just want the credit to get into university.
These blogging teachers stress making the content relevant to the lives of the students. This is an excellent idea. I do want to make the math more relevant to the students, but that is very tough. For example, how does one make derivatives (from Calculus) relevant to students? It is possible, I'm sure, but this confidence is based more on gut feeling and my strong faith in my skills, than it is on evidence and experience. I teach Data Management, so I'm sure I could find some modern, in-the-news ideas on which I could produce problem-based lesson plans. I must try.
So...I must try to develop more open-ended questions or tasks, which are as student-relevant as possible, and which involve digital technology, all so that the students become better thinkers, and so that they will be more motivated to learn and become better writers, respectively.
I can use Bloom's Taxonomy, EQAO questions (for the grade 9s), newspapers' RSS feeds, and data from other countries . I hope to use Web 2.0 tools to motivate them and get them to practice their writing. I don't think I should expect myself to perfect the implementation of these ideas all in the next academic year. This will take time to do well. But I want to start this September.
Your thoughts? Any ideas?
Filed in: Reflections
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