In Grant Wiggins's article A Veteran Teacher Turned Coach Shadows 2 Student for 2 Days- a Sobering Lesson Learned he describes the unstimulating yet stressful schooldays of the students at his school. He also shares ways in which he would change his classroom based on his findings. He feels students spend too much time sitting (which is exhausting), students passively listen most of the day, and students feel like a nuisance. I feel that my school site is a bit similar to this because some of the classes I have walked into students are seated in rows listening to the teacher the whole day. In my particular class students are seated at tables of four so they can more easily collaborate during group work time. I lecture for about a third of the class or less and the rest of the time students are working with their groups on the investigation or other tasks. However, during this group work my students usually stay seated, like in the classes Wiggins attended. Last week I tried a new activity with my students where they had to rotate to different tables with their group members. This is the most my students have been engaged in awhile. At first some of them complained that they had to get up and move, but once they completed the first rotation they were excited to get up and move to the next station. After the success of this activity I am planning on incorporating some type of mandatory movement into my two hour block periods. I agree with Wiggins that students need to be more actively engaged in their learning. I think that students need guidance from the teacher but they also need the time to practice how to solve problems on their own. I also agree that students should be encouraged to ask questions all of the time. I especially liked Wiggins idea to have students write on the board all of the questions that they have at the beginning of class. Then as a class have students decide which ones need to be addressed first. The focus of education should be making sure that students have a deep understanding of the concepts rather than touching briefly on each standard.
|
AuthorMy name is Brooke and I am a teacher candidate in the CSUSM credential program. I am currently long-term subbing Integrated Math 1 and Math 180 classes at Vista High. Archives
May 2015
Categories |