I feel a little like I'm repeating myself, but the resources from this last week really started me thinking. I am going to be in serious trouble if I try to do everything from the reading that sounds like a good idea.
The activities and projects from the reading appeal to me because they shift the center of the activity from me to the students. As they work together, they are becoming responsible for the teaching, becoming the "more knowledgeable other". When it comes to some of the computer based activities like the creation of a multimedia project, I can often learn something from some of my students. Students must also become more responsible, as they create whatever the artifact will be, for analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating the material.
About Me
- D Baker
- I grew up in Escondido, CA, and went to college in Santa Barbara before settling on the Central Coast in the city of Lompoc. My wife and I are both teachers. She currently works with kindergartners while I teach sixth grade. We have three daughters that are all school age.
Posts
Doug,
ReplyDeleteI agree that activities that can take the focus off the teacher and onto the student can be a good idea. I like the idea of students finding each other to be the ‘More Knowledgeable Other’ and realizing that the teacher is not the only one who has information to share. You may have heard this before, but something I say to my students when they are working is ‘ask three, before me’ which means they should ask at least 3 others for information/ideas before they ask me. This often works well and allows me to assist ones that are truly struggling and not just waiting on me to do the work.
~Leilani
Doug,
ReplyDeleteI also like to learn from my students when they do projects. I think that it really empowers kids when THEY become that more knowledgable other. Dr. Orey says that teaching something is the best way to learn it. This goes double for students. When they realize that they may know more about a certain topic than the teacher does, they have a lot of pride in what they have learned. This is the way to create self-sufficient learners.
Tyler
Doug,
ReplyDeleteI really think that the students respond well when they can take charge of the lesson and not have to sit and listen to the teacher all hour. Then when they can teach the teacher a thing or two about anything, especially technology related, they are more engaged later on in the class. I too agree that there is a lot of things that would be great to implement in the classroom, but the first time jitters scare me a bit too.
Mike