#1
- Assessing Current Understanding:
To see where the understanding of the students are I feel it necessary to first explain the purpose of an introductory test, assessment, quiz or whatever you want to call it. Once the assessment is given, using electronic testing, results can be obtained within a few minutes. I think without prompt results this subject will get away from the students and the purpose is defeated. Once the test is graded it is important not only to go over what the students don't understand, but complement on their understanding of the ideas or topics they do understand. It is no fun just to be told "you were wrong", but to have a feeling of understanding. This forms a good beginning of class.
- Increasing Learner Motivation
In the science area, since that is my interest in teaching, by having each student get on line and go to certain sites containing java applets. A java applet allows someone to see how something works. Once they have spent a little time playing with it themselves they know already what the lesson is about and it helps them to be more motivated to learn that particular topic and they feel more confident in the topic. From experience in learning, it is a lot easier and more effective to learn something you are familiar with.
After introducing the topic through student involvement and the use of a power point presentation. By having only key-words in the presentation allows student questioning or even more student involvement. A class should be student-centered. Just like in the beginning of this reading how Jose went around asking each student some of their own observations. And when the desired answer wasn't given it was guided. All of this is done after the students have seen or been involved themselves.
5 comments:
I like what you said about motivation and confidence. You talked about a student being more motivated to learn something and consequently feeling more confident in that area. That is true. It works the other way too: if a student is more confident with something, they can likely summon more motivation to perform a particular task. As teachers, it seems important to understand the relationship between motivation and confidence.
Have an idea for group final lesson plan, tell me what you think.
Gen. Topic--Human Evolution
Victor--Biological
Aaron and Jessi--Historical and Analytical
Tamilyn--Philosophical
Each of us could choose a sub-theme along the lines of what i've listed and complete a tech, expl. I&II and text station.
Example: I would do Lang. Arts--Philosophical (Human Evolution) one of each station.
I really liked your views on not letting the students wrong answers bring them down. Too often I have seen teachers brush off students when the wrong answer is given instead of having an insite to the students individual views, then correcting them with the book answer.
I like the point that you make about how without prompt test results the purpose of the test is lost. This is sooo true! When I get tests back after a few weeks I no longer care about what the test was about, I just care what grade I got. Electronic testing would be great for multiple choice and true/false tests, but I don't think that electronic testing can be used all the time; I think that sometimes short answers and essays are better to determine comprehension. In these cases, I think that questioning could be a great strategy to assess understanding while students have to wait for the teacher to grade. If you can question the day after a test when students still have the information and the test still in their heads then the teacher and the students can have a much better idea on how the test went, what they understand, and what they don't.
I agree with you Victor that it is so important to go over a test after it is graded. As you said, it is important to not only go over what they didn't understand, but to compliment them on what they did understand. This not only produces "a feeling of understanding" but also gives the teacher another opportunity to get the concept/topic in the students minds.
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