Well, I decided to change this up a bit this week which caused my online lesson plans to not align perfectly with what we did in class. But, I am happy with the learning that is happening in my classroom. I see students who are engaging in critical thinking on higher levels than last year and, I believe, it is due to the structure and format of the class. Instead of leading students through the work, I chose to share readings with them as they take responsibility to read them in their writing (summer reading) groups. Beyond the reading, which is important, students are capturing their ideas en masse in Google docs as well. In this way, students and I engage in an authentic and individualized learning process which builds a base for their personal understanding moving forward. Speaking of understanding, very little of what we have worked on in class has been graded, and this is purposeful. By the time students reach 12th grade many of them view their worth through the lens of a grade and the perception of what that score means to their future success. I don't believe grades are any indication of future success. Grades are merely a score for how a student performed at the time the task was assigned. Learning happens best when a student is intrinsically motivated to pursue thoughts or ideas interesting to them. As teachers, though, we have the ability to generate interest among our students by the way we allow them to interact and dialogue through texts. It is natural to compare and contrast ideas from a common assignment. This is called collaboration. And, if I want my students to learn I should want them to collaborate to generate their own ideas. |
1 Comment
Andy
9/12/2014 01:16:47 am
Revised.
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