One
of the topics that really stood out to me today was changing the shift of
process and procedures to chaos and discovery. It is true. As kids, we learn by
making mistakes and figuring the problem out before getting help from others.
So why change this way of learning? Of course, this goes against the way we
were taught K-12 plus college. However, is this the best way of teaching? The
point of education is to try new methods for the benefit of the students. And
so, I would like to teach math by having the students work out the problem and
help them along the way. In this way, they are making mistakes and working
through them. This gets their minds working and they will be questioning every
step as they digest the problem while solving it. This also gives them an
opportunity to collaborate with each other and work with their peers. As their
teacher, I will be there structuring their thinking and questions to make sure
they are going the right direction.
Another
idea that I would like to implement for my students is using Flipgrid. I liked
the idea of having the students record a video of them completing a math
problem by hand and also narrating in the background. Anybody can write down a math
problem and call it good. However, it is more challenging to explain how you
are getting the answer while doing the problem. The narration will help me see
if they are understanding the homework. If the student is not totally correct
in their explanation, then I would be able to review the material before
continuing on with the chapter. This is a great way to check for their
understanding.
This website talks about ways Flipgrid can be incorporated into a math class and the benefits of doing so. Very helpful source, especially for those who have never heard of it until today.
I think the concept of chaos and discovery can be a really good one, if done well. Because I have gotten to know you, I think you will do it well! But I have definitely seen it done poorly with teachers simply leaving students to their own devices to work out math and then either grading them based on participation, or grading them poorly because they can't perform well, because they had no guidance. One of the videos I watched on COETAIL was about a math class that was flipped. I don't know if you're familiar with that model, but I think you might enjoy it. It mixes some instruction with discovery as well. I think you will make a great teacher, Silvia, because you care about student learning and you also care about making it relevant to where they're at!
ReplyDeleteSilvia and Michelle I agree with both of you. I think one of the greatest ways to learn is through chaos and discovery. However, it does need to be done well. Not only will the chaos be very real without some parameters, but imagine trying to grade that chaos. Without set guidelines to some extent, the teacher would be in just as bad of spot as the students trying to make sense of the outcome. I like the idea of having a rubric that give guidelines but doesn't stifle learning. Great post and comment!
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