"The Interest to this Approach is so Dang Frosty!"
Olivia, Beth, and Lisa's quote from our Interest Approach Rap
The purpose of this lab was to adjust our focal point to creating a good hook for our students to grab onto. We were inspired by Lancelot's Principles of Interest which, upon reflecting on my experiences, made A LOT of sense. BUT, Let me tell you, creating an effective interest approach stumped me. I mean, I created good ones before but I think my cold gave me writer's block.
My interest approach:
For day #2 of the first unit in Large Animal Science we are learning the steps of the scientific method and how land-grant universities utilize the scientific method.
I attempted to harness the power of Primary Principle #1 and Secondary Principle #6. The interest approach was to have my students form groups around a lab station with no more than 6 per group. At the lab they will find photos of a species of large animal, but with characteristics they may not be familiar with, such as a Duroc with a red coat or a La Mancha with tiny ears.
They are given two minutes to write down any questions they have about the Phenotypes of these animals (this term is used specifically to highlight to science terminology and connection). Once the two minutes are up, I use the transition question "How do scientists go about answering questions such as these?"
For lab purposes, due to the lack of people, I adapted the lesson to fit the class I was working with.
How it Went:
Gems
- As the students were writing down their questions, I asked them questions such as "If that pig is a female, what would she be called?" to jog their memory of last class's terminology lesson.
- The students asked great questions and I mentioned that I was proud.
- A Student wrote "I don't understand" down for a question and I couldn't tell who it had been by the hand writing, so I announced "Please free feel to stop me at any point in the future if you don't quite understand what's going on, I'd love to help clear things up for you."
Opps
- As my peers mentioned, for an Ag student this may be too easy
- In fact one of my peers was given the role "Knows-it-all" and I didn't respond how I wish I would have
- I stated "Well, if you know it perhaps you can tell me what we are doing?"
- This was aggressive, looking back, I would want to say "Perfect, I'm glad I have a great student to help me/role-model what needs to be done."
- A Student asked "Must we do all these photos?" and I replied "Well, until you engaged" which as soon as it came out of my mouth I wanted to hit my forehead because this was unlike me.
- I should have responded, "Well, lets see how you guys do first, If you ask some really good questions maybe we won't have to look at them all."
In summary, with my cold, my sassiness came out and I was miserable. As a teacher I'll need to fight through this, but I do realize even Good Teachers, have Bad Days. I definitely learned from this experience quite a bit and look forward to the next challenge ahead.
I certainly hope that you don't feel too badly... this is exactly why we have teacher preparation coursework, 'practice opportunities' and student teaching experiences... it is hard to be on point when we're feeling less than tip top and you had some 'students' who went out of their way to directly challenge your plan. I found that the very best interest approaches were those that called upon the students personal experiences... How many of you have animals at home..? pets? livestock? Would anyone share with the class a vivid memory that they have that included an animal? Have some follow up questions in mind as class members offer such experiences? Encourage discussion with some follow up questions) What did you learn form this experience? Would you have done anything different if you could back to that experience? (think about some follow up questions and have at least a couple of personal experiences you might share if you hit a roadblock or are asked to reciprocate by class members. Basically, the best interest approaches that I recall are not forced... You may have to push... I also found that I was most effective when I was enthusiastic, excited, and motivated. Just some quick thoughts... Your blog shows great self awareness and you are to be commended for sharing your thoughts in this way! You will be a great teacher/mentor/role model!
ReplyDeleteLisa, you WILL definitely have those "oops I wish I hadn't said that moments" The key is continuous self-reflection/awareness. You are demonstrating that you are very self aware which is great. I like the objective of your interest approach. Just keep in mind that your interest approach does not need to be anything too grand or complex. It can be, but it can also be something simple that is related to your lesson that hooks them into it and gets their brain focused in that direction. Good work, looking forward to what you have yet to come.
ReplyDeleteThe best way to fix a bad day is to make the next day a better day. Take time to reflect, but don't get so lost in being hard on yourself that you can't find enthusiasm for the next day/class. The bounce back factor is a survival skill!
ReplyDeleteFor interest approaches, keeping them varied is important. Some days you'll have something elaborate and other days it will be very simple. That is part of what keeps them interesting. Honestly, I try not to devote too much more time to planning one than it will take the students to work through it. My general rule has become that if it's taken me more than double the time students will spend using something to create it, I need to step back and re-work either the plan or the component.
To help make this activity more reusable from one class period to the next, you could number each photo and post a Schoology Discussion (LMS at Dover) for each #. Students can post their items in a comment thread for each one. Because you use the numbers, not the images, you can still set out the images and have the kinesthetic rotation component, but the pictures could be re-used and you would have names assigned to the feedback.
I love the idea about the Schoology component! I'll definitely be implementing that in the spring.
DeleteI will admit, I was the student who wrote "I dont understand" on a picture. I had "confused all the time" student and I just wanted to see how you responded. I think what you did was fine! The student may not come to you right away but you did good by not calling people out and just making a general statement!
ReplyDeleteI was actually just having this conversation with Olivia about my interest approach. It's a different situation but I thought it was bad and I could've done a lot better. I know I tend to take my own thoughts way too far. I dwell on them so much that I get down on myself about it. I just remind myself why I'm doing this and it gets me back on track! I encourage you to do the same! I really like what everyone else has said on here too, self awareness is important and you will have those off days! We all do and the important thing is to keep going!
Thank you Sara for testing me in different, but respectful ways that my students will more than likely do. This helps me grow more than you know!
DeleteAlso, in just the three lessons I've seen you teach I can see TREMENDOUS improvement in your confidence and enthusiasm! Your interest approach was great, we can also continue to learn together more!