Problem Solving Instruction
BeMy goals and aspirations for problem solving instruction were somewhat met. I had successfully asked an mildly interesting question which posed a problem for my students. Although my lesson quickly fell apart for several reasons.
- The lesson was following the unit on "Tragedy of the Commons" and was fairly content heavy. Therefore, my lab-mates that were unfamiliar with the tragedy could not interact with the lesson the way a student would if they had been in class for the unit.
- I had wrongly thought I needed to show the resolution to the problem in my 20 minute Edthena video; Therefore I cut a large chunk of problem solving time out. THIS WAS SO WRONG.
- My students lost the original big picture problem about half way through my lesson because I have been asking several smaller questions that were causing them to think a bit off track.
Giving myself some credit, even though I think I failed:
- I understand, the lesson would have gone better with students that had content knowledge.
- I understand, I do not need to show a resolution within 20 minutes of posing the problem.
- I understand, other questions that you stumble upon can be welcomed as long as the provoke thought and you can still steer back to the original problem.
- Writing the original, big-picture problem on a board for students to reference would help with clarity. (BECOV IS LIFE)
- I am handling student discipline issues well in class, I had a student make a rude comment and quickly and simply nipped the problem without drawing extra attention from other students. This allowed me to defend the student being picked on and demonstrate expectations and consequences in class.
In Summary:
Problem-solving instruction is tricky, but is one of the best ways to get students engaged and thinking. By posing a problem, we easily identify the "why" in student learning.
I realize I would nail all my labs on the first try, I know where I messed up and I know where I can fix these mistakes. I look forward to practicing and getting better at problem solving instruction!
Lisa, it is good to be able to find good even when you feel bad about a lesson, so great job with that! I have found it very helpful to be very detailed in my planning when creating a problem based lesson. Also, when you can, bring in someone from industry or locally to help with posing or helping solve a real-world problem. This allows you to learn about the problem and have an expert in the room.
ReplyDeleteBringing DCNR, DEP, or PDA into the classroom would fit well into this lesson! I hope to utilize them in the future.
DeleteLisa, I am glad you are choosing to focus on how to turn your gems into opps, and on how you can make this activity a smashing success the next time you use it with your students! You chose and ambitious and complex problem your students to solve, which is commendable and shows you aren't afraid of a challenge. Remember, you didn't master it YET, but with time, practice, and maintaining your positive and hard-working attitude, you will be successful with this technique in your student teaching internship!
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa -- I encourage you to avoid being too hard on yourself. We all want to be as close to perfection as possible, but experience and learning are what your journey this year is all about! A self realization that you have a lot to learn is actually preparing you for your journey as an educator. Our students are challenged by the new and different and we can relate better with our students if we have recent experiences that we were challenged with. You are a very good thinker and your reflections show real growth and openness. Keep marching forward and thanks for a view into your thought processes related to your experiences.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your words of encouragement, I definitely get stuck in "perfection mode" even though my students are still learning, just not in the way I had planned.
DeleteI think your lab went great in class! It's good that we know now that we just teach like a regular class period even if we don't get through all of our content in our lab time.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see this reflective process here. In day-to-day teaching, you have several classes to run and have to be back at it the next day. Get in the habit of recognizing that one thing to do better and that one thing to keep doing that way and move on to try again. Taking time getting bogged down being hard on yourself is counterproductive.
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