Good Afternoon Everyone!!
The first step I have taken is to revise my syllabus so that it reflects the new textbook I will use during the 2010 - 2011 year at Gateway. Per Meyers and Jones (1993), in their book Promoting active learning: Strategies for the college classroom, one of the most important elements for creating an active learning environment is to clarify course objectives and content. A professor is able to create an empowering environment with clear expectations. When students are aware of what is expected they are better able to take ownership of their daily studies.
Second, I am planning opening activities for each class. These activities are a balance of ice breakers, socio - emotional growth and academic understanding. Some activities will be small group (so that we can become more comfortable with each other), some will be whole class (so that we can see how far we've come), while others will be independent work (so that we can reinforce understanding and build confidence). In turn these activities will create a "positive tone...that excites students' interests and encourages their participation" (Meyers & Jones, 1993). When students have to be a part of every aspect of their classroom they are more likely to stay engaged on a regular basis.
Finally, I am trying to develop a service learning activity that will pair my students with a local elementary / high school so that my students can assist kids with their writing. The end purpose of this project would be mutual learning of how to write efficiently and effectively. If any teachers would like to "partner up", please let me know!
In addition to these activities I am also creating more "hands on" writing assignments and revision worksheets to help make learning how to write more hands on in nature.
Please, feel free to offer suggestions! They will be greatly appreciated.
Meyers, C. & Jones, T. (1993). Promoting active learning: Strategies for the college classroom. Jossey - Bass: San Francisco.
Kerri,
ReplyDeleteI really like your service learning activity. I wish my school had a college close enough and willing to do that, I believe the younger students would greatly benefit from it! It sounds very engaging to me!
Crystal
Hi!
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading my blog. Text-to-text is where the students find similarities between to different text. For example: Laura Numeroff If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and If You Give a Moose a Muffin. The students have to compare the text and find the similarities (connection). Hopefully this helps!
Kerri,
ReplyDeleteI am glad to see a familiar face in class again this summer. I really like how you plan opening activities for your students that are around the theme of emotional growth. Recently I was asked what “rigor” means to me. I had a hard time answering the question so I did some research. In the definition that I created I added a phrase about emotional stimulation. I think you are on the right track for student engagement.
-Casey
Hi :)
ReplyDeleteI am impressed with your evident drive to assist all students. In our new school, we hope to pair our elementary with high school in the hopes of creating a learning community engaged in all sorts of learning! Any advice to the elementary end?
Ellen
Kerri,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the interesting post. I really enjoyed the YouTube video; I think that would be a great ice breaker for my middle school math class as well, showing how pervasive technology has and will become. Hopefully it will also motivate them to looking at careers in that area. I think more and more, high schools are looking to places like Gateway to help students bridge the gap between their secondary and their career (college) education. I wish you well in your pursuits there!
Roy Caldwell