Lindsey Snider

I like the idea of Project-based learning. Having a real world connection is hard, for me, I think in English. Books, words, and feelings. How do you connect that to welding or electrical. This is my struggle. But I'd love to find some sort of problem that the students can work on together that connects what we're learning to the real world. 

Sometimes I wonder about a flipped classroom. I remember a couple of years ago our county school system changed to that. All the teachers had to be trained on how to incorporate that. I know it was before COVID. But I wonder how it's surviving after COVID. 

I probably shouldn't confess that I don't use formative and summative assessments very much, but my class is writing. It's hard to determine what someone already knows or is learning mid-stream. Then I don't often quiz at the end because the writing assignment final draft is the measuring stick I use to see how they're developing. 

But I will consider trying to implement some. Make class have more of a variety. 

Post True/False questions as positives. Instead of saying "did not win" say "won". 

It's good to sometimes directly question a student by name. General class discussion questions leave an opportunity for some students to over-participate and other students to never participate. 

Students need choices. It allows them to feel autonomous. And there should be positive outcomes for preferred behavior. 

I don't know that I learned something new, but I did rediscover truths about teaching that I've probably let sit dormant. 1. Link what you're teaching (which for me is English) to the real world and how it will be a useful tool. 2. Don't over lecture. 20-25 mins is enough. Switch gears. 3. Have a memorable closing.  

What have I learned from this module? Well, heck, I didn’t know there were so many intelligences. I do think it would be difficult to hit all of them. There is something profoundly un-kinesthetic about English (which is what I teach). Books are books. Thoughts are thoughts. Words are words. It’s very hard to make it a tactile and action-y type of learning. But, perhaps, being more aware that there are different types of learners will make me more conscientious about how I present material.

My own preparedness really sets the tone for the class. I carry the weather with me. 

It's been a long time since I've revisited summative and formative assessments. It would be good to be conscientious that not everything students do in the classroom needs to be graded. Also, having reviewed Bloom's Taxonomy, I can clearly see it in how I was handled by my high school teachers.