Friday, May 15, 2009: Volcanoes, 3rd grade, Kelly Swartzentruber's class at McKinley Elementary.
My son said that if he were to score me, on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the best lesson he's ever had), I would get a 9.5... just goes to show how much he loves me, not really how good the lesson was.
Anyway, there were several things that became very clear as I was *teaching.* The first was that everything takes twice as long as you expect it to. I thought my lesson would be about an hour long... it was almost 2!! The second is that it is quite possible to overthink what you are doing. I was trying to be so conscientious about calling on everyone equally, that I took rather a long time to choose students.
Kelly was so gracious. She did some conflict management for me . . . as I realized one of the drawbacks of group work: some kids just can't let go of control (in fact, I might have been one of those kids in elementary school) and if you have two of them in a group together, look out!
The students did learn and I think they had fun doing it. I will have the opportunity next week (May 18, 19, or 20) to do the lesson again in the other 3rd grade classroom at McKinley. I will try not to be so nervous and to refine my technique a bit by then.
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Michelle,
ReplyDeleteIf you are able to reflect on all your experiences in school as you do here, then keep on teaching with Kelly.
I am intrigued about your comment about control. Thinking about those students (or you, I suppose), how do they learn from the teacher?
Thanks,
Neil
I think in most classroom circumstances it is a situational kind of control that is most frequently directed at other students. If the student feels that they are particularly good at something then they are not able to suppress (particularly in the elementary grades) their desire to "show off." In most situations these students are able to defer control to the teacher because he or she is seen as more capable and certainly as the ultimate voice of authority. But, I have also seen certain students make a play to gain the control from the teacher. This is less of an effort to thwart learning and more of a demonstration of that individual's needs. In my opinion, more often than not, this reflects the student's feeling their life is generally not under their control. So, they are constantly seeking ways to run the show. Does that answer your question?
ReplyDeleteMichelle:
ReplyDeleteExcellent work at taking a risk and giving this a try! Enjoyed your reflection. I'd be interested in seeing your lesson plan - how did it or did it help you in your teaching? How did you use it while you taught? Where did you get your objectives? How do you know your students learned and what did they learn?
You learned a lot today! Those third graders are great teachers aren't they!
Great job!
sue