9/17 Class Discussion

Today in class we talked about effective ways of teaching. I think the 5th grade teacher did a good job by accomodating all levels of learning in her inclusion class by having different categories at various difficulty levels. Group work is good for young children because it teaches them how to work together. However, I think she should have modified it a little by allowing students to each have a turn giving the answers, instead of picking one representative for each group. Also, the teacher should not have said "you're all winners" because it gives students' a false sense of accomplishment. Although students need to learn how to work together, they also have to know how to lose. Overall her game was a good idea because she thought it out and was very organized.

The High School class that re-enacted the court case was interesting to me. I like when teachers find a way to get their students involved in what they're learning. If students are confined to just the textbook and lectures they're not going to be motivated to learn. I also liked the idea that the students did not know ahead of time what part of the case they were going to represent--this teaches them to learn all sides to an issue before they defend it. The only thing I didn't like about it was that some students were not involved, I think the teacher could have found a way to get them to interact with the case if they were not one of the principle roles.

These videos shows different methods of teaching/learning to get students involved and interested. It's good for students to have a variety in school, it keeps them motivated to show up and become involved in what they are being taught.