Trying New Things

I have been very open with my students about graduate school.  They know that I am enrolled, how many classes I have left, and what my goals are.  I think it is important that they see I am working hard in school, too.  They will even ask me about classes!

That being said, I have told them to prepare to try new things with me.  If I am trying a new activity, I am open to telling them that I got an idea from class and want to give it a whirl.  The students are often excited that they are the first class to try something with me AND they are more understanding if it doesn't go smoothly.

A few weeks back Tim gave me a suggestion when seeking feedback from students.  I tried this activity with something small.  We had a bullying assembly and were supposed to talk to the students about it afterwards.  When we returned I had the students get into a large circle.  They had five minutes to write their honest opinions, reactions, and feedback about the assembly (while still remaining school appropriate and respectful).  One we were all done (I wrote one, also!), we crumpled the paper into loose balls and threw them into the center of the room.  Then each person, starting with me, got up and read someone else's response.  After the responses we had an open discussion.  The students LOVED it!  It was something different and there was less pressure because no one knew what responses belonged to what student.  I found that we had a very open, honest, and meaningful discussion.  Needless to say, I am frequently asked when we can throw paper in class again! :)

Now I am trying out evidence charts.  I have been teaching my research unit the same way for five years with a few minor changes.  I find that the examples, modeling, and practice really help my students understand each portion of the project.  However, I thought there was some very interesting discussion in our class and readings last week about sources and value.  I decided to carry that into my own classroom.  We discussed the value of Wikipedia and where/when it can be used appropriately.  I gave them a real life example of how I found Wikipedia useful in my own classroom.  My students were thrilled to hear they could use this site- it was more of an issue of time and place!  We had a rich discussion in regards to the value and validity of many different sources and they really seem to understand that it was a matter of appropriateness for each individual assignment or inquiry.

After our discussion, I explained what we would be doing with the evidence charts.  They were placed in pairs and given a broad research questions (How has Rachel Zoe impacted the fashion industry?  How has Michael Jackson influenced the music industry?  What type of impact has Mario Lemieux had on Pittsburgh? etc.).  The students then needed to come up with sub topics, which we discussed in class.  After, they needed to find two acceptable sources and two unacceptable sources.  By the end of day two in the computer lab almost every group was telling me they couldn't find unacceptable sources (they were not allowed to use Wikipedia as one).

This week we will move back and forth between direct instruction, modeling, practicing, and then working on the evidence charts.  So far the student seem to be enjoying this- they love working together and on the computers!  They are really excited about the upcoming gallery walk once the evidence charts are complete.  The 8th grade teacher even came to my room to ask what we were doing because the students were talking about it in her class!  I hope the enthusiasm sticks throughout the entire unit- I will keep you posted!