The first resource I found was from the SAS page (which I think is far superior to thinkfinity). I found an interactive activity that would be great to provide the backdrop for a discussion based class. The resource I found was an activity that explores the fairness of the American tax system. I would assign this particular activity to either a participation in government or economics class before engaging in a discussion on the fairness of tax policies. The part that I liked best about this activity is that it provides educational videos and documents explaining the various aspects of taxation and their evolution through history. I have often found that when discussing issues of economics and politics many students simply spew the opinions of their parents and have no personal opinion or evidence to support their claims. I believe that assigning this informational activity will increase the chances of having a successful and engaging discussion in which students can form and present their educated opinions with supporting details. Resource: SAS QL #1185.
The second resource I found was from thinkfinity. I found an interactive resource that allows students to explore the period of the Great Depression and Dust Bowl through accessing different websites. I would assign this interactive activity as either homework or an in-class assignment to a US history class. Again, I would probably assign this activity before a discussion based class. I liked this resource because it provided information on the time period through a variety of mediums so that the students have more options and can choose the websites that best suit their learning styles. I also believe that having students explore and find information on their own would promote a more exciting discussion. Through having the students explore on their own and then present their findings to the class, we would be able to utilize the unique perspectives and learning styles of each student.
Resource: http://interactives.mped.org/view_interactive.aspx?id=729&title=
Peter, I really like the idea of asking them to explore these things before class, that way they can come into class with fresh perspectives, and a little bit of background at the same time. I think that is a really important aspect to teaching that is often forgotten, allowing students to form their own opinions of something, rather than just adopting the knowledge of their teacher like a sponge.
ReplyDeleteI went to the resource about the great depression and i completely agree, it is great for all different types of learning styles. It is extremely important to find a way to connect to all different types of learners, and this is something that i believe interactive learning can have a huge impact with, however it can also have a negative impact on those "pen and paper" learners. Which could be redundant, because the number of those students have been dropping faster and faster the more that students are faced with technology.
I think there is not enough importance on having the students be familiar with the material prior to coming the class. So many times in field work I saw students come in and the teacher start the lesson and the kids had these puzzled looks on their faces because they did not do the "homework" for the night that was to read ahead. It is so important for the students to know a little about what they will be learning about that day. Students often have the excuse that it's the teacher's job to teach, not theirs to teach themselves, but reading or doing an excersize before the class is really NOT that hard - and if it is, they can come into the class with questions.
ReplyDelete