Please post a comment about Section 3: Teaching Students How to Solve Problems. What do you think about the 4D's? What ideas do you have for developing evaluations of process skills?
Over the winter break, my wife and I got talking about traditions. At this time of year, there are many. Somehow or another, the conversation ended up on technology. (I don't know how... really!!) We were talking about how traditions are a part of our core values. For us, a love of nature is a core value. We have planned a couple of family trips to take advantage of the nature that is accessible throughout our country. We talked about how many people, including us at times, feel like technology can be a threat to our core values. It might be in conflict with our work/life balance, our love of the outdoors, our perceptions of what good relationships are about. But then we began talking about how technology has helped us build on our core values. As we planned our trip to Utah to go to the National Parks, we used the Internet to research the parks, find a flight, book a hotel, rent a car, and look at maps of the area. We might use a GPS system to help us get around while we are there...
Dave, I like your comment about not letting our ceiling be our students' ceiling. How true! We need to stop thinking that we need to have all the answers in order for our students to figure things out. I think I learned this best through the iMovie projects that I had my students do. It was great because I had a general knowledge of the program, but then learned to allow my students to take on the role of experts and teach me what I didn't know. Students that might not have otherwise connected with me or the class were allowed to take on a leadership role and were proud to teach me something. In return, I learned a lot more than I anticipated, along with forming some great relationships.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of giving the students only partial information and having them form the questions that they need answered in order to move forward. I loved that the students asked for what the teacher was already wanting to teach. What a great way to get students involved.
I also liked the idea about having students grade themselves on their positive attitudes and independence. This is definitely something that I will think about incorporating with my class!