Always New Lessons to Learn!

Sometimes I think that one of the most important parts of my learning are in the 'what not to do' realm as I go through my classes.  I realize though, that sometimes the negatives are a lot easier to hone in on; there are plenty of positive examples to pay attention to as well!

One thing that I have learned is that there are two vital factors that should be considered when planning every single lesson.  The two magic bullets, that I had better be armed with as I develop every single lesson plan.  What are they?  Engagement and Connections.  I can't remember the timeframe that research states for attracting and keeping a student's attention, but I want to say that it was something like 3 minutes.  That isn't very long.  Not only does official research tell us that if we don't grab attention and interest within that initial few moments that we will 'lose' our teaching power, my personal experience as a student verifies that in a daily basis.  Boredom and disinterest comes all too quickly.  I have written about 'Connections' before, and will no doubt write about them again.  If a student doesn't have any connections with the information shared, there is hardly any chance that they will understand, or engage, or learn - there is nothing to connect to, which means no comprehension; we might as well be taking in another language for all the learning we are imparting if we don't create a connection first. Take my humanities 3, for example.  What must it be like for those students to have to learn the history of countries that they can't even find on a map?  Our professor (one of my favorites) works tirelessly to encourage conversation, show pictures and videos, link to historical events that her students might have heard of - and it works.

Other things that I have learned or had reiterated this semester are: 

• When teaching online, always include discussion and responses.   Force a minimum response, help the students with an outline of how/what to post, but find a way to make them translate their reading into their own words, and then respond to each other and continue a discussion.  Even though it is online, interactivity is possible; and makes all a difference to the learning.
• When a student is confused about a concepts, let them explain their understanding to you first, rather than repeatedly sharing your own understanding.  Listen to what they say/think, find their own confusion (or possibly verify their correctness), and then discuss.  If they didn't understand you the first few times, chances are, they won't understand you when you try one more time.  You need to listen to their thinking, and assess their understanding, and guide them from that point.  Those professors who won't let me explain what I THINK that I understand, are taking a real learning opportunity away from me - and are frustrating me beyond belief!
• When students share answers after group work, make sure that each answer has been clearly stated, responding in the same format as the question.  If they are answering a five-part question, make sure that is how they are answering.  Be cognizant of the fact that the rest of the class is taking notes and learning the information the way fellow students are presenting it.  Either gently repeat the answers in the correct format, or go back over everything clearly.  Guess what?  I am paying to learn the correct information, no another student's translation of the concept.
• When understanding is more important than memorizing, recognize that!  Allow students a study tool - by creating their cheat sheet, they are revising.  This is much better than an open book test, continues the learning, relaxes the student's nerves, but still requires the work and learning to take place.
• Don't give redundant assessments.  Nothing takes away respect and intent to succeed like a test that covers material not taught, or pointless learning.  When a concept can be explained, why not ask the question that way, rather than expecting verbatim quotes?
• Tell a story, make a connection, share an emotion.
• Always think about the importance of interdisciplinary learning.  Think of the frustration of a student traveling from class to class, with random, unconnected information being thrown at them.  Then think about the student who is using their science text book as non-fiction text examples for comprehension practice, writing about issues being discussed in social studies this week, creating math story problems while writing sentences that contain various parts of the six parts of speech.  Think about how much more practice that student is having, and how many skills are constantly being worked over each school day.  Even if my school district does not have the wisdom to build curriculum that way, there is no reason why I can't build my lesson plans to give my students the most advantages that I possible can.

Isn’t this ‘double learning’ great?  Who would have thought it? Not only am I learning content, but am also practicing skills for my future career.  Gee, doesn’t that sound very Common Core?

Things I learned this semester!

A few of my favorite lessons learned in my fall semester experience.......

1. Never choose the third or final class of a professor's day. They think that they told you everything that they announced to prior classes. Plus, they have typically 'had enough' by then - and who cam blame them?

2. Many students live by the mantra, "if I whine enough, the professor will extend the due date, ease the criteria, give me a point back." - and it often might. The only problem is, not every student is wise enough to note that with some professors, the reaction is opposite to the desired effect. It would behoove students to determine attitude, prior to trying to change the rules and ease the burden.........

3. Some professors do not appreciate effort. They visibly regret offering up extra credit, and complain about having to grade it (most are joking, some are not!). The occasional professor will even complain when students attempt to make an extra effort to do additional work or go above and beyond.....

4. Participation points are an excellent tool for all. First to encourage class discussion and visible effort. Hey, points are points! Secondly it helps the student that needs hands-on learning and not just by rote. Third, it allows the prof to enforce students to take part. Last, but not least, since no one knows how/where said points are given, it gives the teacher control over helping a good student to make up points. They are going to be a part of my grading tool bag!

5. 1 point = 1% just doesn't seem to work fairly for grading, and puts too much onus on every little quiz.

6. Teachers really should share how they plan to assess each piece of work with their students. It is hard to do a really good job when the professor won't share what they are 'looking for'. The reverse of that, is that when the professor makes an effort to truly model the desired end-result, it creates an attitude shift, an understanding, and a far superior end result. Teachers and professors who have not received the memo about modeling outcomes, scaffolding learning, and allowing workshop time for one-on-one opportunities, really should check it out!

7. All teachers believe strongly that 'the man on the street' blames teachers for every generational issue or concern. Why blame the parents when you can blame a teacher? That is so very sad.

8. Finally, I learned how easy it is to buy into the 'do it for me, now!' mentality. I need to work on that next semester...........

Last but not least? I will never forget the professor who hurt my GPA last semester. I am grateful to her though, she taught me a vital lesson about the importance of communication, and rewarding hard work and effort. When you don't? It is kind of soul-destroying.

Merry Christmas everyone! Next blog will no doubt be on the joys of the online course experience as I take my Hawkeye minimester over break!