This is such a great idea for introducing new vocabulary. Since the photos are pretty self-explanatory, it would be easy for students to figure out the meaning of the verbs.
Wednesday, 8 August 2012
Day 9: Powerpointlessness
Everyone has experienced the senseless use of powerpoint presentations. I have definitely seen powerpoint presentations with all the bells and whistles but with very little substance to them. Reading this article brought to mind a project on the topic of Human Rights that a
group of English 11 students were required to present during my volunteer experience. Most of
the presentations were very unorganized, without discernible purpose to
them, yet very fancy in terms of design, photographs, and sound effects. The
students presented by reading right out of the slides, since all the information was right in front of them in bullet form, copied and pasted right out of the web. This forced me to try to read and listen simultaneously, making the presentations hard to follow and the ideas presented incoherent.
These are the kinds of presentations that Brown cautions us against, urging us to train our students to use powerpoint effectively and with purpose. Training students to first research a topic, then organize their ideas appropriately, and finally use powerpoint in order to enhance and aid their presentations is an excellent idea. This can be a tool for enhancing their learning as well, since collecting and organizing information in a meaningful way may help them develop a thorough understanding about their topic.
These are the kinds of presentations that Brown cautions us against, urging us to train our students to use powerpoint effectively and with purpose. Training students to first research a topic, then organize their ideas appropriately, and finally use powerpoint in order to enhance and aid their presentations is an excellent idea. This can be a tool for enhancing their learning as well, since collecting and organizing information in a meaningful way may help them develop a thorough understanding about their topic.
Tuesday, 7 August 2012
TPRS: Teaching for Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling
TPRS is a Comprehensible Input based language teaching method which focuses on the meaning of the message rather than how the language works. This method focuses a lot on gesturing and dramatization for establishing meaning. For more information, as well as for lesson plans, workshops, and publications, please visit the following websites:
http://susangrosstprs.com/
http://benslavic.com/index.html
http://martinabex.com/
http://kplacido.com/
http://susangrosstprs.com/
http://benslavic.com/index.html
http://martinabex.com/
http://kplacido.com/
Sunday, 5 August 2012
Day 8: Collaborative Projects
We all have experiences with collaborative projects. Whether from the B.Ed program or from our teaching experience, we all know that collaborative projects either work wonderfully or don't work at all. As Peter Skillen clearly points out, some students rely on others to do their work, or don't contribute equally. This of course leads to all sorts of issues within the group, such as poor grading or resentment from those that worked harder.
Personally, I have never been a proponent of collaborative projects. During my practicum experience, students working on group presentations or projects approached me to tell me that they had done all the work, while their partners did not complete their assigned tasks. This made my students feel resentful towards their classmates and made me feel unfair in giving the whole group the same grade.
However, I can also see the advantages that Skillen points out. For instance, I can understand how teams of experts on a specific topic have a wider base knowledge than a single writer or individual member. Collaboration offers a wider range of expertise and skills. Different opinions and knowledge among the group members raise more questions and "encourage[] students to have an explicit understanding of the work of all the other students in the group".
For that to happen, though, there must be good group dynamics. That can possibly mean grouping students based on ability and motivation. But how feasible is that? Most teachers usually group the "good" students with the less capable ones. This can lead to the problems mentioned above. With that in mind, and although I can see the advantages of co-constructions and collaborations, I am not sure that I see ways of making them more effective, as I believe that the issues that arise from them are inevitable when grouping individuals of different abilities and motivations.
Personally, I have never been a proponent of collaborative projects. During my practicum experience, students working on group presentations or projects approached me to tell me that they had done all the work, while their partners did not complete their assigned tasks. This made my students feel resentful towards their classmates and made me feel unfair in giving the whole group the same grade.
However, I can also see the advantages that Skillen points out. For instance, I can understand how teams of experts on a specific topic have a wider base knowledge than a single writer or individual member. Collaboration offers a wider range of expertise and skills. Different opinions and knowledge among the group members raise more questions and "encourage[] students to have an explicit understanding of the work of all the other students in the group".
For that to happen, though, there must be good group dynamics. That can possibly mean grouping students based on ability and motivation. But how feasible is that? Most teachers usually group the "good" students with the less capable ones. This can lead to the problems mentioned above. With that in mind, and although I can see the advantages of co-constructions and collaborations, I am not sure that I see ways of making them more effective, as I believe that the issues that arise from them are inevitable when grouping individuals of different abilities and motivations.
Thursday, 2 August 2012
Day 7: Innovations in Education
After reading this article, I was confused about what content curation really is and what its benefits are for both teachers and students. So I did some research and found out that content curation is the process of sorting out information and presenting it synthesized around a specific topic. But I was still confused about the article. Is content curation a process that involves teachers, students, or both? And how does the web fit in all this? So I did a little more research and found out that since education has become immersed in technology, content curation pertains mostly to information collected from the web. The sorting of the collected information becomes the task of the the students, and it is later shared in class presentations or through web communities, showcasing students' work and individual interests.
I thought that as an idea content curation is great! If we show our students how to research and sort out internet content, engaging them in finding appropriate materials, reading them in depth and critiquing them in order to contribute to class or web conversations, we engage them in developing a variety of skills, e.g critical thinking. I am still confused, however, as to how content curation works. Is it applicable in a flipped classroom only? How can a teacher incorporate content curation, in language learning for instance, as a learning strategy?
I thought that as an idea content curation is great! If we show our students how to research and sort out internet content, engaging them in finding appropriate materials, reading them in depth and critiquing them in order to contribute to class or web conversations, we engage them in developing a variety of skills, e.g critical thinking. I am still confused, however, as to how content curation works. Is it applicable in a flipped classroom only? How can a teacher incorporate content curation, in language learning for instance, as a learning strategy?
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