While working on our Facebook projects with the high school students, we were told to introduce ourselves. I started off by giving my name and telling the students where I go to school. I told them I am a huge Cavs fan and also mentioned I like to fish.
So far, I have received one comment from a high school girl named Katie. She suggested that students have the freedom to speak in class when something comes into their minds. Instead of having to wait to be called on, she enjoys the freedom to respond when she feels she has something important to say. Katie is very well-spoken and I appreciate her suggestion. She also told me to have my students thinking outside-the-box. I think she is a very intelligent girl and was very pleased with the response she gave me.
Marissa,
ReplyDeleteI think that your approach of asking students what they would suggest you do as a teacher is an incredible way to get meaningful feedback. After all, students sit through out classes on a daily basis, and if anyone knows what works in terms of getting through to them, they should.
I'm glad that you got a response from such an insightful kid. At first I thought, "Well, of course you will be free to talk in class..." Then, I remembered how we talked before in a few of our classes about how we expect learning to be a silent exercise, for students to sit down, quiet down, and wait for their turn to be enlightened. That's not how it works, though. To learn, we need discourse, we need shouting kids who just want to show that they know what the heck we're talking about. Is there any better way to assess that kids are actually getting what we're helping them learn?
Anyways, I think that you are going to be an awesome teacher. One thing that you always show is how much you sincerely care about students. That alone will help you make the right decisions when it comes to your teaching pedagogy.