- It requires students to interact with material on their own.
- It seems to be a way for students to grab information that I otherwise would have had to convey through lecture.
- It requires students to manipulate the material in an individualistic level–that is, they can emphasize what strikes them as most important.
- It embeds much of the skill-work I try to teach, like writing and reading, and makes it seemingly more relevant.
In thinking of this criteria, he created a project for the students to learn about communication. Instead if lectures, he wanted students to be able to research online for tips on public speaking. The students were to take these tips and pick the most important to them, to complie a unique list of their own. Yet, after a short time the students began to turn in completed work. He was dumbfounded on how the students were getting this activity done so quick. Until he realize they had taken a short cut. The students had failed to reasearch online (since they weren't forced to list sources to make it more fun) and htey had just made up their own tips. At the end, the teacher was stuck with a variety of work. Some students actually put in the effort while some made it up, making the grading process very difficult. The blogger makes the generalization that with almost every project there can be shortcuts available, and students are persistent on finding those shortcuts. It left him in wonder if projects that actively involve students are any better than lecture.
This blog somewhat scares me, as I feel I am going to struggle with these same ideas. I too hope to have a classroom that is extremely active and less of me lecturing straight facts. I think it will make learning more fun and the involvement will keep the students intrigued for a longer period of time. I think his criteria for projects is exceptional. They really are the basis for activities that involve the students with hands on approachs that are very relevant. I am nervous that I may struggle to come up with quality assignments. I'm scared they will either be too easy or won't be understandable. I am going to focus so much on student involvement that I may fail to pay attention to the quality of the work. It seems that these dreams are very similar to current teachers and aspiring teachers. We all want to make the learning environment fun with less of us talking, yet as the blog shows, there are some drawbacks to this approach.
When I think of myself as a student, I can honestly say that if their is a shortcut that the teacher won't notice to get me the same grade, I am going to tak it. So sue me. It's probably safe to say that a majority of students feel the same way. It just seems to be a frame of mind, because we just want to get the assignment done. With this, I think it will be difficult as a teacher to judge whether a student took the shortcut or not. Unless they completely goofed, it is usually something that can be hidden and the teacher won't notice. For example, with this bloggers project, the students can easily make up their own tips and write them out. If they don't have to list sources, who is to say they weren't really found on the internet. This is the problem with trying to make projects fun and enjoyable. The more fun they are, the easier it is to bypass acually working. Like in the example, he didn't want them to have to list sources so it wouldn't be a hassle, but this allowed students to make things up. If sources were required, it would be almost impossible for them to not research, because each soruce could be checked. Of course, no teacher wants to be the mean one to make more work and make assignments more difficult. But it trying to make learning enjoyable means allowance for students to slack, is just simply not acceptable. I would rather be the teacher that they think is too hard, because I know I am doing my job. I don't want to be mean, but it is in my job description to make sure I am pushing these kids to learn. If I make it too easy, then what am I there for?
Overall this blog was very intersting to me because it shared real life struggles of a teacher. We want to make a fun, enjoyable, and active learning environment, but it can be hard when kids don't put in the work. It seems that we need to find the medium of the two and make it work. I know it will take quite a few failed projects to grasp this concept, but I just hope I can make it work!
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