Quote:
"We judge whether young men like Julio can read and write competently based on
their performance on topics we care about. It just so happens that those are not
always topics he cares about."
Explanation of why I chose this Quote:
Even in math, I judge competency based on the items that I select. This article made me think: Am I making the selections based on what culture says is okay? If someone in my class who I know is an avid gamer is failing, would I be apt to blame the video games? Would I ever consider somehow incorporating the math behind video game creation to reach this child? or would I just blame the video games and determine the child is incompetent in eighth grade math. I need to make sure that I don't just choose assignment based on what I care about. I need to teach my content standards and I need to make it be about the students. If a lot of my students are into video games, then I should incorporate video games.
Additional Resource:
Since this article had me thinking of ways to interest the "gamer" population in eighth grade math, I found this video. It discusses geometric transformations in in animations, like those in video games!
Great video. I like the way you are using this course to think outside the box. I totally agree that we tend to only put emphasis in things we care about and that are useful to us. As educators, we need to find how to help our students learn.
ReplyDeleteI both like and agree with the quote you chose, assigned readings are either chosen by the state, school, or teacher. In most cases a student would not chose to read the same books as the teacher. In many cases, this causes the student to get bored or just refuse to do the assigned reading. I personally have trouble reading when I cannot get into a book, so I have found assigned readings very difficult especially textbook readings.
ReplyDeleteYour comments made me think about the assignments I give. I try to keep the students interested but the fact is, if you don’t care about chemistry/science, it is very difficult to master the subject. When I write my own questions, I try to relate to the students and use examples that they would care about. This is not always easily done because regardless, the content we must teach is the same regardless of the student’s interests.
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ReplyDeleteThat quote struck me, also. Currently, I'm not teaching and it is easy for me to say, "We need to find a way to engage everyone with topics that interest them." However, I think this would be a really difficult task - especially in subjects where you may have several classrooms of students with differing interests. How do you reach everyone? I think 21st century learning is helping us move away from textbooks that block us into the way we think we have to teach.
ReplyDeleteSuch interesting self reflection! I think its hard to come up with interesting activities that engage the students - hard because I want to teach things that interest me, but that is not always the best way. I keep thinking back to the video we watched a couple weeks ago - it was the TedTalks about gamification... the man in that video said "get into the game." Its been a mantra of mine these last few weeks, and has been helping me to remember to reach out and find what interests my students so I can "get into the game" with them. Thanks Sarah! You always have such interesting responses.
ReplyDeleteOutstanding example of how teachers can build bridges between learning in school with what students care about outside of school!
ReplyDeleteSarah, I really like your response to the quote and how it makes us think about relating instruction to students and presenting content in their language. It will be beneficial by getting them interested and engaged. The video you found is a great example of showing kids connections of the subject matter (math) to real life. Using resources such as these in the classroom will help kids think about the world around them as well.
ReplyDelete