This was the first class that I thought the literature circles seemed repetitive. I think that If I were younger I may enjoy the structure more, but I’ve found the assigned roles monotonous and the continued circles boring. I wish we could have an open discussion about the book instead of the guided assignment (because we are adults). And I know that what I’m stating is sort of the job of the discussion director, but I wish the entire process could be more free flowing. I understand how this wouldn’t work for young children but I think we could have more interesting/in depth discussions with less roles to go over.
Regarding the sort, I was finally confused with how to put the words together even though I knew what most of them meant individually. I thought it was interesting how our group usually flies through word sorts and we are all on the same page…but we were stumped! Probably because Abby was gone 🙁
I LOVED taking the assessments…even if they were bad. Taking tests is my favorite thing in the world and we hardly ever do it in grad school. I learned a lot about how to construct a clear, effective assessment. There were so many things that I did not know affected how students test and the packet with tips was extremely helpful.
I HATED the last assignment. If I were to remake this assessment I would write an actual question where “question” was bolded. I think the way that the statement was phrased and the do you agree or disagree was placed below it was horrible! I would most definitely use a rubric/assessment like this in the future but completely alter the format to make the assignment easier to process.
A lot of people were upset that last class we were told that the first lesson plan due was the biography. Several students mentioned to me that they had already started and were kind of thrown off about the subject of the lesson plan. I do agree that even though we discussed HOW to write a strong lesson plan, we did not discuss what our first one was going to be about.
Molly,
First, I’m sorry for the confusion regarding the lesson plan. It doesn’t really matter to me which one gets turned in first. We should have left some time in the previous class to discuss this and did not. We’ll do better next time.
I appreciate your point regarding the literature circles. We probably could have had you take on roles for 2 of the 4 sessions to see how it works. For kids, however, they need the structure that the roles provide to guide them. They aren’t prepared for free-flowing discussion. Even in middle school, they need prompts to guide their thinking and discussion. Perhaps we could think about other roles as well so that you truly see different ways to engage in the analysis of the book. I’ll think more about this.
It’s interesting that you’ve noticed the lack of tests in grad school. I used to give a midterm and final in math, but realized they didn’t tell me nearly as much as the assignments and projects, all of which are performance assessments. Because these things more closely approximate the work that a teacher does, I get a much better sense of how ready someone is for that transition to the classroom.
Molly, consider this question when designing a performance assessment to implement with students: How can I use the results of the performance assessment to directly impact the teaching and learning of my students? This question speaks to the worth of the PA. Dr. Stohr speaks directly to the worth of PAs assigned in grad school when she learns more clearly what students know and can do. She uses the outcomes of PAs to focus her instructional planning for students.
I truly appreciate your desire for free-flowing discussion. I agree that having that time is important. Building in structure to lessons is an important element to begin with however. It prepares students for the “free-flow.” I remind myself regularly…it is what students know and can do with what they know.