Precision can be described as the activities in lesson plans that teach the bulk of the material. Hobbs states, we develop a need for precision, where we acquire a shared vocabulary, systematic knowledge, and an understanding of how new ideas are created within the discipline”(89). Precision is when we gain a basic knowledge—a foundation of material that we will internalize and teach our students. Precision will be successful and more beneficial to the teacher and students when the material being taught is engaging to the students. A way to create a romance for a subject is to incorporate media into the teaching of it.
If I were to teach and English lesson on a book such as To Kill a Mockingbird I would have the students pick their own character they would like to research and create some type of media tool to capture that characters personality. This will allow the students to become more comfortable with new technology, make use of their expertise, and explore into a characters story.
The last step is generalization. This is when our passion for the material and the new knowledge we have gained through precision are combined to explore new ideas and knowledge and how we can implement this knowledge to new settings and environments. This step is the coming together of everything so when the students ask, Why are we learning about World War II we can have them makes these connections between passion and precision and they can draw the lessons they learned from this historical event and see how it affects them presently.
These three steps I just explained is the journey that these students need to adventure on. The role of the public school educator is to facilitate this journey. Be able to direct students through these steps by asking essential questions to help them along the way.
The issues that Hobbs raises are valid points. We need to be aware of these concerns but I feel as an educator there will be risks with any activity you plan. The thing one has to do is weigh the pros and cons of the outcome. The final project I have planned sounds intensive but has the possibility of being very impactful and really beneficial for the students. Is the risk worth taking? It is an individual decision for each educator.
As for the Seeing and Writing text a lot of these stories can be inspirations for different projects. The students can incorporate different technical elements with these stories to explore the different affects sound or acting choice have on the creation of a media piece. I like the idea of using these as inspirations.
1 comment:
The three fold system is an extremely helpful way to approach teaching. My question for you, regarding the first step in this system, is what you do when you are not passionate about the material. I love theatre and am extremely passionate about it--that's why I want to teach it--, but what happens when we are doing work in class that I don't find passion in? For example, I hate speed reading scripts especially when I do not have any lines. I get extremely bored and zone out, however many other people find it fun and engaging. Should I fain passion about what we are doing, or should I be honest and tell them that while this isn't my favorite part of rehearsal I do find it extremely helpful for some people? I want my students to be passionate about theatre, but I realize that not every student is going to be passionate about every aspect of theatre. Also, what do I do when I have passion for what I am teaching but for whatever reason that passion does not pass on to my students (or at least not all of them)? There are some things that I love to do that I'm sure my students wont find enthralling (like stage lighting). I don't want to be a bad teacher, and I feel like if I am not passionate about whatever I'm teaching, or if I'm not engaging as a teacher, I will be.
I like your lesson idea for To Kill a Mockingbird, but I would like to hear more about what you would do. Giving the students media tools to capture a characters personality is great, but will you have them pick their tool out of a group that you deem acceptable? Can the students use more then one tool? I am just intrigued to hear more about what you could do with this lesson. Just something to think about, remember what we discussed in class that one day about availability. Some students may not have computers or camera at home to do this work, so you might need to think about doing this during class time.
The idea of generalization I think relates closely to the concept of the "big idea". It is the purpose behind creating the lessons, it is the overall end goal of a unit or semester. What is really amazing about generalizations and big ideas is that students can get so much more out of a lesson then the teacher planned for. For example, I might be teaching a unit on character and have the big idea be that all people have reasons for doing things--everything and everyone in life has a purpose. Some students might understand only this one big idea but others might see so much more. They might understand themselves better, and why it is that they do things. They might understand their parents better and learn that while parents can be demanding sometimes they do love their children. There are so many things that students can learn and I am genuinely excited to watch them on this journey and learn with them.
Your question "is the risk worth taking?" I find compelling and a question that each teacher has to ask. For me I think that the risk is almost always worth the reward, and that a lot of the fun in life can be found in taking risks. The great thing about risks in teaching is, that if you see that your risk isn't working out you can always up and change to something else. As a teacher, I find that it is easy to adapt and change mid-lesson because the students don't know what is coming next anyways. Also, don't be afraid to give your students the choice to risk it or play it safe. Students know what they want to learn, and most especially how they don't want to learn it. I say give them the choice so that they can learn in the way that benefits them the most.
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