Week 3 Take 5-#1

Well, I just had a breakthrough with my freshman-they ran with a constructivist teaching approach and nailed it! I have had a teaching moment! I asked my students to do a double entry diary for the most difficult scene in Inherit the Wind. They were to write quotes on one side then repsond to those quotes on the other. Briefly, the purprose is for them to hold their own thinking and create their own menaing. They came to class with their responses and did the whole discussion on their own. I sat back, said nothing and scored the responses. The students loved it! I'll admit, I didn't know if I could do this with freshman, but they followed the parameters set, reacted off one another, asked questions, clarified ideas, created new background knowledge, had questions answered that they may have been confused about or wondered about- and they did it in a socractic method where they took their time, didn't bash anyone, took turns, and made relevant, poignant comments. Instead of giving all the information, they created their own reactions and responses and they loved it! They thought it was fun, and when we debriefed, they were in tune as to what relevancy and purpose it had on the class in general and what it did for them subjectively.