Day 4 of UNCCWP SI leaves me wondering about my non-traditional environment and how to bring certain great ideas and practices to them in a way that both meets the needs of students in the self-paced classroom AND gives them the quality I want for them. It's not that I think that it can't be done. The feeling is that of taking in so much information and putting it through a particular filter with a very small opening. I'm squeezing ideas through this filter and hoping that the refined product that comes out will work for me and for students. For instance, the guest demo this afternoon is not something I could do with my students. They will never be working with me in a large group like that. The most I could hope for would be 2-3 students who are in the same place at the same time and can collaborate in that way. However, I would still do this type of activity. It's just that the adaptation would have to allow for minimal to no group collaboration. Is that what I would prefer? No, not really. This is when I have to hold these opposing feeling in my mind at the same time.
1. I like seeing that the non-traditional format works for my students (many who have not be successful in a traditional environment.
2. I like to do whole class activities and guide them in working with their peers.
It will continue to be a give and take. I will continue to see success with my format and sometimes wish for more time to do other things with them.
A great aspect of working at my school is the time I get to spend with students on an individual basis. I would imagine that many traditional classroom teachers long for more of this! If I focus on this, I do appreciate it.
My thoughts about my non-traditional setting directly relate to my inquiry topic because my question isn't "how to use daybooks" it's "how to have students take ownership of daybooks in a non-traditional classroom." How do I motivate and encourage them to make this idea work for them? Will it work for them? I really think it will, although they may come up with some surprising ways to make that happen. More later...
I would love to hear more about your classroom. What is the set-up of the self-paced curriculum?
ReplyDeleteThe state cc system is in the process of writing a new curriculum for developmental English that will be based on self-paced modular units, and I am not sure exactly how it will work in a traditional face-to-face class.
I like being able to listen in on the thinking you are doing here, Cristin, about your understanding of what's happening in your classroom. That's what I like about SI, on one hand, we have this time to think. On another, this time is, like you said, trying to squeeze a lot through a small space. It's agonizing at times, but I think you'll find, if you have not already found, that it's a great starting place. Have you made any decisions yet about how daybooks will fit into your non-traditional classroom?
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