I plan on handing out an agenda for the day with all the discussion topics and guiding questions written out. I will start with an open discussion on what students will be learning and what devices they will be using 5 years from now. I will hang 4-5 posters around the room to create consensagrams where students can place a sticker with the response they feel is the best answer. Going around the room to open discussion about each topic. Students will be prompted to write down ideas and questions they have and will use these in a small group activity. The activity will challenge them to create an outline for this course. I will give them the unit topics and some resources we have access to. Each student will complete the group outline with their ideas included. We will then regroup students and they will each share their 1st groups outline. I will hand the groups my outline for the course and allow them to compare and add to the topics. The new groups will create a large display to share with the class and all of the ideas will be incorporated into the final outline for the course.
My intent is to follow the curriculum presented to us as closely as possible. I will augment that with videos and some basic code.org lessons.
This will be one of the first discussions and therefore it may be the most important discussion of the year because we are also establishing a safe discussion environment in the classroom
I plan to group students in groups of 4, let them reflect on their own, discuss within their group, then share with the class. I plan on using the smartboard as a “poster” so that we can save the work and bring it up at anytime during the year. Students will also gain confidence by coming up in the front of the class to enter ideas on the smartboard.
After the initial group of 4, I will mix up the students so that everyone will have an opportunity to work with everyone in the class.
I will ask a question of the day and have everyone start inputting. Sometimes by volunteering the answer ans sometimes by calling students. The book suggested by this course will be my next purchase!!
In our PD, we made a continuum of computer -------- non-computer and asked everyone to contribute one of each on a sticky note. They then placed them on the continuum, which allowed us to discuss the gray area in between. It also allowed everyone to contribute comfortably.
Constructive classroom discussions will be new to me in the classroom. I am really looking forward to creating a healthy classroom environment that allows each student to participate and contribute to the conversation. My initial plan is to use elbow partners to discuss then expand it to groups of 4, then lead a class discussion. I also like the idea of humans as computers and the arguments that can be had for and against the idea. It will definitely be a good start to the discussion platform for the class.
I’ll be teaching freshmen. At our school, only freshmen go on the first day. We’ll use part of that day for get-acquainted games and activities. This should help with some of the initial hesitation. As we move forward, I also emphasize the class as a safe and constructive environment. To help students learn to work together, we include info and guidelines for working in teams.
I plan to use the sliding pairs technique to facilitate communication. The students will work first in small groups of three or four to discuss what is a computer. Then one person from each group will share their ideas with the class. Lastly the discussion will be opened to the class as whole to comment on what is or is not a computer.
My plan is to have students brainstorm their ideas (journal) and then share with a partner. From there, they are to sort them into groups, categorize/name their answers. I will have them share their list and categories. As a class we can work to create a working answer to “what is a computer?” This is something that can be revisited thorough out the year.
My plan is to play the name game of having the students stand up and say there name, along with the name of any/all students names stated prior to them. It generally takes a few tries before 1 student asks can we write the names down which leads us into a discussion of constraints, which in this case there are none. eventually all students stand up and participate, which allows me to create a safe environment of communication and open sharing as the students will share their lists with one another.
I’m planning on using something like what we did in the workshop. Students will reflect on their own, then with I a partner or small group, then present to the class. This will allow them to more fully develop their thoughts. I’d like to figure out how to make online discussions work too.
Power of the Pause: To enhance class discussion, I like to use the Power of the Pause. For example, the teacher can ask a question and pause for a few seconds to allow students to think, then call upon a student by name for a response. A pause can also be applied after a student makes a comment and the teacher redirects the question or response to… Pause… then call upon another student, if no one speaks up on their own.
I plan on facilitating discussion by taking the first week of class to go over expectations, allowing my students to get to know each other better and to participate in a few, easy, fun discussions so they can experience participating in my class discussions and discover for themselves that it’s not that bad. As far as facilitating discussions during this particular lesson, I like the idea of always allowing the students to gather their thoughts before having to discuss with others. That being said, I will be having them respond/reflect in their journals, followed by a small group discussion (3-4) and then having each group share the main points of their small group discussion; a summary of what was discussed. This sharing will either be completely verbal or perhaps I’ll have the groups represent their discussions on the large post it posters.
I plan to start the year with daily journal entries and then have students share and discuss entries.
It is important to establish a safe environment where students feel comfortable participating in group discussions. I will start by having students respond to questions in their journal, then share with elbow partner and then group (sliding groups). I also like the idea of the nominal group technique for more timid students.
I plan on brining culturally relevant material that students will be able to discuss in teams/pairs as well as whole class discussion.
I have also relied on building relationships and getting to know my students and encouraging them to do the same. I have used sliding groups, feedback discussions and nominal group techniques to facilitate class. I prefer feedback discussions. If you create questions that invite discussion, students are more engaged. Students are more likely to give there opinion in a discussion if they think there is room for interpretation and not a fixed answer.
I will have students grouped for class discussions in pairs or 3’s. They will respond to a prepared question and after discussion 1 person will share with the class.
I really liked how we did small group discussions before the whole class discussion in the PD. I think a similar model will help students form their ideas in a smaller more comfortable group before they share with the whole class.
I plan to break the students into small groups of 2-3 first, so that they can become comfortable with sharing with their classmates in a less intimidating environment. I will model the same techniques used at our face-to-face training and move from elbow and table partners to sharing with the entire class. I found this to be very effective.