The term so far

So it is the Friday before the long weekend, the Friday before exams next week. A good Friday to look back the reflect on what has been a very interesting and trying second term. This term I tried a new approach to teaching with inspiration from Claire Amos and #hackyrclass. Doing the background research and reading really inspired me, probably a little to much. I forgot the culture of the school and boundaries that I am expected to keep within. I jumped in feet first and really did not remember the parameters i am expected to work with in. The outcome of this was not necessarily negative, the students gained a lot of positives from it. The biggest issue looking back was the way I carried it out. It didn't have the necessary scaffolding to guide the students through and it was a brand new concept that I admittedly just told the student they were going to do. They all got on with the assignment, with some groups really tackling it head on and making a really amazing job while other spent the time messing round, no matter how much redirection they were given.

The overall success of the modified jigsaw assignment was good. The parts of the topic I chose to do it with were small and the class set of notes that I did give the class was all the information that the students needed to know. The feedback I got from students was mixed but very useful.
The rest of the topic I took a slightly different approach after a very useful and insightful conversation with my PRT mentor.  The approach was still very much with in the #hackyrclass idea and the growth mindset but also was more sympathetic to the culture and expectation of school.  The students were still expect to actively investigate and problem solve but I greatly increases the scaffolding and also introduced new concepts first with a quick power-point or discussion. This method the students didn't even the notice the difference. I found this work really well for investigation the difference between parallel and series circuits and also to teaching equation. A quick overview reinforcing the key ideas and things to remember then giving the student time too work it out it for themselves.

This whole experience has been really rewarding if not a little challenging, not just for me but also for the students. I am not longer spoon feeding them information, but making them find it whether it is on their devices or by using the notes and powerpoint I have posted on Blackboard. I am making them take charge and I am now using student examples and ideas a lot more, putting them at the centre.
This is how I have started our new chemistry topic and it worked really well this morning. The student with thinking, listening and really had to work to find the information. the question asked were great and insightful.