Wednesday, April 29, 2015
There are times when a student wants to learn, but simply does not have the motivation to. Engaging our students is a huge part of achieving the growth mindset through our students. Many look at video games and class activities as a waste of time in the class. Think back to when you were a younger student. What are some memorable "hooks" that some of your teachers used to engage you? Did you find them to be useful to LEARNING, or was it just for fun?In this blog post I'm asking you to comment on the usage of games, activities, and manipulatives within the classroom. Do you think that they are a waste or a vital part of education?
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To start, I'm not sure what you mean by "activity." Activities make up most of the classroom experience, unless you plan on lecturing to your students every day.
ReplyDeleteAlso, manipulatives are a necessary element to teaching tactile-kinesthetic learners.
I can see how people would consider games a waste of time in the classroom, although I would not agree with them. Games allow students to have fun during a lesson. Structured competition can be good for a classroom climate, as long as teams consistently change and no individual's grade is based on anyone's performance/skill in the game. Games can improve classroom climate by encouraging student collaboration and cooperation. When structured correctly, they can make a lesson exceptional--more memorable than just a lecture, or just an activity.
I wasn't in this class, but I know many people who lauded a high school teacher who played a "hot potato" vocabulary game. My high school used vocab books, which can be dull, but this teacher used a beach ball with words written on it; whenever a person caught the ball, he or she had to define the word his or her thumb landed on. I've tutored students (yes, students at FDU who also attended my high school) who reflect on her methods fondly.
That's a great idea! I might just borrow it and use in my classroom someday. Thanks for sharing.
DeleteFor further clarification, I did mean as opposed to lecturing. Of course, not to the means that college classes seem to promote where the professor simply talks the whole class and the students take notes every course. However, I do mean teachers that read from the book, have the students read from the book, and take notes. To put it in another context: retaining information just to spew it back out again for exams and homework, etc.
ReplyDeleteI believe the use of games and different manipulatives in the classroom is essential to student learning and growth. Often and in recent years, students are often bombarded with information and are constantly being fed information. They rarely have time to be creative or have fun so incorporating games or using manipulatives will, I believe strengthen student involvement, and get them excited to learn or interested in a topic. In school, I can remember many of my teachers using educational games and manipulatives as hooks or closing activities to gain our attention or reinforce information. In Kindergarten, I can remember making stone soup with my teacher after she read the book and completed the lesson. She did this as a closing activity and as a way to reinforce what she taught us. Years later, I still remember this activity and I believe it is because of the activity we were able to do.
ReplyDeleteI like both of your post. I think that activities make lessons memorable. Yes, there are some things that teachers do that are "just for fun", but then there are those activities and strategies that stick with you forever and allow you to remember. These strategies that are most memorable can be used in your own lessons as future teachers. :D
ReplyDeleteI certainly think games and fun, creative activities have a place in the classroom. Not only are they a good tool for student engagement, but it could be used as a classroom management strategy. If a teacher makes participation in these games and activities a privilege that students must earn the right to participate in, it may encourage positive students behavior. Taking away a privilege as consequence for poor behavior rather than out right punishment is said to be a better strategy and I've heard stories of teachers who have done just that and it seems to work like a charm. Thinking back to my middle school days, I would have hated to have been excluded from something fun because I couldn't follow directions or because I wasn't kind to my classmates. And to sit in my seat and watch my classmates enjoy themselves would have really sucked. An alternative to total exclusion of a misbehaved student would be to give them a "boring" role in the activity, like score keeper or time keeper.
ReplyDeleteHey all, sorry I'm late replying to all these, I've had some computer trouble these past weeks, at right at finals! Any rate, I believe that 'activities' that may seem 'wasteful' are actually rather good learning activities. For instance, I know in a special needs classroom, Grammar Ninja really helped them improve their grammar and sentence skills, and they kept at it because it seemed like a 'game'. I also know that my older sister uses a website called Brain Pop which has countless educational videos, I saw her watch one to prepare for a lesson on the moon, and even I didn't know some of the stuff! and it was meant for second grade. I feel like viewing is seen as 'wasteful' when actually it aids a lot of learners
ReplyDeleteHey all, sorry I'm late replying to all these, I've had some computer trouble these past weeks, at right at finals! Any rate, I believe that 'activities' that may seem 'wasteful' are actually rather good learning activities. For instance, I know in a special needs classroom, Grammar Ninja really helped them improve their grammar and sentence skills, and they kept at it because it seemed like a 'game'. I also know that my older sister uses a website called Brain Pop which has countless educational videos, I saw her watch one to prepare for a lesson on the moon, and even I didn't know some of the stuff! and it was meant for second grade. I feel like viewing is seen as 'wasteful' when actually it aids a lot of learners
ReplyDelete