I have found all the group activities meaningful and enjoyable. Two recent activities that I want to comment on are yesterday's RUBRICS and today's Human Graph.
Yesterday, three groups presented Grid RUBRICS, Mixed-Criteria RUBRICS, and Total Points RUBRICS. Our group had good discussions on the pros and cons of the different types during the "structured gallery-walk". Our discussions included comments concerning which RUBRIC would be; easy to create, easy to use, able to measure outcomes, student-friendly, etc. Our group understands that we need to decide what we want to measure and then choose the appropriate RUBRIC.
Today, we participated in an activity related to Cognitive Strategies. Our class created a "human graph" to represent our skill level on cooking. We had good class discussions addressing the reasons we were at our skill level and how we could move to the next level. Next we positioned ourselves based on our ability to read a map. This demonstrated that our students may not be at the same level for different skills and remind us that there are reasons our students are at their present skill level.
Both activities were great ways to learn/review these topics.
I'm glad you found these activities meaningful and thought-provoking. That is, of course, the point. Sometimes though, it is difficult to gauge how everyone is responding beyond the discussion. I hope you end up using these when you go back to your building!
ReplyDeleteDon, I agree with your sentiments regarding both activities. I found the "human graph" especially thought-provoking. Not sure if anyone noticed, but I think I was the only one who didn't move from the "lower" end of the graph. I'm a novice at cooking, as well as reading maps, but there are other tasks that I am awesome in! I began to think about my students who are most challenging and how I can help them reach "Rachel Ray" or "Martha Stewart" status (in something!)
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the same thing. I really was able to think how I can implement these strategies in my own classroom.
ReplyDeleteI loved the human graph as well! It's a great tool to use in the room to get base knowledge of your class.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed that activity. It was a huge eye opener as to how your students can feel when giving an idea or concept they are unfamiliar with
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the Human Graph. It put my mind on how to think about how my students feel when the are at different levels.
ReplyDeleteI love that everyone enjoyed this activity as much as me! Great activity that we can all apply in our classrooms one way or another.
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ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed the group activities today. Can't wait to try a few in my classroom this year.
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