First of all, I just realized that last week I blogged about Chapter 7 in both texts, when actually, I was supposed to blog about Chapter 6 in Deeper Reading, not Chapter 7. Since I've already blogged a bit about Chapter 7 in the Gallagher text, I will touch on Chapters 6 and 8 this week, and, of course, Chapter 8 in Appleman's.
I wanted to start by mentioning a few thoughts about Gallagher's chapter on collaboration. I was pleased that he acknowledged the fact that group work does not always work successfully, and his analysis of group work with five students was accurate in my high school memory. If a group is too large, some students will hide and may not even mention a word during a collaboration activity. Gallagher's thoughts on three people per group were helpful. With three people, there is no chance for one student not to participate. I think many of us in the Gamma cohort would agree that five to a group is too many! ;)
One group collaboration idea I thought was helpful came from another one of our classes: the 1-3-6 approach. For this approach, students must first come up with two major points individually. Then, students get into groups of three to discuss their individual ideas and decide on two points from the collaboration. After that is complete, students go into groups of six to decide on two main points. I'm a fan of this approach because it forces students to work with people they may not have worked with before, and together students must share and decide.
Another point that I wanted to make about collaboration was that I believe class discussion and group activities are very separate from each other. During class discussions students are listening to many different ideas, whereas in groups, students may be less inclined to work because the teacher is not always supervising, or else there is one student who inevitably leads the activity. I realize that in class discussions there will be students who are reluctant to speak and may be more likely to speak in a small group. However, teachers have the responsibility of controlling class discussion so that the same students are not always speaking. Class discussions are essential, especially in diverse classrooms. Diverse backgrounds within a classroom should be seen as an excellent resource, which is something Appleman discusses in Chapter 8. Imagine the potential of different perspectives! Instead of being intimidated by differences, we should embrace the ways in which diversity can benefit everyone within a classroom. (By the way, I absolutely loved the poem "Oranges," I had never read it before.)
This blog is already getting long, so I wanted to briefly touch on Chapter 8 in the Gallagher text as well. I will try to focus more on Appleman next week! Gallagher's Chapter on leading students to meaningful reflection was extremely beneficial for me. It answered many questions I have always wondered about. Recently I was in a class where students were not pleased with a novel study, and I found myself asking why that was. Making the connection from a novel to real life is the focus students need to appreciate a novel. If students can't find meaningful connections, novels will inevitably mean nothing to them. Another interesting concept I was glad to be reminded of was the fact that young adults may not share the level of appreciation for reading as we do as older adults. Developing a passion or interest for reading is not embedded in all people. As teachers, it will be our responsibility to instill that passion in our students. Once again, Gallagher has provided me with useful concepts to consider before going into teaching. I have to say, though, that sometimes with all of the information we receive in Education through classes and textbooks on "What to do" and "What not to do," I get a little overwhelmed. There have been some approaches I thought were okay in a classroom, only to find out that they are not! Does anyone else ever feel overwhelmed about this?
No comments:
Post a Comment