My professional growth goal this year is centered around analysis of text as driven by student-led discussions. Analysis was an area where I felt like my kids could grow (as found through a few measures). They were comprehending text well enough, but weren't able to analyze it. We started doing some of the student-led discussion work last week.
While I have kids talking to each other throughout the day, I wasn't necessarily focused on analyzing work. In particular, I wasn't having them engaging in discourse together. They would talk to me, looking for approval, instead of talking to each other. That changed when we had to compare and contrast through an Activote session (quickly: activotes are ways for kids to vote in a response to a question that is recorded through the Interactive whiteboard for kids and I to see). Some of the questions were cut and dry. Other questions were clearly opinion questions, and the responses were divisive. But instead of trying to get approval through me, I was asking kids to argue for or against a response with each other. Additionally they had the chance to refute each other's response. The result was fantastic, although a wee bit clunky since the process was so foreign.
Where it is going is a continual spiral. We'll identify main ideas, then we'll compare and contrast, followed by continued analysis or evaluation. Ultimately the content becomes secondary, largely because the focus is on using the skills. But I think that the kids are understanding the content... which we'll find out more about later in the week.
No comments:
Post a Comment