This week I taught for twenty minutes in my teaching methods laboratory demonstrating the problem solving approach. I believe that it went very well! If you have been keeping up with the blog, you will may remember when my "Sunday Reflection" was about problem solving a short time ago. It was fun this week to try my hand at a type of instruction that benefits learners but can feel a bit awkward to a new teacher due to silent time.
Gems
- To begin the problem solving approach, I presented students with a real question/problem which drew them into the lesson! I had told them that homecoming was approaching and was just three short weeks away. This automatically seemed to draw interest. My problem was a "forked road" where I asked if it would be better to purchase their date a corsage/boutonniere or to make them one. Students then talked about what factors would go into determining this and made a budget to figure out the cost efficiency.
- I spoke to each student as they were working on their budget. This allowed me to keep them on task and find out what they were thinking.
Opps
- My classroom management was a bit subpar this week. The students in our lab are actually our peers and I was unable to decipher if his/her behavior was a classroom management issue or if there was an issue that he/she was dealing with that day.
- I could have probably left the students in silence to work on their budget for a longer period of time. It just feels so awkward standing in front of the class and not doing anything!
- This may be very generalized but I need to increase my confidence in teaching, planning, and timing.
If you have any tips on how to utilize questioning in a problem solving approach without feeling awkward or increasing please let me know!
Thanks for reading!
Angie, going from teacher to facilitator of learning is a useful skill that you will continue to develop over time. To help with questioning in PBL, it can be helpful to have guided or essential questions for the students to answer that you can reference as you gauge their progress throughout class. They serve as a roadmap to keep students on track and as a framework for student-teacher interaction.
ReplyDeleteAngie! This sounds like it was a really cool lab and gave me some ideas for my floriculture class next spring!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your lesson Angie. I agree that you did a good job presenting a problem, generating student interest, and allowing us to identify the factors we needed to know to solve the problem. I find stepping back and letting students focus on their work is tough too, we just need to keep reminding ourselves that it's only awkward for us - the students are busy!
ReplyDeleteAngie,
ReplyDeleteThis lesson sounds really awesome and I wish I could of been a part! I also struggle with deciphering between the "acting as high schooler" or is this a college peer issue. I had a peer walk out of the class during my lab this week! I internally panicked and didn't know whether to react or not. So know you are not alone in this struggle!