Week+2+Reflections

=Week 2 Reflections = =Lesson 3 - Learning Goals and Minds On Behaviour =  What will you do when a math concept like "order of operations" is really not that important to learn? How will you sell this topic to the students? When I am faced with a class that requires a lot of applied theory in hands-on activities, I feel it is vital to relate the experience to a real-life application. Unfortunately after having said this, the only real application to ones life is for the encouragement of gambling. So, it may not be best to relate that experience however if a student were to bring up an example such as a scratch ticket they would not be wrong. Then I got thinking, a lot of people when they eat have an order of operation. Now you have some that like to polish off their drink first. Or you have some that like to eat each meat, vegetable and grain individually and separately ensuring that no food product touched one another. By taking a poll of the class, you can see if there is a variation among your class with respect to eating styles. I am not saying it is a perfect solution, however it is a solution which relates to every person in your class!  With all joking aside however, I do see the importance of making every concept stick. From our adolescent development course, we learned that by giving the students a real-life experience and/or activity based learning. The student is able to learn through experience, thereby being able to connect the theory with the experience and store it through mental chunking. Eventually, the student will be able to pull down the BEDMAS rule to ensure an easy transition when manipulating any equation they are provided.

=Lesson 4 - Strategies =

What strategies work for you? Why? Which strategy would you hesitate to use? Why? Referring to a new discovery I have under Kagan's Fundamental Formula, they have structures broken down based on effective instruction, multiple intellegence and then the companies own domains based on classbuilding, teambuilding, mastery, thinking skills, communication skills and information sharing. Being that, I am really in tune with my multiple intelligence or things that I like to do, the strategies which have always worked for me, miracously are linked to my top method of interpreting being; logical/mathematical, visual/spatial, bodily/kinesthetic and interpersonal.  Following, Kagans formula of Structure + Content = Activity. Strategies which seem to work for me are Think Pair Shares, Logic Line-ups, Team Charades, Agree-Disagree Line-ups, Charting, Jigsaw Problem Solving and Find my Rule.  However in general, the strategy that best works for me is an activity-based strategy or a problem-based strategy. To last classes prior reasons, I feel that by having an activity to apply critically the theory behind the equation. I am able to remember the experience thereby triggering my memory for the rest of my "chunked" methods and equations on how to solve the problem. A strategy that I am less interested in using would be the Drama. I personally enjoy role plays and activities such as comedy and "Whose Line Is It Anyway" for Drama skits, however before a student can really have fun with Drama. They really need to understand the concept! If I however had a class, that were extremely gifted and could critically apply the theory to a higher order of questioning. Then the challenge, would not be due to a lack of understanding, however it would become an interpetation of the theory which could provide a new experience and overall development of the "whole Student"