Saturday, February 21, 2009
Students like doing work on the board! Who Knew?!
I just taught an Algebra I class and used some of the same strategies that my cooperating teacher used. One strategy in particular is having students do homework assignments on the board. My cooperating teacher usually picks the students for certain problems, but I chose to ask for 7 volunteers and I was able to get volunteers better than I thought. There was less grumbling and the whole class was willing to go up and show there work on the board. They did very well and I then went over what went well and if there were mistakes I showed the class what the mistake was. The students did very well with this strategy, and I plan on using this type of instruction to help me see where the students understanding of the content is. Oh, and this was sort of the warm-up that started the class, very effective!
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I remember really liking board-work in my math classes when I was in middle/high school. Most people like to have some form of stimulation it seems, and being at the board doing a problem that has a definite beginning and a definite end can provide that. I also remember liking competitive board work -- to see who could finish a problem first -- as it provided a strong focus.
ReplyDeleteWhere was it that we read that when students see another student model a problem done correctly on the board, it subconsciously encourages them to think that they can do the work correctly too. The reading stated that when a teacher modeled the problem, the students didn't do as well on subsequent work as when another student modeled it. Interesting stuff! I wish I remember where I read it!
ReplyDeleteI agree. They like to get out of their seat and move around. As teachers we need to make sure that it is in a orderly fashion. I like doing sentences on the board.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you asked for volunteers. I was not a confident student in math even though I generally enjoyed the subject. I would have been humiliated having to get up and write out a problem on the board. I also shy away from doing anything that requires me to process quickly - even now as an adult. I think the method you used was great since it gave students options, engaged them by making their homework more relevant, and presented the problems that may have given many students trouble figuring out. I think that if the environment allows for mistakes to expected and then corrected without making the student feel inferior, it would be something that even the most introverted math student (such as myself :+) ) would gain confidence and understanding of the content.
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