The other day I was racking my brain trying to come up with a fresh idea for small group discussion of a primary research article. I’ve tried several different approaches:
1. Jigsaw discussions: This is where you break the class into groups (let’s say four groups of four or five groups of five) and have each group discuss one aspect of the readings or topic for the day.
Author Archives: administrator
The Pain and Pleasure of Good Learning
In high school, my favorite class was AP Calculus. During class, our teacher peppered his lectures with humorous examples. One day he asked us, “If a boy and a girl are interested in each other and each moves towards the other by dividing the distance in half each time, will they ever touch?” At night and on weekends, I sat in front of the most impossible problem sets, the blank page of lined loose-leaf sitting there under the glow of my desk lamp, taunting me, egging on my growing confusion and frustration.
Strange things happen when you have a midterm the next day
What is it about having a midterm that leads to all kinds of strange events that make it impossible for students to do it on time?
The evening before a big midterm exam in a science class….everyone should be putting the finishing touches on their study sessions. Notecards have been written, class notes have been pored over, highlighted passages of readings have been reviewed, study groups have finished swapping practice questions.
The Value of Mid-Semester Evaluations
Well, we’re just about half-way through the semester!
image from: http://your.nmsu.edu/
I’ve been thinking the semester has been going very well indeed.
Hovering just outside the Classroom
What happens to helicopter parents when their children go to College?
image from: http://utahstatealumni.blogspot.com/2013/01/you-might-be-helicopter-parent-if.