This week I had my students watch a
film. As was expected they were excited about it and foresaw the movie as a
free day. The “yays” and “woos” shortly turned into sighs and grunts when I announced
that they would have to take notes throughout the movie. Some, I assume, still
viewed that as a free day. After all you can go undetected and get away with not
doing much when the classroom is dark. However,
that presumption soon went away when I informed them that I would throughout
the film be stopping at specific points. The stopping points allowed me to reiterate
key themes of the film, check for understanding and to ensure that students were
comprehending the big picture idea. This strategy also helped student who don’t
have strong note taking skills. I made it clear that they should focus on
highlighted themes, but to pay special attention to the moments in which I would
stop the film. By doing so I ensured that students focused and had notes on
what was important. Furthermore, I have typed my notes on the film and printed
a few copies to offer students who were absent the opportunity to have those
notes. I have also allowed students who wish to compare their notes to mine the
opportunity to do so as well. This serves as a self-evaluating tool for
students who are unsure of their note taking skills.
A goal from last week was to keep
in mind the importance of structure and clear instruction. I feel like I have
carried that well into this week and have improved from last week. Today a
student’s question reminded me of the importance of stating the purpose or
objective of an assignment. This is something that I had been forgetting to do
or not been clear on because no one had to this day questioned the reasons
behind what we were doing. My goal moving forward is to always state the
purpose of an assignment. The purpose is essential and allows the student to
know that their work is important and useful to them.
I love how you had the students take notes during the film! What I loved even more was you stopped at different points throughout the film to go over what they have watched so far! That was a great idea and one I plan to incorporate in the future.
ReplyDeleteGood luck next week!
Thank you. It was a strategy that my methods professor showed us. He made it clear that movies can and should be used as teaching instrument as opposed to fillers.
DeleteHaving stopping points throughout the movie was a good way to keep the students engaged! Thinking back on my own experiences, I am guilty for loving movie days because I felt they were free days! However, you took the movie as an opportunity for them to go more in-depth about what they were learning! I'm sure that falling into the habit of stating the purpose will be a piece of cake for you! Were there any other classroom management tips that worked to keep them engaged? or was having them take notes while watching the movie enough to keep them from misbehaving?
ReplyDeleteI would also ask them questions to check for their understanding. And at the start I made my expectations clear no talking through out the film or they would be asked to move, and if they had any question at all to raise their hand and I'd happy pause the movie to adress it. This really worked because I had a couple occasions in which student were having me explain things that had not been clear to them. It was pretty cool to see their curiosity!
DeleteVideos are certainly important for the class but can also be a welcomed break for not only students but the teachers as well. Thats great you got to utilize some film stopping and checking for understanding to keep students engaged. Do you think that method worked well? Glad to hear you had another successful week!
ReplyDelete