A student posted this comment in response to one of Kristin's posts. Bold emphasis added by me.
Ashley M said...
I really enjoyed this activity because it has required everyone in the class to participate. Like Doug said, some people really don't speak up in class, and it is really nice to hear what was going through their minds as they were reading the text. Instead of having you pose the questions to us, our classmates did. I was pretty amazed with their thoughts because it was a different perspective on a story we were all required to read. I hadn't event thought of half of their questions about "The Fall of the House of Usher," and it made me think about the story more. Last night I even reread it again, and now I have some more insights into Poe's writing that I hadn't had before.
If you're wondering, Ashley is addressing an activity I did in class in which half of the class posted discussion questions on a difficult short story by Poe. I made copies of their questions, distributed them to the entire class with the posters' names still on them, and gave students time to brainstorm and then respond to them aloud. As Ashley said, it was useful in soliciting the thoughts of my quieter students. I find that the class blog in general has been extremely helpful in offering students a different way to participate and to gain confidence.
ReplyDeleteThat's a cool idea Kristin! I'm wondering how I could tie that into biology...if I had them read a section of the textbook for homework, then have students write and discuss some real world applications or questions they had about the reading. What would you do with a more concrete text like biology? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea Kristin! I am thinking that for next semester I will use blogs to continue the fishbowls that i do in class. What I currently do for students that are hesitant to talk in class, is a written makeup assignment. I have thme pick quotes from the reading and give their interpretation. However, if i do this online thru a blog then the students will be able to discuss just like they would in class but through the blog. I think this would allow them to see more perspectives and also gain confidence for upcoming fishbowls.
ReplyDelete