Thursday, April 7, 2011
Logically Speaking
As I watched this video, once I realized that the students were working on a logic problem, I got a little excited. I used to love doing logic problems in my mom's crossword puzzle books. Of course, most of the time I could only solve about a third of it, but I still kept trying. I think logic problems are a useful tool in classrooms. They help students develop their critical thinking and problem solving skills, even if they have to resort to the process of elimination, as one group did. But the key to using logic problems in the classroom is that students should show how they actually calculated the answer. That's hard to share with the class if a student figures it out on a piece of paper and there's no document camera. How would the student share it? Pass his worksheet around? Copy it on the blackboard? By using the document camera, students were able to show what strategies they used to solve the problem with the rest of the class. However, I don't think the SmartBoard was particularly effective. Sure, the pictures of Mercedes and the other kids were cute, but I don't think they really provided anything to the lesson that a chalkboard or whiteboard could have. Since the students interviewed said they like the SmartBoard because it's fun and makes everybody watch, using the SmartBoard just to use it may be worth it, if it keeps the kids interested. I also thought it was interesting that in the interview following the lesson, the teacher noted that as she was learning the technology, so were her students. She said it made learning a two way street, which I think makes the relationship between teacher and student closer.
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Jessica, even though I am obviously a huge proponent of technology, I always think it's worth considering if any lesson would be just as effective without technology. But in this situation, I think it added a level of engagement to the lesson. And given the age group of the students (who are often socially shy/awkward at that age), the lure of presenting with technology may have made them a little less hesistant to get up in front of the class.
ReplyDeleteI also appreciated how the teacher asked the students to describe what strategies they used when working on the problem. For many of us (of any age!), we don't often take the time to think about the way we think - and that's a shame. I know I get stuck in a rut sometimes and all it takes is a fresh perspective to change the situation.
Honestly, one of the major weaknesses I saw in the lesson came in the opening. I think the teacher's wording could have been improved when she said that some groups were frustrated and others were doing a great job. I don't think those are mutually exclusive - being frustrated often leads to the right answer eventually and promotes perserverance along the way!