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July 9, 2008
Think...Work Hard...Enjoy: My Rubric
I'm now two days into my graduate class for the summer, K-12 Technology Integration. I'm also part of the team on a 6-week program for inservice teachers to learn about how science and math are done in the lab and how that might inform what they do in the classroom, the NISE-RET Program.
Yesterday and today, I'm doing about 6 hours each day between the two groups and it got me thinking about what I'd really like them to walk away with. So, here are my 3 personal objectives every time I teach.
- THINK -- Did the participants think about things that they had never thought about before? Or think about things in a completely new way because of their experiences? (This one is a short- and long-term goal so I'd like this thinking to happen in class, that evening, three months from now, etc.)
- HARD -- Did the participants leave thinking they worked hard? I truly believe that learning new things is hard. That's not bad at all. Witness the energy that people put in to learning about their hobbies or sports or new video games. I hope that participants realize that hard doesn't equate with bad and that true learning usually is hard at some level.
- ENJOY -- So the third one is a bit of a twist on things. Once participants figure out that they are thinking differently and that they worked hard, I hope they also realize that they enjoyed the experience.
If all three of these things happen in our classrooms, life-long learning is possible. Participants (adults and kids) can begin to internalize and manage their own learning and seek out new opportunities.
The dirty, little secret is most of our classrooms is that what we teach on any given day probably doesn't matter much. (Take a look at the Fr. Guido Sarducci 5-Minute University.) But the experience everyday in the classroom does matter and that's what I hope happens when I teach.
Posted by Pat on July 9, 2008 8:51 AM
Comments
Hi Pat,
I think you are absolutely right. A classroom experience should be useful and fun in order to be effective. Participants remember a lot more of what they did and said in the classroom than what they were told.
Did you see this video about how a high school in Colorado inverted their instructional model to have students do their homework in class?
http://www.webertube.com/mediadetails.php?key=5a9d989add6e92e23fef
I think it kind of supports your rubric.
Posted by: Mathieu Plourde on July 9, 2008 12:26 PM
Brilliant and simple. Thanks, Matt. I will be sharing this.
Posted by: Pat Sine on July 9, 2008 1:00 PM
