Overall, the lesson went really well in terms of how much the students seemed to enjoy it and how much they learned, but for the teachers, we seemed to lack the rhythm that we usually have and our timing was a little off at points in the lesson, but that's all part of teaching! What really matters is what the students learned; they really put in 100% effort on the collaborative project and we saw wonderful results! In the video below, you will hear from a few students who volunteered to talk about their drawings. We were excited to see that two of the students, Kian and Sophie, decided to pair up on their drawing, which showed us that the idea of collaboration really clicked.
The bee dance was also a fun part of the lesson, where students got a glimpse at how bees communicate to fellow hivemates where food can be found. Also at one point in the lesson, we had to move the carpet across the room and as I started to move it myself, about 7 students ran over to help me lift it. We wanted them to see, firsthand, how collaborating and working together not only makes you feel good, but it can make great things happen, and we, as teachers, got to see that in this lesson as well!
The concepts of collaboration, working with and helping others was very appealing to the children (and they saw the connection between their own experiences and the ways things happen in bee hives very easily!) I was sitting with Charlotte and heard the developing story of her helping someone up who had fallen on the playground; she later added a green-haired bully who had pushed the first child down! There was also a big mother bird who was teaching her little ones to fly. I had a conversation with the little girl who drew the image of helping her Mom to give their dog Fozzie a bath; she added her mother last, and said, "I wanted to make my Mom big, but I didn't leave enough room, so I made her small." I commented that you have to make decisions like that all the time when you draw. One of the other girls at the table agreed: "I make those decisions every day!"
ReplyDeleteJust as Alice stated, this past Saturday felt a little more crazy and off track a bit(in our minds). However we were so happy to see that the students understood the point of our lesson. They were so excited to share their collaboration illustrations not only with us but with their classmates as well.It was also nice to see how proud they were when they showed mom and/or dad their work at the end of class.In addition, several of the children created more than one collaboration piece and even worked together on one sheet of paper at the same time;taking our collaboration lesson one step further. Although the start of the morning was not 100% how we planned, we as the teachers were thrilled to witness the students learn something from the main idea/project.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think happened in the beginning of class this week that made it seem a little off to all of you? Do you think the children sensed the same kind of disjunctive mood?
ReplyDeleteIt seemed like there were multiple factors contributing to the flow of the lesson. I'm not sure if the kids noticed the filming as much on the second day, but for me personally, I started to get a little flustered the past two weekends since there were so many people in the room. I also think that we underestimated how long the aprons would take to make. Amanda did a great job at the table with the kids! I think that they also came in with so much energy and saw something exciting happening at the table and wanted to join in, when our original plan had been to call them over by tables. I don't think the kids noticed the mood at all because we improvised and were all on the same page about what we needed to accomplish in the lesson. It's funny because the film students actually said they thought this lesson went smoother than the last one, so they didn't seem to notice anything either. We even fit everything in that we wanted to (aside from a few aprons we will have to finish next week), but it was just the timing and transitioning that made it seem off for us in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteAfter teaching this lesson I felt a little down. The day seemed to be especially hectic, and I had a hard time regaining the attention of students. I especially felt uncomfortable pulling the class back together knowing I was being watched and filmed, almost a paralyzing feeling. I think it is very easy to get bogged down in everything that did not go as planned which makes it hard to see anything that might have been successful. A few days after the lesson, I read this post and instantly felt better about the day. The video proved how much the students got out of the lesson and all they learned. It is crucial to hold on to those successes while teaching and not be blinded by what did not go as planned.
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