Utilizing the Problem-Solving Approach

Wow, that was a tricky lesson to plan! I really appreciate the benefits of utilizing the problem-solving approach, but yet I really struggled initially to develop a lesson using this teaching technique. With a little extra help, I was able to plan it out and felt confident on my lab session day.

To Breed or Not to Breed? 

Upon starting my Animal Reproduction unit in my Animal Science class, I posed the question, "Should my friend breed her mare or should she NOT breed her mare?" At this point in the course timeline, that class had just finished the Equine Science unit, and I felt that this discussion would link the two units nicely. I began telling a story about my friend's mare and the stallion that she was intending to use before I posed this 'forked road' problem. I had them break into groups and write down as many different topics that we needed to learn about to best advise our friend. Finally, we had a group discussion, where I took their answers and wrote them on the board.

Success? 

Yes! I thought it was my best lesson so far, because I was able to stay on track, stay organize, and become a little more clear. Yes, I still have a TON to work on, but I'm starting to feel a bit more confident.

Improvements to be made: 

1.)  My Sense of Time:  I really have no sense of time when I teach. I felt like my lesson was taking so much time and was afraid that I was going over time actually! In fact, I was very much under time! My plan for this is to set the timer on my phone, so I can better gauge my timing.

2.) Keep Probing Questions for Deeper Thinking: I was very quick to take the students' answers and recreate them on the board to match what I had in mind. For example, they said, "We need to learn about how phenotype and pedigree affect breeding decisions." I then took that and said, "Alright, so we need to look into genetics content, right...?" It would have been better to keep posing questions that would lead them to the over arching theme of genetics.

Time for Learning Evaluation!

When students think of evaluation, they think of test and exam time, usually negatively. Why do we have evaluations? 

2 Main Reasons

1.) To assess student learning

2.) To assist teachers in self-evaluation

To break this down farther, assessments help motivate students to learn the content, so the students can self-appraise their progress, so students synthesize all the unit information, and finally to develop class grades.

There are all kinds of questions to include on tests. Depending on the content and the situation, different types will be used over others. They include multiple-choice, short answer, true-false, matching, and essay questions. As a student, I get very frustrated with true-false questions. After reading the chapter from Newcomb, et al., I read that true-false questions are very difficult to write and often test a low cognitive area. As a teacher, I plan to stay away from these types of questions for the most part.

Tips for Grading

• Grade one question at a time
• Grade anonymously
• Use a consistent scoring system- a rubric is great for this!

Example of a concept map

The reading by Stoughton discussed the use of rubrics for consistent grading. Depending on the situation, a generic or task specific rubric may be used. These two types of rubrics are either analytic (details of the performance) or holistic (yes or no about a specific task). 

The reading by Warner discussed the evaluation of labs, which can sometimes be difficult to do. Techniques such as concept maps, Vee maps, or portfolios can be used. 

Finally, using the ASCD website, I read an article titled, "Chapter 1. The Lay of the Land: Essential Elements of the Formative Assessment Process." While I am familiar with summative assessments, I was not as familiar with formative assessments. Unlike summative assessments, formative assessments focus on the learning progress of students toward the end learning goals. This type of assessment is given during a unit to improve learning and achieve. It is is an "assessment FOR learning." 

Weekly Writing: The Problem Solving Approach

A key skill that employers look for in their employees is the ability to problem solve; however, statistics show that this skill is often lacking. This week's readings all focused on the problem solving approach. As educators, it is important to teach and promote problem solving skills for our students to prepare them for the professional world. Education has sometimes been criticized for not focusing on this element...but we are going to change that!

Bransford's IDEAL problem solving model: 

1. Identify problem
2. Define the problem through thinking about it and sorting out the relevant information
3. Explore solutions through looking at alternatives, brainstorming, and checking out different points of view
4. Act on strategies
5. Look back and evaluate the effects of your activity 

This relates to the human nature of overcoming challenges/problems! Check out this:

Why is this leaf blower no longer working? 

This is an real-life example that we can ask a class to base the content knowledge that they will be learning about small gas engines. The reading discussed three cognitive activities of problem solving that we must present: represent problem --> solution search --> implement solution. We can apply the students' knowledge of small gas engines to find solutions using these three cognitive activities.

So how do we TEACH problem solving?

Newcomb, et. al. went through these six steps:

1. Interest approach
2. Objectives to be achieved
3. Questions to be answered
4. Problem solution
5. Testing solutions through application
6. Evaluation of solutions 

However, one of implementation tips that I read noted that the most effective teaching styles will build student interest, motivation, and confidence, while reducing anxiety. I think this is an incredibly important take-away, because as a student, I find it almost impossible to achieve an optimum cognitive learning level with anxiety present in the classroom.  I am looking forward to learning more delivery methods that focus on this problem solving approach!

Demo Lab Reflection: How to Tie a Bowline Knot

This week of lab continued with the demonstration lessons. My demonstration was how to tie a bowline knot. Students began by naming all the different types of knots they knew of and then I brought 'props' like a sneaker and hemp bracelet to show that there are knots all round us! This was my short interest approach. We then reviewed reasons for doing a bowline knot, and I demonstrated the knot. (I forgot to do the teacher says; student does part...oops). I went right to student says; student does. Then, I gave the students time to practice the knot. I then used a lot of individual teaching to help the students, and also asked proficient students to help other students.

I really enjoyed teaching this lesson, and to be honest, I get so excited about what I'm attempting to teach that I really get mixed up/ forget things in my lesson plan. I worked so hard to prepare this lesson, but I felt that I did not present it like I had planned and now am rather frustrated. The students really seemed to enjoy the lesson, and since they were so busy tying knots, I didn't have any major behavior issues. One point of modification I would like to make on this lesson is the fact that I would not be able to give as much individual time to students if I had a class of 20 students.

Plan for next time? Chill out and talk slow :) 

We all want to be perfect, but this is truly our time to find our style and rhythm in front of a class, and it's ok to have a bumpy ride sometimes.  

Teaching Techniques...Individualized!

So we've talked about group teaching techniques, but then what are some alternative options?

 Individualized teaching techniques! 

These teaching techniques allow the instructor to work one-on-one with individual students for various benefits. We must treat our students as individuals, as each plan to apply the content in different ways, have different interests, and learn in different ways. Great ways for students to get the most out of individualized learning is through these different teaching techniques: supervised study, experiments, independent study, student notebooks, and information/worksheets. By using these techniques, a teacher can spend specific time with each student, therefore being able to better provide special opportunities. Also through these techniques, students develop skills to learn on their own, grow their independence, and become inquisitive about the subject matter.

Experiments: A great individualized teaching technique

My cooperating center, Oley Valley High School, has a one-to-one program, which matches each student with a laptop. I view this as an excellent resource for guiding many individualized teach strategies. Right at their fingertips, students have access to valuable databases, videos, and general websites. Students can be put into groups or asked individually to research a certain topic using different resources. I have heard current teachers note that students really look forward to searching different topics on their computers. It helps them engage in the content, ask more questions, or find things that are even new to the teacher!

I would think that at times, it may be difficult to facilitate individual teaching techniques depending on the students and the particular subject matter. Students must not only remained focused and behaved, but also be able to read, organized, and synthesis thoughts and information.  However, I am looking forward to developing my facilitation skills using these techniques.