To start with, I watched the videos from the three sessions of our course so far. And I'm really glad I did, because there were some things I hadn't noticed during the live session, and there were some things I'd told myself I wanted to remember and then forgotten.
Points from Video 1 that are in tune with what we've done in the course so far:
* the focus on length - I laughed out loud at the example of the blood test: "If they take it all, you know, you'll die." In our assignments in this course and the transcripts and videos we've been provided, everything is bite-sized. And there is a lot of detail we can get out of a seemingly small amount of data.
* the focus on lenses. In the video, John says we need to put on different pairs of glasses - see things through different lenses. In the course, we were provided with partners to help do this, and with assignments that require us to look over the same materials multiple times.
* the focus on recording small groups of students. In the video, John says that recording small groups of students helps teachers to focus on what students are doing and saying, and how they respond to the lesson. In the course, we've also seen videos and read transcripts with small groups of students. They provide a snapshot of the class. My partner also did this with her own transcript, and it was interesting to hear her students' reactions.
* the focus on small changes. In the video, John quotes Darwin as saying that the things in nature that are most likely to survive are "the most responsive to change". I think that's true of teaching as well - the teachers most likely to develop new skills and ways of teaching are the ones who can look candidly at their lessons and make small changes.
I'll make a separate post about the "Smile" article so there's not too much to read at once.
Points from Video 1 that are in tune with what we've done in the course so far:
* the focus on length - I laughed out loud at the example of the blood test: "If they take it all, you know, you'll die." In our assignments in this course and the transcripts and videos we've been provided, everything is bite-sized. And there is a lot of detail we can get out of a seemingly small amount of data.
* the focus on lenses. In the video, John says we need to put on different pairs of glasses - see things through different lenses. In the course, we were provided with partners to help do this, and with assignments that require us to look over the same materials multiple times.
* the focus on recording small groups of students. In the video, John says that recording small groups of students helps teachers to focus on what students are doing and saying, and how they respond to the lesson. In the course, we've also seen videos and read transcripts with small groups of students. They provide a snapshot of the class. My partner also did this with her own transcript, and it was interesting to hear her students' reactions.
* the focus on small changes. In the video, John quotes Darwin as saying that the things in nature that are most likely to survive are "the most responsive to change". I think that's true of teaching as well - the teachers most likely to develop new skills and ways of teaching are the ones who can look candidly at their lessons and make small changes.
I'll make a separate post about the "Smile" article so there's not too much to read at once.
No comment except to say as I pointed out in a response to another participant, you no longer need me. You can all now teach a similar course!
ReplyDeleteAmazing that in so few hours so many of you are now like St. Paul after he feel to the ground in Damascus and realized that he had been persecuting Christ and realized that now he was going to preach Christ.
Not as dramatic as St. Paul but most of you have been converted to a new view about your teaching.