No, that's not a new MRS. It's what I did in class today. The shocking thing (not really) is that it worked and the students got quite a bit out of it. They got to participate. They got to work with the material. They were able to ask me and each other questions. They worked on their conversational and presentation skills. They got to think, on their own, about history. I couldn't have been more proud than in the moments where I saw and heard my students really understand what I was trying to teach them.
The sad part? What I was breaking DISD rules. Why? It was not within the acceptable parameters set up for teaching. Yes, I was accomplishing the same thing a "whip around" would have. Yes, it was student centered and focused. The problem is that I didn't have an LO or a DOL. I didn't stop the train and make them write or do a "thumbs up thumbs down." I let an organic discussion develop and used that opportunity to workshop the skills and content my students are supposed to learn from my class. We'll see if that bears fruit on the quiz, but I think it's going to work out. Even if the scores are the same, I know they got something important out of class today. That made it all worth it.
The sad part? What I was breaking DISD rules. Why? It was not within the acceptable parameters set up for teaching. Yes, I was accomplishing the same thing a "whip around" would have. Yes, it was student centered and focused. The problem is that I didn't have an LO or a DOL. I didn't stop the train and make them write or do a "thumbs up thumbs down." I let an organic discussion develop and used that opportunity to workshop the skills and content my students are supposed to learn from my class. We'll see if that bears fruit on the quiz, but I think it's going to work out. Even if the scores are the same, I know they got something important out of class today. That made it all worth it.
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