I am a believer in constructivist teaching, and hands-on practice. Students learn by inquiry; they find out things on their own rather than by listening to a lecture how it is done. You don't need to favor this teaching method, but in order to accept or reject it, you should experiment with it a bit.
Today, we are going to model a Mini Lesson as an example for the ones each student is going to present.
This is the topic: the difference between "Me" and "My" plus -ing form. For example: Do you like my teaching? Do you like me teaching? Other examples from a teacher's instruction:
FINITE AND NON-FINITE CLAUSES
Finite clauses /sentences – finite verb forms, i.e. the verb is conjugated (past, present, future)
Non-finite clause – non-finite verb forms (no time aspect)
-ing clauses and infinitive clauses
Examples of non-finite clauses:
-ing clause with a subject:
Your changing the plan has caused a lot of trouble.
Do you mind me/my smoking?
I heard about Jim arguing all night.
Hint: you may use websites such as this one for help.
Your first task for this hour (and your homework for Friday, August 22nd, if you can't finish in class today) will be to create a Learning Cycle (LC) for an English class (grade level of your choice)about this topic.
This is an explanation of a Learning Cycle: LC
According to this model, a Learning Cycle consists of 5 E's:
Engage (you catch your students' attention to the topic)
Explore (the kids find things out by themselves)
Explain (students try to analyze the problem; you explain the rules to them)
Expand (kids get a different task to apply what they've found out)
Evaluate (you assess their comprehension)
Some people even suggest that a LC does not only have 5 E's, but 6! The mysterious number six is "E-search." Read the following article: http://science.nsta.org/enewsletter/2005-05/sc0411_47.pdf
Now, develop a lesson how you would teach the ME/MY grammatical issue to your audience, using all 6 E's, and email this lesson plan to me. You can make a separate heading for all 6 E's, and just say what you would do, and what the students would do. You are allowed to use the Internet for ideas. For the "explore" and "expand" part especially, you are welcome to do games or quizzes, etc. For the "evaluate" part, you should create a small test or quiz with sample questions. It should look user-friendly, depending on the age-group you chose - a handout you would actually use if you were the teacher of a class.
When you're done with this, here's your second task:
Post a short comment on this blog what you think about the Learning Cycle model. Originally, it was conceived for math or sciences classes. Do you think it is useful for English (or any language, or ESL) classes? Would you use it? Were you taught this way? Your personal opinion...
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27 comments:
Being an elementary education major I strongly believe that the learning cycle should be included in every subject level. I think that is very important for all students, younger ones in particular, to explore and be given the opportunity to learn on their own first and then explain to students why it is important to do things the way we do whether it be in science or language arts. I also think that they more you build on the concept you just taught to students, the better they will retain and understand it. Assessment at the end of a lesson, whether it be formal or informal is always very important when introducing a new topic because it gives the teacher feedback on how well the students did or did not understand the material. It also provides the teacher with students who are struggling and how many. If the entire class is struggling then the teacher knows that lesson was ineffective and should be taught a different way. So I definitely feel that the learning cycle is important for every subject area.
I think that the learning cycle method would be effective for grammar classes. It is difficult for some students, especially those whose first language is not English, to learn the rules of grammar. When students are simply taught the rules of English they are most likely to memorize them for the test and then promptly forget them. However, the learning cycle prompts interactive learning. An internet quiz or a game with peers can help them learn how to use the language instead of just memorizing it. The information will be retained for a much longer time.
It does seem to make more sense to me to use this lesson more for classes like science. I suppose though that it really just depends on your preference. I am going into English Education and I feel that for me it is easier to set up my lesson as more of a presentation-like speech. It is similar but is more laid out in sections rather than in a circle. i do agree with having an attention getter though. I really enjoy speech classes and learning how to make a good attention getter was one of the first things that I learned.
I believe it is possible to use this 6th step in the learning process for an English topic. For instance, you could use the internet to find quizzes to test the children. It is helping them with their computer skill and teaching them English rules at the same time. In addition, they could e-mail their teachers or other students questions or quizzes they made up for fun. I think they would really enjoy the interaction. It is easier to use technology in science classes, but it can also be used in English if someone puts out the effort to find things for the students to do. If the children have computers at home, the teacher could make on-line assignments. This e-search idea can work in many topics. The five-step method could be enhanced by this sixth step to make it more usable and fun for the kids.
The only exposure to the Learning Cycle method of teaching that I've had has been in late elementary school and middle school science oriented classes (biology, chemistry, etc.). For those classes, I think this is something that works extremely well. Remember science fair projects?
However, I don't think that this would necessarily be a good method for an English class. Our language isn't the easiest thing to master. English is my native tongue and I -still- get confused from time to time (as do many people I know). I think it is good for students to independently investigate aspects of English grammar and learn all they can. However, they also need a great deal of guidance to avoid misunderstanding and learning things incorrectly. There needs to be some kind of happy balance.
This claim of a 6th "e" would be great for lower education students to get them more hands on when the are younger to get the concept of class participation. The idea of online activities helps students to understand the web at a young age and to search on topics on there own. The learning cycle is an important way to gain information and this article proves how much more can come with that through the help of the internet and electronics.
I believe that the 5 E's Learning Cycle would definately be effective for English and other classes. Not only does it introduce to you new material, it takes steps to making sure that you fully understand. It makes sense that in the beginning it was used for the sole purpose of science and math classes because they can be experiment more. I can remember some classes being taught on this method but feel like it could have been used more. I would use this model if given the opportunity because of the simple fact that the students would be learning kind of hands on instead of just being preached at.
Going into education myself the learning cycle seems like a very viable starting place for elementary students. Its a very well constructed cycle that I would use almost in any subject. There are many ways to use this cycle for all of the different types of situations in the English language.
I believe that students would actually like learning for the learning cycle due to its learn then almost do it yourself approach. I know was I was growing up always having teachers over my shoulder when I just wanted my space to try and learn or figure everything out on my own. So this cycle really helps a student help themselves.
This claim of a 6th "e" would be great for lower education students to get them more hands on when they are younger to get the concept of class participation. The idea of online activities helps students to understand the web at a young age and to search on topics on their own. The learning cycle is an important way to gain information and this article proves how much more can come with that through the help of the internet and electronics.
Whatever the subject matter is, I believe it is especially important to engage your students because it allows them to feel like they are part of the classroom environment and not just another body. Although I am also a believer that you must have some sort of lecture time led by the teacher, this learning cycle is a valuable technique. However, when you reach the high school level and sometimes even middle school level of learning a teacher needs to know what type of audience he or she is dealing with. High School English students do not necessarily want to play games like an elementary student may want to do. But, I was extremely interested in the method of using digital camera's as a way to use this learning cycle. Technology is a great way to explore new things and whether it is younger or older students, engaging their minds is the most important part of education.
The learning cycle we studied about today seems like it might be extremely useful in all areas of teaching. While it might be more effective in a science or math class integrating it into an English lesson
would perhaps help to make the learning of language and word functions more interesting. Students would not be passive learners they would become active learners using this cycle. If I ever decide to become a teacher, I would go into English Education, and I would try to incorporate this learning cycle into my lesson plans.
While I do like the learning cycle, I am not sure that I would always use it for language arts lessons. I have personally found the learning cycle to work best when I use it to teach science or social studies lessons. I do think it is important to at least occasionally implement the learning cycle into every subject. I feel that any lesson being taught needs to have an attention-getter and an assessment. The assessment is especially important, as it allows the teacher to see how well the students comprehended the lesson, as well as the effectiveness of the lesson. I also like the idea of doing e-search with the learning cycle, although I have never personally implemented it in a learning cycle lesson of my own.
While I do like the learning cycle, I am not sure that I would always use it for language arts lessons. I have personally found the learning cycle to work best when I use it to teach science or social studies lessons. I do think it is important to at least occasionally implement the learning cycle into every subject. I feel that any lesson being taught needs to have an attention-getter and an assessment. The assessment is especially important, as it allows the teacher to see how well the students comprehended the lesson, as well as the effectiveness of the lesson. I also like the idea of doing e-search with the learning cycle, although I have never personally implemented it in a learning cycle lesson of my own.
Although the learning cycle was first created for science class, I think it would be useful in any class. It could easily be used for grammar classes. The teacher may just need to be a little more creative. The learning cycle is not only possible for every class, but should be used any most classes. It is important for students to begin finding answers on their own at a young age. This will teach students how to not only get the answers correct, but also how to look at a problem and find the answer when they are unsure. It is also important for teachers today to incorporate the sixth "E." In our society technology is used ever day and for almost every thing. Making technology just another part of the lesson plan, will help students to incorporate it into their lives. As a future teacher I know that I will use the learning cycle.
Although the learning cycle was first created for
My English teacher in my junior year of high school, Mrs. Eaton, said it the best: Science and math kids are oak trees, while we English students are willows.
Oak trees are solid and unmoving, used to the tried and true methods, with little room for deviation from the already forged path. Willow trees are whimsical, able to bend and accept new ideas. You almost always see oak trees felled during a wind storm, but when was the last time you saw a willow uprooted?
English is special because of its liquid nature. There are very little rules in the English language, and aside from grammar and spelling, there are no absolutes. However, even these absolutes have several alternatives and rule interpretations. In math, there is one answer to two plus two equals four. In English, there are three ways just to say I was late. I can see how the thought of a universal teaching approach to English may be attractive, but the sad fact is, there is no universal way to communicate in English.
The learning cycle is a great way to teach any subject and could/should be applied to all subjects being taught. I think the learning cycle gives a way for the students to be given direct information, as well as exploring with hands-on material. I do not think I was taught much this way, but I would definitely use it in my teaching style. It becomes an interactive way to approach a subject where students learn without realizing they are learning.
I believe the learning cycle is an excellent tool for educating. It is, most likely, much easier to properly use all the sections of the cycle when teaching a class like science, but I think it is very possible for English classes too. The only thing you would need is a bit of creativity. Too many teachers in this world spend time just blabbing on and on. Information, at least for me, does not get retained for more than a few days when taught this way. No matter the age or subject, learning needs to be more than lecturing.
About the sixth E, I believe it is a good idea to enhance the lesson by use of technology, especially in our current technological age. However, it needs to be noted that not all schools have the same kind of resources as the school in this article. Having all sorts of video cameras, digital cameras, and computers is not a reality for many public schools. The E-search won't always be as simple as they made it sound.
I believe the learning cycle is an excellent tool for educating. It is, most likely, much easier to properly use all the sections of the cycle when teaching a class like science, but I think it is very possible for English classes too. The only thing you would need is a bit of creativity. Too many teachers in this world spend time just blabbing on and on. Information, at least for me, does not get retained for more than a few days when taught this way. No matter the age or subject, learning needs to be more than lecturing.
About the sixth E, I believe it is a good idea to enhance the lesson by use of technology, especially in our current technological age. However, it needs to be noted that not all schools have the same kind of resources as the school in this article. Having all sorts of video cameras, digital cameras, and computers is not a reality for many public schools. The E-search won't always be as simple as they made it sound.
The Learning Cycle seems like a wonderful idea for all subjects and grade levels but i can see where it would be more useful for math and science. Some of the things would be more difficult to facilitate in the English classroom, such as the E-Search. Overall I think it is a very useful learning tool that will help students retain the information that teachers are providing.
Working with the learning cycle, I thought it was useful, but I could see how it would be more useful for science. I liked that it had several steps and it has the evaluation at the end. It gives the teacher the opportunity to see how well the instructional method worked. I liked the learning cycle, but I would prefer to use it in a science class.
I think that this method of teaching can be used in any subject. While it is certainly easier to see its uses in science classes, it could be tailored to work well with anything, including grammar. Giving students a chance to explore grammar for themselves ensures that they make connections to prior knowledge and their own language usage. This seems more effective overall then the usual method of teaching/learning grammar, which is rote memorization and repitition. I remember learning grammar that way myself in school, and very little of it stuck with me. Instead I picked up most of my grammar skills on my own through reading, which is similar to an activity that might be found in the explore section of the learning cycle. I think the learning cycle can make grammar/language arts more meaningful to students.
I think that the learning cycle will be very beneficial to teachers. I believe that it will give them ideas on what to base their lesson plans on. As a future teacher, I believe that learning cycles such as this one would be very helpful to me because it will give me ideas on how to let my students learn on their own, so they can realize their mistakes and how they can fix them.
Based on the assignment I strongly believe that the learning cycle should be added to every grade level, it gives insight to what the students are interested in. Its also gives the teacher an approach to help the students learn and be more intrested in the subject. In addition students feel more comfortable to give the teacher feedback about what they understood.
I think the 5(6)-E learning cycle has only limited application in grammar. It makes a vast amount of sense in science and math because one concept can carry over into many different applications. Grammar, however, doesn't deal so much in concepts as it does rigid rules. There are some things in grammar that are conceptual (i.e. verb tenses); however, most of these concepts have so many exceptions that asking a student to try to generalize the concept out to other verbs/tenses is very much like asking the student to give wrong answers.
I agree that rote memorization is far from effective in teaching grammar due to the shallowness of the processing, but the 5(6)-E approach almost goes too deep into mental processing. If we teach students grammar conceptually with exceptions, they will have to run through the list of possible exceptions every time they are considering implementing the concept. Ideally, teaching students on a case-by-case (i.e. word-by-word) basis would be the most effective for understanding, but this isn't feasible or convenient. I think the true solution has to fall somewhere between over-processing the rules of grammar and not ingraining them enough.
I definitely agree with using the learning cycle. I think that it is very helpful for students and teachers and it would work with every subject not just one or two. I was not taught this way and I wish that the learning cycle would have been in my classrooms that way I could understand the concepts better. Using this method let the students grow and learn with using their own ideas as well as the teacher's. Hands on activities and technology really help the students to explore rather than worksheet after worksheet.
The Learning Cycle model is a good way to integrate group work and grammar lessons. I think this will be much more engaging than the traditional route to learing grammar - through individual memorization. I was not previously familiar with the Learning Cycle model. It is actually quite different from other lesson designs that I have encountered because of the reliance on students discussion. I like the idea of relying on the students to explore the lesson material early on in the lesson instead of feeding them the "right answers" and then setting them up in groups or individually to complete a quiz or worksheet. This method gives the students more ownership in their knowledge and sets a precident for them that they have access to information they need through peer discussion and information gathering such as web-searching.
However, this is my first encounter with the Learning Cycle model and I am not sure if I am approaching it correctly. I will need further experience and research of this type of lesson design to be more confident in its effectiveness.
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