What connections did you make when reading this chapter? Think about some struggling students in your class.....what if they rarely have a connection to your subject or text? How could you help them?
I teach history and my students often say "I don't care about history, it's already happened" to which I try to respond, but rarely succeed in convincing them. I can definitely see how this is because they fail to make a connection with their own life. When I think about history, I get an automatic thrill, but they do not.
To help them create a connection, I try to use alternative sources whenever possible. Music, movies and hands on activities help a lot, but sometimes they really could care less. I am ok with students disliking a subject, when they don't care at all and put no effort into their work, it is very agitating to say the least.
I am constantly working on new ways to get my students to be interested in the covered topics, but it is a work in progress.
I had a lot of connection with this chapter as well. Making connections to my own life and experiences is part of the reason I love reading. When my friends and I share things from what we are reading, we often start them as "this reminds me of...".
In government class I agree with Bryce I have no trouble seeing connections with my own life and my own experiences. I know how the government affects many facets of my life.
But I definitely struggle with having my students make connections. I try to bring up politicians and people that they have heard. I relate it to experiences they might have had like school administration and student government. Often, they make connections to movies and tv shows. Sometimes they connect it to the history that is going on. Definitely I try to make those connections, especially since it helps students to remember better.
I continue to find new ways to help make connections. It helps that I have a co-teacher, because sometimes she has connections that I do not have and she can tell the students them.
Since today's students are so immersed in video games and movies, I wonder if you could spend some time brainstorming different examples that tie into your content chapters? If on your lesson planner you made a box/space to do this each week, you might find it a useful habit. Or you could offer extra credit to students who bring in samples/connections to share (movie clip, song lyrics, etc.)....
A good quote by Tovani, to start off the response would be: “Thinking about my life helps me understand what I read…”
Since Tovani and I both know this, my job as an educator is to teach students HOW to use information they already know. From what I’ve experienced in class, guided questions almost make the connections for the students (if they are formulated correctly… and don’t give away the answer… which is actually really hard to do... hmm… maybe that is where lies the challenge).
To make things easier, Tovani makes a distinction between Personal KNOWLEDGE and Personal EXPERIENCE. You don’t necessarily need to be a matador to know a thing or two about bullfighting. Furthermore, Tovani goes to say that there is more to making connections than the simple act of drawing them up (p. 73). You have to follow through with inferences, predictions, characterizations, and your personal guiding questions.
Dima---great thoughts on extending the importance of connections and that teachers need to help students understand these distinctions as well as go BEYOND just making a connection to using additional strategies for building that comprehension.
One of the most difficult aspects to teaching mathematics is that students have zero connection to the subject. This is due to the fact that there basically are no simple "real life" connections to be made. Sure there are the "Solving an equation is like balancing a scale" type sayings, but in actuality the act of balancing a scale is nothing like solving an equation. Students can't look at a math problem and recall a part of a movie or something their friend said to help them get at the answer.
This is not to say that connections in mathematics are not important, because they are. Virtually all the connections however are within the subject matter itself. While covering how to solve trigonometric equations in my pre-calculus class I put up an equation they were likely to see and an equation I used in my pre-algebra class. As expected the students had no idea on where to start on their equation but knew every step to solve the pre-algebra equation. I then demonstrated that the steps to solve their equation were exactly the same as to solve the pre-algebra equation. The connection had been made but again, this was not a connection to real life but rather a connection made within the subject itself.
Another way connections can be helpful in math is as a memory tool. There are quite a few formulas needed to be memorized and relating a formula to a song or story can be helpful in getting students to remember it. There is actually some disagreement between mathematics instructors on if these types of connections should be encouraged since they rarely describe the actual mathematical concept being used. Currently I do use these types of connections when the opportunity presents itself.
Scott---As you experiment with "what works" for your students, you know that trying memory tools and devices helps some but not all students while other types of "traditional" methods may work best for other students. Have you seen the math teacher that puts all kinds of raps/songs on Teachertube?
Also when I occasionally watch the "Numbers" t.v. show I think it's great how they do make connections that are not usually obvious but work out well to solve the problems. Do you find any of those episodes/excerpts of them to be useful or practical for your purposes?
MEET this Thursday from 3-4 at the ROE library (bring your items to turn in) Read chps. 1 & 2 then post comments from 3/2-3/6 Read Chp. 3 and try one item from the "What Works" section (p.33-34) ----put comments from3/12-14 Chp.4 and try "What Works"---put comments from 3/19-22 Chp.5 and "What Works"...put comments from 3/28-30 Chp. 6 and "What Works"--put comments from 4/4-7 Chapters 7, 8, and 9----comments from 4/21-25
Quick Video Available
Check out the video worth watching on Teacher tube with a teacher modeling a Think Aloud. Just go to http://www.teachertube.com/ and go to the second tab marked "Videos" and use the search function to type "Introduction to Think Aloud" and you'll find one!
I teach history and my students often say "I don't care about history, it's already happened" to which I try to respond, but rarely succeed in convincing them. I can definitely see how this is because they fail to make a connection with their own life. When I think about history, I get an automatic thrill, but they do not.
ReplyDeleteTo help them create a connection, I try to use alternative sources whenever possible. Music, movies and hands on activities help a lot, but sometimes they really could care less. I am ok with students disliking a subject, when they don't care at all and put no effort into their work, it is very agitating to say the least.
I am constantly working on new ways to get my students to be interested in the covered topics, but it is a work in progress.
Have a good spring break!!
I had a lot of connection with this chapter as well. Making connections to my own life and experiences is part of the reason I love reading. When my friends and I share things from what we are reading, we often start them as "this reminds me of...".
ReplyDeleteIn government class I agree with Bryce I have no trouble seeing connections with my own life and my own experiences. I know how the government affects many facets of my life.
But I definitely struggle with having my students make connections. I try to bring up politicians and people that they have heard. I relate it to experiences they might have had like school administration and student government. Often, they make connections to movies and tv shows. Sometimes they connect it to the history that is going on. Definitely I try to make those connections, especially since it helps students to remember better.
I continue to find new ways to help make connections. It helps that I have a co-teacher, because sometimes she has connections that I do not have and she can tell the students them.
Since today's students are so immersed in video games and movies, I wonder if you could spend some time brainstorming different examples that tie into your content chapters? If on your lesson planner you made a box/space to do this each week, you might find it a useful habit. Or you could offer extra credit to students who bring in samples/connections to share (movie clip, song lyrics, etc.)....
ReplyDeleteCH 6 – PATTERNS AND CONNECTIONS
ReplyDeleteA good quote by Tovani, to start off the response would be: “Thinking about my life helps me understand what I read…”
Since Tovani and I both know this, my job as an educator is to teach students HOW to use information they already know. From what I’ve experienced in class, guided questions almost make the connections for the students (if they are formulated correctly… and don’t give away the answer… which is actually really hard to do... hmm… maybe that is where lies the challenge).
To make things easier, Tovani makes a distinction between Personal KNOWLEDGE and Personal EXPERIENCE. You don’t necessarily need to be a matador to know a thing or two about bullfighting. Furthermore, Tovani goes to say that there is more to making connections than the simple act of drawing them up (p. 73). You have to follow through with inferences, predictions, characterizations, and your personal guiding questions.
Dima---great thoughts on extending the importance of connections and that teachers need to help students understand these distinctions as well as go BEYOND just making a connection to using additional strategies for building that comprehension.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most difficult aspects to teaching mathematics is that students have zero connection to the subject. This is due to the fact that there basically are no simple "real life" connections to be made. Sure there are the "Solving an equation is like balancing a scale" type sayings, but in actuality the act of balancing a scale is nothing like solving an equation. Students can't look at a math problem and recall a part of a movie or something their friend said to help them get at the answer.
ReplyDeleteThis is not to say that connections in mathematics are not important, because they are. Virtually all the connections however are within the subject matter itself. While covering how to solve trigonometric equations in my pre-calculus class I put up an equation they were likely to see and an equation I used in my pre-algebra class. As expected the students had no idea on where to start on their equation but knew every step to solve the pre-algebra equation. I then demonstrated that the steps to solve their equation were exactly the same as to solve the pre-algebra equation. The connection had been made but again, this was not a connection to real life but rather a connection made within the subject itself.
Another way connections can be helpful in math is as a memory tool. There are quite a few formulas needed to be memorized and relating a formula to a song or story can be helpful in getting students to remember it. There is actually some disagreement between mathematics instructors on if these types of connections should be encouraged since they rarely describe the actual mathematical concept being used. Currently I do use these types of connections when the opportunity presents itself.
Scott---As you experiment with "what works" for your students, you know that trying memory tools and devices helps some but not all students while other types of "traditional" methods may work best for other students. Have you seen the math teacher that puts all kinds of raps/songs on Teachertube?
ReplyDeleteAlso when I occasionally watch the "Numbers" t.v. show I think it's great how they do make connections that are not usually obvious but work out well to solve the problems. Do you find any of those episodes/excerpts of them to be useful or practical for your purposes?