Models of Teaching

I had not thought that the various models of teaching that we have studied this year would have such a profound effect on my classroom. These models provide such a variety that my students are much more involved and interested in my classroom than they have been before. Some models, such as the problem based inquiry model, actually have charged my students with motivation while making my job of teaching less difficult because I am not having to pull teeth to get my students to learn. They are learning because they want to, not because they are made to.

This has been an awesome class.

synectic model

This was a rough model. It showed me that I could teach by analogy. I had never realized that this could be so useful. I have found that students can remember better when analogies are used than if they are not. Although this is not something that should be used as a universal teaching method in my classroom because other methods teach other items better, it taught what the illegal immigrant experience in America is much better than I have been able to do it before.

Socratic Seminar

I tried to socratic seminar again. I liked it a lot better when I had a little more experience. I was suprised that my students would think as deeply as they did. For the most part, I think that I could use this well in teaching culture, but not so well in teaching grammar and vocabulary. I do think that it does have its place in my classroom though. Especially at the beginning. I would like to use this model on the topic "Why Learn Spanish"

I think that it was important to try this model because it showed me a new way to get to know what my students are thinking about things.

Socratic Model

Well, this Socratic Model went better that the problem centered inquiry model. I used Picasso's painting of Don Quixote since the topic is about such a famous character and Picasso is hispanic. The hardest thing to do was to teach the kids how to write the different types of questions in the pre-seminar. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to video that part or not. It was also difficult to keep my students from all answering questions at once. They didn't seem to want to let anyone else into the conversation. I think that I am going to try this again for my final filming. It really didn't go very well.

Problem-Centered Inquiry

What did you think about the Problem-centered Inquiry model? I liked it, but I found that my upper level students did much better with it than my younger students. It may be just the age, but I think that it is more that they have less experience with problem solving. I think that more experience with this type of problem would help them gain more confidence in the problem solving area.

Problem Centered Inquiry Model

I liked this one, but I am still not sure when I should stop and let the kids carry on. I found that my AP class could handle this model much better than my regular Spanish I students which are 9th and 10th graders. It seems that my lower level students need more structure, but then when I think about it. Solving problems like this on a regular basis will increase their ability to approach and solve problems. I just need to take smaller steps than what I do with my AP class.

Concept development Model

I am so excited about the results of the concept development model lesson. The concept that I taught was traditions. As the groups worked, I realized that they were all on task and they were laughing and talking about the past.

After the students had all finished catagorizing, I posed the question: "How did doing this activity make you feel? They said it made them feel happy because they liked working with friends. Some said it made them remember how they did things in their own family. When I ask them why traditions were needed in any culture whether it be Mexican culture, American culture, or any other group of people. The result was that for the first time they really understood the Hispanic culture is not just something we talk about, but that it involves real people that in many ways are just like us.

concept development model

I had a hard time choosing a topic for this model, but since we are about to start a unit on Mexican Traditions, I chose to use traditions for my lesson. I think that I can do this model a little easier, but I just have a hard time coming up with ideas.

Concept attainment model

I am very concerned about the concept attainment model. I can see how it would work well in English and in math, but I am still not sure about Spanish. I don't know how complicated the concept should be. The girl that did the Spanish example was partly right with her concept, but not completely. Do we make sure that the entire concept with the exceptions are included?

New blog

I have now created my new blog. I hope to have a lot of fun with it. Let me hear from you.