tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post7482759366604469627..comments2024-03-18T04:15:27.703-05:00Comments on Balancing Jane: Experiments in Teaching Grammar: Failure and SuccessMichellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07801229525416203656noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post-33196422064389628472012-12-02T16:46:43.132-06:002012-12-02T16:46:43.132-06:00That sounds like a great lesson, and--while you co...That sounds like a great lesson, and--while you could tell them over and over again what the best problem-solving method is--nothing makes it sink in like seeing it play out for themselves. I'm sure they also learned a lot of great communication skills, too. Michellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07801229525416203656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post-89068482448386948982012-12-02T16:44:12.837-06:002012-12-02T16:44:12.837-06:00What a great idea! I love how you changed the dyna...What a great idea! I love how you changed the dynamic about admitting confusion.<br /><br />I did something a little bit similar years ago in a physics class for high school students. Instead of assigning them a problem set to work on individually, I set up a "relay race": I divided the class into teams of equal size, and gave each a section of the blackboard on which to work out the mathematical solution to a word problem. The rules were that each team member could make one "move": either by writing out the next step, or by erasing and correcting a previous step. Team members could confer, and could of course see each other's work on the board at the same time. The winning team was the first one to get the correct answer.<br /><br />After each round, we discussed what everybody had done, identified any errors, and compared the pros and cons of different approaches to the problem. <br /><br />My private goal for this exercise was to encourage good problem-solving discipline: things like cancelling out units, lining up the equals signs, doing one step at a time. It worked well, because everybody could see that the teams that worked that way were able to work faster and made fewer mistakes! :) Victoria Gailehttp://gaudetetheology.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post-71936974313388807062012-11-30T08:24:08.319-06:002012-11-30T08:24:08.319-06:00Aw! Thank you, Mona! By the way, I miss your photo...Aw! Thank you, Mona! By the way, I miss your photo blog. I think the holidays would be a great time to bring back some of those awesome pictures!Michellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07801229525416203656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post-12050328270776178462012-11-29T22:44:53.330-06:002012-11-29T22:44:53.330-06:00You are an amazing person!You are an amazing person!monaraehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15735338395869957446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post-47795980793659773572012-11-29T12:25:18.598-06:002012-11-29T12:25:18.598-06:00Sounds like a good experiment. Sounds like a good experiment. Ashleyhttp://loveashley.netnoreply@blogger.com