Goal
Because of spring break, I want to revisit my goal from last week, so we can get strong at it again before we move on. I have noticed that after long breaks, our kiddos sometimes seem to forget even basic classroom procedures. So, my goal for this week is helping my kids link to each other's ideas by requiring them to respond to one another with "What I heard ________ say was...." to summarize what their peers shared. Then, to take it to the next level, I will ask them to think about the following questions while their peers are "teaching": What is similar? What is different? What are the benefits of one strategy over another strategy? This will allow them to evaluate each other's work and thinking.
Reflection
After spring break, getting back into the swing of things made working on my goal a little more difficult. They were SO tired and SO quiet. Our conversations definitely hit many lulls this week. Nevertheless, the few times we did hold strong conversations, we worked on thinking about the questions I posted. At this point, I've noticed that they do seem to understand that some strategies are more effective and efficient over others; however, it is very difficult for them to realize that there may be two or even three ways of solving the same problem and both ways are both effective and efficient. Likewise, they understand that some strategies are more effective/efficient than others, but I think they still need more time developing in actually evaluating two different ways of solving a problem and explaining the benefits of one over the other. Like you mentioned, I think this is just a skill that takes longer to develop.
Because of spring break, I want to revisit my goal from last week, so we can get strong at it again before we move on. I have noticed that after long breaks, our kiddos sometimes seem to forget even basic classroom procedures. So, my goal for this week is helping my kids link to each other's ideas by requiring them to respond to one another with "What I heard ________ say was...." to summarize what their peers shared. Then, to take it to the next level, I will ask them to think about the following questions while their peers are "teaching": What is similar? What is different? What are the benefits of one strategy over another strategy? This will allow them to evaluate each other's work and thinking.
Reflection
After spring break, getting back into the swing of things made working on my goal a little more difficult. They were SO tired and SO quiet. Our conversations definitely hit many lulls this week. Nevertheless, the few times we did hold strong conversations, we worked on thinking about the questions I posted. At this point, I've noticed that they do seem to understand that some strategies are more effective and efficient over others; however, it is very difficult for them to realize that there may be two or even three ways of solving the same problem and both ways are both effective and efficient. Likewise, they understand that some strategies are more effective/efficient than others, but I think they still need more time developing in actually evaluating two different ways of solving a problem and explaining the benefits of one over the other. Like you mentioned, I think this is just a skill that takes longer to develop.