Yes, it's true. You can teach an old dog new tricks and even after recently turning ___ years old, I have found in my life's experiences that I never stop learning. Even more true, my greatest teacher has not been failure but ADJUSTMENT.
As a teacher, I want my classroom to be the perfect combination of education and fun for all my students, and in the last seven years, I have experienced the high adrenaline rush of the lesson plan that went absolutely perfect. Students were engaged with an enthusiasm that brought them back to my classroom the next day eager to learn more. I have also experienced cricket chirping silence as I called out to my students, "Bueller? Bueller? Anyone?"
What works well with one set of students does not always work well with another or produce the same set of results; however, a good teacher does not necessarily see this as failure. Instead, he or she takes that opportunity to adjust and adapt to the needs of the students and their learning style. I was reminded of that last week when I had a lesson plan I was sure the students would delve into but was met with confusion and consternation from more than one student.
My sophomore English II students did a great job with the three elements of persuasive rhetoric: ethos, pathos, and logos. The majority of students demonstrated steady to strong comprehensions of these terms through class activities and a written analysis, so when it came time for the unit's final project, I was eager to see what they would produce.
Nothing could have prepared me for the blank looks when I asked students to create a motivational poster, bumper sticker, flyer, or political cartoon that demonstrated one or more of the three elements. Although they could identify persuasive rhetoric in all the examples we studied in class, many were not confident enough to create on their own. A quick adjustment to this lesson plan was definitely in order!
My next step was to change things a bit. I told students it was now their turn to teach others the elements of rhetoric. They could make a poster, Prezi, or Powerpoint with examples of ethos, pathos, and logos that they located on their own. The examples included ads, photographs, a quote, and QR code link to a commercial or speech. Creativity, neatness, and effort, along with demonstration of knowledge, were all an important proponents of final grades.
Overall, I was pleased with the students' works. This project gave me the opportunity to get to know my students better, and I look forward to any necessary adjustments of future lesson plans as I discover further the learning needs of each of them.
This old dog is ready to learn some more tricks!
As a teacher, I want my classroom to be the perfect combination of education and fun for all my students, and in the last seven years, I have experienced the high adrenaline rush of the lesson plan that went absolutely perfect. Students were engaged with an enthusiasm that brought them back to my classroom the next day eager to learn more. I have also experienced cricket chirping silence as I called out to my students, "Bueller? Bueller? Anyone?"
What works well with one set of students does not always work well with another or produce the same set of results; however, a good teacher does not necessarily see this as failure. Instead, he or she takes that opportunity to adjust and adapt to the needs of the students and their learning style. I was reminded of that last week when I had a lesson plan I was sure the students would delve into but was met with confusion and consternation from more than one student.
My sophomore English II students did a great job with the three elements of persuasive rhetoric: ethos, pathos, and logos. The majority of students demonstrated steady to strong comprehensions of these terms through class activities and a written analysis, so when it came time for the unit's final project, I was eager to see what they would produce.
Nothing could have prepared me for the blank looks when I asked students to create a motivational poster, bumper sticker, flyer, or political cartoon that demonstrated one or more of the three elements. Although they could identify persuasive rhetoric in all the examples we studied in class, many were not confident enough to create on their own. A quick adjustment to this lesson plan was definitely in order!
My next step was to change things a bit. I told students it was now their turn to teach others the elements of rhetoric. They could make a poster, Prezi, or Powerpoint with examples of ethos, pathos, and logos that they located on their own. The examples included ads, photographs, a quote, and QR code link to a commercial or speech. Creativity, neatness, and effort, along with demonstration of knowledge, were all an important proponents of final grades.
Overall, I was pleased with the students' works. This project gave me the opportunity to get to know my students better, and I look forward to any necessary adjustments of future lesson plans as I discover further the learning needs of each of them.
This old dog is ready to learn some more tricks!