How can I engage my students and have them learn what I'm trying to teach them?
Setting aside the ideas of formative assessment and assessment for learning, which are important, my authentic assessments are summative and happen at the end of the unit. But what about the beginning of a unit?
This is a question I've been most keen on answering since the end of January this year, and the start of a new term and new courses. I knew I had a tough high school class starting up and was hoping to really reach them this term. It's a class I've taught through junior high and have struggled to engage. None of my "tricks" have worked with this class: humour, fun, technology, authentic assessment . . . I very much wanted to make ELA meaningful for these students, but didn't know how.
I decided to try "authentic learning"(a term I naively thought I'd coined until looking into it for this post). Authentic learning is defined here as experience "which best enable learners to be engaged with their learning. Because the teacher attempts to make the learning situation meaningful to the life of the student and connected to real life events, students are better able to construct knowledge and to make meaning from school-based learning."
My thought was to try and show this class how what they were about to learn could be applicable to their own lives: authentic. This is something that I typically do throughout a unit through examples or explanation. However, as I said before, this hasn't been convincing for this class in the past. This term I decided a more drastic approach to authentic learning was required.
To lead into our first unit (with the authentic assessment being a team debate), I decided to invite my principal into class to explain that our school's cafeteria would be closing as per staff decision at the previous day's staff meeting. Students were horrified at the thought, but (surprisingly) accepted the news politely and without argument. This was not the reaction I had counted on, or needed to lead into a unit on debate. As our principal headed toward the door, I told students this was their chance to have their voices heard; they needed to speak the looks on their faces if they wanted a chance to change this decision. So they did. They asked questions, made statement, share perspectives, offered suggestions, and debated reasons and solutions. They debated! And it was great.
After explaining to them that the cafeteria was not in fact closing, and after listening to their groans at being tricked, and after explaining that the purpose of lying to them was to show them how important it is to be able to state and defend an opinion, they were all enthusiastic to learn more about how to convince others of their ideas. They carried this enthusiasm right through the unit, not wanting to wait until the end to debate their topics (which they chose).
This worked so well that I decided to use the same approach, authentic learning, for unit two. This time I knew it would be vital to engage students' interest as we were about to begin The Crucible, a 1953 Arthur Miller play, set in 1692 Salem, Massachusetts about hanging witches. That's about as far away from 2011 Ridgevalley AB as you can get, at least as far as students are concerned. What's a teacher to do?
I took a risk. A risk that ended with 3 students in the hallway, one sobbing; a class full of incredulous and angry, though surrealistically silent students, and a principal ready to call parents. Sounds like a disaster, doesn't it? The next day, the one student who was absent came complaining that she always misses the "fun stuff." A week later teachers are still commenting to me that kids are talking about that class, and students are asking some pretty good questions of the characters via todaysmeet.com. How can that be? Because I showed them what it would be like to live in a society like Salem's where you were expected to follow the rules despite how ridiculous they may seem. I showed them what happens if you don't follow the rules. I showed them how little evidence it took to be named a witch. I showed them what would happen if you tried to defend an accused witch.
Students came to class expecting a test. They got an unfair test with unfair rules. When a rule was broken I tore up that student's test and when they complained I sent them to the hallway. After the first student was sent out, the rules were followed. I then switched to unfair accusations based on little to no evidence. And sent another student out for complaining. A third tried to defend him and she got sent out as well (sobbing). The rest were above reproach. I had the principal come in and enforce how important following the rules is and what would happen if students refuse.
When all was revealed as an act (my drama teacher qualifications have gotten a bit of a boost with all this acting), students were able to relate the themes of the play: hysteria (one student testified to being so frightened of messing up that his hands were shaking so badly he couldn't write his test), intolerance (mine for their disrespect and their's toward the "bad" kids sent to the hall), and reputation (one falsely accused student had been offered amnesty for an admittance of guilt but refused and later explained he didn't want his classmates, who knew he was innocent, to think worse of him).
Students got a firsthand dose of life in Salem at the time of the play and have reserved judgement on the characters for their actions. We also discussed how these same themes were apparent in the events of 9/11 and other situations that affect them. Students had an authentic learning experience that has engaged them and been related to their own lives. I plan on trying to provide more of these types of experiences for students at the beginning of units (though I promised not to lie to this class again for a couple months).
What have you done to offer authentic learning? What do you think about "lying" to students? What suggestions can you offer?
My thought was to try and show this class how what they were about to learn could be applicable to their own lives: authentic. This is something that I typically do throughout a unit through examples or explanation. However, as I said before, this hasn't been convincing for this class in the past. This term I decided a more drastic approach to authentic learning was required.
To lead into our first unit (with the authentic assessment being a team debate), I decided to invite my principal into class to explain that our school's cafeteria would be closing as per staff decision at the previous day's staff meeting. Students were horrified at the thought, but (surprisingly) accepted the news politely and without argument. This was not the reaction I had counted on, or needed to lead into a unit on debate. As our principal headed toward the door, I told students this was their chance to have their voices heard; they needed to speak the looks on their faces if they wanted a chance to change this decision. So they did. They asked questions, made statement, share perspectives, offered suggestions, and debated reasons and solutions. They debated! And it was great.
After explaining to them that the cafeteria was not in fact closing, and after listening to their groans at being tricked, and after explaining that the purpose of lying to them was to show them how important it is to be able to state and defend an opinion, they were all enthusiastic to learn more about how to convince others of their ideas. They carried this enthusiasm right through the unit, not wanting to wait until the end to debate their topics (which they chose).
This worked so well that I decided to use the same approach, authentic learning, for unit two. This time I knew it would be vital to engage students' interest as we were about to begin The Crucible, a 1953 Arthur Miller play, set in 1692 Salem, Massachusetts about hanging witches. That's about as far away from 2011 Ridgevalley AB as you can get, at least as far as students are concerned. What's a teacher to do?
I took a risk. A risk that ended with 3 students in the hallway, one sobbing; a class full of incredulous and angry, though surrealistically silent students, and a principal ready to call parents. Sounds like a disaster, doesn't it? The next day, the one student who was absent came complaining that she always misses the "fun stuff." A week later teachers are still commenting to me that kids are talking about that class, and students are asking some pretty good questions of the characters via todaysmeet.com. How can that be? Because I showed them what it would be like to live in a society like Salem's where you were expected to follow the rules despite how ridiculous they may seem. I showed them what happens if you don't follow the rules. I showed them how little evidence it took to be named a witch. I showed them what would happen if you tried to defend an accused witch.
Students came to class expecting a test. They got an unfair test with unfair rules. When a rule was broken I tore up that student's test and when they complained I sent them to the hallway. After the first student was sent out, the rules were followed. I then switched to unfair accusations based on little to no evidence. And sent another student out for complaining. A third tried to defend him and she got sent out as well (sobbing). The rest were above reproach. I had the principal come in and enforce how important following the rules is and what would happen if students refuse.
When all was revealed as an act (my drama teacher qualifications have gotten a bit of a boost with all this acting), students were able to relate the themes of the play: hysteria (one student testified to being so frightened of messing up that his hands were shaking so badly he couldn't write his test), intolerance (mine for their disrespect and their's toward the "bad" kids sent to the hall), and reputation (one falsely accused student had been offered amnesty for an admittance of guilt but refused and later explained he didn't want his classmates, who knew he was innocent, to think worse of him).
Students got a firsthand dose of life in Salem at the time of the play and have reserved judgement on the characters for their actions. We also discussed how these same themes were apparent in the events of 9/11 and other situations that affect them. Students had an authentic learning experience that has engaged them and been related to their own lives. I plan on trying to provide more of these types of experiences for students at the beginning of units (though I promised not to lie to this class again for a couple months).
What have you done to offer authentic learning? What do you think about "lying" to students? What suggestions can you offer?
Wow! Jonathan, what an engaging teacher you can be. My setting is so different, I will have difficulty applying your tactics in my class, but I will be trying!
ReplyDeleteKeep testing the limits, keep engaging students and keep telling us about it!