Today in class was different than I expected; today we were going on a scavenger hunt using a new app on out phones to complete it. Dr. Clark has been telling us about technological integration into our classrooms and today was an example of what that looks like when its implemented and put into practice.
I saw where it gave simple guidelines as to what to do but was broad enough to allow us to think critically and collaborate with others in our group as to how best complete the job. It gave us more freedom in how we needed to get the job done and a sense of independence among us as well as telling us that the teacher trusts us to do it. The activity allowed for diversity in answering questions and how we took on these challenges. I say all these things not because this activity helps us in increasing our knowledge on new material or improve our understanding of a standard. Instead, it acts as an example that this activity promoted critical thinking, diversity, collaborate and communication skills, trust between teacher and students, independence, and individuality. It serves as an example to what our activities should encourage and foster in our own students.
I definitely agree with you about how the scavenger hunt is a great tool that not only utilizes collaboration, but like you said it also also used a method that wasn't your typical classroom lesson and I also think this app promotes authentic learning as well.
ReplyDeleteI love your comment about how it establishes a trust between teacher and student; this is critical in the classroom! I've found that in an ESL classroom, trust is the hardest thing for students to develop with their teacher because most of their teachers write them off and refuse to dig deep to bring out their full potential. This is what drives my desire to teach-wanting to show students that I can and will be there for them if no one else will.
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