lunes, 27 de diciembre de 2010
sábado, 31 de julio de 2010
An inspirational story
Excerpt from: Heart of a Teacher,
by Paula FoxHe was in the first third grade class I taught at Saint Mary's School in Morris, Minnesota. All 34 of my students were dear to me, but Mark Eklund was one in a million. Very neat in appearance, he had that happy-to-be-alive attitude that made even his occasional mischievousness delightful.
Mark talked incessantly. I had to remind him again and again that talking without permission was not acceptable. What impressed me so much, though, was his sincere response every time I had to correct him for misbehaving. "Thank you for correcting me, Sister!" I didn't know what to make of it at first, but before long I became accustomed to hearing it many times a day.
One morning my patience was growing thin when Mark talked once too often, and then I made a novice teacher's mistake. I looked at Mark and said, "If you say one more word, I am going to tape your mouth shut!" It wasn't ten seconds later when Chuck blurted out, "Mark is talking again." I hadn't asked any of the students to help me watch Mark, but since I had stated the punishment in front of the class, I had to act on it. I remember the scene as if it had occurred this morning. I walked to my desk, very deliberately opened my drawer and took out a roll of masking tape. Without saying a word, I proceeded to Mark's desk, tore off two pieces of tape and made a big X with them over his mouth. I then returned to the front of the room. As I glanced at Mark to see how he was doing, he winked at me. That did it! I started laughing. The class cheered as I walked back to Mark's desk, removed the tape, and shrugged my shoulders. His first words were, "Thank you for correcting me, Sister."
At the end of the year, I was asked to teach junior-high math. The years flew by, and before I knew it Mark was in my classroom again. He was more handsome than ever and just as polite. Since he had to listen carefully to my instruction in the "new math," he did not talk as much in ninth grade as he had in third. One Friday, things just didn't feel right. We had worked hard on a new concept all week, and I sensed that the students were frowning, frustrated with themselves and edgy with one another. I had to stop this crankiness before it got out of hand. So I asked them to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name. Then I told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down. It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and as the students left the room, each one handed me the papers. Charlie smiled. Mark said, "Thank you for teaching me, Sister. Have a good weekend." That Saturday, I wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and I listed what everyone else had said about that individual.
On Monday I gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. "Really?" I heard whispered. "I never knew that meant anything to anyone! I didn't know others liked me so much." No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. I never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another again.
That group of students moved on. Several years later, after I returned from vacation, my parents met me at the airport. As we were driving home, Mother asked me the usual questions about the trip, the weather, my experiences in general. There was a lull in the conversation. Mother gave Dad a sideways glance and simply said, "Dad?" My father cleared his throat as he usually did before something important. "The Eklunds called last night," he began. "Really?" I said. "I haven't heard from them in years. I wonder how Mark is." Dad responded quietly. "Mark was killed in Vietnam," he said. "The funeral is tomorrow, and his parents would like it if you could attend." To this day I can still point to the exact spot on I-494 where Dad told me about Mark.
I had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. Mark looked so handsome, so mature. All I could think at that moment was, "Mark, I would give all the masking tape in the world if only you would talk to me." The church was packed with Mark's friends. Chuck's sister sang "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." Why did it have to rain on the day of the funeral? It was difficult enough at the graveside. The pastor said the usual prayers, and the bugler played taps. One by one those who loved Mark took a last walk by the coffin and sprinkled it with holy water. I was the last one to bless the coffin. As I stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came up to me. "Were you Mark's math teacher?" he asked. I nodded as I continued to stare at the coffin. "Mark talked about you a lot," he said.
After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates headed to Chuck's farmhouse for lunch. Mark's mother and father were there, obviously waiting for me. "We want to show you something," his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket. "They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it." Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. I knew without looking that the papers were the ones on which I had listed all the good things each of Mark's classmates had said about him. "Thank you so much for doing that," Mark's mother said. "As you can see, Mark treasured it." Mark's classmates started to gather around us. Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, "I still have my list. I keep it in the top drawer of my desk at home." Chuck's wife said, "Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album." "I have mine too," Marilyn said. "It's in my diary." Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. "I carry this with me at all times," Vicki said without batting an eyelash. "I think we all saved our lists." That's when I finally sat down and cried. I cried for Mark and for all his friends who would never see him again.
The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that life will end one day. And we don't know when that one day will be. So please, tell the people you love and care for that they are special and important. Tell them, before it is too late.
viernes, 11 de junio de 2010
Writing descriptive paragraphs
Unit: Language Arts
Theme: Writing descriptive paragraphs
Lesson Length: 5 days
Objectives: Students will:
Materials: computer, PowerPoint presentation, board, projector, handouts
Development
Day 1
1. Greet students.
2. Brainstorm about what is a descriptive sentence. Some answers might be: one that says something about a topic; one that tells me how something is, etc.
3. Define what is a descriptive paragraph and its elements.
Day 2
1. Greet students.
2. Recall previous class.
3. Read an example of a descriptive paragraph and identify the elements. ( work on notebook)
4. Explain the "Orange Paragraph Method" for writing a descriptive paragraphs.
Day 3
1. Greet students.
2. Review steps in the Orange Method.
3. Practice exercise: Write a five sentence descriptive paragraph about the school.
4. Share sentences written and create the paragraph.
Days 4 and 5
1. Greet students.
2. Explain the instructions for the special activity and the rubric for evaluating the paragraph to be handed in.
3. Begin to work on the activity: first step: pre-write ideas for their topics. Teacher checks and assigns points.
4. Draft sentences. Students should use the dictionaries and thesaurus to look for descriptive words.Teacher collect drafts for revision.
5. Corrected drafts are returned; student edits and publish the paragraph.
Assessments:
Teacher's observations
Descriptive paragraph rubric
Group interaction
Completed paragraphs
Theme: Writing descriptive paragraphs
Lesson Length: 5 days
Objectives: Students will:
- Develop descriptive writing skills.
- Identify elements of a descriptive paragraphs.
- Write a descriptive paragraph that includes a topic sentences, no less than five adjectives, and a closing sentence.
Materials: computer, PowerPoint presentation, board, projector, handouts
Development
Day 1
1. Greet students.
2. Brainstorm about what is a descriptive sentence. Some answers might be: one that says something about a topic; one that tells me how something is, etc.
3. Define what is a descriptive paragraph and its elements.
Day 2
1. Greet students.
2. Recall previous class.
3. Read an example of a descriptive paragraph and identify the elements. ( work on notebook)
4. Explain the "Orange Paragraph Method" for writing a descriptive paragraphs.
Day 3
1. Greet students.
2. Review steps in the Orange Method.
3. Practice exercise: Write a five sentence descriptive paragraph about the school.
4. Share sentences written and create the paragraph.
Days 4 and 5
1. Greet students.
2. Explain the instructions for the special activity and the rubric for evaluating the paragraph to be handed in.
3. Begin to work on the activity: first step: pre-write ideas for their topics. Teacher checks and assigns points.
4. Draft sentences. Students should use the dictionaries and thesaurus to look for descriptive words.Teacher collect drafts for revision.
5. Corrected drafts are returned; student edits and publish the paragraph.
Assessments:
Teacher's observations
Descriptive paragraph rubric
Group interaction
Completed paragraphs
lunes, 7 de junio de 2010
Comments on Peter Elbow articles
Article #1 Using writing in disciplinary, subject-matter courses
Peter Elbow makes a clear distinction of the objectives to teach writing in our classes: to demonstrate what has been learned (high stake writing) and to write for learning (low stake writing) about a subject. According to Elbow, writing to learn is less used and enforced by teachers and students. This kind of writing allows students to construct their learning experience and to freely express their ideas, hence demonstrating that knowledge is being acquired. Low stake writing do not enforce formal grading of written work, rather it emphasizes and promotes content. The recommendations given are very useful because they promote different kinds of writing and different circumstances to use them. I specially liked his recommendation of using the last five minutes of the class to have students reflect on what they learned that day, in this way the next class should focus on the areas not fully understood by them.
Article #2 Benefits of low stakes writing (Writing to Learn)
The list of benefits for using low stake writing in the classroom presented by Elbow in this article really motivates us to try some of his recommendations . Students can use their own "personal" language as a way to express in writing their ideas and what they have learned. This gives the students the opportunity to express themselves knowing that they will not be graded based on how accurate, in terms of grammar and language mechanics, their written work is, but on the content, on the ideas they want to convey. Even when grading is not required when using low stake writing, I would read and comment on the work presented by the students. This will make them aware of what needs to be corrected and/or improved and will show that their participation and interest in learning is valued.
Peter Elbow makes a clear distinction of the objectives to teach writing in our classes: to demonstrate what has been learned (high stake writing) and to write for learning (low stake writing) about a subject. According to Elbow, writing to learn is less used and enforced by teachers and students. This kind of writing allows students to construct their learning experience and to freely express their ideas, hence demonstrating that knowledge is being acquired. Low stake writing do not enforce formal grading of written work, rather it emphasizes and promotes content. The recommendations given are very useful because they promote different kinds of writing and different circumstances to use them. I specially liked his recommendation of using the last five minutes of the class to have students reflect on what they learned that day, in this way the next class should focus on the areas not fully understood by them.
Article #2 Benefits of low stakes writing (Writing to Learn)
The list of benefits for using low stake writing in the classroom presented by Elbow in this article really motivates us to try some of his recommendations . Students can use their own "personal" language as a way to express in writing their ideas and what they have learned. This gives the students the opportunity to express themselves knowing that they will not be graded based on how accurate, in terms of grammar and language mechanics, their written work is, but on the content, on the ideas they want to convey. Even when grading is not required when using low stake writing, I would read and comment on the work presented by the students. This will make them aware of what needs to be corrected and/or improved and will show that their participation and interest in learning is valued.
miércoles, 2 de junio de 2010
Comments on videos
Tecnologia o Metodologia
Although a very funny representation, it shows a very sad reality in our schools: we keep using the same old teaching methods to teach our students even when we have technology tools to change them. The truth is that the use of technology itself does not means that the school is going to be a modern school, nor the integration of technology into our classrooms represents we will be better teachers. There must be a change in our teaching paradigms, a new way to focus our teaching strategies as to make them effective and productive for our students and for us.
Taylor Mali on What teachers make
Teachers' contributions in the formation of a person is seldom appreciated and recognized. We teach because we want to impact another life ; we want our students to be able to grow and develop as useful and responsible persons. We want to make them aware that is is in their hands that the future of our lives will be since they will eventually be the doctors, nurses, caretakers of us, the aging sector in our society. I want my students to feel proud of who they are, to love our country and be responsible for their life and those who surround them. We teachers make the whole blessed difference!!!!!!
Although a very funny representation, it shows a very sad reality in our schools: we keep using the same old teaching methods to teach our students even when we have technology tools to change them. The truth is that the use of technology itself does not means that the school is going to be a modern school, nor the integration of technology into our classrooms represents we will be better teachers. There must be a change in our teaching paradigms, a new way to focus our teaching strategies as to make them effective and productive for our students and for us.
Taylor Mali on What teachers make
Teachers' contributions in the formation of a person is seldom appreciated and recognized. We teach because we want to impact another life ; we want our students to be able to grow and develop as useful and responsible persons. We want to make them aware that is is in their hands that the future of our lives will be since they will eventually be the doctors, nurses, caretakers of us, the aging sector in our society. I want my students to feel proud of who they are, to love our country and be responsible for their life and those who surround them. We teachers make the whole blessed difference!!!!!!
A comment on A proposal for a taxonomy of ESL Writing Strategies
This research focuses in the development of a taxonomy of ESL writing strategies. According to the various researchers presented by Congjun Mu, author of this research, although there were various writing strategies, they have not been properly classified. The taxonomy of ESL writing strategies proposed by the author presented five major categories:
1. communicative strategies- needed to express ideas in an effective way
2. rethorical strategies- use to organize ideas
3. meta-cognitive strategies- use to create paragraph conventions (i.e. beginning, cohesion, coherence, ending)
4. cognitive strategies- use to generate, revise, elaborate and summarize ideas
5. social/affective strategies- encompasses the ones use to interact with other people; resourcing and gathering feedback from others to gain support.
I found very interesting the fact that the use of the vernacular language (L1) is one of the strategies used (rethorical strategies) to properly convey the ideas in the written work.
1. communicative strategies- needed to express ideas in an effective way
2. rethorical strategies- use to organize ideas
3. meta-cognitive strategies- use to create paragraph conventions (i.e. beginning, cohesion, coherence, ending)
4. cognitive strategies- use to generate, revise, elaborate and summarize ideas
5. social/affective strategies- encompasses the ones use to interact with other people; resourcing and gathering feedback from others to gain support.
I found very interesting the fact that the use of the vernacular language (L1) is one of the strategies used (rethorical strategies) to properly convey the ideas in the written work.
domingo, 30 de mayo de 2010
Writing Mini lesson plan
Content Area: Language Arts
Grade Level: Middle Level
Lesson Theme: Writing concrete poems
Length of lesson: 4 days
Objectives: The students will:
a. Define what is a concrete poem.
b. Use the writing process to write a concrete poem.
c. Use a variety of sources( dictionaries, Thesaurus) to write a concrete poem.
Standard: Writing Expectation: W.8.2 DOK Level: Application
Key words: concrete poems, shapes
Materials: computer (PowerPoint presentation), projector, plain paper, colored pencils, dictionaries, Thesaurus
Lesson Development:
Day 1
1. Greet students. Read a short poem (from previously learned types of poems: Haiku, free verse, etc.) and have student express their thoughts about it.
2. Recall previous class: review poetry definition, types of poetry, elements of poetry.
3. Show the presentation opening slide ( it shows an illustration in the shape of a tree with words on it).
4. Brainstorm with students about the graphic representation: What is it? Why are there words hidden?
5. Introduce the lesson theme: concrete poetry. Give a brief background on the origins of this type of poetry.
6. Brainstorm a definition of concrete poetry with students. Write students ideas on the board.
7. Show the presentation. Read and discuss the formal definition and the characteristics of a concrete poem.
8. Show one example of a concrete poem. Read the poem (following reading conventions)and identify the author's main idea.
Day 2
1. Greet students.
2. Recall previous class topics.
3. Read a short poem and have students present ideas on how it can be presented as a concrete poem. Students illustrate the poem on their notebooks.
4. Present the special activity slide: writing a concrete poem. Read the guidelines and explain the rubric for the poem's evaluation.
5. Student select a topic for their poem and pre write ideas using a web. Teacher checks and assigns points. (10 pt)
Day 3
1. Greet students.
2. Review project's guidelines to clarify any doubts.
3. Students draw the sketch or shape for their poems, using their pre writing ideas, write three to five sentences, or group of words, and write them around the shape of their poem. (drafting step)
4. Complete the draft and hand in to teacher for corrections. (review step)
Day 4
1. Greet students.
2. Students complete their poems by editing and publishing their poems.
3. Poems are handed in for final evaluation.
Assessments
Concrete Poem Rubric
Teacher's observations
Group interaction
Grade Level: Middle Level
Lesson Theme: Writing concrete poems
Length of lesson: 4 days
Objectives: The students will:
a. Define what is a concrete poem.
b. Use the writing process to write a concrete poem.
c. Use a variety of sources( dictionaries, Thesaurus) to write a concrete poem.
Standard: Writing Expectation: W.8.2 DOK Level: Application
Key words: concrete poems, shapes
Materials: computer (PowerPoint presentation), projector, plain paper, colored pencils, dictionaries, Thesaurus
Lesson Development:
Day 1
1. Greet students. Read a short poem (from previously learned types of poems: Haiku, free verse, etc.) and have student express their thoughts about it.
2. Recall previous class: review poetry definition, types of poetry, elements of poetry.
3. Show the presentation opening slide ( it shows an illustration in the shape of a tree with words on it).
4. Brainstorm with students about the graphic representation: What is it? Why are there words hidden?
5. Introduce the lesson theme: concrete poetry. Give a brief background on the origins of this type of poetry.
6. Brainstorm a definition of concrete poetry with students. Write students ideas on the board.
7. Show the presentation. Read and discuss the formal definition and the characteristics of a concrete poem.
8. Show one example of a concrete poem. Read the poem (following reading conventions)and identify the author's main idea.
Day 2
1. Greet students.
2. Recall previous class topics.
3. Read a short poem and have students present ideas on how it can be presented as a concrete poem. Students illustrate the poem on their notebooks.
4. Present the special activity slide: writing a concrete poem. Read the guidelines and explain the rubric for the poem's evaluation.
5. Student select a topic for their poem and pre write ideas using a web. Teacher checks and assigns points. (10 pt)
Day 3
1. Greet students.
2. Review project's guidelines to clarify any doubts.
3. Students draw the sketch or shape for their poems, using their pre writing ideas, write three to five sentences, or group of words, and write them around the shape of their poem. (drafting step)
4. Complete the draft and hand in to teacher for corrections. (review step)
Day 4
1. Greet students.
2. Students complete their poems by editing and publishing their poems.
3. Poems are handed in for final evaluation.
Assessments
Concrete Poem Rubric
Teacher's observations
Group interaction
sábado, 29 de mayo de 2010
miércoles, 24 de marzo de 2010
Instruction Plan
Content Area: Language Arts
Grade Level: Middle Level
Lesson Theme: Writing Descriptive Paragraphs
Length of Plan: 5 days
Objectives: Students will:
a. Learn the structure and components of the descriptive paragraph.
b. Develop descriptive paragraph writing skills.
c. Write a descriptive paragraph that includes a topic sentence, three supporting details (descriptive words) and a closing sentence.
Standard: Writing Expectative: W.8.3 DOK: Level 2 (Basic Application
of skills and concepts)
Key Words: descriptive, sentences, adjectives, paragraph
Materials: computer (PowerPoint presentation), projector, exercise handout, Descriptive Paragraph Rubric
Lesson Development
Day 1:
1. Greet students. read the quote of the day, have students express their thoughts about it.
2. Brainstorm ideas of what descriptive writing may be. Write students' ideas on the board.
3. Present the definition and elements of the narrative paragraph. Compare with the students' ideas.
Day 2
1. Read aloud a sample of a descriptive paragraph.
2. Have students identify the nouns being described; explain that the words used to describe a noun are adjectives.
3. Point out the use of the five senses to describe.
4. Work on an adjective exercise: the student underlines the adjective and the sense related to the description.
Day 3
1. Using a given topic ( school) students pre- write at least five adjectives to describe the topic.
2. Begin to draft the paragraph, using the adjectives listed.
3. Differentiated Instruction: Give SE students a cloze paragraph to complete the sentences using the adjectives listed.
Days 4-5
1. Work on a special activity: writing a descriptive paragraph about a topic selected by the student.
2. Students will follow the writing process: pre-write (using a web), draft, revise, editing ( the teacher will assist during the class period) and publish.
3. Teacher will evaluate paragraphs using the Rubric previously discussed with the students.
Assessments: Completed adjectives exercise
Published paragraph
Group Interaction
Teacher's observations.
Grade Level: Middle Level
Lesson Theme: Writing Descriptive Paragraphs
Length of Plan: 5 days
Objectives: Students will:
a. Learn the structure and components of the descriptive paragraph.
b. Develop descriptive paragraph writing skills.
c. Write a descriptive paragraph that includes a topic sentence, three supporting details (descriptive words) and a closing sentence.
Standard: Writing Expectative: W.8.3 DOK: Level 2 (Basic Application
of skills and concepts)
Key Words: descriptive, sentences, adjectives, paragraph
Materials: computer (PowerPoint presentation), projector, exercise handout, Descriptive Paragraph Rubric
Lesson Development
Day 1:
1. Greet students. read the quote of the day, have students express their thoughts about it.
2. Brainstorm ideas of what descriptive writing may be. Write students' ideas on the board.
3. Present the definition and elements of the narrative paragraph. Compare with the students' ideas.
Day 2
1. Read aloud a sample of a descriptive paragraph.
2. Have students identify the nouns being described; explain that the words used to describe a noun are adjectives.
3. Point out the use of the five senses to describe.
4. Work on an adjective exercise: the student underlines the adjective and the sense related to the description.
Day 3
1. Using a given topic ( school) students pre- write at least five adjectives to describe the topic.
2. Begin to draft the paragraph, using the adjectives listed.
3. Differentiated Instruction: Give SE students a cloze paragraph to complete the sentences using the adjectives listed.
Days 4-5
1. Work on a special activity: writing a descriptive paragraph about a topic selected by the student.
2. Students will follow the writing process: pre-write (using a web), draft, revise, editing ( the teacher will assist during the class period) and publish.
3. Teacher will evaluate paragraphs using the Rubric previously discussed with the students.
Assessments: Completed adjectives exercise
Published paragraph
Group Interaction
Teacher's observations.
miércoles, 17 de marzo de 2010
The Miracle Worker: Learning Journal #1
This movie is a representation of the efforts to teach a deaf-blind mute girl to communicate. The fact that she was able to utter (babble) wa-wa to refer to water, kept her parents hoping to find someone to teach her how to communicate. A tutor, who had partial lost of sight, came from a Blind Institute to teach Helen to communicate. She used various strategies, such as finger spelling to teach what the objects name were. However, this strategy was not being effective due to the fact that Helen knew how to finger spell, but did not know what the word represented. According to Piaget's cognitive development theory, Helen's sensorimotor abilities needed to be developed so she could learn new intellectual abilities. The adaptation to the environment, according to Piaget, is essential for the child's cognitive development.
Another area the tutor wanted to improve was Helen's misbehavior. She eradicated her awful table manners and taught her how to dress herself by being consistent. She didn't allow her parents to reward her for misbehaving, thus creating Helen to reject her tutor. The tutor used what we now know as the positive and negative reinforcements (Skinner's Theory). Whenever Helen acted as instructed, she would let her play with the doll, otherwise she would insist until the desired conduct was achieved.
Finally, finger spelled words came alive to Helen when she was taken to the water pump. Her tutor spelled the word water, and that was the beginning of Helen's language development. she began to inquire about the things around her, and her tutor kept finger spelling the words to Helen, who was astonish to finally being able to discover the world around her and understand what the objects represented. This event, according to Vygotsky (Social Development Theory), is what makes lerning pertinent:teachers collaborate with the student to facilitate meaning construction by the students, making this a reciprocal learning experience.
Another area the tutor wanted to improve was Helen's misbehavior. She eradicated her awful table manners and taught her how to dress herself by being consistent. She didn't allow her parents to reward her for misbehaving, thus creating Helen to reject her tutor. The tutor used what we now know as the positive and negative reinforcements (Skinner's Theory). Whenever Helen acted as instructed, she would let her play with the doll, otherwise she would insist until the desired conduct was achieved.
Finally, finger spelled words came alive to Helen when she was taken to the water pump. Her tutor spelled the word water, and that was the beginning of Helen's language development. she began to inquire about the things around her, and her tutor kept finger spelling the words to Helen, who was astonish to finally being able to discover the world around her and understand what the objects represented. This event, according to Vygotsky (Social Development Theory), is what makes lerning pertinent:teachers collaborate with the student to facilitate meaning construction by the students, making this a reciprocal learning experience.
Renaissance Man Movie: Educational Implications
There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.
Hamlet, Act II, scene ii
In this movie the behaviorist, conductivist and constructivist learning theories are used to teach a group of soldiers to comprehend and think critically. These students were lacking reading comprehension skills and analytical abilities. One technique the professor tried to use was to let them choose the reading topics they prefer (constructivism), but when they saw the book he was reading, Hamlet by Shakespeare, they asked what was the book about. He got them engaged by using the chapters main ideas, i.e. incest, murder, dishonesty, etc. Once they began reading, their prior personal experiences were contrasted with the story's characters situation and then they were able to understand the meaning of what they read. According to Bruner, (constructivist theory) this is the way in which learners construct new ideas or concepts, based upon their current or past knowledge. This is the learning schema that the student will later on use to make decisions and understand new concepts.
One of the constructivist theory principles is the use of rewards and punishments. In the movie, the professor rewarded the students with a trip to see a play, Hamlet, which would make them appreciate and further understand the concepts they were learning.
Another theory used by the professor was the behaviorist theory. He made each student read aloud portions of the play (characterization technique), and when one of them could not intonate adequately, he read first the portion and made the student imitate his intonation and pace. In another scene, he modeled how to read each character's part.
On the other hand, the conductist theory, which was the approach the institution used to teach their soldiers, was also utilized by the professor. The professor contributed to the change in behavior of the students by giving them praise and letting them know that they were responsible of their choices and decision in life, specifically with the one that was arrested for dealing with drugs. This soldier sent him a letter that demonstrated how he had learned a new way of conducting himself. Basically all of the students showed a change in their attitudes after the course was completed, being able to graduate from their basic training was their final accomplishment.
As teachers, this movie made us realize the importance of teaching our students to think, comprehend and most of all construct their own learning by using their experiences and changing their attitudes. One o the best demonstrations of how this was accomplished was when the students sang and performed a hip-hop version of the novel. To me, this is what learning is all about: to be able to use what you learned and what you know to live.
Hamlet, Act II, scene ii
In this movie the behaviorist, conductivist and constructivist learning theories are used to teach a group of soldiers to comprehend and think critically. These students were lacking reading comprehension skills and analytical abilities. One technique the professor tried to use was to let them choose the reading topics they prefer (constructivism), but when they saw the book he was reading, Hamlet by Shakespeare, they asked what was the book about. He got them engaged by using the chapters main ideas, i.e. incest, murder, dishonesty, etc. Once they began reading, their prior personal experiences were contrasted with the story's characters situation and then they were able to understand the meaning of what they read. According to Bruner, (constructivist theory) this is the way in which learners construct new ideas or concepts, based upon their current or past knowledge. This is the learning schema that the student will later on use to make decisions and understand new concepts.
One of the constructivist theory principles is the use of rewards and punishments. In the movie, the professor rewarded the students with a trip to see a play, Hamlet, which would make them appreciate and further understand the concepts they were learning.
Another theory used by the professor was the behaviorist theory. He made each student read aloud portions of the play (characterization technique), and when one of them could not intonate adequately, he read first the portion and made the student imitate his intonation and pace. In another scene, he modeled how to read each character's part.
On the other hand, the conductist theory, which was the approach the institution used to teach their soldiers, was also utilized by the professor. The professor contributed to the change in behavior of the students by giving them praise and letting them know that they were responsible of their choices and decision in life, specifically with the one that was arrested for dealing with drugs. This soldier sent him a letter that demonstrated how he had learned a new way of conducting himself. Basically all of the students showed a change in their attitudes after the course was completed, being able to graduate from their basic training was their final accomplishment.
As teachers, this movie made us realize the importance of teaching our students to think, comprehend and most of all construct their own learning by using their experiences and changing their attitudes. One o the best demonstrations of how this was accomplished was when the students sang and performed a hip-hop version of the novel. To me, this is what learning is all about: to be able to use what you learned and what you know to live.
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