Thanks once again to our group who led us through the warm up. (I'll have to work on those push-ups a bit longer.) Today we looked at two lessons related to teaching health issues, "Empowered Decision-Making" and "Helping Students Process Stress Through Writing to Literary Characters". We had some fun making collages that represented health topics.
Our group presentations begin next week. Also, a reminder that the blogs/reading logs will be due before class on Nov. 28. Please e-mail me all the postings in one Word document. (After the introductory blog, you should have 9 entries.)
Enjoy the long weekend.
I learned a lot about collages this week. I remember doing them as a child, mostly with photographs of my friends so that I could hang it up in my room or for art projects. I really enjoyed doing them, but I never really thought of them as a learning tool. However, during today’s class I learned that collages are very valuable teaching and assessment tools. Two points that really stuck out for me were that 1.) collages are a stress-free, engaging learning tool, and 2.) collages are a great way for students with special needs to express what they have learned. Doing a collage is a less stressful activity because it allows students to be creative and express their learning through non-traditional means. School can be very stressful (especially for students with learning difficulties) so having activities that are low stress would encourage meaningful learning. As Sue mentioned, it will bring out different non-academic talents in students which allows teachers to assess students’ understanding of concepts without assessing their ability to read or write.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I suspect that since it engages the creative right-brain, it helps students process the problem differently by identifying connections to broader issues and subjectively drawing on their interpretation of the world. In our class activity, I found that talking about why you thought things were related to your collage, it also helped me understand WHY things were connected. Some things seemed to be connected to the collage intuitively, but when you had to explain the connection it helped clarify the connection and make it more real. This would be useful for understanding complex issues since it solidifies connections in one’s mind. When you start to look at collages in more detail, they really are fantastic forms of expression and learning.
The last time I made a collage for a school-related activity was when we had to make a collage about a poem for English class in high school. I've never been really artsy (except for some random doodles on my notes) and I cannot cut in a straight line to save my life, so I found some random poem on butterflies so that I could make an easy collage with butterflies and flowers and call it a day. My friend is a huge fan of scrapbooking and when I told her we did collages in my university class, she was surprised. I was surprised too when I first found out that we would be doing this but it got me thinking that this outlet of creativity could give a voice to children who may not be able to articulate what they think because they don't have enough education, may be special needs, may not know what to say, etc.
ReplyDeleteThis got me thinking about PhotoVoice, which I learned about in one of my HSCI classes. Photovoice is employed as a public health method to figure out what communities want out of public health intervention programs and it is done through taking photographs of the community. This (and collages for that matter) are important because it is a way of using photography (or collage making) to give a voice to people who would usually not get a voice in society.
Like everyone else I am sure, I found this class a lot of fun. Not only because I got to make collages but also because it was a fun and interactive hands on learning experience for all of us. Allowing those non-academic talents in students to be showcased for others to see as well as what Katherine mentioned earlier about giving teachers a chance to “assess students’ understanding of concepts without assessing their ability to read or write.”
ReplyDeleteLike past classes, we have had discussion groups and what not but it was not as interactive as today’s class activity. We got to really work together and discuss the topic. With that said, my group also got the opportunity to get to know each prior to our presentation. We were able to build a form of friendship I haven’t got the change to do with the rest of my peers.
I have been in many other education classes and I have to say I love them. Most of them I have finished feeling like we were a family. We had all created such a comfortable environment in the class that we were able to have deep discussions as well as be able to work with every single peer around us, very similar to this class and I loved it. Wanting to go into teaching myself, I think it is important to create that sort of environment where each student is welcome and comfortable enough to speak their mind while being able to build a circle of friends that they can openly reach out to at any time.
We looked at certain lesson plans this week, how to implement them in the classroom, and most importantly, how to assess if students are actually learning while participating in these activities. That last aspect was most interesting to me because it is something I’ve never really thought of before as a student, or even in other education classes I have taken at SFU. It seems sort of bizarre because obviously a student learning is the most important factor of the education system and the main focus of a teaching profession.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the collage activity in the later part of class. I remember making collages for various classes throughout middle school and high school. It was always enjoyable making them in class because it was a time to relax and do something fun in the middle of a stressful day. I also liked the task because I could show my creative side and still be engaged in the subject. Also, many of the collages I made required a separate page of writing, describing what my collage meant and what certain pictures represented. Including that description allows teachers to assess a student’s learning through a creative channel.
Today we looked at lesson plan prep for grade school students. We learned that an affective alternative way of teaching is by using visual and hands on work. We simulated the construction of a collage as a means to teach children about society and social issues. Students were assigned to design a collage with the theme of their choice and were asked to discuss the reason for their choice of pictures. I found this method to be unique and effective. Students will be critically thinking while having fun doing it!
ReplyDeleteOur collage spoke of the dangers of male body image issues, this sparked much heated debate. We would not expect this in a grade school classroom but it is still good for them to begin learning how to think outside the box.
As for my group lesson plan. We had decided to explore physical education. We exchanged emails and agreed to discuss the material via email.
As for my health goal, I have stagnated. I have successfully achieved 2 days consistantly without junk food in the week. I seem to be holding on so far without cravings....(but can't seem to go any more days). I guess it is still a success, since the eating habits are better than before the assignment.
During the first half of class, we learned how to create effective lesson plans to implement better understanding of the material in children. We learned that students learn much better when they are actively engaging in activities. It is difficult to learn and understanding something if the students are taking a copious amount of notes and not discussing what they are learning. Children benefit from visual presentations and illustrations which better their understanding of the material at hand.
ReplyDeleteThis class was a lot of fun. During the latter half of class, we were asked to make a collage on any topoic of choice. I’ve made tons of collages before and I’ve never thought of making one for educational purposes. Our group focused on male body image. It was interesting to see how even though women are objectified and stereotypes reflect how women in society should look a certain way, men are under similar pressure. I cannot say that the pressure is less or more than what women undergo, but it is important to understand that in today’s society, the ideal man must look a certain way as well. In my opinion, outcries of sexism towards women by advertisers, media and fashion industries is becoming less of an outrage since I believe that the same thing is happening to men. Men are encouraged to take supplements to get the perfect body with six packs and a “cut” appearance. It is suggested that once a man obtains this body, he will have no trouble getting the girl.