I have to say that this week has been quite rewarding. New resources and tools have appeared to be added to my technology based curriculum, which I have considered very useful to use with students inside and outside classroom.
This week we have started checking PBL Project based learning, which is an extraordinary way to allow our students use English with authentic tasks and in real situations. This kind of project let students demonstrate what they can really do with English thought a variety of activities which requires research, creativity, and self preparation, and at the time they will develop cooperative skills while working in groups and sharing new knowledge with their partners and teacher. With these projects the students have the opportunity to solve challenging problems and taking into account the different learning styles they could engage in meaningful and appropriately tasks designed specifically for them.
As a second point, I have checked alternative assessment. This topic I liked a lot because I understood that through checklists and rubrics we can find an extraordinary way to evaluate students progress in comprehension, use and production of the English Language. Checklists and Rubrics as part of the alternative assessment give many alternatives to evaluate authentic task in students and as teacher we can observe and give a veritable value to what they are be able to do using English . It also allow to have an idea about straight and weaknesses students have and how we can set feedback to enhance their learning process.
Finally I have designed some activities which I will do as a technology related change in my class. With the idea of developing meaningful tasks related with the four skills I have considered blogs, Randall's lab, key pals and a web quest to address to some of the issues my students face in and outside the classroom. Looking forward to get a good and a positive acceptance of my students, I will try these online resources as a part of my project in the fallowing two weeks.
Best,
Vilma
Hello Vilmita,
ReplyDeleteThis week was so, so rewarding. We learnt many constructive things which we can apply in our teaching. PBL is very useful for students to develop many skills we mentioned during our discussions. In this way, students can develop their skills of being independent learners. Teachers can also have a continuous assessment of their work. As regards the rubrics and alternative assessment tools, I really like these ways of evaluating students work. We can also track their progress continuously. In my opinion, it is so motivating for students because their can do self-evaluation and they can also evaluate their peers' tasks. In this way, students can also improve many skills (e.g. writing, grammar). On the other hand, WebQuest is rewarding both for teachers and students. Bu using WebQuest, students can develop their teams' skills and teachers do not need to worry about lesson plans any more.
Best regards
Rade
Hi Vilma,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that PBL method enable students to use the language for a purpose which is the main point of learning something. I also like your idea that assessment give us an idea of students weaknesses and strengths and they are a useful feedback tool as well.
All the best
Hilal