Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
the correct direction, and give guidance for self-correction so they can find the
answer on their own.
I also provided each student with feedback so they could develop better
lesson/unit plans.
The first week in December students uploaded their second drafts and again were
required to provide each other with feedback. I also gave a second round of feedback
to each student so they could make further improvements. Table 21.3 summarizes
the feedback students gave each other.
Table 21.3
Analysis of students' feedback to each other
Category
Types of feedback
•
Questioning or
explaining
Why particular teaching methods and instructional materials
were selected
•
Demographics of the target students in terms of grade/achievement
level, and linguistic/cultural background
•
Purpose of the unit/lesson
•
Support students will need to complete assigned tasks
•
How effective the planned lesson would be in achieving the
identified objectives
•
Amount and level of material to be covered
•
Prior knowledge/skill/experience needed for the unit/lesson
•
How students should approach a task
•
How to make the unit/lesson plan more consistent with the
prescribed model
•
Connection to a theory studied in the course
Recommending
•
Elaborations on the planned lesson
•
Alternative approaches to the lesson or alternative materials
•
How lesson content or skills could be transferred to everyday life
experience
•
How to make the lesson more interesting or exciting
•
Ways to assess students' performance or judge their work
Other
•
Praising good teaching methods and instructional materials
•
Correcting invalid information
•
Clarifying a concept, explanation or approach
Some students engaged in a dialogue about the lesson, responding to each other's
and my comments and questions, and guiding each other to supplemental Internet
or print resources. Additionally, some students used HyLighter metacognitively to
make notes to themselves about changes to make in their plans. Most commonly
the feedback I provided was to improve the alignment of the lesson design with
the assigned model and to make more and more specific connections between their
lessons and our coursework.
Following lesson presentations, a discussion of students' reactions to this assign-
ment resulted in these conclusions: (1) working collaboratively on lesson plan
design helped them better understand and apply the assigned model; (2) occasion-
ally collaboration was unbalanced as some members of a group provided extensive
