I learned a great deal from creating the discussion questions for last year's class and from reading students' answers. I struggled to write good questions; sometimes I hit the mark. There are things about each reading that I want you to notice; these are not always things that can be determined by an objective quiz. Some of my questions worked well last year in that they did elicit the sorts of responses I'm looking for.
Here are some pointers on getting full credit for your Discussion Question answers.
1. Your answer should first and foremost convince me that you completed the reading, understood it, thought about it, and finally--in the forum--wrote about it. When several people cite the same example and that example is from the first 25% of the text, I get suspicious. I don't like the fact that I get suspicious, but I admit that it happens.
2. Examples from the reading are critical to success in discussion forums. Just saying what you think without backing it up will not generally get you full credit. Knowing what you think about a reading will be more authoritative if you cite a particular section of the work (paraphrase) or even better when you quote from the reading.
Here are some examples from good work done in last year's class. I found these three answers to be exceptional. They hit the mark because they show thought, they give examples, they use the language of the writer they are talking about. Read and enjoy!
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The question: Jesse Stuart never found a school he couldn't transform.
Why do you think this was the case? Which of his methods seem most effective to you?
What qualities make him a good teacher from your vantage point? Why?
"Whittling the Timber" by Laura Grinstead
Jesse Stuart said it best, "It wasn't that I was a good teacher. I had good timber to work with. I had taught the ambitious descendants of a land locked people, who for the first time in their lives had the advantage of high-school training. They had made the best of it. They had given me their best. I had given them my best. They would return soon to their plowing and planting, to their work beneath the sun, wind, and stars in their valley of mists and tender voices of spring. And I would return to college to take courses in education, to prepare myself for the greater school task ahead."
Mr. Stuart believed in his children and he found ways to help each and every child, no matter the age or the situation. That's what made him a good teacher. He came to their levels and never criticized a person for being the age of 23 on a first grade level.
The method I liked the best was helping the smaller children to stay awake in class, with play. School should be interesting for those students, because it will help them to always be interested. Taking the time to find out what each child enjoys can make a difference in the long run. His way of teaching was like our system No Child Left Behind, but Mr. Stuart's just worked a lot better.
Each individual was a piece of timber that he whittled out to the best of their ability.
"Jesse's Passion" by Jessica Counts
I believe that Jesse's passion drove him to achieve greatness! He had a passion for the students, teaching, and for learning, and this was seen both in and outside the classroom. When he taught high school for the first time, he studied outside the classroom in order to give the children the best lesson possible. He believed in each one of his students and shared his passion with them to make them believe in themselves. He never gave up on a student, but saw the potential in each child/adult. Despite all of the obstacles that he had to overcome-teaching all grades 1-8 in a one room school, walking great distances to and from school, criticism, etc.-it never deterred him from his goal…he had a passion.
I loved reading about how the needle's eye was the school teacher and the thread that ran so true was play. The more I thought about it, I realized how true this statement was. Children's play is apart of their development, they need to play. The different stages of play (object, individual, imaginative, etc.) indicate the different stages of development. As you are teaching children they are in these developmental stages that play is also a part of. Jesse's insight was deeper than just occupying the children, it was crucial to their learning.
One of the other things that I noticed about Jesse is that he always used positive reinforcement and gave the students ownership of their school. When he went to Landsburgh High School he changed the sign from "KEEP OFF THE GRASS ...If you don't, you will be punished. This means YOU!" to "PLEASE, PROTECT THE GRASS" (page 126). His sign was a lot more effective because it gave the students ownership and did not put them on the defensive; as the saying goes, you will get further with sugar. He also created a family like environment within all of his school houses. "I told them that we planned to paint the house. I told them that this building was our home, that we were a unit the same as a family and we had to work together." (page 46). I find this significant because children thrive in security, if they know that they are safe and cared for then often times they perform better.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The question: How do these two writers contribute to your "American experience"? What do their perspectives bring into focus for you? How do their experiences and their thinking help you face your own situation?
"My American Experience" by Emily Smith
Both of these writers greatly influenced my American experience. They introduced historical perspectives that I was not very familiar with. Bell Hooks discussed the oppression that women slaves experienced. Before reading this book, I had not thought about the differences in the treatment of men and women slaves. I learned that women slaves suffered the effects of racism and patriarchy.
Jesse Stuart gave a very interesting insight into the public school system in Kentucky. From his experiences teaching in a one room school house, being a superintendant, and being a principal I learned a lot about the school system and Stuart's successful teaching philosophies. These different perspectives help me to refine my views of the feminist movement, public education, and teaching philosophies.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Perhaps my comments and these excellent posts by students in last year's class will help you succeed in the discussion forums.
KVB
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Image: This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 License. In short: you are free to share and make derivative works of the file under the conditions that you appropriately attribute it, and that you distribute it only under a license identical to this one. Official license
This licensing tag was added to this file as part of the GFDL licensing update.
One of the other things that I noticed about Jesse is that he always used positive reinforcement and gave the students ownership of their school. When he went to Landsburgh High School he changed the sign from "KEEP OFF THE GRASS ...If you don't, you will be punished. This means YOU!" to "PLEASE, PROTECT THE GRASS" (page 126). His sign was a lot more effective because it gave the students ownership and did not put them on the defensive; as the saying goes, you will get further with sugar. He also created a family like environment within all of his school houses. "I told them that we planned to paint the house. I told them that this building was our home, that we were a unit the same as a family and we had to work together." (page 46). I find this significant because children thrive in security, if they know that they are safe and cared for then often times they perform better.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The question: How do these two writers contribute to your "American experience"? What do their perspectives bring into focus for you? How do their experiences and their thinking help you face your own situation?
"My American Experience" by Emily Smith
Both of these writers greatly influenced my American experience. They introduced historical perspectives that I was not very familiar with. Bell Hooks discussed the oppression that women slaves experienced. Before reading this book, I had not thought about the differences in the treatment of men and women slaves. I learned that women slaves suffered the effects of racism and patriarchy.
Jesse Stuart gave a very interesting insight into the public school system in Kentucky. From his experiences teaching in a one room school house, being a superintendant, and being a principal I learned a lot about the school system and Stuart's successful teaching philosophies. These different perspectives help me to refine my views of the feminist movement, public education, and teaching philosophies.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Perhaps my comments and these excellent posts by students in last year's class will help you succeed in the discussion forums.
KVB
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Image: This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 License. In short: you are free to share and make derivative works of the file under the conditions that you appropriately attribute it, and that you distribute it only under a license identical to this one. Official license
This licensing tag was added to this file as part of the GFDL licensing update.
No comments:
Post a Comment