"Observation is a passive science, experimentation an active science." Claude Bernard
What a hectic and fruitful week! There was so much to be done in terms of reading and so much to achieve in terms of tasks. With some organizations and help, I could finally make it.
Let me start with the discussion of the week: Engaging students. I think that most teachers have at one point or another come up with this problem in their career: lack of students 'interest in the class. However hard we try, once we lose one or two on the way, it is very difficult to get their attention back. I am thus certainly going to stress on the fact that we need to engage them fully in the learning process. Learning is no longer a passive activity. The teacher and the learner both cooperate for the benefit of the class. When I read about interactive lectures, this brings me back to my home situation. All my three children learned the alphabet at a very early age. No one learned it at school. They could barely walk that they had mastered the 26 letters of the alphabet correctly. Neither my husband nor I sat with them to make them learn by heart. The job was done instead by interactive television programs such as Super Why and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. They participated in the learning process and the alphabets came easily to them. I will certainly apply the same process in class too. Let my students engage themselves in their learning and accordingly benefit from the possible outcomes in the long run.
I also had to devote a large part of my week to a short power point presentation. It was so difficult to master at the start but I finally could master the basics of an interactive power point and hyperlinks. Using this in class, I hope will arouse the students' interest and help to increase their participation in class. The class must no longer be a monotonous one-man show, where the teacher only lectures, asks questions and he himself at times answers his questions because all the students are lost somewhere...Students learn by doing and I hope I will be able to give them the opportunity to do so next year.
Of course, I am going to move to my project task now. Since teaching is over for me this year, I will thus have to refine my plans and speak a little bit more about what I intend to do. I will implement my plan in my Form 6 lower class where I teach literature. I have already spoken about the Web Quest I want to introduce in class. I will begin with a power point presentation to inform them about the tasks lying ahead of them. After one or two introductory slides, they will watch the BBC animated version of "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Then, we will move on to a short class discussion on 'Love' in general. All their ideas will be most welcome in this short brainstorming exercise. Since it is a small class, it will be possible for them to work on their own for their research. Next, I will proceed to Love in the play stressing on the fact that there are different types of love in the play and they will have to elaborate on these. They will have to search for ideas on this specific theme on:
Their aim is to find as many possible forms of love in the play and organize their ideas as such:
Love in the couples:
- Lysander and Hermia
- Demetrius and Hermia
- Helena and Demetrius
- Theseus and Hippolyta
- Oberon and Titania and later,
- Lysander for Helena and
- Demetrius for Helena and
- The love of a father for his children: Egeus and Hermia.
In order for the students to know if they are moving in the right direction or not, I will provide them with a rubric specific to the task that they are attempting.
I have in mind that once I expose my students to a new technique in class, they will take up the challenge and will feel more concerned about the class. Let us hope that at the end of the day, they develop a strong liking for the play.
