Skip to main content

Random thoughts

So it's the third day of our PBL saga. And below I summarize my feelings:
1) Students should write the problems;
2) What we did in three days we should have done in two days;
3) We should be clearer in the fact that we had a concrete plan but that we are willing to change it - this is not meant to be confusing but rather accommodating.
I don't really know what's going on but I'm getting very strange mixed messages from the students and no real concrete feedback.

On the other hand, isn't it a chance to say "Well, since things are so vague, I can choose something that really interests me in terms of of strategies and go with it". Up to now, everyone always says what is necessary but here's a chance to define it yourself. When I think back to my studies, I remember horribly boring lectures and perhaps I'm now giving some of those. But at the same time, I think that this Lernfeld is a chance to really say "I will tolerate a few really boring lectures because I know I can individualize what comes next". And do the work :)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Those Pesky Native Speakers....AGAIN!

The question I most frequently get asked - probably because I grew up speaking English myself and my daughters went through the Swiss public school system - is “how do I deal with native speakers in my classroom?” I will discuss this below starting with my own experiences and then generalize those points to some more practical tips. First of all, I would like to state that I get irritated by the question. Teachers in Switzerland have a 3-year degree in education and a lot of fieldwork. In every subject there will be learners who are more or less motivated, more or less interested, and have had more or fewer experiences in a subject. So when I get asked about native speakers, I think “have they not learned how to differentiate instruction?” and that they have it wrong. Teachers are not responsible for teaching native-level English (they cannot), but they ARE responsible that every child has an active, positive experience where they make progress. They ARE responsible for not just “follo
Post a Comment
Read more

Looking Forward!

What's the difference between "forward-looking" and "looking forward"? An initial thought leads to time: are forward-looking things less probable because they take place in an undetermined point in the future? Are things you look forward to more concrete, in the shorter-term and thus more probable? Who knows - but it is sure fun to think about it!! I am looking forward to this upcoming semester because: I get to teach a lot! My grandfather is coming from the US and we get to go to Lauffen am Neckar ( http://www.lauffen.de/portal ) and take a trip through time. I get to go to the mountains ( http://www.nationalpark.ch/ ) with Ally, Zoe and Patrick. I get to go to the Leonard Cohen concert in Zurich ( http://www.leonardcohen.com/ ) with Patrick! I get to go to the zoo with my students. Somehow it seems a bit simplistic, but isn't it these simple things that keep us happy?
Post a Comment
Read more

Body Parts in English

I have to say that I am slightly not happy with the over-focus on body parts in Swiss 2 nd and 3 rd grades.  Often, they are introduced in the 2 nd grade. And then since Zurich teachers often use a book meant for the first year of EN over two years, or they take a first level book for the first year and start again with a first level book the second year, the kids get this language twice. In one book, the children have to look at each other and ask “Do you have green eyes” – how stupid can you get!!! So I am just sitting here thinking about the last time I ever talked about my eyes or nose or hair. Here’s what I came up with: I need to cut my hair.   I got my contact lens stuck in my eye at dinner.   You know, the woman with the red hair….   I have a runny nose.   Oh, my goodness, I ate so many beans. There’s a rumbling in my stomach. So that makes me think of situations (contexts) that might make sense for teaching this language: Describing people NOT in
Post a Comment
Read more