Teaching

craner

Beast of Burden
Cheers!

I was dreading it until I finally crystallised my activities, then I found it quite easy to write up. Not the most exciting lesson in the world, but it had clarity and purpose, I think. Met all curriculum requirements.
 

don_quixote

Trent End
it all gets easier in time. but if you're anything like me you'll find yourself wanting to be really creative all the time and it's really really difficult being creative.

you're lucky in english though - group work is more ingrained in the culture. i really really want to do it properly in maths but there's not much structure for it.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
I was never a big fan of group work at school - generally much happier to get on with stuff by myself.

Also, exams >> coursework (IMO).
 

nomadthethird

more issues than Time mag
I was never a big fan of group work at school - generally much happier to get on with stuff by myself.

Also, exams >> coursework (IMO).

I like having (a) lab partner(s), but other than that group work is just awful.

Exams make sense in the maths/sciences, because otherwise you'd never be able to keep pace with the sheer volume of information you need to learn and be able to build upon cumulatively. In any other subject, exams are a pointless waste of time and energy. (IMO). Just let them write a paper ffs.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
At least with exams you know it's the student's own work - not their friends'/their parents'/the internets' ect.
 

mixed_biscuits

_________________________
Also, exams >> coursework (IMO).

Agree. Especially in the age of internet plagiarism and (un)paid coursework writers (mum and dad).

Replace coursework with research-based presentations and subsequent viva voce cross-examinations, I say. Proleptic PhD prep for the pubescent.
 
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don_quixote

Trent End
yeah i always wanted to get on with things by myself too and HATED working in groups because they wouldn't let me take control. i had to learn to take a backseat and be part of the team.

but... it's really really valuable to the majority of kids because it forces them to talk about the subject and take risks (because it's not just on their heads) and theyre two of the most powerful stages of learning.
 

DannyL

Wild Horses
My lesson plans tend to exist only in the handouts I've prepared. Unless I'm being inspected of course. But I think the key to them is having a really clear idea what the students will get out of them - what will they be able to say/do/think about differently after the lesson. If you can nail that, the rest is easy.
 

nomadthethird

more issues than Time mag
Agree. Especially in the age of internet plagiarism

Every time I've ever tried to cheat on a paper using the internet, the stuff available was so bad that I ended up working three times harder than I would've if I'd just done the reading in the first place.

I suppose if you don't know any better though...
 

mixed_biscuits

_________________________
Labour setting the standard as always:

labour.png
 

craner

Beast of Burden
Within 4 days of my first school placement, I've put myself in the position of directing a school play!

My life is getting more ludicrous by the minute.
 

jenks

thread death
As someone involved in putting on the school play this year you have my sympathies.

Get the blighters to sign something otherwise your lead will drop out with a week to go and with nary a backward glance. We have made contracts that parents and kids sign to try and stop this happening.

On the plus side, the play is great and you get to know a whole bunch of kids quickly, you have a bit of leverage with some and it feels great when the curtain comes down.

only other advice is really don't try and do it on your own
 

craner

Beast of Burden
It's a great school, in Wroxham, and the kids are lovely, really well behaved and enthusiastic. They get punished for not wearing their school uniform properly and don't seem to mind.

I'm looking forward to being a producer, though as Shapiro pointed out, don't turn into Rushmore's Max Fischer. I think he knows what's going to happen.
 

don_quixote

Trent End
haha. i've sort of lost sight of that. yikes. i got accused of bullying by a student today. bloody hell... well maybe i would stop watching your every move if you actually did some work
 
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