To me, homework is an important part of learning anything. We are only in class for a few hours out of the entire week, so some of the leaning should happen outside of the classroom. This may also give students the time to work out what was gone over during class and make any charts or diagrams that will help them envision the material better. They can adapt the lesson the teacher taught to their own learning style.
One of my high school math teachers had the idea to switch the content of his classwork and homework. He wanted to record himself giving the lecture and have the kids watch that for the first time as their "homework." Then, when they came to class, he would have problems for them to work through. This way, he was there to answer questions and work through the problems with them if they found they were having difficulties. He wanted to start this new method because he found that students were understanding the material in class, but forgetting it by the time they got to the homework and were unable to ask him for help until the next day, when it was due. I think this is a brilliant idea that should be given a try in other classes too.
The video was comical, and my work for some people, but I find I do homework best at night (not in the sunlight) and in the quiet. Music just distracts me. It is important, however, that each student finds what works best for them and sticks with it.
Interesting idea! I have never even thought about video taping a lecture and then having the students watch it before it is presented in class. I would be interested in trying it when I am a teacher with one of my sections of Spanish while doing lecture another way with other sections. I am very into running experiments to find ways for me to have better classroom management and lectures.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way, students need to find what works best for them and stick to it. Though students should listen to study tips if they are not having success studying on their own, maybe some of these tips would help high school students more than they would us as college students. To be successful in college students need to have well-established study habits already in place. I like what your math teacher did, as long as he could insure that everyone watched the “homework,” then this could work very well. My Spanish hybrid class in college was similar to this. My professor would do most of the lecture online and then in class we would work on other important things like conversation and group work, but we still had traditional homework as well.
ReplyDeleteI really like your math teacher's online lecture idea. When putting your knowledge to work it is extremely helpful to have the teacher there to ask questions. My only concern with this theory is what happens when students don't watch the lecture online? Some students won't even complete a ten minute worksheet - it is very unlikely that they won't watch the thirty minute or so lecture. This could really disrupt the class, because the students who didn't watch the video would need the teacher to basically reteach them everything - instead of assisting those who simply need help finishing a problem.
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of assigning the lecture as homework and the teacher actually being present to help students understand and practice what they learned in the lecture. And it is so much easier to listen to a lecture at home, when you can be in your pajamas, eat some snacks, rustle papers, pause it for a break whenever you need, etc. It really makes it less of an endurance exercise and more of a learning opportunity. It would certainly make note-taking easier, since you could pause or rewind to catch something you missed. And the benefits of having more in-class time to practice and apply the material would be great. I think that might be a great teaching tool for the tough grammar lessons in foreign languages. A lot of class time is devoted to covering all of the material and students are left with a bunch of questions and half-developed ideas about how to use the concepts.
ReplyDeleteThat is a very interesting idea with using a lecture as the 'homework' and the classwork during the in class time. It seems very beneficial to have the lecture on a file to bring up at any time for students who need a refresher. It also leaves more time in class to practice oral skills and group interactions.
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