Reflection Week of 1/2/17

This week, I was once again leading the classroom as my mentor teacher is still out of school. I felt that this week went very well, but it wasn't without low points. On Thursday, the Anatomy students were given a study guide for their midterm on Monday and given the majority of the class period to work through it and ask questions. Instead of working on their study guide, many of the students were playing on their phone. Since they are all seniors and I feel they should be given responsibility for preparing for their tests, I didn't fight them on it during class, but I did talk to the class about how, when they are given time in class for something like this, they are expected to, at the very least, be working on something. I told them that it is unacceptable for them to sit in class and do nothing, and if it continues in the future, 1. they will not be given time to review in class anymore, and 2. if they are playing on their phones, their phones will be collected; a policy that my mentor teacher created.

A highlight of this week was a review game that I played with the Anatomy students on Friday. Since I have been in this classroom, I have only seen these students review 1 of 2 ways, either with Kahoot, or answering questions in pairs with white boards. I wanted to try something different, and the sub that has been with me in the classroom suggested a relay race-type game that he had played with a class before. I created 26 questions that sampled all 4 chapters that were on their midterm, and created slips of paper with each question on it, as well as a key for myself and the sub. We split each class into 3 groups, and gave each team a whiteboard, marker, and eraser. The question slips were upside down on 3 tables, one for each team, and the teams were lined up behind their tables. When it was their turn, each team member would come up to the table, flip over a question, and answer it on the white board. The sub and I were monitoring the teams to mark right answers and make sure nobody was cheating. The person who was up for their team had to get a question right before their next teammate could take their turn. Each team also got 4 "lifelines" where they could ask their teammates or look up the answer. I think that the students enjoyed the competition of this game and had fun being up out of their seats to play, but I don't think that I would use it again as a review. The disadvantage of this game was that, unlike Kahoot or a white board review, all of the students didn't get to view all of the questions and answers. I am trying to brainstorm new games that might involve the competitive and movement aspects of this game while still allowing all of the students to benefit from the questions given. Another option might be to have smaller teams go around to stations, answering questions. It will get them out of their seats, and whether they remember the answers or have to look them up, it would still be a good way to review for a test.