Hey Emily! Over all I thought that you did a really great job! You seemed really confident as you began the lesson and couldn't tell you were nervous at all! I would have like to have had the poem you shared with us in hand or at least read in its entirety to the class. In a larger classroom with more students, some might have trouble reading the smaller font from across the classroom. Another point I wanted to bring up was the 2 questions you asked on the handout came from the first stanza. Is the rest not important? Or were you just restricted because of time? I have always looked at Darwinism from a scientific perspective so to hear it from a historical perspective was really interesting! Good Job! :)
Hi Emily! I think you did a great job tackling a complex subject in your microteaching :) You were very professional and demonstrated enthusiasm for your subject. I liked your use of political cartoons and the way you incorporated a poem into a history lesson. I agree with Emily that it would have been a good idea to have handouts of the poem and for you to read the poem to the class before we began dissecting it, to give us a chance to emotionally respond to it. You covered two complex ideas in your lesson – Natural Selection and Social Darwinism – and I think you may have assumed too quickly that the class understood these ideas. You asked if anyone had any questions about what Social Darwinism is – maybe instead you could have asked us to explain it in our own words. (I feel like I did the same thing in my lesson!) Your lesson seemed dominated by teacher-talk – how could you incorporate more student-centered activities? Brava!
Hi Emily! I love how your lesson mashed science and history together in a unique way. I’m not a big fan of science, because the material has always been presented to me in a complicated manner. But with your lesson, I felt that I actually understood Social Darwinism and Natural Selection on a more meaningful level than ever before, and I saw how those terms relate to a historical context. I felt that your poem was very relevant and worked well with you lesson, but I do wish that I had a printed version of it. For some students, it is easier for them to learn and navigate through information if they have a handout in front of them. I’m a big fan of the worksheet that you distributed in class to your “students.” The format of this handout is exactly what a student needs to stay engaged with the lesson. Specifically, having the definitions of Natural Selection and Social Darwinism at the top of the handout is a useful resource for students. But maybe you could have simply provided the definitions in your visual presentation so the students could then fill them out on their papers. This would require that the students pay attention and stay involved for the entire time. All in all, I enjoyed learning the content that you expressed to us, so nice job!
Hi Emily! Yes, I also really enjoyed your lesson. I agree I like that you tied in many mediums, poetry, visual art, and science ideas to discuss your idea in a social studies classroom, making connections to other areas is a great way to help your students understand new content. I agree with Jenna however, your lesson was a bit teacher-centered and tackled some really big ideas. Perhaps use questions which lead to a class discussion to come to a class consensus of what the main ideas (Social Darwinism, Natural Selection) are before looking at examples. However, I also really enjoyed how you used examples from the past and present again it made the information relevant and made it easier to want to learn more about it. Great job!
Hey Emily! Over all I thought that you did a really great job! You seemed really confident as you began the lesson and couldn't tell you were nervous at all! I would have like to have had the poem you shared with us in hand or at least read in its entirety to the class. In a larger classroom with more students, some might have trouble reading the smaller font from across the classroom. Another point I wanted to bring up was the 2 questions you asked on the handout came from the first stanza. Is the rest not important? Or were you just restricted because of time? I have always looked at Darwinism from a scientific perspective so to hear it from a historical perspective was really interesting! Good Job! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Emily!
ReplyDeleteI think you did a great job tackling a complex subject in your microteaching :) You were very professional and demonstrated enthusiasm for your subject. I liked your use of political cartoons and the way you incorporated a poem into a history lesson. I agree with Emily that it would have been a good idea to have handouts of the poem and for you to read the poem to the class before we began dissecting it, to give us a chance to emotionally respond to it. You covered two complex ideas in your lesson – Natural Selection and Social Darwinism – and I think you may have assumed too quickly that the class understood these ideas. You asked if anyone had any questions about what Social Darwinism is – maybe instead you could have asked us to explain it in our own words. (I feel like I did the same thing in my lesson!) Your lesson seemed dominated by teacher-talk – how could you incorporate more student-centered activities?
Brava!
Hi Emily!
ReplyDeleteI love how your lesson mashed science and history together in a unique way. I’m not a big fan of science, because the material has always been presented to me in a complicated manner. But with your lesson, I felt that I actually understood Social Darwinism and Natural Selection on a more meaningful level than ever before, and I saw how those terms relate to a historical context. I felt that your poem was very relevant and worked well with you lesson, but I do wish that I had a printed version of it. For some students, it is easier for them to learn and navigate through information if they have a handout in front of them.
I’m a big fan of the worksheet that you distributed in class to your “students.” The format of this handout is exactly what a student needs to stay engaged with the lesson. Specifically, having the definitions of Natural Selection and Social Darwinism at the top of the handout is a useful resource for students. But maybe you could have simply provided the definitions in your visual presentation so the students could then fill them out on their papers. This would require that the students pay attention and stay involved for the entire time. All in all, I enjoyed learning the content that you expressed to us, so nice job!
Hi Emily!
ReplyDeleteYes, I also really enjoyed your lesson. I agree I like that you tied in many mediums, poetry, visual art, and science ideas to discuss your idea in a social studies classroom, making connections to other areas is a great way to help your students understand new content. I agree with Jenna however, your lesson was a bit teacher-centered and tackled some really big ideas. Perhaps use questions which lead to a class discussion to come to a class consensus of what the main ideas (Social Darwinism, Natural Selection) are before looking at examples. However, I also really enjoyed how you used examples from the past and present again it made the information relevant and made it easier to want to learn more about it. Great job!