Houston, We've Got a Problem

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 This week we completed our problem-approach labs. For this lab, we needed our "students" to identify a problem and a solution for it. I divided the class into three different groups and gave them each an IPM scenario in which they needed to identify the pest, disease, etc. and create a management plan for it to present to their classmates. Because my peers wouldn't necessarily have all of the knowledge needed to complete the task, I also gave them a cheat sheet of common terms, pests, etc. and also allowed them to use their devices. They were able to create a mini poster on a sheet of paper (or digitally for our Zoomers) and share what they discussed with the other groups.

Overall, I would consider this activity to be a success. It gave my "students" an opportunity to use higher level thinking skills, use the knowledge that they would have gained throughout the unit, and participate in group discussion with their peers. For the purpose of this lab, the learners had only 10 minutes to discuss and create their poster, and just a minute or so to present the information, while if I did this activity with my real students, I would give them at least a whole class period to work on their projects and take a whole class to do everyone's presentations, as well.

While I was pleased with the overall end result of my lesson, there were still some aspects that I would change if I were to do it all over again. I didn't realize it until I had already started my lesson, but I had forgotten to bring colored pencils, crayons, etc. for the posters, but luckily I was able to improvise so I don't think anybody noticed. Another issue was that I forgot to check the time when my peers started into the activity, so I had no way to tell how long they were working and just had to guess at it. By adding a reminder to set a timer or check the time in my lesson plan, I could hopefully avoid this problem in the future. When watching the video back, I noticed that I'm still fidgeting and moving my hands more than I'd like to, so that's something that I will continue to work on, though I've noticed an improvement from the first teaching lab.

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 12, 2020 at 8:03 AM

    Alyssa,

    Good reflection. You made some good points of items to include in your plan to improve for next time. My suggestion for that is to carry a pack of sticky notes and write the thought "in the moment/as soon as possible", so you don't lose the thought. Then when you have a minute to go back and make the plan better, you will have the sticky notes to remind you what you wanted to update!
    -Dr. Ewing

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  2. Maddie BentzOctober 13, 2020 at 4:50 PM

    Alyssa, this was a lot of fun! I have loved all of your lessons in lab so far, especially this one. I thought it was a great idea too to have students make a poster about the results that they found. It was a great way synthesis our findings and illustrate them. I also just had a lot of fun in general with this activity, it felt almost like the game Clue!

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  3. elise laudenslagerOctober 15, 2020 at 9:15 AM

    Alyssa, I think this was a great problem solving activity, and you taught it very well. As you said, with a real class you would provide the entire period to work on their solution and poster which I think would be very helpful. It did feel a bit rushed to get our thoughts onto the poster to present. I also struggle sometimes with forgetting to check the time during activities and I liked your idea to remind myself to set a timer in the lesson plan to make sure I don't run over time.

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  4. Megan RoyerNovember 30, 2020 at 7:51 AM

    Alyssa, I loved this problem solving activity!With more time I think your students could make some very impressive and informational posters! I also appreciated how you gave us hints as we worked through this lesson. Do not worry too much about timing, I feel that with time and experience we all will get better at managing it! You did a great job!

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