C4T #3 Summary Post

Quantum Progress

For this month's Comments for Teachers assignment I was given the blog of a ninth grade physics teacher in Atlanta, Georgia. The first post I commented on was entitled "Look At Graphs With Your Sixth Grade Mind To See Your Understanding Evolve." This post explained the author's method of encouraging students to self reflect to find the development of their skills. This method seems have several major benefits. First students are able to see the foundation they are meant to be building on which can help them better understand the new lesson they are faced with. Secondly, the students can self assess and get a more clear understanding of their own learning styles. Here is my comment on the post

March 27, 2011 6:23 pm
Hi, I have been assigned your blog by Dr. Strange as part of edm310 I will be posting my reflections on your posts on my blog.
This is such a creative idea. Self reflection is so important for students. This is a great way for them to look back while having a specific idea to focus on so that their growth is evident. This also might help them recall the basic principles upon which you are building in your lessons.

The second post I commented on was "Alan Turing and the Day of Silence". In this post the author shares a lecture he gave on Alan Turing. His goal was to show students some of the history of science. He went a step further than just introducing Alan Turing, however and managed to create a moral lesson and a history lesson in one. He first introduced Turing and all of his amazing contributions to history and the modern world. Then he told the students that Alan Turing had been a homosexual and was silenced for admitting this. He gave the lecture on April 15 a Day of Silence when students across the country took vows of silence to take a stand against anti-gay bullying. What a powerful lecture. I was enthralled just reading about it, I can't imagine there was a student in that class who wasn't moved. Here is my comment:

Hi, I am visiting as part of an assignment for Dr. Strange’s EDM310 class and will be posting my thoughts about your posts on my blog.
I love that you are tying so many other subject areas into your lesson. Integration is such a great way to help students make connections and and see how the information they are learning relates to them personally. It is really inspiring to see a teacher taking the initiative to show students that not all great contributors to our world are old straight white men. It is important to provide role models for all of our students. I can see why you can’t get through the lecture without a lot of hand waving. I was riveted by the story of it alone!