Success so far
This year I am really making an attempt to focus my students on the question "why?" when studying history. I have rewritten all of my exams, shortening them and requiring much more analysis. The first exam was difficult for the freshmen and juniors alike, but they really seemed to figure out how to study the "why?" question for the second exam.
In regard to another topic, I am really loving having my webpage as a resource for the students. All of the pictures and links that we look at in class are available throughout the unit, and students can spend more time in class thinking about why events occured rather than writing down tons of details that are always available online.
On the downside, I am not as ecstatic about blogging this year. So many of my juniors are blogging in other classes that I decided not to blog with them this semester, and topics don't seem to be presenting themselves as well with my freshmen. Of course, blogging with my freshmen really took off during the third unit last year, so hopefully that will happen again this year.
In regard to another topic, I am really loving having my webpage as a resource for the students. All of the pictures and links that we look at in class are available throughout the unit, and students can spend more time in class thinking about why events occured rather than writing down tons of details that are always available online.
On the downside, I am not as ecstatic about blogging this year. So many of my juniors are blogging in other classes that I decided not to blog with them this semester, and topics don't seem to be presenting themselves as well with my freshmen. Of course, blogging with my freshmen really took off during the third unit last year, so hopefully that will happen again this year.
posted by Crosby at 10:35 PM
1 Comments:
It sounds like things are going very well. I wouldn't worry about the blogging much. As always, what works well for one class (or for one year), doesn't necessarily work well for the next. Focus on what works well for the students you have right now - and go with it.
I think if you've gotten them to focus on the "why?" and not just the "what?", then that's a huge achievement. Good work.
Do you have a feeling for how much students are utilizing the resources on your web page? Is there anything you've been wanting to do in that area but haven't been able to figure out how to do it (and that I could help with)?
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