Readings for Week 14

This week's readings in P&B were extremely interesting and beneficial as usual. I like this book the most because it gives me a chance to think of activities that I would use some day in my future classroom.

A few things I wanted to keep note of:

The concept of rehearsing was not new but the label was somewhat unfamiliar. Rehearsing is used in post reading activities in groups and pairs and help students retain more of the information. Rehearsing can be done by speaking and writing with peers and helps students not only remember and reevaluate what they read but clarify certain points that were unclear.

I really liked the mapping idea presented on page 352, figure 9.2. I just used this strategy when studying for a test in Spanish. I think this type of mapping would appeal to visual and kinesthetic learners.

Learning logs seem to be a great way for students to ask questions and for teachers to continually assess their students. I suppose that is why we blog!

Finally, the idea of photo essays seems like a great way for students to enjoy the assignment and it seems the project could activate the intrinsic motivation of most students. The book gave examples in which the students took pictures of their families and presented them on a story board. In my opinion, students would enjoy this activity because they have a great platform to tell their stories.

Chapter 9 also talked about assessment and the most important idea that I learned from the readings is the fact that assessment needs to be ongoing and conducted in multiple ways.