I mean Greek!
No, I was not referring to myself. I was thinking of dear, old Socrates.
In Socratic teaching we focus
on giving students questions, not answers. We model an inquiry approach, continually investigating a subject by asking questions.
Over the past few weeks I have become convinced that my students are not reading for comprehension, rather they are trying to find the answers for specific questions, filling in a blank on their worksheet and forgetting what they have seen. The students seem to think that the answer is far more important than the question. I want to turn that around and make the question the important part of the process.
When I sent the text home, my intent was to allow the students to quickly master some content. My thought was that, with a base of critical knowledge, we could extend the concepts with our work in class. Just so we are clear, the section about Mollusks and Annelid Worms was a whole four pages in the text. I do not want to teach the book in class. I want to develop concepts in class. Because students are not reading the text, this cannot happen.
Here is my solution to this particular problem:
- I am going to require the students to sit at home and read the text. Reading it twice would be a smart move. These sections range from three to six pages, so I do not believe it is a major assignment.
- After reading the assignment, complete the worksheet without looking at the text. In this manner the students will be able to gauge their comprehension of the essential concepts.
- In class the day the reading assignment is due, I will give the students a discussion guide. I will also give the students a very few moments to make notes from memory.
- I will ask each student a question from the reading. It will be a random question from the reading. I will record the quality of the answer as a grade.
I want the students to feel far more concern about the reading assignments. Currently, we are doing a fine job of working on process skills and methodology. I think we a slacking a bit on the content. I want to find a balance and this is my plan. I encourage any comments, questions or concerns.
