In this article, Warrington used a teaching method where she had the students rely on their previous knowledge to understand more concepts. Warrington acted simply as the question producer. She would write a question on the board for the students to try to figure out. Then she would allow for discussion and listen to the students converse, asking questions occasionally, but never giving answers. This teaching styles has many advantages, it forces students to think harder about a subject. In order to figure these problems out the students had to have a basic understanding of fractions. I could tell from many of the students' answers that they really did have a good understanding of fractions and I think this learning style helped them think creatively and better understand concepts.
There were some disadvantages too. This learning style was great for students who could figure problems out on their own or who had a solid understanding of the material, but what about those students who were struggling? This approach to learning would not have been beneficial to them. They probably found it difficult to follow what their classmates were discussing and needed extra help from the teacher. Another element of this learning style that I don't understand is, what if the students can't figure the problem out, or what if they figure out the wrong answer and convince the rest of the students to do the same? Will the teacher ever answer questions? I think this method of teaching still has some flaws.
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I think that you've done a nice job in identifying some of the advantages and disadvantages of Warrington's method of instruction. I agree with you that this instructional approach would be beneficial to students who have a strong understanding of the content and are good problem solvers. I also agree that students without a strong understanding and good problem solving skills would struggle. I wonder, though, about what type of instruction would help the strugglers develop understanding and problem solving skills? What would you do to help them develop these?
ReplyDeleteChanging the subject completely, I wanted to say that I was disappointed that your entry does not follow the guidelines for this assignment. There should be two paragraphs, one for the advantages and one for the disadvantages. There should be topic sentences for these paragraphs and examples from the paper illustrating each of the advantages. Please follow the guidelines more closely for future blog entries.
Your structure was good in seperating the advantages and disadvantages, and identifying them. However I wanted more information/examples from the paper. I just lacked some connection to the paper.
ReplyDeleteI really agree with the disadvantages you listed. Mostly that the students who don't understand will most likely be left behind.
ReplyDeleteMy suggestion is maybe some stronger topic sentences. The arguments were good but I had to search them out.
I agree with the part where you said that it would teach the children to think harder. Often times if I understood HOW to do something, that was the end. I never thought further into it. It would have been really beneficial if while growing up, I worked hard on the why. Things would be so much clearer and I would have a complete grasp on these concepts.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if I'm on board one hundred percent with the disadvantage of some students silently not understanding and not being able to follow their peers. Often times students learn more from their peers because they are able to see it from the mind of someone closer to them. Teachers most of the time do great jobs at teaching lessons, but kids don't always relate. Maybe hearing it from a fellow classmate would clear it up one hundred times more.
I agree that if students are already struggling with previous material, this type of learning would not be beneficial because they could not participate in the discussions and would remain lost. I wonder what could be done in this classroom setting in order to prevent that.
ReplyDeleteYour blog was very well written, but it would have been easier for me to read if it was formatted in the two paragraphs that were in the guidelines.
Great job, overall.