Everyone has a ‘risk muscle.’ You keep it in shape by trying new things. If you don’t, it atrophies. Make a point of using it at least once a day. – Roger von Oech
With no apology for the terrible pun in the title, the Show Me Videos have been a huge success with my Grade 9 class. These students celebrated the virtues of their first attempts after our class presentations. Next, they took what they learned from the first set and hit the iPads with enthusiasm and delight for their second round. Their solutions to Problem Set 2 show great improvement from their first attempts. Check out their Show Me videos by following this link to Problem Series B.
It was most interesting to me to listen in on the various conversations taking place round the room while these students planned and plotted their next show-stopping Show Me solutions. They were quite deliberate with their planning, even though this was only their second attempt. They seem to have most of it figured out. It was made a bit more difficult for them, too, as I switched up the groups from the first round of solutions.
Most noticeably, the Grade 9 students first made sure that each person in the group understood the problem and the solution, so that there would be no stalling during the video. For some groups, they had to choose the solution they liked best, as there were many ways to solve the some of the problems. There were compromises made and great cooperation and collaboration demonstrated.
I continue to be impressed with their risk-taking. This is my take away from this week. To risk is to live. To risk is to grow. These kids are terrific risk takers, and they reap the rewards. Watching their faces as we viewed these videos...well, next time I will bring a camera to class! That was MY reward!
It was most interesting to me to listen in on the various conversations taking place round the room while these students planned and plotted their next show-stopping Show Me solutions. They were quite deliberate with their planning, even though this was only their second attempt. They seem to have most of it figured out. It was made a bit more difficult for them, too, as I switched up the groups from the first round of solutions.
Most noticeably, the Grade 9 students first made sure that each person in the group understood the problem and the solution, so that there would be no stalling during the video. For some groups, they had to choose the solution they liked best, as there were many ways to solve the some of the problems. There were compromises made and great cooperation and collaboration demonstrated.
I continue to be impressed with their risk-taking. This is my take away from this week. To risk is to live. To risk is to grow. These kids are terrific risk takers, and they reap the rewards. Watching their faces as we viewed these videos...well, next time I will bring a camera to class! That was MY reward!