I use a simple aid to check in with students. It's very helpful as a
quick probe to find issues that might not come across in other
channels (lectures, Q&A, labs). It's a 8.5x1.5 inch piece of paper,
printed 5-up, double-sided with the following phrases on opposite
sides:
The coolest point so far is....
The fuzziest point so far is...
For me, it's a chance to discover pockets of misunderstanding. As we
all do, I occasionally get myself backed into a corner on a particular
topic. Sometimes my additional explanations clarify the point,
sometimes they confound it. And it's different for different
students. When I get blank looks at the end of a section, it's often
difficult to distinguish the ambiguous meaning -- "I've got it, move
on" or "It's so far over my head, I don't know how to ask a question".
Reading the "fuzzy" list lets me know whether it needs more work.
I'm also often surprised at the "coolest" point. I've known that if I
leave a student with just a few morsels, the class has been worth it
for them, but it's still surprising what those morsels are. Very
often, it's a part of a section that I've wanted to skip, and their
interest reinforces that I should cover all the material, not just all
the material that's intersting to *me*. I just never know what's
going to be hot, and what's not.
For the students, it's a great chance to take a step back from the
current module, focus on their overall objectives, review previous
sections, and reinforce the value they're getting from the depth and
breath of the material covered so far.
I sometimes play with it by calling a "pop quiz", just to see the
reactions. Handing out a 1.5 inch piece of paper then becomes a sight
gag.
For a 3 day course, I hand it out at lunch on the second day or at the
end of the day. I've then got some confirmation that I need to do
some kind of review or refocusing for fuzzy topics that crop up.
Often, it's as simple as confirming that the fuzzy point is a
difficult point, then asking folks to tell me what isn't fuzzy about
the fuzzy topic so that I can fill in what's missing. More often than
not, they collectively have it all, and all I need to do is hold the
space for their group review of the topic. It usually resolves into
some acknowledgement of "I guess it's not fuzzy. I just need more
practice." It's a great confusion buster, and confidence builder.
And it focuses them on the fact that I really have given them
everything (except more practice time, but then again, time is not
mine to create or give away) that they need to be sucessful.
Send me an email request if you'd like a copy of my (OpenOffice
formatted) fuzzy/cool handout.
--
Michael R. Wolf
All mammals learn by playing!
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
