Exploring Interest Approaches!

 This week for lab we were given the task to come up with our best interest approach. For my lesson, I decided to work on a lesson from the animal behavior unit that I have started. 

The biggest challenge was coming up with an interesting activity that doesn't take too long and can be done during a pandemic. I decided to not make it too complicated and go the video + worksheet approach.


 

I picked out 3 different video clips of animals basically doing funny things and had the students write down 3-4 observations of what the animals were doing in the video. 

The first video was of dog and cats, the second video was of horses and the third was of monkeys. After the students watched all the videos, I wrapped up the activity with a discussion.


 

During the discussion, I asked the following questions: 

1) What stood out to you? 
2) Was there anything you saw that you have never seen before?
3) Was there anything you saw that made you laugh or made you upset? 
4) Between the 3 videos, did you notice any similarities? 

The biggest thing I learned from my first interest approach is that I do not know how to properly lead a discussion which makes sense because small talk is not something I have ever been good at. So I definitely need to do some research and learn how to properly lead a discussion. 

I think the lesson went really well. In fact, I think this was my best lab so far and I definitely felt more confident. Besides the being able to lead a successful discussion, there isn't much I would change about this activity. 



Comments

  1. Nicole GuiseSeptember 21, 2020 at 7:50 AM

    Great job, Emily. I also noticed you were more confident. I am excited to see you keep growing as an educator. I think you prepared for your discussion well. It is always a good idea to have questions made beforehand. Don't forget you can deviate from those questions and pose a new question based on someone's response. A big part of holding a good discussion is being a good listener. Looking forward to seeing what you prepare for our next lab!

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  2. UnknownSeptember 21, 2020 at 10:15 AM

    The handouts were great and it kept the lesson on track. Leading discussions are critical in your teaching, and you did fine. You will get even better with practice.
    Dr. Ewing

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  3. Maddie BentzSeptember 21, 2020 at 8:17 PM

    Emily I loved this interest approach! I thought that you did a great job at making the video + worksheet engaging and fun.
    Leading a discussion can be tricky, but it takes practice! One thing that I try to do is combining an active listening strategy where you repeat back what some said (to validate what they're saying and show that you're really listening) and then make connections to content that you're covering. It also helps when prepping to make points of major themes/what you want your students to get out of the conversation and nudge them in that direction during the discussion.

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