Today the DPA lesson that I planned and taught the class was on movement, music, and dancing. Since beginning the Teacher Education Program at UBC I have had several opportunities to participate in the ‘Dancing for Understanding Workshops’ during professional developmental days. These workshops are amazing as they demonstrate how educators, like myself, can incorporate simple movements, rhythms and music into the classroom to get students dancing. I really took to these workshops as I believe they are a fantastic way to get students up and moving inside the actual classroom.
This is the third time now that I have taught dance and movement for DPA in my practicum class and I cannot believe how successful it has been so far. When the students see me wheeling in my big stereo into class many of them start jumping up and down in excitement. It’s really amazing to see the positive impact that music and dance can have on so many individuals within one classroom.
Today when I was teaching the dance DPA lesson to the class I allowed the students time to discuss, create, and teach some of the dance moves that we used in our dances. I think this was a really successful addition to the lesson because it gave students the opportunity to personalize their own learning and to contribute to the lesson. Overall the lesson went fantastic! After 30 minutes of jumping around, dancing, and singing at the top of our lungs to songs requested by the class, everyone was sweating and laughing. There is always such a positive vibe in the classroom after we dance.
One question that emerged for me today during my lesson in DPA is how to motivate students, in particular boys, to participate in an activity that they are unsure of? In my practicum class I feel very lucky to have such a great group of kids that are so confident and willing to take risks in front of their peers; however, there are still 1 or 2 students in the class (both boys) that have a hard time fully participating. Firstly, I am curious as to what specifically it is that is holding them back from fully participating. How can I encourage these students to participate? What is the best way for me to support them while still teaching a DPA lesson to the rest of the class?
In addition to a successful DPA lesson, I also had a really great one-on-one moment today with a student that I am still trying to establish a better connection with. This moment was during math in the classroom and this particular student was struggling with several questions about mathematical line graphs. Over the course of the past few months, I have noticed that this student tends to avoid starting assigned work until the very last moment. Additionally, once he does begin working, he rushes the assignment, trying to finish it as fast as he can. The situation today was no different. This student was assigned a math worksheet at the beginning of the class and proceeded to wait until just before class IPAD time to begin working on it so he wouldn’t have to miss playing on the IPADS. About halfway through the worksheet, he encountered a series of difficult questions and was directed over to me so I could help him. When he first came over to me, I could tell that he was not impressed with the situation, as most of this class at this time had already began playing on the IPADS. Once he sat down I asked him to tell me about the questions he was having difficulty with. From there we worked together to figure out how to create a line graph with 2 separate sets of information. At first he was a little resistant to receiving help, but as time went on he really began to warm up to me and together we were able to complete the worksheet. After completing all the questions I assumed he would immediately begin playing on the IPADs with the rest of the class, but instead I was really surprised. This student stayed and chatted with me about the line graph and several other conversational topics for about 5 minutes before going to retrieve their IPAD. Furthermore this student, who I feel I have had a harder time connecting with, genuinely thanked me for the help. This was a really special moment in my day and I really hope to continue to make more connections with this particular student over the course of my practicum and be able to help him better apply himself during classroom activities.