A class with Graham
Comments(1) Last Wednesday we had class with Graham. In this class we spent sometime doing activities or games that involved the whole class and not only taught us something but were also fun. These games varied in the sense that some of them needed no words at all and then others needed some explanation. One of the games that we did was called “line or scale.” Basically during this activity people line up based on a statement to show where they stand. For example, Graham asked us if we expect to use a lot of lectures in our classrooms. People lined up on one side of the class if they planned to mainly use lectures, on the other people who planned to never use lectures, and then everyone was in between. Then we shared our thoughts and ideas with those around us. This allowed us to talk to others that we may not normally speak to. As well if changed some peoples perspectives on lecturing!
I really enjoyed this activity that Graham did with us. One thing I particularly liked was that it made the class feel a little less formal and I felt more comfortable speaking. Getting my body up and moving (even if just a little) got my creative juices flowing and I surprised myself with some of the theoretical connections I made. I think these activities and non-competitive games can really help build a community atmosphere in the classroom, which I believe is so important for building confidence in students. If we are going to ask students to challenge themselves, we need to help create an environment where they feel okay about the possibility of failing. Building that feeling of support can help achieve that. The line activity was also useful to practice disagreeing with someone, but still appreciating their point of view. Having to place yourself so specifically on a line really makes you think about the ambiguities of an argument and position.