Tag Archives: Mind Map

Debriefing the 1st School Visit, Mind Map Assessment, Microteaching Topic Selection, Ukuleles, & Lesson Design: Update for Wednesday, 5 October 2011

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It was  a fast and full lesson today.  Here’s what went down:

EDUC 315 School Visit Debrief

We used a value lines strategy as a means to have you consider your experience in the field.  To wrap up, I noted that we will all meet in the Hillcrest Middle School Library at 1:30 pm on Tuesday, 11 October.  At that time, we’ll discuss the morning’s school visit and get some feedback from you on placement preferences.

Field Trip Fair Mind Map Assessment

For this part of the lesson, we asked you to connect with another TC that had chosen a similarly themed field trip to explore in their mind map.  Then, a discussion ensued that focused on the degree to which the MM meet the criteria.   The MM rubric is here:

Here are a couple sample MMs.  T’he first is John’s and the second is Dave’s:

We wrapped by asking you to give a 20-30 second “elevator pitch” on your chosen field trip.  Hopefully, by the end of today’s lesson you have a good sense of what sorts of outings you might want to pursue while on prac.

Microteaching Topics

Seeing as we have an extra long class on Monday, 24 October, Dave and I reckon we can get all the micro lessons delivered in one day.  Here are the topics that will be presented in a series of 15-20 minute lessons:

Lesson Design:

After a few minutes to review your particular LD component in Expert Groups, Dave presented a mini-lesson on playing the ukulele.  Jerin and Jess were his eager students.  J and J were definitely quick studies but they still have a way to go to catch up to this ukulele virtuoso, Jake Shimabukoro (Whoa!  This clip has over 8 million views!):

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puSkP3uym5k&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]

When the lesson was over, each of the 7 groups analyzed his lesson through the lens of their particular LD component.  We wrapped by letting you know that we’ll Jigsaw all of the components in a future lesson.

Au revoir,

– Lawrence

Middle Years TCs HIt the BC Field Trip Fair: Update for Monday, 26 September 2011

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Dave and I hope you enjoyed your time at the 9th Annual BC Field Trip Fair for Teachers.  Please check the BC Field Trips website for a list of exhibitors and much more information related to co-curricular opportunities.

Please remember that your Field Trip Fair-themed mind map task is due in class on Wednesday, 5 October. Please see an earlier post for all the details and the task handout.

Please take a moment to gaze into the eyes of Tony Buzan for inspiration:

– Lawrence

MIAB Wrap Up, Mind Mapping, & the Field Trip Fair: Update for Wednesday, 21 September 2011

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Here’s what happened today in the Wide World of POT/COM.  Luckily, there were no “agony of defeat” moments:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2AZH4FeGsc[/youtube]

Administrivia

After a short debrief of the Digital Tattoo presentation, we asked all persons interested in sitting on the MY Cohort Social Committee to seek out Andrea.  Then, we took some time to outline our plans to get you ready for EDUC 315: the Tuesdays Practicum.  Here’s the plan:

  • Monday, 26 September: Submit completed TC Profile to Dave and Lawrence vie email
  • Tuesday, 27 September: Attend Pre-Practicum Seminar (more details below in this post)
  • Tuesday, 4 October: Middle School Rotation, Day 1 (AM and PM)
  • Tuesday, 11 October: Middle School Rotation, Day 2 (AM) and Post-Rotation Debrief (PM)
  • Tuesday, 18 October: 1st Day in Practicum Placement for EDUC 315
  • Tuesday, 22 November: 6th (and final) Day in Placement for EDUC 315

Pre-Practicum Seminar

Before you enter the field, Dave and I want to cover “Everything You Wanted to Know About Having a Successful Practicum Experience But Were Afraid to Ask”. We’ll do that in a two-part Pre-Prac Seminar on Tuesday, 27 September.  Here’s how the day breaks down:

  • Part 1: Getting Energized – 11:00 am – 12:30 pm in Scarfe 204
  • Lunch: 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm in Scarfe 1328
  • Part 2: Getting Informed – 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm in Scarfe 1328

Traditionally the lunch on this day has been a potluck.  It’s up to you and the Social Committee to make this happen, of course.

More MIAB Speeches & the MIAB Speech Analysis Task

When the final four speakers per group had presented, I took some time to outline the post-speech task.

In an effort to stimulate improvement in your verbal and non-verbal communication skills, what you need to do is watch the video of your speech and consider the following questions:

  1. What are my strengths as a speaker?
  2. What challenges did I face when delivering this speech?
  3. What goals will I set for my next speech / presentation?

You can use the “Me in a Bag Speech” Assessment Criteria / The 8 Ps of Powerful Presentations as a framework for this analysis and you can touch on any other aspects of your talk that strike you.

Now, the beauty of this task is that you can present this content information – your thoughtful and detailed answers to the 3 questions above – via any end product you see fit.  This approach to the assignment is consistent with the princicples of differentiated instruction (DI):

Here’s a 6 minute clip with some basic info on DI at the K-12 and university levels:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJmEiQ4HmEc&feature=PlayList&p=4C5E68673251FE37&index=1[/youtube]

To get you personally connecting with the task, I asked you to brainstorm a list of product options in class – which I promptly forgot to write down.  That said, you could consider analyzing your speech using:

  • a map
  • a song
  • a poem
  • a comic strip
  • a dance
  • a news article
  • a poster
  • a graphic organizer
  • a Prezi presentation
  • a game show
  • a model / diorama
  • a sculpture
  • a collage
  • an interpretive dance

The possibilities are well and truly endless.  The key, however, is to ensure that whatever product you choose is conducive to clearly demonstrating the content. Some products may need  to be accompanied with a one-pager that makes all three aspects of the analysis clear.

I’m  looking forward to seeing what sort of creations you come up with by the due date, Wednesday, 28 September 2011.

Introduction to Mind Mapping

We are asking you to attend the 9th Annual Field Trip Fair for Teachers on Monday, 26 September 2011 from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm at Science World.  After the event, we are expecting you to choose one of the available field trips to mind map.  Here’s the task handout:

To prepare you for this task, Dave took some time to highlight the salient aspects & advantages of mind mapping as presented in this video clip starring Tony Buzan, the “inventor” of mind mapping and, I believe, past-president of the Hair Team for Men:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlabrWv25qQ[/youtube]

Here are some model mind maps for you to look at:

This next one’s pretty meta as it’s a mind map on how to mind map.  Whoa!  The only thing cooler is Kramer’s coffee table book about coffee tables!

If you’re interested, here’s a link to Mr. Orr’s website with instructions on The Steps in Creating a Basic Mind Map.  If you prefer your info in PDF form, here’s a two-pager on Mind Mapping.

As a guided practice piece, Dave asked you to mind map information you found on the SD43 website.

That’s all for today.

Cheers,

– Lawrence

LLED 320 – Group Presentations, Day 2: Update for Tuesday, 15 February 2011

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Whole Class Novel Study Reading for Thursday’s Class

In preparation for our work looking at the reading process, please read Chapter 6: The Class Novel from the Student Diversity text and process the important information using a graphic organizer.  Bring your graphic organizer to class on Thursday, 17 February 2011.

Here’s the link to an online copy of Chapter 6: The Class Novel.

I suggest applying the mind mapping strategy presented in today’s session to this task.  You could use Popplet, a different online tool, or old school pencil & paper to complete your mind map.  Here’s a primer on mind mapping found on the very useful Instructional Strategies Online website, if you’d like more info on this powerful strategy.

Also, Barrie Bennett, a renowned author (Beyond Monet & Classroom Management) teacher educator from U of T – OISE, plays a lot with Mind Mapping.  Here’s a handout with some useful tips on how to MM:

Also, here’s a sample of a 1st year university student’s first attempt at mind mapping:

If you’d prefer to use a different graphic organizer [This is me differentiating instruction to meet your needs, by the way 🙂  Same content, different processes], there are many G.O.s that could suit this task.  Check some of them out here at Teacher Vision: Graphic Organizers.

Group Presentations

Thanks to all those who presented this afternoon’s engaging presentations.  Here are the titles along with the supporting files.  The handouts should provide a valuable resource during practicum, as you look for ways to engage the learners in your classes:

Critical Thinking Strategies for Viewing Films

Mind Mapping

Sort and Predict

Building From Clues

Think of a Time

Anticipation Guide

That’s all for today.  Cheers,

– Lawrence