http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iPvWefuPwo A "serious" game about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Would anyone like to give it a try?
viernes, 28 de febrero de 2014
jueves, 27 de febrero de 2014
Games for Change
There is a whole sub-genre of games out there specifically to teach global issues of importance. For example, Half the Sky Movement has a game to teach about women's empowerment, and the World Food Programme has a game about food production and distribution.
Why haven't you heard about these?
Well to be honest, they're quite boring. You can't shoot things and watch them explode, you don't really get to defeat an opponent or kill monsters, you can't really win or lose in any meaningful way. You learn about the issue by manipulating avatars or resources and making decisions, and every few levels they ask you if you'd like to donate money (it's never really clearly explained what a "level" is, although sometimes when you finish one you get more stuff, or a sponsor donates money to the cause in your name).
Is it possible to design a game with meaningful, educational content that's actually worth playing?
miércoles, 26 de febrero de 2014
What's metagaming and how can it help my students?
A game usually takes place within what Katie Salen calls a "magic circle" which refers to the space and /or time where the game is played.
When the game is over, the players physically and metaphorically step outside of this circle: they put away the cards, dice, board, ball, tablet, phone and get on with "real" life. When the game is over in EFL class, sadly, students go back to their seats, open up their grammar books and go back to "work".
But what if you could extend the game, have it sneak its tentacles outside the magic circle and invade the space and time between games?
Richard Garfield wrote an essay called "Metagames" http://ludusmechanicus.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/garfield.pdf
in which he focusses on 4 questions which, for language teachers, can be especially interesting to think about:
1. What a player brings to a game:
What language (grammar, vocabulary, idioms etc) do the players already know? What are their expectations of an EFL game? Have their previous experiences with EFL games been good or merely a way to get out of a boring grammar lesson? What mood are they in? etc.
2. What a player takes away from a game:
Have the players learned something new during the game or was it designed to practice what they already knew? Was the theme or topic of the game new? Did they gain a deeper insight into a social phenomenon or come away with a different image of themselves? etc.
3. What happens between games:
Did the players prepare anything for the game? Did they design the game itself? What did they have to know in order to do that?
4. What happens during a game other than the game itself:
Whatever communication happens between the players during the game is an opportunity to teach and to assess their knowledge of English...and in fact because they're in a position where they need to know, we as teachers are in the perfect position to really help them learn.
When the game is over, the players physically and metaphorically step outside of this circle: they put away the cards, dice, board, ball, tablet, phone and get on with "real" life. When the game is over in EFL class, sadly, students go back to their seats, open up their grammar books and go back to "work".
But what if you could extend the game, have it sneak its tentacles outside the magic circle and invade the space and time between games?
Richard Garfield wrote an essay called "Metagames" http://ludusmechanicus.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/garfield.pdf
in which he focusses on 4 questions which, for language teachers, can be especially interesting to think about:
1. What a player brings to a game:
What language (grammar, vocabulary, idioms etc) do the players already know? What are their expectations of an EFL game? Have their previous experiences with EFL games been good or merely a way to get out of a boring grammar lesson? What mood are they in? etc.
2. What a player takes away from a game:
Have the players learned something new during the game or was it designed to practice what they already knew? Was the theme or topic of the game new? Did they gain a deeper insight into a social phenomenon or come away with a different image of themselves? etc.
3. What happens between games:
Did the players prepare anything for the game? Did they design the game itself? What did they have to know in order to do that?
4. What happens during a game other than the game itself:
Whatever communication happens between the players during the game is an opportunity to teach and to assess their knowledge of English...and in fact because they're in a position where they need to know, we as teachers are in the perfect position to really help them learn.
What is creativity?
Sir Ken Robinson, in his book "Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative" says "creativity is applied imagination and innovation is applied creativity".
He goes on to describe Las Vegas as being a city that serves no purpose BUT imagination: it's not near a harbour, on fertile ground or even in a good defense position...it's just an entire city built on imagination (Elvis impersonators?).
Imagination is what differentiates us from animals (as far as we know).
So what is imagination? Simply put, it's thinking of something that isn't present to the senses. This can mean inventing a new mode of transport, planning your next vacation, or even taking your opponent's point of view in an argument. In a way it's one of the emotional intelligences; in another way, it's a muscle that can be flexed. Either way, it means that everyone is born with imagination...what it needs is to be nurtured to become creativity and then innovation.
He goes on to describe Las Vegas as being a city that serves no purpose BUT imagination: it's not near a harbour, on fertile ground or even in a good defense position...it's just an entire city built on imagination (Elvis impersonators?).
Imagination is what differentiates us from animals (as far as we know).
So what is imagination? Simply put, it's thinking of something that isn't present to the senses. This can mean inventing a new mode of transport, planning your next vacation, or even taking your opponent's point of view in an argument. In a way it's one of the emotional intelligences; in another way, it's a muscle that can be flexed. Either way, it means that everyone is born with imagination...what it needs is to be nurtured to become creativity and then innovation.
martes, 25 de febrero de 2014
Reading recipe
In EFL, the basic recipe for a reading lesson is:
1. BEFORE READING: Introduce the topic
2. DURING READING: Read and check comprehension
a) main idea
b) details and language
c) analysis
3. AFTER READING: Creative response on the topic (through speaking or writing)
Within this basic framework, you can be infinitely creative!
1. BEFORE READING: Introduce the topic
2. DURING READING: Read and check comprehension
a) main idea
b) details and language
c) analysis
3. AFTER READING: Creative response on the topic (through speaking or writing)
Within this basic framework, you can be infinitely creative!
the 4 Cs
CREATIVITY
CRITICAL THINKING
COMMUNICATION
COLLABORATION
We are not born knowing these things, but they have the be the cornerstone of a good education.
When our parents sent us to school, they had a pretty good idea of what we'd need to know to survive in the adult world. But we cannot know what challenges our students will face in their future because the world is changing literally at the speed of thought.
The first two concepts go hand in hand:
CREATIVITY is the ability to fuse existing knowledge in different ways. Therefore creation is an action.
CRITICAL THINKING is a reaction to something that already exists. After the creative process is exhausted, the next step is to analyse the result, to evaluate it, critique it and then to start the creative process again to improve and enhance the results.
The second two concepts also go together:
COMMUNICATION is not only the sending of the message, but also the reaction to it. This can happen using many kinds of language: English, Spanish, music, dance, art, gesture etc.
COLLABORATION is working together to achieve a common goal. (Interestingly, competitors can be said to be collaborating because they both agree to play by the same rules. For example, football players collaborate with their teammates to score goals and win; but they also collaborate on a different level with their opponents in order to make the game happen.) Obviously, collaboration cannot happen without communication.
For more information on these concepts, go to http://www.p21.org/
There's a cute video on this page that shows how the 4 Cs work: http://www.p21.org/our-work/resources/for-educators/1007
And here's a poster: http://www.p21.org/storage/documents/4csposter.pdf
CRITICAL THINKING
COMMUNICATION
COLLABORATION
We are not born knowing these things, but they have the be the cornerstone of a good education.
When our parents sent us to school, they had a pretty good idea of what we'd need to know to survive in the adult world. But we cannot know what challenges our students will face in their future because the world is changing literally at the speed of thought.
The first two concepts go hand in hand:
CREATIVITY is the ability to fuse existing knowledge in different ways. Therefore creation is an action.
CRITICAL THINKING is a reaction to something that already exists. After the creative process is exhausted, the next step is to analyse the result, to evaluate it, critique it and then to start the creative process again to improve and enhance the results.
The second two concepts also go together:
COMMUNICATION is not only the sending of the message, but also the reaction to it. This can happen using many kinds of language: English, Spanish, music, dance, art, gesture etc.
COLLABORATION is working together to achieve a common goal. (Interestingly, competitors can be said to be collaborating because they both agree to play by the same rules. For example, football players collaborate with their teammates to score goals and win; but they also collaborate on a different level with their opponents in order to make the game happen.) Obviously, collaboration cannot happen without communication.
For more information on these concepts, go to http://www.p21.org/
There's a cute video on this page that shows how the 4 Cs work: http://www.p21.org/our-work/resources/for-educators/1007
And here's a poster: http://www.p21.org/storage/documents/4csposter.pdf
lunes, 24 de febrero de 2014
Will students work if there are no grades?
In my experience, yes.
I've told students that I would give a past tense quiz every Friday. If they get 9 or 10 out of 10, the following week they don't have to take the quiz. I obviously can't keep track of 30 students, so if someone who didn't get a perfect score doesn't come, I won't know...but if I don't notice it means that the vast majority are coming!
The real argument here is whether if we don't grade students (that is, we give feedback, but the grade isn't entered in any official way) they will take the work seriously. My argument is that because we assume they won't, they don't.
What if we take the first step in changing our attitude?
I've told students that I would give a past tense quiz every Friday. If they get 9 or 10 out of 10, the following week they don't have to take the quiz. I obviously can't keep track of 30 students, so if someone who didn't get a perfect score doesn't come, I won't know...but if I don't notice it means that the vast majority are coming!
The real argument here is whether if we don't grade students (that is, we give feedback, but the grade isn't entered in any official way) they will take the work seriously. My argument is that because we assume they won't, they don't.
What if we take the first step in changing our attitude?
jueves, 20 de febrero de 2014
A good activity vs a successful activity
A good activity for an EFL class is one that has
For example, Pictionnary is a good activity, but if your aim is to teach spelling, it isn't a successful one! Ordering panels in a comic strip is a good activity; it becomes a successful one if the students draw a comic strip about an event they experienced and have a partner order it using the past tense correctly.
- good, clear instructions
- good reasons to communicate and understand
For example, Pictionnary is a good activity, but if your aim is to teach spelling, it isn't a successful one! Ordering panels in a comic strip is a good activity; it becomes a successful one if the students draw a comic strip about an event they experienced and have a partner order it using the past tense correctly.
what I knew/what I learned
This is a terrific before-and-after task for any informative video or text, especially when you're introducing a new topic.
You can't learn when you don't realise what you don't know!
You can't learn when you don't realise what you don't know!
What makes a task challenging?
A challenging task takes us to the very limits of our ability and pushes us to go just a bit further. That's why not everyone finds the same tasks challenging.
For example, a group of lower-level students tasked with using adjectives to describe something without being allowed to repeat adjectives used by anyone else in the group will find this challenging because they don't know that many adjectives, whereas a higher level group will find the task easy because they have more language at their disposal.
For example, a group of lower-level students tasked with using adjectives to describe something without being allowed to repeat adjectives used by anyone else in the group will find this challenging because they don't know that many adjectives, whereas a higher level group will find the task easy because they have more language at their disposal.
Good task: sequencing a text
Cutting up a text and having students put it in order is an excellent technique to help students recognise certain discourse markers. For example, the phrase "once upon a time" always goes at the beginning of a fairy tale, while a phrase like "to sum up" will most likely go at the end of a speech.
What if the students put the text in a different order from the original?
First decide with them if their version makes sense.
If not, discuss why not.
If it does make sense, then what is it about the text that would allow the sequence to be subverted? That can often lead into some very interesting discussions about grammar. For example, an autobiographical text written mostly in the present perfect can be sequenced in many ways...because the present perfect is used for an unspecified time in the past!
What if the students put the text in a different order from the original?
First decide with them if their version makes sense.
If not, discuss why not.
If it does make sense, then what is it about the text that would allow the sequence to be subverted? That can often lead into some very interesting discussions about grammar. For example, an autobiographical text written mostly in the present perfect can be sequenced in many ways...because the present perfect is used for an unspecified time in the past!
Non-fiction texts
The first step is to choose a text: it has to be inetresting, or at least relevant to your students. You can't always make them find the text interesting, but you can make it relevant if the subject matter continues on through the unit.
The second step is to think about what you want students to understand from the text and ask questions to highlight those key points.
One problem is that students often cannot distinguish between main idea and details or between important and unimportant details. We can only teach them by example. Ask main idea and detail questions, then have the students identify the question type.
The second step is to think about what you want students to understand from the text and ask questions to highlight those key points.
One problem is that students often cannot distinguish between main idea and details or between important and unimportant details. We can only teach them by example. Ask main idea and detail questions, then have the students identify the question type.
Creativity happens through weird restrictions.
Tell students to "write a story". They won't have many ideas.
Give students structural restrictions such as a minimum senetnce length or requirements to use specific vocabulary or grammatical structures and they will come up with something, but it won't be very creative.
Give students a creative restriction such as "your story must have a pair of gloves in it which one of the characters must use, but not to put on his/her hands" and suddenly the creative possibilities are endless.
This works with art too.
Tell your students to "build a machine". They won't have many ideas.
Give students structural restrictions such as the requirement to use exactly 10 legos, 4 of which must be blue and they will come up with something, but it won't be very creative.
Give students a creative restriction such as "you only have one lego piece with wheels, but there are only 2 wheels and the piece won't balance by itself" and suddenly the creative possibilities are endless.
Give students structural restrictions such as a minimum senetnce length or requirements to use specific vocabulary or grammatical structures and they will come up with something, but it won't be very creative.
Give students a creative restriction such as "your story must have a pair of gloves in it which one of the characters must use, but not to put on his/her hands" and suddenly the creative possibilities are endless.
This works with art too.
Tell your students to "build a machine". They won't have many ideas.
Give students structural restrictions such as the requirement to use exactly 10 legos, 4 of which must be blue and they will come up with something, but it won't be very creative.
Give students a creative restriction such as "you only have one lego piece with wheels, but there are only 2 wheels and the piece won't balance by itself" and suddenly the creative possibilities are endless.
Creative answers vs right/wrong answers
For every question we ask our students we need to have some idea of what kind of answer we're expecting.
However, there are many wrong answers. Coke isn't very healthy if you drink too much of it. Therefore you'd need to plan very carefully what sort of answers are acceptable (for example, would you mark a student right or wrong for saying drinking 1 Coke a week is healthy?)
- What's 2+2?
- What kinds of foods are healthy?
However, there are many wrong answers. Coke isn't very healthy if you drink too much of it. Therefore you'd need to plan very carefully what sort of answers are acceptable (for example, would you mark a student right or wrong for saying drinking 1 Coke a week is healthy?)
- What's your favourite food?
- What do you think will happen next in the story?
knowing vs understanding
In order to check if students know something, you'll need to ask them fact based questions.
In order to check if students understand something, you'll have to ask them to use higher order thinking skills such as:
In order to check if students understand something, you'll have to ask them to use higher order thinking skills such as:
- analysing
- judging and justifying
- comparing and contrasting
- creating
- arguing etc.
Videos
A video is essentially a sequence of images and sounds.
Because it is a sequence, the information is presented in a specific order, whether it is a story or anything else. Therefore it's essential to check student understanding as you go, rather then checking the comprehension questions at the very end.
A narrative video is a story, like a tv show or a cartoon. There are basically two kinds of questions you need to ask for a narrative video:
1. Comprehension questions: make sure they understand the story as they go along. For example, if the video shows a crime and a punishment, it's important to check the students have understood the crime first.
2. Opinion questions: it's important to have the students judge the story on different levels and to justify their judgement. For example, "was the punishment appropriate for the crime?" In the long run it is better to choose something controversial than to show our students only things we approve of so that they can learn to think critically. For example, many feminists disapprove of the passive roles of females shown in Disney movies, but forbidding their daughters from watching those movies will not make the point as effectively as watching it with them and discussing it.
There are many kinds of information videos, and many are presented as problem-solution. For example: "there is a water shortage - desalinisation is the answer because..." or "most people live with a lot of stress - here's what you can do about yours". Therefore the twin aims of the task must be to check that the students
a) understand what the problem is
b) know what solutions are being proposed
(more on the difference between knowing and understanding on the next post!)
Because it is a sequence, the information is presented in a specific order, whether it is a story or anything else. Therefore it's essential to check student understanding as you go, rather then checking the comprehension questions at the very end.
A narrative video is a story, like a tv show or a cartoon. There are basically two kinds of questions you need to ask for a narrative video:
1. Comprehension questions: make sure they understand the story as they go along. For example, if the video shows a crime and a punishment, it's important to check the students have understood the crime first.
2. Opinion questions: it's important to have the students judge the story on different levels and to justify their judgement. For example, "was the punishment appropriate for the crime?" In the long run it is better to choose something controversial than to show our students only things we approve of so that they can learn to think critically. For example, many feminists disapprove of the passive roles of females shown in Disney movies, but forbidding their daughters from watching those movies will not make the point as effectively as watching it with them and discussing it.
There are many kinds of information videos, and many are presented as problem-solution. For example: "there is a water shortage - desalinisation is the answer because..." or "most people live with a lot of stress - here's what you can do about yours". Therefore the twin aims of the task must be to check that the students
a) understand what the problem is
b) know what solutions are being proposed
(more on the difference between knowing and understanding on the next post!)
miércoles, 19 de febrero de 2014
How do you use class time?
One of the simplest ways to teach something is to explain it, but one of the hardest ways to learn something is to have it explained to you.
Huh?
Teacher: I have to cover the material in a given period of time. I don't have time for fancy games and activities.
Who exactly has to "cover" the material? You or the students?
If you said the students, you're right!
Teacher: But students have this nasty habit of not being able to learn everything we want them to learn.
Right. So we have to prioritize. What do they REALLY have to learn? And what is the fastest way to get them to learn it?
Maybe they could
Right!
Huh?
Teacher: I have to cover the material in a given period of time. I don't have time for fancy games and activities.
Who exactly has to "cover" the material? You or the students?
If you said the students, you're right!
Teacher: But students have this nasty habit of not being able to learn everything we want them to learn.
Right. So we have to prioritize. What do they REALLY have to learn? And what is the fastest way to get them to learn it?
Maybe they could
- read the material themselves
- try an experiment to learn the material
- have a classmate explain it to them
- go online and watch a tutorial
Right!
martes, 18 de febrero de 2014
What does it mean to "understand" something?
I think we all think we know the answer to that one, but do we really?
In EFL, students can get 100% on a grammar test, yet cheerfully tell me all about their weekend without once using the past tense.
Then there's the example of the math question about how many 10-seat buses do we need to get 106 children to school and everyone answers that we need "10 remainder 6" (you want to leave 6 kids at home?)
In other words, students may know the right answers without necessarily understanding them.
In "Understanding by Design" by Wiggins and McTighe, they focus on the need to design assessment by starting with 2 questions:
1. What should students come away understanding?
2. What will count as evidence of that understanding? (p.47)
This doesn't mean necessarily eliminating regular tests but it does mean reframing the questions. Bloom's taxonomy http://ww2.odu.edu/educ/roverbau/Bloom/blooms_taxonomy.htm which everyone seems to give seminars on but few seem to really use could help with this. So, for example, we might give short quizzes on facts (the lower end of the pyramid) and projects or essay questions to see how they do at the higher ends.
This isn't as obvious as it sounds because the higher you get up the pyramid, the harder it is to design a good test and of course the less "objective" the grade will be, even with a good rubric, which can be a problem.
How do you get around this problem in your class?
In EFL, students can get 100% on a grammar test, yet cheerfully tell me all about their weekend without once using the past tense.
Then there's the example of the math question about how many 10-seat buses do we need to get 106 children to school and everyone answers that we need "10 remainder 6" (you want to leave 6 kids at home?)
In other words, students may know the right answers without necessarily understanding them.
In "Understanding by Design" by Wiggins and McTighe, they focus on the need to design assessment by starting with 2 questions:
1. What should students come away understanding?
2. What will count as evidence of that understanding? (p.47)
This doesn't mean necessarily eliminating regular tests but it does mean reframing the questions. Bloom's taxonomy http://ww2.odu.edu/educ/roverbau/Bloom/blooms_taxonomy.htm which everyone seems to give seminars on but few seem to really use could help with this. So, for example, we might give short quizzes on facts (the lower end of the pyramid) and projects or essay questions to see how they do at the higher ends.
This isn't as obvious as it sounds because the higher you get up the pyramid, the harder it is to design a good test and of course the less "objective" the grade will be, even with a good rubric, which can be a problem.
How do you get around this problem in your class?
lunes, 17 de febrero de 2014
How to teach fiction
Fiction is mainly about 4 elements: PLOT, THEME, CHARACTER and SETTING.
Let's use an example. This is a book for very young children called The Very Hungry Caterpillar read by the author himself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXHScpo_Vv8
PLOT: The plot involves a caterpillar eating lots of food, so the best way to focus on this would be to mark what he ate each day on a calendar.
THEME: The caterpillar ate good foods and bad foods, and after the bad foods he got a stomachache, so the theme is what is/isn't so good to eat. This could be done with a simple chart. Alternatively, the teacher could read the story and have students pull their ears everytime they hear a "bad food" and touch their nose everytime they hear a "good" one...or whatever.
CHARACTER: Here you can think about the little caterpillar's family. At the end of the book, there's a picture of him as a beautiful butterfly. Since we look like a mix of our parents, they students could imagine what the caterpillar's mom and dad looked like. They could also imagine the caterpillar's mom telling him what foods to eat and scolding him for eating the wrong food.
SETTING: Caterpillars live in nature, but some of the foods he eats aren't found in nature...which ones?
Now think about a story you can do with your students and see if you can come up with activities for each of the four elements.
Let's use an example. This is a book for very young children called The Very Hungry Caterpillar read by the author himself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXHScpo_Vv8
PLOT: The plot involves a caterpillar eating lots of food, so the best way to focus on this would be to mark what he ate each day on a calendar.
THEME: The caterpillar ate good foods and bad foods, and after the bad foods he got a stomachache, so the theme is what is/isn't so good to eat. This could be done with a simple chart. Alternatively, the teacher could read the story and have students pull their ears everytime they hear a "bad food" and touch their nose everytime they hear a "good" one...or whatever.
CHARACTER: Here you can think about the little caterpillar's family. At the end of the book, there's a picture of him as a beautiful butterfly. Since we look like a mix of our parents, they students could imagine what the caterpillar's mom and dad looked like. They could also imagine the caterpillar's mom telling him what foods to eat and scolding him for eating the wrong food.
SETTING: Caterpillars live in nature, but some of the foods he eats aren't found in nature...which ones?
Now think about a story you can do with your students and see if you can come up with activities for each of the four elements.
Good and bad games in The Big Bang Theory
The following two clips from The Big Bang Theory show games played by the characters; not commercial games such as Halo or World of Warcraft, but games they've made up for themselves.
I think one of these is a good game and one isn't. Do you agree? Which is which and why?
In Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals, they give the following definition of what a game is:
“A game is a system in which players engage in
an artificial conflict, defined by rules, that results in a quantifiable
outcome.” (p80)
Does this help you answer the question above?
viernes, 14 de febrero de 2014
3 steps to planning backwards
I'm currently reading "Understanding by Design" by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe. They give the following example (I won't quote it directly, but here's a paraphrase):
A 3rd grade class have a unit on apples where they read stories, do art projects, learn songs, analyse scientific properties, and mathematically expand a recipe and all of it's centered around apples. Sounds fun right?
But what are they really learning?
Think about it...I couldn't really see. I mean yes, they learned about apples I guess, but that isn't really something you put in the curriculum. So basically they had fun, which is good, but, sorry to say, not the main purpose of school.
What they say is that there are basically 3 steps to planning:
1. Identify desired results
2. Determine acceptable evidence
3. Plan learning experiences and instruction
(p18)
...IN THAT ORDER
How many of us really do that, I wonder?
A 3rd grade class have a unit on apples where they read stories, do art projects, learn songs, analyse scientific properties, and mathematically expand a recipe and all of it's centered around apples. Sounds fun right?
But what are they really learning?
Think about it...I couldn't really see. I mean yes, they learned about apples I guess, but that isn't really something you put in the curriculum. So basically they had fun, which is good, but, sorry to say, not the main purpose of school.
What they say is that there are basically 3 steps to planning:
1. Identify desired results
2. Determine acceptable evidence
3. Plan learning experiences and instruction
(p18)
...IN THAT ORDER
How many of us really do that, I wonder?
jueves, 13 de febrero de 2014
7 principles of game-like learning to shape teaching and learning
"7 principles of game-like learning to shape teaching and learning:
Wow. This is totally the opposite of the way I was taught!
- everyone is a participant;
- challenge is constant;
- learning happens by doing;
- feedback is immediate and ongoing;
- failure is reframed as iteration;
- everything is interconnected;
- and it kind of feels like play."
Wow. This is totally the opposite of the way I was taught!
- I never participated unless the teacher called on me
- I was bored or frustrated, but rarely challenged
- I never did much besides workbooks and tests
- I got my grade 3 days after with all the grammar corrected in bloody red
- Failure was framed as failure
- Nothing was interconnected
- and it totally felt like work.
arguments with myself
Yesterday I posted a bit of a rant against percentage based grades. Here's more about how that came about.
Student: Please raise my grade, Teacher.
Me: No, that would be unethical.
(Exit Student in disgust)
Me: That was very admirable of me to stick to my ethics and not raise Student's grade.
Me: Yes, I must be a wonderful teacher. Just one question, me. Why couldn't I raise his grade?
Me: Look at his test! He lost points here, here and here.
Me: I see. But why did I take off those points?
Me: Because he made mistakes.
Me: Yes, but why is this mistake worth 2 points and that one worth 0.5 points?
Me: Because this concept is 4 times as important as that one!
Me: Really? Why?
Me: I don't know. Look, I need to give a grade to Student and this is the best way I can think of to get one.
Me: Other than the fact that the system requires it, why does Student need a grade?
Me: To prove how much he knows, silly!
Me: So you think this test proves without a doubt that Student knows exactly 76% of the material?
Me: Well, I don't know...
Me: And that, assuming he does know precisely 76% of the material, it's ok to pass him knowing that he's missing 24%?
Me: SHUT UP ME!!!
Me: Ok. Can I buy me a cup of coffee?
Student: Please raise my grade, Teacher.
Me: No, that would be unethical.
(Exit Student in disgust)
Me: That was very admirable of me to stick to my ethics and not raise Student's grade.
Me: Yes, I must be a wonderful teacher. Just one question, me. Why couldn't I raise his grade?
Me: Look at his test! He lost points here, here and here.
Me: I see. But why did I take off those points?
Me: Because he made mistakes.
Me: Yes, but why is this mistake worth 2 points and that one worth 0.5 points?
Me: Because this concept is 4 times as important as that one!
Me: Really? Why?
Me: I don't know. Look, I need to give a grade to Student and this is the best way I can think of to get one.
Me: Other than the fact that the system requires it, why does Student need a grade?
Me: To prove how much he knows, silly!
Me: So you think this test proves without a doubt that Student knows exactly 76% of the material?
Me: Well, I don't know...
Me: And that, assuming he does know precisely 76% of the material, it's ok to pass him knowing that he's missing 24%?
Me: SHUT UP ME!!!
Me: Ok. Can I buy me a cup of coffee?
miércoles, 12 de febrero de 2014
grading and assessment
How do you decide on a grade? What, for you is exactly the difference between 88% and 89%? Between 99% and 100%? Or, more importantly, from the students point of view, the difference between passing-by-the-skin-of-your-teeth (where I work, that's 70%) and failing?
Do you see a problem with a pass grade of 50% or 60% or 70% (depending on where you work)? Does it make sense to pass a course when you haven't understood over a quarter of the material?
What if the test doesn't measure things right? For example, students may fail a grammar-based exam even when they obviously have good speaking skills. Or vice versa.
I spent a month last week arguing over how to test students' levels of English and none of it made sense to me: why should students be given 2 hours to answer questions that have nothing to do with their field of interest. Yet those questions are written by experts who claim that their standardized tests are objective and impartial and can accurately measure and predict a student's curent and future level of English. Why "predict"? Because the law is requiring university students to pass this test when they have completed 60% of their degree. That makes sense because it allows teachers in subsequent courses to assign readings and projects in English. But it works on the assumption that by the time the students graduate, they will still remember all of their English. I would seriously doubt that if all they did was pull an all-nighter the day before the exam.
I'm arguing for a project-based system of assessment worth (are you ready for it?) either 100% or 0%. All or nothing.
Shocked?
Here's the logic: a project (a story, a video, a demonstration of a skill, etc.) can be done over a period of time which means the student can prove what he or she can actually do with the language (which, if you'll notice is how the levels of the Common European Framework are phrased: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages)
They use the language as it is intended: to communicate something of interest to the speaker. Either they can do this within an acceptable measure for the level they are trying to achieve according to a panel of judges, or they can't. It's a simple as that. There's no 76% or whatever (un puntito mas profe, por fis!)
The beauty is that this can (and, in my humble opinion, should) apply at any level from kindergarten to university and beyond. Wanna see what students can do? Let them show you!
Do you see a problem with a pass grade of 50% or 60% or 70% (depending on where you work)? Does it make sense to pass a course when you haven't understood over a quarter of the material?
What if the test doesn't measure things right? For example, students may fail a grammar-based exam even when they obviously have good speaking skills. Or vice versa.
I spent a month last week arguing over how to test students' levels of English and none of it made sense to me: why should students be given 2 hours to answer questions that have nothing to do with their field of interest. Yet those questions are written by experts who claim that their standardized tests are objective and impartial and can accurately measure and predict a student's curent and future level of English. Why "predict"? Because the law is requiring university students to pass this test when they have completed 60% of their degree. That makes sense because it allows teachers in subsequent courses to assign readings and projects in English. But it works on the assumption that by the time the students graduate, they will still remember all of their English. I would seriously doubt that if all they did was pull an all-nighter the day before the exam.
I'm arguing for a project-based system of assessment worth (are you ready for it?) either 100% or 0%. All or nothing.
Shocked?
Here's the logic: a project (a story, a video, a demonstration of a skill, etc.) can be done over a period of time which means the student can prove what he or she can actually do with the language (which, if you'll notice is how the levels of the Common European Framework are phrased: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages)
They use the language as it is intended: to communicate something of interest to the speaker. Either they can do this within an acceptable measure for the level they are trying to achieve according to a panel of judges, or they can't. It's a simple as that. There's no 76% or whatever (un puntito mas profe, por fis!)
The beauty is that this can (and, in my humble opinion, should) apply at any level from kindergarten to university and beyond. Wanna see what students can do? Let them show you!
martes, 11 de febrero de 2014
Two ways of looking at EFL games
I boxed in college.
Really.
All 1.5m of me.
Why am I telling you this?
Boxing is a game: it has clear rules and a point system and the winner is the one who can knock out the other guy. It's bloody and violent and potentially lethal...but it's a game. English is a game in the same way: you go out and you use it. You have rules and structures and if you use it right you can get what you want.
However, no-one, not Muhammed Ali, and certainly not little ol' me, can just get into a ring and start beating the opponent senseless. No, you have to be trained to do it right. As with English. No matter what those fly-by-night schools tell you, you cannot suddenly become fluent. Like it or not, you have to master the basics of the grammar, the vocabulary, and the skills before you can go out and start wheeling and dealing in English.
Now here's the thing: training for boxing can be fairly boring (think hours of skipping rope and jabbing at punching bags) but it can also be turned into a game. Just like language teaching: you can do hours of worksheets or you can play learning games.
The important thing is to distinguish between the two kinds of games:
1. Scaffolding games where you learn through playing
The mistake most teachers make here is to mix up the two. For example, a game like "guess the word" won't work if the students don't have the language to describe the word. If you need the students to practice the vocabulary, a memory game matching words and definitions would be much better. Then, once the students know the vocabulary and are comfortable with it, you can challenge them to incorporate the new words into an improvised dialogue, say by picking words out of a hat and seeing if they can use it in the next sentence without their partner realising which word they've used.
Really.
All 1.5m of me.
Why am I telling you this?
Boxing is a game: it has clear rules and a point system and the winner is the one who can knock out the other guy. It's bloody and violent and potentially lethal...but it's a game. English is a game in the same way: you go out and you use it. You have rules and structures and if you use it right you can get what you want.
However, no-one, not Muhammed Ali, and certainly not little ol' me, can just get into a ring and start beating the opponent senseless. No, you have to be trained to do it right. As with English. No matter what those fly-by-night schools tell you, you cannot suddenly become fluent. Like it or not, you have to master the basics of the grammar, the vocabulary, and the skills before you can go out and start wheeling and dealing in English.
Now here's the thing: training for boxing can be fairly boring (think hours of skipping rope and jabbing at punching bags) but it can also be turned into a game. Just like language teaching: you can do hours of worksheets or you can play learning games.
The important thing is to distinguish between the two kinds of games:
1. Scaffolding games where you learn through playing
- In boxing I used to rally with a friend to see who could skip rope the longest, or we'd call out increasingly difficult punching combinations for the other to try. The aim was partly to develop our muscles and our technique, and partly to watch our partner to learn correct and incorrect moves.
- In English, you can play games where you have time to think about specific concepts such as vocabulary words or verb tenses. In my experience, the best games for these are modified card or board games where players take turns and can watch each other and learn from each others successes and errors.
- In boxing, this means getting into the ring and ...well, boxing. This doesn't mean you're perfect already, but that your muscles and technique are sufficiently developped that you can now put them into practice.
- In English this means that you can now play drama-type games based on writing and speaking where it is assumed you know enough language for the game to proceed. At lower levels, the games would require simpler language, but as you move up to higher levels the language required becomes more complex in order for the game to work, while still remaining within the abilities of the learners. (This is really important: many games fail because they're either too easy or too difficult for the level!)
The mistake most teachers make here is to mix up the two. For example, a game like "guess the word" won't work if the students don't have the language to describe the word. If you need the students to practice the vocabulary, a memory game matching words and definitions would be much better. Then, once the students know the vocabulary and are comfortable with it, you can challenge them to incorporate the new words into an improvised dialogue, say by picking words out of a hat and seeing if they can use it in the next sentence without their partner realising which word they've used.
miércoles, 5 de febrero de 2014
Playtested: journal-type poker
It's hard to teach what a journal can be used for since it can be used for almost anything. I said that yesterday.
The best way to teach what you don't know is to have your students go through the same process you would go through to figure it out. So, yesterday I sent mine to Google "types of journals" and they came back with foodjournaldreamdiaryfeedbackjournaldialoguejournalhealthdiarytraveljournalmeditationjournal etc.
We narrowed it down to 4:
Then we played "journal-type poker".
Each person wrote 2 entries for each of the 4 journal types (so 8 entries). Then they put them in a pile and dealt 4 to each player. The aim was to get either two pairs (ex: 2 science journals and 2 reading journals), 4 of a kind (ex: 4 science journals) or a "straight" (one of each). If a player thought they'd won they had to show the journal entries and explain what type they thought they were.
One student, J, decided to be so creative in writing his journals entries that it was hard for the other players to identify what type of journal they were supposed to be. This meant a great deal of arguing back and forth which I thought was great. It meant they were practicing the language a lot, but it also led to a very interesting discussion on who has ownership of a text. Is the writer the only one who gets to say what it means or, if the readers disagree, can they be right too?
Once they had an idea of what exactly makes a journal a journal (that it's personal, creative and periodic), then they thought about different ways to use them in their classes. Turns out, you can fit journalling into almost any part of a lesson!
The best way to teach what you don't know is to have your students go through the same process you would go through to figure it out. So, yesterday I sent mine to Google "types of journals" and they came back with foodjournaldreamdiaryfeedbackjournaldialoguejournalhealthdiarytraveljournalmeditationjournal etc.
We narrowed it down to 4:
- Emotional intelligence journal: This is what you write in whenever you have an issue relating to emotional intelligence to deal with. For example, if you had a fight with your best friend at recess, you write in it. Or if you have trouble managing your time or leading your group or understanding why you don't get along with a particular teacher.
- Science journal: This is where you record scientific questions and observations based on readings, experiments and research.
- Creative writing journal: This is where you note down words, phrases and ideas for songs, poems or stories
- Reading journal: This is where you respond to your readings, not just by summarising them but by adding your opinions, questions, likes and dislikes about the text.
Then we played "journal-type poker".
Each person wrote 2 entries for each of the 4 journal types (so 8 entries). Then they put them in a pile and dealt 4 to each player. The aim was to get either two pairs (ex: 2 science journals and 2 reading journals), 4 of a kind (ex: 4 science journals) or a "straight" (one of each). If a player thought they'd won they had to show the journal entries and explain what type they thought they were.
One student, J, decided to be so creative in writing his journals entries that it was hard for the other players to identify what type of journal they were supposed to be. This meant a great deal of arguing back and forth which I thought was great. It meant they were practicing the language a lot, but it also led to a very interesting discussion on who has ownership of a text. Is the writer the only one who gets to say what it means or, if the readers disagree, can they be right too?
Once they had an idea of what exactly makes a journal a journal (that it's personal, creative and periodic), then they thought about different ways to use them in their classes. Turns out, you can fit journalling into almost any part of a lesson!
martes, 4 de febrero de 2014
What is a journal?
Interesting question: this blog is a journal. What's it for?
To me, a journal needs:
To me, a journal needs:
- A writer, but not necessarily the writer. That is to say that I can write as Janine, but I can also write my journal as Juliet for a literature class or as a 2 year-old baby for a psychology class or even as a tadpole for a science class. "Dear Diary, today I sprouted feet..."
- A reason. Am I using my journal to explore a question or to answer it? Are my thoughts fully formed or are these half-baked opinions. Do I expect to look back on this one day surprised at how little I knew, or am I recording an epiphany for all time?
- A reader. Can I be the reader of my own journal? Sure I can, but is that enough motivation to keep me writing everyday? Maybe it might be better to have a reader, but not necessarily the reader. So if I'm writing as Juliet, my classmate isn't reading my entry as my clasmate but as Romeo. If my teacher is my reader, does my teacher have to be a teacher? Or can she can just be reading my journal as a fellow traveller on the road to becoming a better teacher herself?
lunes, 3 de febrero de 2014
Video: the fundamentals
Many people seem to have this weird moral pyramid where reading is "good" and most TV and all video games are a "waste of time". I don't believe this.
Humans interact with media, whether it's the printed page, the camera or the avatar. We just interact with it differently.
Videos are above all sequences of images and sound. The first thing is to understand that sequence. For EFL learners this part can be difficult because the language itself is a barrier.
If you're watching a piece of fiction such as a movie or a TV series, the first task is to understand the plot. As teachers we need to help guide students through the story by asking questions.
Notice, I said guide, not test. Those are two different things entirely!
If you're watching non-fiction, such as a documentary or an information slide-show, then the task is to make sure the students have understood the nformation. Again, questions are only one of the many ways to do this.
Once the students have understood, then it's up to them to analyse it.
As I mentioned on earlier posts, for fiction it's about analysing the motivations of the characters: why did the characters, think, speak or act the way they did? For non-fiction it's about analysing the source of the information itself: is it trustworthy or b.s and how can you tell?
Humans interact with media, whether it's the printed page, the camera or the avatar. We just interact with it differently.
Videos are above all sequences of images and sound. The first thing is to understand that sequence. For EFL learners this part can be difficult because the language itself is a barrier.
If you're watching a piece of fiction such as a movie or a TV series, the first task is to understand the plot. As teachers we need to help guide students through the story by asking questions.
Notice, I said guide, not test. Those are two different things entirely!
If you're watching non-fiction, such as a documentary or an information slide-show, then the task is to make sure the students have understood the nformation. Again, questions are only one of the many ways to do this.
Once the students have understood, then it's up to them to analyse it.
As I mentioned on earlier posts, for fiction it's about analysing the motivations of the characters: why did the characters, think, speak or act the way they did? For non-fiction it's about analysing the source of the information itself: is it trustworthy or b.s and how can you tell?
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