Website Reliability Collaborative Lesson
1.3 Instructional partner
Candidates model, share, and promote effective principles of teaching and learning as collaborative partners with other educators. Description:
Sixth grade students in LAB21 were given the question, “Is social media helpful or harmful to teenagers?” After learning about different types of social media, they chose a side of this debate and researched to find evidence to support their choice. I worked with the LAB21 teacher to plan a lesson on finding reliable online information. I utilized the RADCAB mnemonic to teach students how to evaluate websites, and students practiced their new skills by evaluating a website. Analysis: Social media is a big part of students’ lives, so this lesson was very engaging for them. I used Photoshopped pictures to start a discussion on whether or not everything students see online is true. Students actively participated in the discussion, so student engagement was a strength of this lesson. The other strength was using the RADCAB mnemonic device to teach students how to evaluate websites. Using a mnemonic made the method easy for both students and the LAB21 teacher to remember, which meant they are more likely to continue to use the method in the future. The main weakness was that the final assessment was not shared with me until after the lesson, so my lesson did not cover one area that students were assessed on. In the future, I need to make sure I have the final assessment before teaching my lesson, preferably before planning the instruction. A surprising learning outcome for myself was that I enjoyed grading the assessment with the teacher. It was helpful to see what students learned, but it also confirmed that my lesson had been a success. Reflection: This was my first truly collaborative lesson, and I loved it. Partnering with another teacher definitely enhanced my lesson. As I was teaching she filled in gaps and added connections to prior learning, all of which enhanced my presentation. Students engaged in more critical thinking than they might have if I had taught this as a standalone library lesson. The students were highly engaged, and I felt the topic was very meaningful to them. It was amazing to hear the intense discussions students engaged in over whether or not a particular image or website I had chosen was real or fake. Middle schoolers have a lot to share when they are given relevant, thought-provoking topics to keep them engaged. |
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