Field Post 3

How can a teacher challenge students in the classroom?

When I went to Height High, I was put in an honors biology class. The class had students from all backgrounds. On the day that I was observing, the students were going to be working on a lab. The students got to work with their friends during the lab. The teacher challenged her students by having the students create their own experiment to test diffusion. Normally students have to perform a lab that the teacher assigns. By letting students create the experiment, it caused them to be more engaged. I wish that I would have been challenged to create an experiment of my own so that I could apply and practice the scientific method, and critically think about how to test an idea. By having students create the experiment, it forced them to think critically and work with others to come up with a way to test diffusion. Ayers and Freire would have liked seeing students apply their knowledge and not just regurgitate information. In a way, performing a cookbook lab (lab with directions) is almost like having students sit through a lecture. Only in this format, the students get to move around.

How can a teacher help students learn without lecturing?

At Heights high, the teacher forced students to create experiments, but she also allowed them to make mistakes. When she walked around the room, she let the students think of new ideas and ways to test ideas. She only took control if students got off task, or they would not be able to test their ideas in the time allotted. When I was at Heights High, I saw kids enjoying learning and enjoying others company.