Mr. Crosby is an amazing teacher. You can tell that his concerns are for his students, not the grades the are making. Crosby has taught the same class for three years. He points out that when these children first came to him, many of them could not answer questions as simple as what city, state, and country they live in. He didn’t give up on them or conjure predetermined judgements. Instead, Mr. Crosby took them on a journey full of knowledge; he taught them in a practical manner that they understood and was genuinely interested in.
It was so nice to hear that Mr. Crosby refused to not teach a student that wasn’t able to physically come to class. His student Celeste had leukemia and because of her immune system was unable to attend. He didn’t let this stop him though; he started using technology to bring Celeste to class over the computer. She was able to be there to learn and interact with her teacher and classmates without compromising her health. This was amazing to see, and I can only applaud him for his efforts as a teacher.
I love the part of the video where he states that education shouldn’t be treated as a race. He’s right. Students should be encouraged to take their time and learn as much as they can. Many problems that our children face these days are because of rushing. They are too quick to grow up (physically), and too quick to give up on the things they don’t accomplish right away. A good grade in a class, or a degree from college or high school, is not nearly as important as the knowledge that those symbols are supposed to represent.
Paul Anderson's Blended Learning Cycle
In his video, Blended Learning Cycle, Paul Anderson explains how he focused his class on the students to create a better learning experience. He describes his method of “QUIVERS”, which is a very interesting and useful concept. These are the steps that Mr. Anderson takes:
QUESTION - He starts each unit with a question that “hooks” his students to get them interested.
INVESTIGATION - This is where they begin to explore and learn about the question. Anderson encourages them to come up with questions of their own.
VIDEO - Anderson uses video to give students information to begin researching.
ELABORATION - Students actively research the material and learn through this step.
REVIEW - Anderson works with small groups to discuss the material with his students in order to make sure the are grasping the concepts.
SUMMARY QUIZ - Students take a short quiz on the things covered in each section, which is followed by longer unit exams.
This is a great way to approach teaching. Anderson explains that this method is easily utilized in a science classroom, and I think it would work well in almost any subject. Everything can be slightly subverted to meet needs or improve. My area of education will be in English; this may be a bit harder to introduce, but I think after finding a way to present a question that will capture my student’s attention, it will work well. My favorite thing about flipped classrooms is that it doesn’t have near as much boring lecture time. I plan to implement this idea, along with many others, into my classroom.
Hey Jeanette! Good job on your blog post. Mr. Crosby's great teaching techniques really interested me as well. Paul Anderson's QUIVERS steps really grabbed my attention for a future technique. Some of these assignments can be so helpful! Keep up the great work. We're almost done!
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