Instruction+Video+Critique

[|How to Teach Math as a Social Activity]

Strengths/Compliments

After watching the video "How to Teach Math as a Social Activity" I could only think of praises for what I had seen. It was simply an amazing way to teach math at the elementary level! From his tone of voice to his movements, the teacher, Chris Opitz, was excellent in his management of his class room. The strategy was impressive! To see these 5th grade students working cooperatively without goofing off was incredibly refreshing. The amount of respect for each individual’s idea and point of view had me floored. The effort put forth to cooperatively discuss, brainstorm, and set as concrete criteria the rules for them to follow was worth the time it took. Better yet, it was the students who came up with all of it and that made each and every single one of them responsible for their actions. I also liked his idea of saying “Thank you for your idea.” This simple phrase would open up more students to giving ideas and I wish I had thought of it sooner. Not telling them that their idea is a good idea or not, but simply allowing them to express any idea relative to the problem is a great way for getting the unsure and easily rejected students to respond.

Weaknesses/Suggestions

I found one weakness that I could pick out of this amazing strategy. I found the last section of this fish bowl, where students were watching a small group work, a bit disconnected. I noticed a lot of fidgeting and a few students looking about the room who were clearly not focused on the group in the middle. The idea of the clipboard and having them take notes helps until they finish note taking. I think that perhaps if the teacher could whisper questions to the “audience” while the group is working, it might help focus those out of focus.

Summary/Conclusion

This is an absolutely amazing strategy that can be utilized with various other types of learning. The observational techniques used in this fish bowl are, what I feel, excellent examples of the Observational Learning theory, otherwise know as the Social Learning theory. This theory states that people learn by watching and modeling, which was apparent in this fish bowl technique. The teacher, Opitz, picked a group that demonstrated the proper behaviors for the activity and allowed his students to observe. I feel that this also connected nicely to the Social Learning theory. This is an incredible teaching technique that can be easily manipulated and used in all grades.