Blog Post #4

Asking Questions: What questions do we ask? How do we ask?

Asking questions is very important in the classroom. Not only does it help the teacher with involvement with the students, but it opens up the room to a debate and allows discussion. It is always important to give the students in your class the opportunity to promote curiosity. If they are too intimidated to raise their hand, then how can you know if they are understanding the material?

Everyone has their own ideas about a topic and it's healthy for students to give their opinion. As humans we've been dealing out our opinions for thousands of years and the classroom should be a practicing ground for students to speak their mind.

Blog Post # 3

How Can You Provide Meaningful Feedback to Your Peers?

I can probably count on one hand how many times I peer edited a person's paper or essay in high school. It wasn't required of us most of the time and I think that's definitely a problem. Students can learn so many things by experience and teaching others. Peer editing is when you receive and/or give a piece of written work for you and your partner to examine and correct. It can be frustrating sometimes for someone else to thoroughly look through what you wrote. I also found it to be quite nerve-wracking. You're naturally worried about what the other person thinks of it.

Peer editing gives the student the chance to become a better writer and to learn from their mistakes. It also gives them a sense of accomplishment and it means more to them when their peers approve and not just their teacher. If you're peer editing, just be honest and open about your opinions on the work. Begin with what they did correctly and then move on to things they may have done wrong.