I loved they way the Belgian teachers from Brussels started the lesson. We had to choose an animal that we can associate with ourselfs. I think this is a really good method to use in my classroom. You can use it on different ways:
- in the beginning of the year
- when they are social problems
- when you learn about qualities and imperfections
- when you have time left
- when you are working in group, you can use these animals for a good organisation
- in different courses
- it's also possible to use different objects
After the activitie with the animals we had to give ourself a score (0-5-10) for different pictures. Some persons are more organizing, others like to discover the world, ... .
I will remember this:
"rest, no stress, everything is okay".
I am really learning to be calm and to let go all of my stress.
When the teachers were talking about the different types of persons I lost my attention. I think that was taking too much time. Maybe we could use an energetic break or something.
the active part
The teachers did a great job by going outside and let us do some active stuff. It was a very creative way to search nature objects. But I think the meaning of this activity was not that good. It's really dangerous to let the children choose who is the winner of a creative task. It can have a negative effect on their self-esteem.
the theory
We saw the different steps of creativity. I think the teachers have given us a really great hint. We have to look for quantity and not for quality. The flue of the words is more important in the beginning of a brainstorm. I think the same way because it's really necessary to have different and many ideas.
Together we looked for a solution to make children more sportive. We did some different steps.
Step 0 - What is evident in schools?
Step 1- Connection with a word.
Step 2 - Omit something from the structure.
Step 3 - Reverse things.
Step 4 - Wishful thinking.
Step 5 - Exaggarate.
Those methods were really interesting and usefull. I want to use them when we have a meeting with all teachers to solve a problem. But in this workshop we didn't get enough time to be creative. First we had really a lot of time and we could share our thoughts but when we arrived at step 2 we couldn't share our thoughts and it was always going faster.
I really liked the idea of our group to organize a communicty dog walking, build a class outside (treehouses) and paint a really big boardgame on the playground (to use for all lessons). We also wanted to give movement for homework. I am gonna remember that. An other group had an idea to give each child a pedometer. That is an awesome idea!
DE BONO THEORYWe got some more information about the different hats.
white: informative (facts, figures and information)
black: critical (negative and critical)
yellow: optimistic (positive and constructive)
red: emotional (spontaneous, feeling and intuition)
green: creative (growth, energy and life)
blue: consider (control, determine)
After we got the theory, we have to choose a pretask subject.
Group 5 has chosen the inclusion problem.
white: diversity in each school, learning and behaviour problems are increasing, diffucult to differentiate for all childrenred: teachers do care, social problem, from classroom to society (problem!)
black: time-management, easier to one type of learner, smart kids, rich kids, one method
yellow: good voor empathise, society, accepting diversity, open-minded, more challenging for a teacher, learn how to respect
green: different methods, materials, activities
blue: important because it's good for the society,
it helps students to develope thier confidence in a positive way,
it's very challenging for teachers, you need to do a lot of work
WHAT DO I LEARN?
- Today, I got really good ideas I want to integrate in my practice. Like the hats of De Bono we can use it if we af a meeting with all teachers to talk about a problem, an idea, ... .
- I want to be in a project group to work out a board-game-playground for schools. Who's in?
- I think if you want to be creative you can use the different steps but you also need a lot of time.
It's very important to be able to think critically as a teacher. I can see that you really care about teaching and want to do your best. I like your attitude of teaching and learning, and I think you will be an awesome teacher.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenI also really enjoyed the activities and the group projects and would love to use them in my classroom.