My colleague Kate Kramer used the RPC for her 8th grade Scientific Methodology project. She decided not to use it with students this time, but she just set up herself and me for the email updates. I have to admit, it is a bit startling to check my email and see the "reminder" for my homework (which I have not done). That brought up a new question for me.
Before, we always wondered about the kids who don't have / don't use email . . . how would this tool help them with staying on track? But now I am wondering about the psychology of it. Will some kids flip out when their email starts nagging them to get their work done? For some kids, raising the anxiety level about their school work is a good thing. But for other kids, it might actually be detrimental.
It makes me wonder if this kind of tool would have helped me or hindered? I was quite the procrastinator (when I was young, but not anymore!) (If you believe that, you don't know me well.) I think one of the hardest parts of teaching is differentiation - not just in a lesson plan, but in the strategies we use to motivate kids. Different tactics work for different kids.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I completely agree with you on this. While the RPC is a great tool to have available, I think for those students who would begin to panic once they receive the emails, it would completely lose its benefit. I know as soon as I receive the nagging reminders for things, it tends to shut down any interest I may have for doing the work.
It does, however, make a great tool for differentiation! You are right!
AND are we becoming too concerned about the tools and taking away the actual time to work on a project? In my own case, I would have gotten so involved in completion of the RPC that I wouldn't have had time to do the actual assignment. Great reflection, Ms. Czarina.
I didn't intend this post as a slam of the RPC. It was just an observation. The thing with the RPC is that there are so many helps for the kids - leading questions, examples, etc. It's just the deadline / stay on track part that I wondered about . . . I don't know that even a majority of our middle schoolers check email on a daily basis, so it's a moot point right now. My reaction just made me wonder how a kid would respond to this kind of reminder.
Post a Comment