When creating my lesson plan for the subject of math, I was trying to find ways for students to self monitor their success when solving word problems. Being that word problems include multiple steps, it is not as easy as did they understand the concept or not because there are multiple concepts to know. By creating a checklist, it allowed students to refer back and see what they needed to do in order to know how to solve the problem. It held the students responsible for completing all steps of the task to help ensure they solved the problem correctly. This was the criteria checklist I included in my lesson:
I worked cooperatively with my group
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2. I annotated the problem to help me understand it | |
3. I wrote the target sentence | |
4. I used an efficient strategy to solve the problem | |
5. I solved the problem and wrote the answer | |
Although I used a checklist for this assignment/ lesson with my students, I wanted to find other fun, creative ways to include self monitoring in the future. One suggestion a previous professor made was to ensure that all students are given a role when working in groups. This allows students to take responsibility for their participation and to stay engaged in the work they are doing. My co-teacher also recommended that at the end of every lesson, instead of asking the students "do you have any questions" she states it as "someone give me one good question about what we just learned". This helps students reflect on what they learned so that they may think about it in the context of what they may not have understood as well as they thought they originally did. Another fun way I found through research is to have the students turn and talk with a partner. During this time the students should re-explain what they just learned to their partner. This will help them to see if they have any further questions or their partner may be able to help them if they are missing a piece.
Reflecting on how I presented the criteria during the lesson, there is one thing I could have done differently. When I presented the criteria, I had the students read them aloud one by one. As They read them aloud, I explained what each numbered points meant. Instead of me explaining the points, I should have first asked the students what they meant to them to assess their understanding of what they need to do to be successful.
If anyone else has any suggestions on how to promote and incorporate self monitoring please feel free to share!
I was reading that the "self-monitoring process engages students. Self-monitoring facilitates communication between students and their parents. Students can avoid competition because of the individual nature of the strategy. Self-monitoring incorporates academic and social skills (e.g., counting, reading, classifying, cooperating).
ReplyDeleteI enjoy reading about the creative and fun ways you seek your students to self-monitor themselves. The way you are applying such strategies also yields a gradual release of responsibility; wow!
You are going to be such an incredible and dynamic teacher. Where did you get the checklist? May I use it?
My co-teacher helped me to create it so that it aligned with our activity and can be used for other activities as well. You are more than welcome to use it!
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