So I took another stab at trying self-constructed learning in my class. This time, I took the book's advice and tried, "simple goals, and outcomes" to enhance the experience. We are learning how to write research papers right now. MLA is quite a challenge to learn and teach for the first time and my 10th graders always struggle. This year, I decided to try the advice of my book and see how much they could glean from self-constructed learning. I gave them a simple goal: Understand these concepts:
MLA format
Citation
Source material
In-text citation / Parenthetical citation
plagiarism
Then, I asked them to demonstrate that the understood the concepts. Most students chose to work alone. The products they created ranged from paragraphs, to copied definitions, to posters, to even just a printed article.
While they in no way mastered the material, they did acquire a base knowledge of the content --> something I have never had the privilege of relying on with a sophomore class.
All in all, I believe the experience was a success because my students came to my lessons with a new understanding and they knew the right questions to ask. Usually, my students stare at me wide eyed as I try to explain giving credit to the author for the first time!
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