Organizing Collaborative Learning: using conditional verbs

Many of you have studied student-centered, collaborative learning strategies but have yet to apply them. Using the MIT classroom article, explain how you would implement such strategies in a typical Chilean classroom. Compare the resources the professors and students had at MIT with the resources most Chilean schools have. What is essential for the new teaching methodology, and what can be modified?

Open a Microsoft Word document and write 150 words about teaching methodologies you could use in Chilean schools that incorporate the teaching model used in the introductory physics course at MIT. Incorporate conditional verb phrases into your text and underline each usage; you should have at least five (would, could, might, should...).

For a review of conditional verbs and how to use them, check the Innovations exercise we recently did in class or go here.

Please print your essay and turn it into me at the end of class. Be sure your name is on it. Your text will be graded according to your use of conditional verbs and correct sentence structure.

Correction Key! Post corrections by Monday

Hey, everyone. Below is the key for the symbols you should use to mark each other's writing.

Please go to a colleague's blog, and comment on their post for the debate. Copy and paste their writing into your comment, and then add the grammar symbols.

**Everyone should check a different text!! No doubling up, because then someone will be left out!***


Symbol Meaning Example

S Incorrect Spelling *I recieved your letter.
W.O Wrong Word Order *We know well this city.
T Wrong Tense *If he will come it will be to late.
C Concord - Subject and Verb do not agree *Two policemen has come.
WF Wrong Form *That table is our.
S/P Singular or plural problem *We need more informations.
SM Something Missing *They said λ was wrong.
( ) Something is not necessary *It was too much difficult.
?M Meaning is not clear *Come and rest with us for a week.
NA Use not appropriate *He requested me to sit down.
P Punctuation *Whats your name.
WE Wrong expression * For one side
WW Wrong word * Where do you guard the dishes?
SS Sentence Structure * (See your class notes!)
L Capitalization * i was in santiago.

Debate Response

How do you think the debates went?

Critique both debates by answering the following questions *in paragraph form*, writing two or three paragraphs that address the questions.
(Do NOT write: "1. The team arguing for teacher certification....2. They could have improved...")

What did each team do well?
What could they have improved upon?
Who do you think won, and why?
Is there something you wanted to say and didn't?

Visit 3 other classmates blogs and comment on their analyses.

Classroom Design and Integrated Quotes

Using the excerpt from Jane Jacobs' The Death and Life of Great American Cities, plus the abstract from the New Yorker about office design, write a 300-word essay on design principles you plan to apply in your classroom.

You must refer to the two sources we discussed in class! Summarize part of the abstract, and quote from the Jane Jacobs piece, if you like. Following the MLA guidelines for integrating quotes, be sure you introduce each source as you discuss it and use parenthetical documentation.

Blog style and revision

Go to the New Yorker and Slate sites to see how some more formal blogs are done. Although we're blogging, I would like for you to practice using formal language and structure, even academic style, when possible.

Next, pair up and read each others' posts from last week. Critique each other's work, keeping in mind that although the post should include a brief summary and be clear about what the techniques for classroom management are about, it should only be 200 words. If your partner did not use emphatic language and underline it, help him or her accomplish that.

Then, visit 2 other classmates' sites and comment on their style. Are their summaries concise yet clear? Do they explain their judgment of the techniques efficiently? Tell your colleagues at least one thing you like about their style, and one thing you think they can improve upon.

Intro and 1st Task: Considering Classroom Management

Hello, All!
Welcome to our class blog. We will use this page to publish assignments and tips for blogging in English. I suspect many of you already have experience blogging, and if you would like to add your own tips to this page, just comment below.

Should I comment on others' blogs? Yes!
Once you have completed your own blog post, take several minutes to look at the posts your classmates have made. Link to each other's blogs for easy access.

First Blog Assignment:

1. Visit the following site and read the article "11 Techniques for Better Classroom Discipline." http://www.honorlevel.com/x47.xml
2. Note what advice you agree with and what you disagree with.
3. Write a response to the article (200 words) in which you briefly summarize the main ideas and then critique the points you feel most strongly about, using whatever strategies for adding emphasis you feel appropriate.
4. Underline the emphatic language you use.
5. Visit a classmate's blog and see how your responses compare. Leave a comment.