I have to admit, my concern with using the GAME Plan with students is the first step—setting goals. So many adolescents lack educational goals; they expect to be told what to do so they can do it and move on to the next thing. I’m afraid that some of this comes from the educational process. We are so concerned with covering content and meeting objectives that our students have little say in what they would like to accomplish during the course of the day. I think it will take careful modeling to help students recognize appropriate and meaningful goals that will help them with their long-term plans.
During the past two days my students have begun the Anne Frank Web quest I chose to develop as one of my personal GAME Plan goals (http://questgarden.com/122/42/5/110404073307/index.htm). The problem that became immediately apparent is that many students were not willing to take the time to read the instructions and follow them. Part of the responsibility for this I take upon myself; next time I will be more deliberate in introducing the activity. However, the lion’s share of the responsibility does rest on the shoulders of my students. It is much easier to ask “What do I do next?” than to take the time to the instructions, find one’s place, and analyze the next task. We have got to break students of this habit, though, if we want them to be critical, capable thinkers.
With this in mind, I would like to use the GAME Plan to address Standard 4: Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making (International Society for Technology in Education, 2011). I would like to develop some lessons that require students to work through a series of challenges. To begin, I could create a situation where all materials needed to complete the challenge are readily available if the students follow the instructions. When they master that, the challenges could become steadily more complex, requiring students to rely more on their own problem-solving skills to locate answers. If anyone has any ideas, I would love to hear them.
Part of developing these skills requires a certain work ethic, of course, and I worry that I am not sufficiently influential in my students’ lives to shape that work ethic.
References
International Society for Technology in Education. (2011). NETS for students 2007. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students/nets-student-standards-2007.aspx
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I too believe students suffer in the area of setting goals for themselves in their own education. They rely on the constant leadership and instruction of a teacher or adult figure. I feel this is one real world trait that students should learn early on.
ReplyDeleteI recently witnessed this as a problem after assigning my students a technology project. I saw many students struggling to finish their projects in the allotted time (4 computer lab days). I have another project coming up and want to try and enforce how pertinent it is to give yourself goals when completing an assignment. I want to have students create an objective for each class period, and then take note about if their objective was met or not. I believe this may be a way in which students can plan, set objectives, and reach goals in the area of academia. Thank you for sharing your concerns so now I know I am not the only one who struggles with this in the classroom!
What a great point, students do have trouble setting goals. I agree that is has a lot to do with the educational process. There is so much focus on testing and teaching for the test that creativity in learning and critical thinking take a back seat to rote memory. I think the benefits implementing educational technology tools and the initiatives proposed with them will help students to think on their own.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it will take some careful modeling to help students understand how to set manageable and realistic goals and how to work towards them.