I have not yet reached a conclusion about this hypothesis / finding. On the one hand, I am glad to see that my students are resourceful enough to use their strengths to their advantages. Indeed, the groups described above received top grades for their work. When the students were doing what they do best, they were motivated to produce a high quality assignment. It seemed like they were eager to show off their skills and wanted to do the best that they could. I was really impressed by the work that some groups produced and was fascinated by how excited and dedicated the students appeared.
At the same time though, I want to make sure that I challenge my students to go beyond their comfort zones. I want them to be well rounded academically and not only rely on what they are good at doing. Students should be challenged to develop a variety of skills so that they can have many tools at their disposal. While I continued to provide students with choice in future assignments, I also created some projects that were more structured so that students could build academic skills in different areas. In the future, I think the best types of assignments are those that include some combination of choice and detailed instruction.
In the future, I should make sure to work with each group so that can reach their potential. When assisting Jamal’s group, I noticed that each group member put in much effort to complete their project to the best of their capability. However, while Rachel’s group’s project was great, they only used about half of the time allotted for the project because it may have just been too easy for them to complete. In order to challenge the group, I should have found a way to push them further and cause them to go beyond the material, as Vokoun & Bigelow (2008) suggestion. Perhaps I should have encouraged Rachel’s group to complete an additional assignment or delve deeper into the text. In the future, I should also further differentiate my lessons so that all of my students can get the most from the class.
It should also be noted that while I chose to interpret my students' work in this way, it is entirely plausible that they had different intentions from the ones I described.
At the same time though, I want to make sure that I challenge my students to go beyond their comfort zones. I want them to be well rounded academically and not only rely on what they are good at doing. Students should be challenged to develop a variety of skills so that they can have many tools at their disposal. While I continued to provide students with choice in future assignments, I also created some projects that were more structured so that students could build academic skills in different areas. In the future, I think the best types of assignments are those that include some combination of choice and detailed instruction.
In the future, I should make sure to work with each group so that can reach their potential. When assisting Jamal’s group, I noticed that each group member put in much effort to complete their project to the best of their capability. However, while Rachel’s group’s project was great, they only used about half of the time allotted for the project because it may have just been too easy for them to complete. In order to challenge the group, I should have found a way to push them further and cause them to go beyond the material, as Vokoun & Bigelow (2008) suggestion. Perhaps I should have encouraged Rachel’s group to complete an additional assignment or delve deeper into the text. In the future, I should also further differentiate my lessons so that all of my students can get the most from the class.
It should also be noted that while I chose to interpret my students' work in this way, it is entirely plausible that they had different intentions from the ones I described.