I think I mentioned in a previous entry that I received all new students about 10 weeks into this action research project. The majority of the data I gathered came from the first group of students I was with. Within the last month or so, I have been more closely observing my new group of students. I thought movement was "the thing" to get everyone engaged. I still strongly believe it is a great tool to get students actively participating with the content, but a recent survey I gave to my students swayed my opinion a bit. I saw a few comments from kids stating that they don't like the movement. I am a very social person and I very much enjoy interacting with others, so I sometimes tend to assume that everyone must love interaction. I haven't been as empathetic as I should be with the students that are very closed off and struggle socially. I can see how interactive exercises like we do in class that involve lots of interaction would be hard for those kids. They probably prefer individual based activities.
This data does will not keep me from continuing to use movement in my classroom. I have definitely seen more positive results than negative....by a long shot, but I will try empathize more with the students that are not so fond of these activities. I need establish a nice balance with the types of activities I do in class in order to work to the strengths of all my students.
Yes, I agree. But... There is also the fact that we must work to develop our weaknesses too. I can't think of any real life instances in which it is beneficial to be withdrawn or to struggle socially. Plus, as the professional who has an area of expertise related to movement and learning, you have to keep considering what is best for them and their learning, right? Perhaps the focus should be on how you can best scaffold the movement activities so they are comfortable engaging fully?
ReplyDeleteJust a few thoughts...
Nancy Van Erp