Students will be able to...
- Describe difficulties they were having with the assignment on previous days
- Explain the requirements of the project on which they are working
- List questions they have about the current project
-
Current project specification
-
Examples of necessary concepts or techniques
-
Prior to each lab day, have a sense of students' difficulties with the current project so you will know what to address in the review portion of the lesson
- Observe student progress throughout lab time and note common issues or misconceptions
- Be aware of students who are more behind than most of the class
- The exit ticket (see below) will help with gathering this information
| Duration | Description |
|---|---|
| 5 minutes | Welcome, attendance, bell work, announcements |
| 10-15 minutes | Review of trouble spots, concepts, misconceptions, etc. |
| 30-35 minutes | In-class lab time |
| 5 minutes | Exit ticket |
-
Review
- Discuss and review areas in which a number of students are having trouble (or are expected to have trouble) with the current project
- Using previous days exit tickets, questions from students, instructor awareness of trouble points in the project, and/or any other resources to determine what needs covering
- Avoid lecturing or directly giving solutions; instead, present the problem and ask leading questions to help guide students to the solution
- e.g. (from Project 1: "It looks like a lot of us are having difficulty making all our sprites move at the same time that the words change. Is there something we learned about that can trigger scripts in a bunch of sprites all at once?"
- If some students appear to be further along, utilize them to help explain the tricky concepts to their classmates
- Use this time as an opportunity to remind students of upcoming checkpoints, recent labs or activities that may be applicable to the project, and/or how far along they should be by the end of the day
- Discuss and review areas in which a number of students are having trouble (or are expected to have trouble) with the current project
-
Lab time
- Allow students to work on the current project at their own pace
- Provide a mechanism for students to ask questions of course staff as needed
- Simply having students raise hands often does not work well, as it can be hard to keep track of in what order hands were raised; consider a queue of some kind where students write their names when they have a question
- When there are no current questions, circulate and observe progress, stepping in if students appear stuck but are not asking for help
- Be sure to meerkat and not spend more than a minute or two with any single student at a time
-
Exit ticket
- Before students leave, have them answer the following questions on a small piece of paper:
- What was the last thing you accomplished on the project today?
- What is the first thing you will work on tomorrow?
- Do you have any questions about the project you would like answered? If so, what are they?
- Are there any topics or concepts that would help with the project that you would like reviewed? If so, what are they?
- These answers will help you plan your review time for the next lab day
- Before students leave, have them answer the following questions on a small piece of paper:
- Students who are consistently ahead and finish early can be encouraged to add extra features to their project for possible extra credit.
- Beware of students who claim to be ahead or finished but are actually trying to avoid work. When in doubt, ask a student to demonstrate their project.
- Students who are consistently behind should get extra attention during lab time. If they continue to be behind, try to find a before- or after-school opportunity to provide extra assistance.
- Students who are struggling significantly can be offered late turn-in, reduced requirements, or other "deals." All students should submit work for ALL projects, even if it has to be simplifed or late.