When we were making with things, I was sort of confused. I thought we had to make something that could be used. I used my materials to make a fan. This was a practical object. As I looked around me, I noticed that people were making things that looked more like art and needed to be explained. I added pages from a book and picked them randomly. The pages were about 1500's history. When we did the one minute feedback exercise, I was surprised when people commented that the fan could have represented the comforts of the aristocracy during a time of slavery and massacres. I was glad that people were able to try to read into my object, because after all, I thought I just made a fan.
During this experience, I felt like some of my students feel in their content area classes. Instead of shutting down (because I felt like a failure at first), I started to think more about how my students always feel like they misunderstood directions, will certainly fail, or are just generally at least one step behind their peers. I thought about how I could explain my situation of feeling the same way. It might generate some good discussion in my classes. We might also be able to come up with some strategies to deal with situations like this.
During this experience, I felt like some of my students feel in their content area classes. Instead of shutting down (because I felt like a failure at first), I started to think more about how my students always feel like they misunderstood directions, will certainly fail, or are just generally at least one step behind their peers. I thought about how I could explain my situation of feeling the same way. It might generate some good discussion in my classes. We might also be able to come up with some strategies to deal with situations like this.