Dr. Ries poses a question about your reading interests

Think about a topic or topics of interest to you.   What motivates you to read about this topic?  What motivates you to pick up a book or a newspaper or a magazine and read about this topic?   Share that information with us and then comment on the following quote:


              "Schools do not pay enough attention to students' curiosity and imagination.    As a result, students disengage from active participation in the academic life of the classroom..there is little satisfaction to be gained from it."   Agree?   Disagree?    Why? 

    

Dr. Ries asks a question about collaborative learning

Recall collaborative learning activities in which  you have participated while you were in middle and high school.    What aspect of these activities do you recall positively?    What aspect were not useful at all?    How might these experiences influence your own approach to engaging the students that you teach in collaborative interactions and/or projects?    

Dr. Ries has a question about effective teachers

Take some time to recall a middle or high school teacher who, you believe, was effective in teaching his/her content subject. What strategies did that teacher use that engaged the students in the class?  List at least two strategies used by that teacher that you remember as being highly effective in helping you learn the content being taught.