This video is a small group session about the Second Aliyah. It is part of the school's Israel curriculum, and is based upon the Lookstein Center's Israel curriculum.
As I watched this video, I reflected upon some of the choices that I made and why I think that they illustrated proper pedagogy. First of all, I began the lesson by asking the students to remind me of what they have learned the day before. While I already knew the answer to this question, it was helpful in activating my students prior knowledge of the topic. There are also many times that I utilized the technique of wait time; this allowed the students to think about their answers and allowed me to reach students that I might have been unable to reach otherwise.
I also permitted students to ask many questions throughout the course of this lesson. As the tone of this lesson was more relaxed, the encouragement to ask questions allowed students to be invested in the topic and to explore the information in a way that was meaningful to them.
I ended the lesson by asking a general reflective question. This question had two parts: recall one fact about the content, as well as reflect on how what your fact has to do with the second aliyah. By utilizing both parts of these questions, I helped students to review the information, as well as think about our lesson within the larger context of Modern Jewish History. This also helped to engage all students, as I required that each student participate and reflect upon the matieral.
After watching the vide in totality, I realized that there was a lot within the video that could have been improved as well.
First of all, the usage of a map to explain the content and locations within this lesson would have helped to clarify the material greatly for my students. In addition, the lack of technology within the lesson is something that I would have fixed. Had I utilized a video of the content, a smart board game, or some other interactive way of displaying the content, I believe that the students might have been more engaged.
While there was a lot of student discussion and conversation within this video, I think that I should have thought about how to structure the lesson in a such a way that all the students would have been involved. I could have designated specific roles for each student to fill, and could have allowed the students to lead the discussion. I could have played a lesser role, and allowed the students to take charge. Given the nature of this subject, I think the students would have appreciated this opportunity.
Lastly, I think I would not have picked to sit in the location where the video had taken place, as the stairs were distracting to many of my students.
As I watched this video, I reflected upon some of the choices that I made and why I think that they illustrated proper pedagogy. First of all, I began the lesson by asking the students to remind me of what they have learned the day before. While I already knew the answer to this question, it was helpful in activating my students prior knowledge of the topic. There are also many times that I utilized the technique of wait time; this allowed the students to think about their answers and allowed me to reach students that I might have been unable to reach otherwise.
I also permitted students to ask many questions throughout the course of this lesson. As the tone of this lesson was more relaxed, the encouragement to ask questions allowed students to be invested in the topic and to explore the information in a way that was meaningful to them.
I ended the lesson by asking a general reflective question. This question had two parts: recall one fact about the content, as well as reflect on how what your fact has to do with the second aliyah. By utilizing both parts of these questions, I helped students to review the information, as well as think about our lesson within the larger context of Modern Jewish History. This also helped to engage all students, as I required that each student participate and reflect upon the matieral.
After watching the vide in totality, I realized that there was a lot within the video that could have been improved as well.
First of all, the usage of a map to explain the content and locations within this lesson would have helped to clarify the material greatly for my students. In addition, the lack of technology within the lesson is something that I would have fixed. Had I utilized a video of the content, a smart board game, or some other interactive way of displaying the content, I believe that the students might have been more engaged.
While there was a lot of student discussion and conversation within this video, I think that I should have thought about how to structure the lesson in a such a way that all the students would have been involved. I could have designated specific roles for each student to fill, and could have allowed the students to lead the discussion. I could have played a lesser role, and allowed the students to take charge. Given the nature of this subject, I think the students would have appreciated this opportunity.
Lastly, I think I would not have picked to sit in the location where the video had taken place, as the stairs were distracting to many of my students.