I found an article
Dangerous Discussions: Voice and Power in My Classroom
It made me think about how we manage discussions in my classroom. I have difficulty getting students to engage. Part of which I put down to their unfamiliarity with the content but I still have to develop my discussion management skills to enable the shy and quiet to have their say, and to not have the loud/confident students dominate.
My classes have a different mix of ethnicity to the one in the article. Some have minority groups, as defined by society, are in the majority in their class. That would give a different air to the discussion. Also the difference in subject matter will have an effect. Science is a difficult subject for many, and they do not often feel as informed as they might in a discussion on social issues that that live, as in the article.
I am inspired to try some of the suggestions in this article with my classes.
Thursday, 9 August 2018
Te Apārangi The Royal Society, Rutherford Lecture
Last night I attended the touring presentation of the Rutherford Lecture. This is an annual lecture by the winner of the previous years winner of the Rutherford Medal, the top prize given out by Royal Societ Te Apārangi "to recognise eminent research or technological practice by a person in any field of science, mathematics, social science, or technology." The 2017 medal went to volcanologist Professor Colin Wilson FRS FRSNZ of Victoria University of Wellington for the work he has done on Supervolcanoes.
The lecture covered and introduction to what determines a supervolcano, Comparitive supereruptions of the Quaternary Period, and the history of the supereruptions of the Taūpo volcanic field, the most active supervolcano globally, with 4/10 of the geologically recent eruptions, geologically recent meaning the last 2.6 million years.
I find attending these sorts of events very useful in the classroom to help broaden and maintain my knowledge on a range of subjects, and this allows me to help students make connections between the content in the my classroom and their own interests.
The lecture covered and introduction to what determines a supervolcano, Comparitive supereruptions of the Quaternary Period, and the history of the supereruptions of the Taūpo volcanic field, the most active supervolcano globally, with 4/10 of the geologically recent eruptions, geologically recent meaning the last 2.6 million years.
I find attending these sorts of events very useful in the classroom to help broaden and maintain my knowledge on a range of subjects, and this allows me to help students make connections between the content in the my classroom and their own interests.
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