Presentation Day!

Wednesday February 1, 2012

    Today all the groups presented on what they found most interesting about the Lincoln exhibition.  Martha and I went first.  We had a good idea of what direction we wanted the presentation to go in, but sadly, the class did not do a good job in participating.  We cut the class in half and made half “northerners” and the other half “southerners.”  The class was supposed to debate over our topics based on their mindset, either north or south.  Unfortunately, only a few people participated and we ran out of time.
    It was very interesting to watch the other groups present because we got to see the topics that they found most interesting.  Most groups stuck to the presentation’s topics: secession, slavery, and civil liberties.  One would think that this would be boring to listen to the same presentation over and over, but it was not like that.  Each group presented their information is a unique fashion.  My favorite idea (and I am jealous that I did not think of it first) was Keely’s idea.  She made the class put Civil War events in chronological order.  It was very fun and interesting!  I actually wrote the idea down so I can use it in the future when I teach.  I will give the test to the class before and after lesson plans to see how much they absorbed.
    Richard and Michael seemed to be VERY informed on their presentation.  They did not really look at their slides and seemed to use extra information on every slide.  They did a good job connecting the events and issues of the Civil War era to things that are happening today.
    Overall, I think the presentations helped me understand the topics a little bit better.  Its funny because I usually read the book and listen to the professors lecture, but it also helps me when my peers teach me about a subject.  I actually learned in my Reading Across the Curriculum class that students do learn from “peer instruction” because your peers have also just recently learned the material and can show you where your thinking is wrong.  Whereas, professors are experts in their fields and have learned the information a long time ago, so they don’t know where students get slipped up and have a hard time explaining something that comes so natural to them to students who are new to the subject.  This was actually on a radio talk-show about a year ago.  It was called “Don’t Lecture Me.”  It explains how lecturing is the least effective way of teaching students!  It is definitely something to consider when creating lesson plans…."Don't Lecutre Me" transcript.