"10 Questions"

byPaul

Bogush

"We learn history not in order to know how to behave or how to succeed, but to know who we are." Leszek Kolakowski

"Making Social Studies Relevant"

"Making school relevant"

 

"You can't learn in school what the world is going to do next year."

Henry Ford 

?"Increase a teacher's ability by having them learn more content."?

10-Could someone else teach my lesson/unit plan and get the same

results? What am I personally bringing to the unit?

9--Are the content and skills in this unit important to my students future? Are they important now? How can they use this today?

8--Do I address what the students are strong in? Weak in? But most importantly...do I address what they fear?

7--How will my kids re-use the content, demonstrate the skills, and re-tell the stories?

6--What will my kids be responsible for? Are the responsibilities authentic?

5--What will they create? Is there room for spontaneity? Will they be just duplicating someone else's creation and ideas? Will the final products all be the same? Will the final answers all be the same?

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4--Will my kids be experiencing the "real world?" Will they make a contribution to the "real world?"

 

 

3--Would I want to do the work I am assigning my students? Have I ever done the work I want the children to do?

2--Will this assignment end up in the garbage? Who will find it useful?

What is the #1 Question?

Ask the kids...What is # one question a teacher should consider before planning a unit?

Is it boring?Is it fun?Will students enjoy it?Will the students be interested in the project and not bored with it?Would the kids enjoy this?Is it educational and fun or will my students space out and get bored and not learn anything?Is this a good topic for my kids to learn about? Will they understand it when i teach it?They should ask themselves, "Will I be able to make this interesting for the students?"Is it interesting?What would the students like the most?Make sure the lesson has something interesting involved in it.

The #1 Question

Have I thought about my unit through the

eyes of my students?

Before applying any of the questions to your units...

 

Who are you? 

Why?

 

Look at yourself to see your students.

They will always become who you are, not who you want

them to be.

Take a picture of your class...

Who are you?

Teaching is a science....What you do with the science is art.

One question a year?

One question a unit?

Your suggestions...

What would you share with your family?

How to find me...paulbogush1@gmail.comtwitter  @paulbogushskype  @paulbogush   paulbogush.org

18--How is this unit different from last year? Does it reflect changes in the class?  Does it

reflect changes in me?

19-Do you take off the training wheels by the end of the unit?

 

Questions that didn't make the cut...

17 Am I teaching, leading, or collaborating?

16 Who is responsible for the success of the project? Who has the power? What decisions do

they make? Do I tell them what to think? Who is asking the

questions? 

15 How will this unit transform me as a teacher? What will I learn

about me? The kids? How will the unit transform my students?

 

14 Are the skills, tools, and content that they are using the same that professionals use? 

13 Am I treating them like future adults? or kids?

 

12 Is this an inquiry unit? Are they posing the question, doing the research, and developing and

supporting a conclusion? 

11 Will they learn more about who they are? Are the content, skills, activities, and tools I am giving

them or letting them find, impacting their brain, or their

heart?