Reply to comment

It is the concluding collaboration of Dr. Nix and Dr. Tolliferreo that...

In the real class, with students in elementary, middle, and/or high school grades, this lesson may or not go as smooth as it did in this class of professional educators.  Even with the variables, we were able to complete the lesson, return to the classroom, converse with colleagues briefly, and come back together for a professor led discussion.

How would students who did not understand Math, understand this lesson on 'scale'?  How would they understand Math w/o basic Reading skills, at the very least?  Going through the 'hands on' experience is fun, yet the challenge presents itself when the fun in learning needs to be practical for application and assessment reasons.

Prof. Burgmayer's introduction was engaging, at least for us.  What about the student who knows they are behind the curve and feels defeated before they get started...which in many cases is why they don't get started / with the program?  Thus, challenges in the classroom begin to become apparent.  Now the teacher must share their focus with dealing with disruptive behavior issues.

Now...how would this lesson be assessed for all our students, including those who may have fun with the lesson, yet not able to apply the mechanics of it?

However, a really savvy teacher would construct an overall assessment and an assessment for each student based on their individual level/need.  And then...what about the student who excels in their areas of interest and disconnects with what they do not have an interest in?  They too must be assessed, and done so w/o fear of failure.

Note:  this is not limited to Special Education students...