Inductive Strategies
During summer school in June I tried an inductive strategy during a lesson on the area of triangles and trapezoids. In the previous lesson the students had learned that the area of a parallelogram is a = bxh. I was hoping to get the students to build on this knowledge and to use the fact that every parallelogram can be cut into two equal triangles to discover that the equation for the area of a triangle is a = ½ bxh. So I devised what I thought was going to be a thrilling lecture in which I would demonstrate using construction paper cutouts how cutting a parallelogram in half gives you two triangles and then lead their captivated minds along to the epiphanic moment when they would derive proper formula. When I actually performed the lesson it didn’t quite go the way I planned. It the end it worked out and I had one student who did discover the equation for the area of a triangle based the information I was giving them, but overall I lost a lot of students along the way.
In general I love teaching lessons that involve inductive strategies. I believe when students learn the material inductively, especially in math, it gives them a whole new perspective that they would never had gained if it had been presented deductively. Of course time constraints necessitate the overwhelming use of deductive strategies, though I believe it is important to incorporate inductive learning whenever possible. If I learned anything for the lesson above it is that it is difficult to give an inductive lecture to a group of teenagers. Next time I think a more hands-on activity involving manipulatives would engage the students better.
In general I love teaching lessons that involve inductive strategies. I believe when students learn the material inductively, especially in math, it gives them a whole new perspective that they would never had gained if it had been presented deductively. Of course time constraints necessitate the overwhelming use of deductive strategies, though I believe it is important to incorporate inductive learning whenever possible. If I learned anything for the lesson above it is that it is difficult to give an inductive lecture to a group of teenagers. Next time I think a more hands-on activity involving manipulatives would engage the students better.
posted by Bob Jones at 1:34 PM
2 Comments:
I appreciate reading your experience in utilizing inductive teaching strategies with adolescents. I am a clinical social worker, and have worked in school settings. I understand the time contstraints inherent in utilizing purely inductive strategies, and the disappointment in "losing" many students along the way. Yet, I encourage you to continue devising inductive strategies, and encourage you to listen to your intuition (that it is a more deeply involved & potentially longer-lasting learning experience). Your efforts indicate the desire not just to teach, but also to build relationship with your students. Here is an article that reinforces how inductive processes build positive relationships & positively develop autonomous thinking in adolescents:
Adolescent Involvement in Discipline Decision Making, BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION, Vol. 28 No. 3, May 2004 420-437
I appreciate reading your experience in utilizing inductive teaching strategies with adolescents. I am a clinical social worker, and have worked in school settings. I understand the time contstraints inherent in utilizing purely inductive strategies, and the disappointment in "losing" many students along the way. Yet, I encourage you to continue devising inductive strategies, and encourage you to listen to your intuition (that it is a more deeply involved & potentially longer-lasting learning experience). Your efforts indicate the desire not just to teach, but also to build relationship with your students. Here is an article that reinforces how inductive processes build positive relationships & positively develop autonomous thinking in adolescents:
Adolescent Involvement in Discipline Decision Making, BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION, Vol. 28 No. 3, May 2004 420-437
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