This is finals week at my school, so at the end of their final I had the students write their answers to a few questions. The first two questions were:
1. How is the WSQ process helpful to you as a student?
2. What would make the WSQ process MORE helpful to you as a student?
If you haven't read my post on what a WSQ is, be sure to check it out - "My Favorite WSQ"
Students had very positive things to say about the WSQ process as well as just a few suggestions with how to make it more helpful.
For the purpose of this blog as a reflective tool, I am posting all of the responses so I have them for when I look back at the end of the year. However, I am bolding the ones that really stood out to me as "Yes! That is what I am looking for and the reason I am doing the flipped classroom!!!" Some comments may be repeated. Comments are straight from the students' papers and in their words.
Period 1:
-This way I can pause her
-We don't waste time in class
-Helps me keep track of time, Hw, and helps me to study
-When I have to write the summary in my own words it helps me process it better
-As you watch the video you write the summary, and it determines if you need more help. If you don't know how to explain your summary you just watch it again
-I can watch it over and over again
-If I don't get something on the video I ask the question that I have on my paper and the class or my group can help me answer it
-If I don't understand something I can either ask the teacher or my partner
-Helps me take responsibility
-When you're watching the video you can pause or rewind the video when you don't get the step or problem
-I have to write down what I just learned and it makes me remember it more
-It's like another tutoring session
-It allows me to see if I know the concept well. It helps know that I'm ready for class tomorrow to answer questions and help my fellow classmates if they need any help with the practice quiz
-I am more focused and not distracted by all the people in the room.
-When my parents sign the summary, they know that I watched it
-It helps me concentrate more and there are less distractions
-I learn at my own speed
-Writing a summary after watching the video helps you understand
-Answering the questions in class with your group is very helpful
-I'm able to go to bed earlier, I'm more focused at home, and I understand the concept better especially when I can pause it
-It helps me make sure I fully understand the topic. It gives us an objective to focus on
-We can rewatch it, which you can't do in class
-Yeah we complain about the summarizing part, but it helps me understand it.
-I get more help while I'm practicing and I understand things better
-If I don't understand or forgot how to do a concept I can look back at my summary, read it, and then understand it again
-We improve our writing and also helps us learn better
-It helps me because I had a lot of problems with finishing homework and with this I can do it in class while friends help me with it.
-It goes at my own pace
Period 3:
-It makes me understand more about the subject that we're learning above
-If we don't get something, we can watch it over and over until we do
-I like how we work together as a group and learn together. I love it very much
-It gives me a quiet way to learn the lesson
-It helps me understand what i learned by making me put everything in my own words.
-At home there is no distractions, also if I don't get it I can always look in my notes or watch the video again.
-It helps me concentrate more because I could do it in my alone time where its not loud or distractive
-It helps me understand the concepts more than I do in class because I can rewind the video if I don't get what Mrs. Kirch was explaining and in class I don't do that.
-I can prove to myself that I know the concept by writing summaries and questions
-I could finally stop and listen and rewind to know what i didn't get.
-It helps me learn at my own pace of work
-When we watch it and don't understand we can stop it and rewatch it again, until you get it.
-It helps me understand it better, writing down what I learned
-It is like being in class but at home
-It makes us take better notes and with better notes comes better test grades
-We didn't have to wait for rude students and just came to class to ask for help.
-It helps me learn at my own pace, and if I didn't understand something I could rewatch the video again. When I write my summary it helps me remember what I learned.
-I can help other people by showing them my WSQ
-It was easier to understand the work with the video because instead of just hearing it once in class, you could listen to it multiple times.
-It's helpful to me as a student because for me it takes time to get the full lesson through my head. Sometimes in class you think you understand it and then you get home and you wish your teacher was there to help you, and that's where the WSQ comes in
-It makes me want to pay more attention to the video and write a better summary every time
-Being able to stop it and watching it any time I need to
-I summarize and ask questions I don't understand
-When you don't get something in class you could always just got and watch a video about the concept that you didn't get
Period 4:
-We learn at home and it is more concentrating [sic]
-Helps me to have a better understanding of the concept
-I remember when I used to do homework at home and I was stuck on a problem, I had nobody to help me, but now my teacher is here when I need her.
-I can stop it if I'm behind, basically I can keep it at my own pace; I can rewatch
-After I'm done watching the video it [the WSQ] refreshes my memory and when I'm at school it also helps me remember what the video was about.
-Helps me get the lesson more and learn at my own pace.
-When I come into class the next day I already know and have an idea of what we're going to do. It also helps me because when we're doing our homework in class, you're here to help us if we get stuck or need help.
-It lets me learn at my own pace
-It helps me learn by being more responsible for myself and explaining what I just learned
-It has helped me understand the work better and helps me clarify how to do it on my own with the summary
-The videos really do help. Even though there might be 1 or 2 days where someone doesn't watch the video, we still catch up.
-I get more examples done and there's no distraction with my friends trying to talk to me or somebody being off task.
-It helps me review and understand the lesson more. It also helps me take it more seriously.
-I learn more at home and know what I am to do the next day in class.
-You get to repeat it over and over and you practice with English with the summary.
-I write my summary and just by reading it, it reminds me of what I had learned.
-We get to work in groups and do homework in class
-I don't have to worry about my homework at home because I know that when I don't understand something I can ask my group the next day without worrying about the Homework Cards
-It makes me realize if I really understood the concept and it answers all my questions
-When I'm doing my work I go back to my summary and check how to do it. Also at home I can take my time to go through the steps then later on ask the teacher at school.
Here are the suggestions students made to make it more helpful along with my thoughts for each. Most of them were very good!
-Ask more questions about what I learned
-I want to continually improve this as we all get used to the process. I generally do talk to every student in the class every day, but I would like to have it be more "question and conversation" and less "checking to make sure they got their work done". With time...
-Put more examples in the video
-Oh, the never-ending battle between the number of examples and video length. Most of my videos are between 10-15 minutes long and I feel once I hit 15 minutes it needs to be DONE. With the pausing and rewinding I'm asking my students to do, a 15 minute video is really a 25-30 minute video. I have worked with this a bit by creating a "Part 2" to every lesson that includes extra examples students can watch by choice.
-Summarize the lesson at the end of the video
-Great idea! I actually started doing this with the videos I made this afternoon for lessons in a couple of weeks. I think this will help tie it all together for some students and guide them into starting their summary. It will also give them a chance to think about everything I talked about and realize if they need to watch it again.
-Instead of you helping us through most of the practice questions on the SSS you could let us answer one by ourselves.
-Another great idea, similar to the one above! I did this as well in the videos I made today. The last example of the video I tell the students to pause the video and try it on their own. Then, after a couple of seconds, I say "welcome back" and review it quickly to see if they got it right. This will also help students in coming up with the Question part of their WSQ because they will really know if there is something they don't get on their own.
-Start the video by having the students try a problem first, then go over it
-Interesting idea, but I think I like having them try one at the end of the video instead of the beginning. I don't think most of my students would know where to start without a little bit of guided instruction.
-We were required to watch Part 2 of the video after working on it in class that day.
-Right now part 2 is optional (except one day I required it for a tough concept it was clear my students needed more help on). Ideally, I would like to see it be: (1) Part 1 at home with a WSQ (2) Practice in class (3) Part 2 at home to review (4) Part 1 of the next lesson's video. However, that does increase the amount of video minutes students are required to watch, so I need to think about that. I could also choose which students were required to watch Part 2; for example, students who have a C or lower need to watch it... don't know how I feel about that quite yet, but it's an idea.
-Go over the lesson a little bit during class to make sure we understood it right before getting into groups
-Another great idea! At the beginning of class, we do the "WSQ" together, but it would probably be helpful to start the first practice problem as a class to get everyone started. I'll definitely try this.
And, what would a post on WSQ's be without a few more student samples? These are all varying samples from students in these Algebra 1 classes
Awesome, thank you! I know it's not something I'll be able to implement in the few weeks I have left this year, but I will definitely be checking it out this summer and seeing what I can do :)
ReplyDeleteThanks again!
WSQ Training