SHEA- WEEK 7

Today at Shea it was my turn to create a lesson on Self Monitoring. I had the students break up into groups and do an activity . For the activity I gave each group a different set of notes I created on "how to build a paper airplane". One set of notes had clear and concise notes, one set had notes with too many details, and one set had notes that didn't make sense and had scribbles in the margins. I had the students follow the notes to see who could finish making the paper airplane first. We then discussed effective note taking and why it is important to take good notes and how you take notes. I think this was a successful lesson because the students were able to make the connection between learning to take good notes now and the importance of taking notes once you're in college. I also had the students complete a survey at the beginning of class with random questions about their previous education and programs they are involved in. I found it interesting that 4 out of the 8 students went to pre-school and 2 students did not know if they went to pre-school or not. I do not know what grades the students receive or how they have done on the NECAP but I believe I can use this information to either support or refute the claim of a "culture of failure". These students want to go to college and seem to be very supportive of furthering their education. I know I can tell and I am sure all of the other EXPLORE workers can tell as well that the students seem determined on going to college.