Lab Trial #2: Interest Approach

Question or Problem

How do I create an effective interest approach or anticipatory set that captures student interest while also tying into the lesson prepared for the day?

blog.engineeringstudents.org

...doing research on interest approaches... hypothesizing that students will be interested in lesson and make a connection to their learning goals...

Testing the experiment

My lesson was an introduction to the Food Safety Laws unit in my Food Science course. I wanted to start them off with food contaminants, as this is how their textbook begins the Food Safety chapter, and I think this would be relatable to them as many are probably familiar with the concepts of food contamination. 

convergencetraining.com

I presented my students with three food items, each with a contaminant in them. Students had to come up to the food and observe what they saw, and hypothesis what they think happened. 

Analysis and results of data

When I finally figured out an interest approach, I was really excited to do it. However, what I had in my head was not exactly what came out in class. I believe for the most part, my interest approach went really well. It was fairly simple, after all. But my clarity in explaining the process of what they were doing as well as rules of what not to do were lacking. I didn't tell the students not to touch the food until after I saw them touching it, and even then didn't make those expectations clear enough because another student ate part of the interest approach! These were actual contaminants, however the students should have been okay.

But I ask myself, what if I had facilitated this in a real classroom? I think as far as clarification goes, I would have gotten an F... okay maybe a D if I'm being nice to myself. We talk so much about how clarity is essential to a smooth lesson and a happy group of students. I am still trying to find my flow, I think, and once I do, I'll be able to more effectively explain directions. I think when I sit down and do lesson plans, I almost have to anticipate everything and plan for that. It's like coming up with twenty different plan B's for anything that might happen. 

Something else that was mentioned from my peers is being more forceful in disciplining them. I am good with immediately approaching the problem, but need to be stronger in my response to the student's misbehavior. Students need to see that I am serious and will follow through with consequences as needed. 

Conclusion

clipartkid.com

Overall, I still think the interest approach in itself was effective. Some interest approaches are much simpler, and that's okay, but I was glad to bring in actual food and have students do a little observation. It got them up and moving and thinking critically about the food they were observing. As long as I keep in mind clarity and preparing myself for situations to occur, I think my lab would have been golden. I look forward to leading this lesson with my real students in the future, and make some major improvements the second time. 

Leaving Thought

"I have not failed, I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."--Thomas Edison