This book is both inspiring and a bit overwhelming!  Soooo many ideas.  I really appreciate being able to try out some of the protocols in class as I have a hard time visualizing how they work just from reading the directions.  For example, the “provocative prompts” activity didn’t sound that engaging in the book but turned out to be a very successful protocol in class.

I would really like to try the “Peeling the Onion” protocol with one of the teachers I am mentoring (or even in grad class) as it focuses on clarifying the problem/question.  From our efforts in class, it is clear that the question posed to a group is KEY to a successful protocol.  An unclear question or misinterpretation leads to unsatisfying results.

One question I am posing to myself is how to structure protocols into a 49 minute class period.  I would really like to try some of these ideas with my students, but I don’t want to fail because we ran out of time.  Perhaps, with more experience with protocols  and better familiarity with my students, I’ll be able to guage which areas can be trimmed and which protocols best match my students’ needs.




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