Report #1
FIPP Activity Report
Funded by the Basic Skills Initiative
Name Trudy Meyer
Date 9-25-09
FIPP Partner Kaysa Laureano-Ribas
Section #0352
Activity /Strategy Class Constitution
Category Classroom Expectations
Briefly describe the activity/strategy.
1. Introduction The class created goals for the semester and strategies to achieve
the goals
2. Set up & Supplies Students were sectioned into four groups using string to
create quadrants
3. Directions Students spent 2 to 3 minutes individualy listing 3 goals for the class.
Then, students were to share one of their goals with a partner from another
quadrant. They repeated this three times. (1's with 2's and 3's with 4's, then 1's
with 3's and 2's with 4's then 1's with 4's and 2's with 3's.) Next, students
choose which goals we should adopt as a class. Finally, students listed
stategies to achieve successful completion of the goals.
4. Conclusion Students quickly became engaged. The class goals were then listed
on the syllabus which was distributed the second class meeting
What worked well? Getting the students up on their feet and having to meet with other
students from different parts of the room was very helpful in setting the stage for future
pairings.
What would you change? Instead of typing and displaying the instructions as we went
over them, I should have these instructions printed ahead of time.
Would you use the activity/strategy again? Why or why not? Absolutely. I have paired
students up at different times in the past. Generally, most students seem to want to
remian stationary. Assigning them to meet with students in a different geographical
location in the classroom on the first day has helped to set the stage for other activities.
I am not certain that they are more committed than they would have been, but they
certainly are more prepared to take an active part in the classroom.
Please describe any student learning outcomes/changes that you observed after the
implementation of the activity/strategy. I have a larger number of students who seem
comfortable participating than I generally do. This might be because of this activity.