[Back to the nEdu MAIN page] [^^The Pond Normal School] (^to the home page)nedu: Meetings (including recitation)
See also: -[Smart Rooms]- (smart-boards, e-euqipped-rooms, etc) -[zix teaching methods]- (teaching folder) -[Traditional Maths topics]- -[nedu: Approximately]- (1 = 0; approximately) -[LKits]- (Learning Kits)nedu: Meetings (including recitation)
On this Page: {Meetings - Intro} {} {Recitation} {} {Links}
Meetings: Intro
There ARE different kinds of meetings, but almost all of them involve conflict due to the mis-perceptions as to WHAT kind of meeting is going on. It is not un-common for one or more people (purportedly equals in the meeting) to "high jack" the meeting and turn it into a soap-box or personal ego trip. {0) A Brainstorming Session} {1) A Briefing/Teaching/Learning Meeting} {2) A Planning Meeting} {3) A Review/Critique} {4) A Reception} {5) A formal presentation} {6) A Post-mortem} These are disccussed below.0) A Brainstorming Session
The purpose of a brain-storming session is generate ideas and NOT to judge those ideas. The idea is that since each of us thinks in different ways, by "going round in a circle" and letting what the person before said suggest to us a new idea and then throwing it out, we might generate new ways of thinking about things. The ideas should be recorded in such a way that the creative flows (ebbs and leaps) will be least interrupted. Video or audio equip can be used for this, and all should understand that it is to be as NON-judgemental as possible: Once people start feeling self-conscious, the creative process breaks down, people become guarded in what they will say. And at that point, you might as well disolve the meeting and schedual a port-mortem.1) A Briefing/Teaching/Learning Meeting
A briefing is essentially a ONE-WAY presentation of ideas or news for the leanrning of the other people present. Similarly, a status report is where each person tells a bit about what they have been working on since the last meeting. Traditional teaching/learning is of this sort: A lecturer may present a technique of how to do a specific thing. Since in many cases, this is tedious and non-interactive (most of the particpants are in a purely passively receptive state and must constantly force themselves to be interested in the topic), it is probably the least effective way of presenting information. A better way is to provide previously created material (a document, a video/audio presentation, etc) which each person can review in their own way. And then a discussion can be held; eg, a planning or review meeting.2) A Planning Meeting
A planning meeting is used to take items that the audience/participants have already been briefed on and to report what progress has been made. If participants have been assigned (or taken responsiblity for) tasks, they can then report their plans "so far".3) A Review/Critique
A review/critique meeting looks at items that are essentially ready for "release". For example, if a product has been developed, implemented and tested then a review is used to give a GO / NO-GO signal for the release (or field test) of the product. Critques are used to point up PLUS and MINUS features of a thing. Often times in a critique people either take one of the two poles: 1) I must criticize negatively that thing, so that my own work will look better. 2) I mustn't talk negatively about that thing, or others will attack my own work. Both extremes have their place (especially in life-critical situations in the case of #1, and in learning/exploring situtations in the case of #2) - but for the most part "everything is good". It may not be what *i* (*you*, *we*, they, etc) would do. In many cases, a person gains the most by saying the least in response to criticisms of their work: Let others make their judgements (sort of a brin-storming critique), note it down and then use it synergistically to improve and/or extend your own work.4) A Reception
A reception is a formal occasion that allows people who are almost always not the direct creators of things to be acknowledged. They usually write the checks. Formal dress and "refined" behaviour by the creators is usually required. In many cases (esp in terms of large projects), only a few of the creators will be invited to the reception. The concept of "inside person" and "outside person" applies here. These tend to be tedious affairs and should be avoided by creative people if possible - better to act as an usher or server.5) A formal presentation
A formal presentation is (like a reception) a way to let non-creators feel to be a part of the process. In many cases, the creative people and the beautiful people will form separate groups. This behaviour is explained by Darwin's Second Law (which oddly enough is exactly the same law used to explain heaviour in a poker game). Formal presentations MUST be practiced; the closest equivalent is the production of a Shakespear play in traditional format. There will probably be no surprises in the meeting.6) A Post-mortem
After all is said and done, evolution decrees: Evolve or die! The post mortem reviews what went right, what went wrong, and what needs to be fixed next. The writer/philosophers Satanna and H.G. Wells have put it similarly: Those that do not learn from the mistakes of history are doomed to repeat them. Of course, one person's Rubicon is another person's English Channel. -[]- -[]- -[]- -[]- -[]- -[]- -[]- -[]-
Recitation
Briefly, a recitation is a tutorial session that is associated with a lecture or lab course. For example, a physics course might contain the main lecture which presents the material in the primary text book(s). Homework is assigned and this is then attempted by the students and reviewed/tutored in the recitation class. As such, the recitation class is usually a much more relaxed, smaller class size, and "we're all just chickens here" sort of trying to figure it all out.Changing the Maths Cur.
-[Change of Context]- (c of c) -[Hanover]- -[]- -[]- -[Programmed Learning]- (nobody here in this maze, but just us mice!)
Links
In this section: {<><>} {Teaching Maths} {Mathematical Proofs} (and such)
Teaching Maths
-[]- -[]- -[www: TheMathLab . com]- Interesting site with lots of "get invovle" activities for maths In the "teachers only", some good guidances Games mini-lectures (five mins each of: Talk, Try the idea, Report!) boardwork groupwork individual work projects videos writing assignments discovery lessons computer practice Internet research spreadsheet explorations humorous stories lively historical anecdotes and facts one on one peer tutoring experiments timed drills self checking worksheets with answer banks -[]- the sites www.coursecompass.com/ and MyMathLab.com seem pretty $-oriented "improve that grade!" -[]- -[]-
Mathematical Proofs
(and such) -[]- -[Goldberger's paper on why proofs are necessary]-