- Can you teach MLA documentation to a class
without putting students to sleep? Is it possible to discuss
such a dry topic with your students without having the information
go in one ear and out the other? More importantly, how can we
make learning collaborative even when we have to convey certain
specific information to our students?
- Having
just reviewed a set of drafts which failed to use evidence effectively
and meet MLA documentation standards, I knew a lecture on this
topic was in order. I also knew I would face 50 minutes of glassy-eyed
stares. So I came up with the following idea: Why not have students
teach each other? That way they would be sure to master at least
a portion of the material--the portion they taught.
- I put
students into small groups and divided what needed to be covered
into four topics: 1) how to use supporting examples, 2) what
types of information needs to be cited, 3) how to format quotations
and integrate them into an essay, and (4) how to cite sources.
Each group was given a topic and then researched it on the Web
and created a PowerPoint presentation to teach the topic to
the class. I specified that students needed to adequately explore
the topic, provide examples of how to perform the given task
or operation correctly, and offer resources where classmates
could find more information. I originally gave the class only
25 minutes to do the work, but I quickly realized that was too
little time and allowed them to have the entire period. When
they presented their work during the next class, I was nothing
but impressed--they had been relatively thorough, had created
attractive presentations, and were excited to show off their
work.
- While
one drawback to this exercise is that students may focus more
on the fancy capabilities of PowerPoint and less on their topics,
the computers got them excited about an otherwise unexciting
topic. In addition, the students were engaged while creating
and displaying their presentations. I found that the visual
capabilities of PowerPoint, the fun of creating something to
present to the class, and the dynamics of group work mitigated
the dullness of the material. Using the computers in this way
thus enabled me to make my classroom more about collaborative
learning and to move away from the model of the teacher as the
one who has the knowledge students must passively absorb.
- I recommend this exercise for teaching any
topic that can be researched on the Web and especially for dry
material. Although I designed it as an in-class exercise to
use in a computer classroom, it could be redesigned as a group
homework assignment for teachers in non-computer classrooms.
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Please
cite this article as
Currents in Electronic Literacy
Spring 2002 (6),
<http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/currents/spring02/barron.html>.
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