Presented by: Dr. Judith A. Hayne
During the March 4th Teaching Demonstration Luncheon, Dr. Judith A. Hayn, an assistant professor of secondary education, illustrated how she encourages students to begin thinking about the lecture before it even begins.
Dr. Hayn uses the KWL method—What do you Know? What do you Want to learn? What did you Learn? By using a video produced by a former UALR student, Roy Boney, Dr. Hayne prompts learning about the Cherokee Nation‘s Trail of Tears using the KWL method.
Before showing the video, Dr. Hayn writes K on the board asking, “What do we know about the Trail of Tears?” After the answers are listed, Dr. Hayn writes W and asks, “What do we want to learn about the Trail of Tears?” After showing the video, Dr. Hayn writes L asking, “What did we learn about the Trail of Tears?”
Because there is not a right answer to these questions, a collaborative discussion occurs leading students to look at the Trail of Tears in different ways.
This teaching method is highly adaptable to any content area and learning situation. This method can be especially useful in establishing fruitful class discussions, which offer a “low stakes” environment for students to creatively answer questions.
Bio
Judith A. Hayn is an assistant professor of secondary education. She teaches courses in graduate level instructional methods and secondary English language arts education, specializing in young adult literature. She has published multiple book chapters and journal articles. She regularly reviews manuscripts, novels, and texts for the International Reading Association’s Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy(JAAL), SIGNAL Journal, The ALAN Review, and for publishing houses. She previously worked as a consultant for the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless and continues her interests in promoting social justice and the needs of underserved populations in public schools.
