I decided to conduct this project by experimenting with three different methods of summarizing. The three techniques that were focused on included, questioning and discussion periods, an activity, and a teacher-student conference. The aim of this project was to determine how to most effectively summarize any given lesson. This type of summary was particularly effective after a shared reading experience, or after a small, co-operative group work activity. Questions need to be specific to the desired outcomes of the lesson to maintain focus within the group.
Discussions can often be difficult if too many students are involved.
Discussion periods were most effective when working with smaller groups of students. I found that it was possible to evaluate individual and group learning through the use of well-worded questions, and guided discussion periods. An activity that follows up a learning experience can be a very effective summary technique. I used activities to follow-up lessons in several subject areas. For this project, an activity could have included a game that reinforced specific skills during gym class, a game that reinforced phonetics, or a worksheet that had to be filled in by using knowledge that had been acquired during a lesson.