Teaching Eachother Through Videos

As we are winding down the year we are studying pre-algebra. The boys are struggling with showing their work and explaining the problems. They really want to just put the answer down. We have discussed that just putting the answer does not help if they do not know how they got there. The technology teacher, Melissa Smith, suggested that I have the boys make a teaching video on Voicethread. I was not sure how this was going to go, but I was on board to try anything that would help my students. This was their last project of the year and it had amazing results. I am going to incorporate this activity in almost everything I teach. As I reviewed the boy’s videos, I realized that even though they were writing the process and putting the right answer, in the end, they “really” did not know what they were doing. I also had the boys evaluate each other’s videos. By listening to the critics, I could hear who was struggling and who was not. I spent the next class period explaining what I saw in the video and what they needed to work on. They were also able to go back and hear what they were saying. Having them talk out loud also helps them to understand what they are doing.