The three instructional methods I have chose are sharing circles, journaling, and discussion. Sharing circles are when you have your students desks arranged in a circle or traditionally you would be sitting on the floor in a circle, and you take turns sharing ideas and such while acknowledging that the circle is a safe space. Journaling is a form of writing that allows for self expression. These journal entries can be used for summative or formative assessment. Discussion is an instructional approach that prioritizes learner acquisition of knowledge, skills, and attitudes.
Strengths of a sharing circle are equal voice meaning that all students have the equal opportunity to be heard and bring forth ideas, freedom to share or not to share meaning that students who do not wish to participate may pass, and comfortable expression meaning that students can express their ideas and feelings in a way that is comfortable to them. The benefits of journaling are expression meaning students are able to articulate and express their thoughts and feelings, it also allows for the teacher to check in on the students and evaluate where they are in their learning. Advantages of discussion are it encourages student participation, improves self expression, focuses on student lead and inquiry rather than direct instruction, develops reflective thinking, and can be done online or in person.
Weaknesses of a sharing circle are overwhelming information meaning that large groups may have a lot of informations that is overwhelming to others, members may become less involved meaning students may see this as an opportunity to not participate, and time restrictions meaning that depending on the size of the group that you have and the things you are talking about, you may not get to everyone in the circle. Weakness for journaling are that students might not be comfortable with sharing certain things, some students may not enjoy writing exercises and may not participate to their greatest ability, and students could get off task easily since the teacher is not “instructing”. Weaknesses of discussions are students who are shy or have anxieties might not want to share, the discussion may go off topic, students may lose interest, and the teacher must stay on top of the discussion to make sure that nothing is going too far off topic and that students aren’t spewing wrong information.
Because I am in my third year and have done my practicums already, I have already used all three of these methods. They have all worked really well for me so I will continue using them.
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