Overall, I think that our strategy lesson went well. Our group was lucky to have an activity that was interesting to students as well as could be replicated pretty easily in a "classroom demo" setting. Off the bat, we were able to combat time management problems by posting a short URL to the projector so that every student could engage with the text without passing out individual papers or having them dig for a link. When it came to dividing into groups, our (college aged) middle school students were able to do so quickly and quietly, which might not be the case in an actual classroom. If we were to do this in a real setting, it would help to have pre-assigned groups or some kind of "get with your table" plan ready.
When it came to the Password activity, there were a few ways to improve. First, while it was nice to have the entire class involved on one game, it made the actual activity drag on time-wise if we were to try to get through every student. Instead of having one student go in front of the entire class and play the game, it would help if we had some sort of rotation system set up between groups so that every group could participate simultaneously. While that solution seems pretty general, it also leads to a louder and more difficult-to-control classroom--nothing impossible, but definitely requiring an active role from the teacher to ensure everything goes smoothly. Overall, I enjoyed demonstrating our strategy lesson!
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"While that solution seems pretty general, it also leads to a louder and more difficult-to-control classroom--nothing impossible, but definitely requiring an active role from the teacher to ensure everything goes smoothly." Class noise levels are personal to each teacher. It is important to understand what your tolerance is and teach in a way that doesn't violate it. Also, it is important to learn to tell the difference between productive noise and distracted (off-task) noise.
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