To begin with, I would like to include the video that was shared in class and which inspires and informs this post: In this video, Ned outlines his "Gr8 8" -- the set of conditions under which he (and ostensibly, most students) receive an optimal learning experience. In this video, simply laid out, is a formula teachers can use to create a Powerful Learning environment -- all they have to do is substitute themselves into the equation. One simply has to ask themselves how they will make each of these Great 8 possible. In this post, that is fully what I intend to do. Admittedly, this is a bit difficult, given that particular approaches may not always be age appropriate. I don't know what sort of situations or educational backgrounds my future students will have. There are so many things I won't know about each group of students I meet, at least not right away. But in my response to this video, I would like to share some general ideas of what my Great Eight will look like. A Teacher's Great Eight1. How will I make my students feel okay? I think the most important part of this has to do with the relationship established with the students in the first few weeks of class. I hope to engage in a lot of ice-breaking activities with my students so they will feel like part of a community. When students are feeling more comfortable, I would like to discuss the kinds of behaviors they would benefit from in the classroom. Together, we would come up with a list of class expectations based on these behaviors. Monitoring my students on a day-to-day basis is also important. For me, I would like to have an open-door policy so students can come to me whenever they need to. An after-school program, if not already available at my school, would be something else I would be interested in starting. If school is the only safe place a student has, or they simply don't want to be alone at home, any number of activities or homework help would be available. Additionally, I think it would be beneficial for students to reflect on their days with a daily journal -- completely confidential. This may alert me to anything they are concerned about (home life, grades, bullies, etc.) or at least through general monitoring of writing styles and patterns give me some idea of how the child is doing. Of course, talking to colleagues about students is also key. In some schools, there are lunch programs that have extra food for students who don't have a lunch. If my school does not have a lunch program, I would like to rally my colleagues to start one. Additionally, I would like to keep some lunch snacks on hand just in case. Things like throat lozenges would also be handy. At the very least while my students are in school, they will have what they need to stay reasonably healthy. 2. How will I show my students that what we're doing matters? The nice thing about new textbooks is that they often aspire to make real world connections with the material that students are learning; however, I do not wish to make this my crutch. I think it is a good place to take my cue from in terms of making what the class is learning relevant to their daily lives. The easiest way for me to think about this is to think about how the topics we discuss is relevant to my own life, or the life of my younger siblings, perhaps. If I can consider every lesson thinking about my own real-world applications of it, I'm sure I can find a similar connection in the lives of most of my students. For me to effectively reflect on my own life like that, it seems to demand some degree of really knowing the material I am going to be teaching. Ideally, I would have all the time in the world to read the texts of classes I'm teaching (but never majored in), but that may be too optimistic. This is where a general Google search and my PLN will really empower me. The internet has resources for everything, and so will my PLN. If I can't think of a way to explain something, or am unable to assign a relevant and engaging assignment, I have these resources to turn towards. Considering things from a general perspective now, after discussing a particular topic, a simple assignment to engage the student and show that the material is relevant to their lives is to go home and talk about it with their family. 3. How will I make sure that the way I teach the content allows for an active learning environment for my students? I am a strong believer in group work. I think student discussion and collaboration can go a long way to having students take an active role in learning. This is why I would like to take the opportunity if I can with every concept to have some degree of group work. Even discussion of a particular topic in the lesson can happen in pairs and return curiosities and different perspectives to be shared with the class. Before or after delving into the topic, having students explore some general things about the topic on the internet can be a great way to engage students in hands-on learning and find things they are curious or interested in (for younger grades, perhaps selecting a few general topics they can look up would be better). This sort of exercise doesn't necessarily have to be an assignment so much as a chance to discover the topic. For example, a blog still exists from my Bio 30 class in high school where students had to take turns listing the homework assigned, briefly reviewing the topic and introducing new subject material on the topic that they had researched. Something as simple as this can be engaging for students, and also contribute to the value and skill of blogging in education which 21st century teachers are beginning to explore. 4. How will I make sure that the way I teach the content allows for my students to be challenged? A good way to gauge how students are doing and where you can find weaknesses or strengths in the material you are about to cover is to simply ask at the beginning of the lesson what they (think) they know. Of course, even if students know it, the material still has to be covered if it is in the curriculum. Perhaps a good way to make what they know challenging is to see how they can apply it to new situations after the topic is discussed. This sort of challenge can be posed to students by offering a hypothetical situation or case study they have to consider. In another shape or form, this can be achieved through offering a bonus/puzzle question at the end of the lesson which may require some of the skills of a subsequent lesson, but can still be puzzled at with the skills/knowledge they already have. For students that are struggling with the content, a beneficial arrangement would be to place them alongside a student who understands the material well. In group or pair work, the advanced student can challenge him or her self to teach what they think they know, and the weaker student can reach a level of understanding through the support of his/her peer. 5. How will I make sure that I am a "coach" or guide for my students? First things first: make myself available during class and even outside of class. If students are doing group work or even working individually, that is not necessarily the best time for me to absorb myself in checking emails or marking. I need to wander around the classroom and ask for updates. "How are things coming along?", "Anything you're struggling with?" or "Any questions?" are good ways to start that dialogue. This also offers room for students to share something new they have learned or a different way of thinking -- not exactly related to this Great Eight topic, but a boon for the classroom nonetheless. It is imperative that I take the time to go through the examples with my class and one on one with students who are struggling with the material. It clarifies to myself in the students what sorts of things I will be looking at if I quiz/test them, but also offers them a platform to make mistakes and ask questions. In my Ed 2500, I found a nice way to do this in math was to walk students through four or five examples as a class. Then, I would give a few questions that students had to solve on their own. Upon completion individually, we would discuss the questions and write them on the board -- offering the chance for student volunteers to come up and do the problem for the class, or by asking different students step-by-step how to solve the question. I think this sort of approach can be adapted for almost any subject matter. 6. How will I make sure that the content learned is constantly in use by my students? I think finding ways to apply new knowledge to what students have already learned is important and ensures that what they learned in the past is still being considered in the present. To be quite honest, #6 and #7 are two of the Great Eight that I am struggling with trying to address at this point in my teaching career. I don't want to be that teacher that pulls out a review sheet whenever I see students getting rusty. In some cases, the nature of the content itself guarantees that information students have previously learned will be in constant use (basic physics formulas, for example). In classes like English or Social, I struggle to find a way to consider how constant use of content can be accomplished. Is it as simple as asking students to look at current content through the eyes of perspectives studied in past content? Readers, your input here would be valuable! 7. How will I make sure my students think back on what they've learned? I think a way to continue making things relevant to students is to reference what we're learning currently to topics that we have discussed in previous units or even in different subjects. If I have done my job correctly, I have already made that material relevant to my students -- tying current information to that already is one way to do things. Asking students to share with a partner or group one or two things they learned that was interesting from the lesson or unit is a fast and simple way to ask students to think back. Once again, I personally struggled in trying to think about how I would have my students actively engage in the review process outside of doing worksheets, so I turned to the internet. This blog post has a couple of neat ideas and this site offers a number of games that can be easily adapted for basic review (not review for an upcoming test). Additionally, and very basically, periodic reviews through simple review sheets can briefly jog students' memories. Another option may be to ask students to briefly peruse a crib sheet and share with a partner one thing they had forgotten. 8. How can I encourage my students to plan their next steps based on the lessons we engage in together? I don't see why this sort of reflection can't be achieved through class discussion upon completion of a unit, or even as new ways of living or thinking occur in different lessons. Having students ask themselves if this is something they would like to introduce into their own life is a good start to having them plan their next steps and build on what they have learnt -- perhaps this can be shared in a performance/presentation assignment for the class. If students wish to be more private, the daily or weekly journal may be another option. I am not an expert or even a full teacher yet. I am pre-service. I don't have the answers and my responses to each of Ned's "Gr8 8" reveal that. I do think I have a good start and that the ideas I present will encourage a collaborative, positive and supportive learning environment. This is the sort of post I would love to revisit as I encounter more teaching and lesson planning strategies. There's nowhere to go but up.
3 Comments
Darci
9/12/2013 01:46:55 pm
This is absolutely phenomenal Meagan! It's obvious that you went above and beyond in your thought and reflection of the topic! Ahhhhmazing!
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Cheyenne
9/13/2013 03:14:11 pm
Wow! Very thorough! I really enjoy how you give insight on all of the conditions, rather than the few prevalent factors (though they are all, important, if not equally). Bravo, 10/10 Continue to amaze us all with your amazing blog posts.
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9/15/2013 10:38:13 am
Outstanding post Meagan - I especially appreciate the final comment, that you intend to continue to revisit this as you pursue your teaching career. I encourage you to fulfill this intention, as we always need to be mindful of how our teaching aligns with what we know about engaged learning. Great work overall - looking forward to future posts!
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Meagan Fullerton-LeeMeagan is an aspiring teacher, voracious reader, tentative motorcyclist, and passionate gardener. In all things she sees education. Here she shares her passions. Archives
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