Jun
6
Sharing our learning
Posted by: Natasha Chiang | June 6, 2013 | Leave a Comment
Teaching sometimes feels like an all-consuming task because I am planning and preparing alone. Though there are many opportunities to collaborate, most of the time I make most decisions for my class because I know them best. It is very exciting, then, when it is time to share our learning with other people in our community.
This week my class finally completed compiling their last edition of our classroom newspaper, their “Guide to Creating a Classroom Newspaper”, their Science Journals of “Plants and Growth”, and their books “Classroom Portraits”. With this package the students led their parents in a conference of all the things they learned this term. It was very exciting to set up a framework for the students to achieve success! They felt knowledgeable, and were great hosts to the wonderful family members who came in to support the kids. Last Friday I also finished putting up our art collage board, and added the last question leaves to our ‘Question Board’. These displays complemented the ‘Knowledge Tree’, our ‘Global News– Uganda pen pals’, our ‘Fruit Seeds Gallery’, our ‘Inquiry’ board of research, and our ‘Earth Day Promises’ boards. All the samples of student work on the displays represented the students’ learning process and growth! It is so exciting for the students to feel like their classroom is really ‘theirs’, with visuals showing their thinking and projects.
The students had a chance to receive feedback from their family member (or a peer if families could not make it), as well as from their Big Buddies in grade 5/6 during a second conference. It is interesting to read the comments from these other ‘teachers’ in my students’ lives. It gives me perspective on what my students have really learned, by seeing what they have shared with others.