Be Active!
I am a strong proponent of active living and being outdoors as much as possible. Sometimes the classroom is not a very good place to learn about our bodies, fears and strengths. I had an awesome experience participating with a group of grade 7 students at camp as part of an outdoor education initiative. The students challenged themselves physically and emotionally as they worked cooperatively or on their own on authentic tasks like shelter building and rock climbing. They will remember these experiences for a long time, and it was especially powerful when certain students faced and conquered their fears.
From my introduction to plants in grade 3, we had a short discussion about whether or not we eat plants and what kinds of plants we eat. We then talked about different parts of plants. I explained the parts, provided a visual and then explained that we eat all of these parts of plants in our diets. We then went outside and had a relay race. Small groups were given a bag of fruits, vegetables and seeds, given 5 minutes to discuss the items and look at their info sheet. We then had a relay race to connect each part of a plant with the right food item. The students were engaged and then we explored the various bins, tasted some foods and discussed what parts of plants we were eating.
Peer Expert Groups
It is important for students to critically engage with ideas. I always try to get peers to learn from each other as often as possible, whether that is through group discussions, jigsaw groups or placemat activities. The less time I spend rambling and the more time students spend engaged with the material and discussing ideas with each other, the more engaged students are in their learning. Below is an example of an expert group activity I did so student groups could learn and share on specific Olympic sports, as well as one of the many placemat activities I used where students represented their learning in a small portion of a chart paper page and shared with a larger group.
I give students a chance to bring in skills or interests from home and teach or share them in small groups. This gives students positive pro-social interaction, helps develop a positive self concept and gives students a chance to be an expert. Upon reflection, students often connect their teaching experiences to classroom learning. For instance the group below was demonstrating strength training. They made the connection to our measurement unit and talked about mass and the kilogram and how it relates to exercise.
Make Connections to the Real World
I believe that learning is more powerful when it is applicable and therefore more meaningful. One example of real world learning occurred in science when I was teaching electricity. While we were learning about how electricity is transferred into light and heat, I had the students do a simple cost comparison analysis of basic lightbulbs using current electrical utilities costs for power. The students learned about electrical principles, as well as how much it was costing their parents to light up their houses. I plan on doing more of these engaging activities across subjects.
Choice
Students should have a voice in their education whether that is what they or learning or how they are learning something. I tried to use a variety of teaching styles. I lectured, had visuals and discussions but also included some activities for the kinesthetic and energetic learners. I had the students role play concepts and we built simple circuits using hands on electricity kits. I also gave the students a variety of ways to demonstrate their learning. As part of a 3-D representation art project, the students could build any unique figure representation as long it represented a meaningful pose or gesture. The students then designed their own displays and had a choice of reflection questions to answer after they meaningfully participated in an art gallery walk.
My grade 3 classroom had the opportunity to participate in the Science Fair. Although learning about the scientific method was challenging, small groups of students developed their own questions with a basic inquiry outline and developed an experiment with support. The learning was especially rich when we invited other classes in to check out our experiments. The students discussed their projects casually and answered challenging questions about their research.
Everyone is a Lifelong Learner
I am a learner as well and I recognize that there are many things that I still do not know. I want to set an example for my students and demonstrate that I do not know everything, but have a thirst for knowledge and am constantly seeking out new learning opportunities. These are some books I plan on reading to further my professional development and grow as a teacher and learner. I plan on learning more about students with exceptionalities and behavioral challenges and possible strategies I could implement to create an environment where every one can learn.
