To nurture class participation and student
success it is vital to provide a friendly and respectful classroom, as each of
us sees through the lens of our own experience. That experience, when connected
correctly with the learning environment will only aide in student success and
positive self-esteem. To successfully choose teaching processes and help
students learn, I believe you must first know something about whom you are
teaching. My students come from very different backgrounds and have various
learning needs. Many of my students, regardless of their gender or racial background,
feel disheartened when they see inconsiderate behavior on the part of teachers
or other students. Treating students with understanding and interest, and
encouraging them to treat each other likewise will provide a quality day for
all involved. Providing a welcoming atmosphere can be challenging but the information
found in the following information will give you ideas on how to continue and/or foster
such a classroom.
When
given a chance, students can and do take possession of their learning as in a
the four stages of the Self-directed Learning Model. Providing such opportunities, however, can prove exigent
for teachers who must also safeguard that students meet academic objectives
established by their districts or states. A teacher who fosters student self-directed learning will allow kids choice within a range of potential goals and
opportunities for success. The learning style of the student, tied with support
from a teacher who knows the child, will establish how the student gets to
those objectives. Students are lively participants in their learning and
make choices about what they will learn and how. They work in partnership with others and
construct new knowledge and skills by building on their current base. Clear expectations are defined and the
students are encouraged to use self-assessment measures during the lessons.
Because the instructor has recognized the different learning styles students
will show authentic learning connected with preceding experiences instead of
passively receiving information. Because of this students are inherently motivated
to reach goals they have set for themselves.
The Project-based model of learning is one that I use often as a technology instructor. By focusing on a few power standards learning can be concentrated on one subject rather than multiple disciplines. Make sure that project won't take more than two to three weeks and have the learning occur in my classroom as many of my students do not have computers at home. By doing specific planning you can effectively map out a project that's ready to go in the classroom. Once planned, you're free to differentiate instruction and meet the current needs of your students rather than being in perpetual crisis-mode trying to figure what will happen tomorrow. Project based learning is not so much about the project itself, it is the learning that goes on during the project. With project based learning you are educating through the project, not teaching and then doing the project. We are all students, and when we start something new, we start small. We limit our focus to help us understand the bigger things step by step and not become overpowered.
Curriculum Compacting is a practice that we do as
a team in the Computer department of our school. My partner and I came into the department
from different areas but at the same time, and what we found was a very
inconsistent level of learning with our students. We decided at that time to map our curriculum
together and compact as much of it as possible so that we could be assured that
all students were getting what they needed at each grade level. This helped us prepare lessons for the
student’s following year because we then knew what had been taught. Several tips that I found during my research
included 1) identifying outcomes of the curriculum, 2) measuring and recording
a student’s previous mastery of those outcomes, and then 3) Learning to generate
appropriate and thought-provoking alternatives to those lessons.
Educators assemble students based on readiness,
interest, learning styles, and draft lessons to match their attributes and I
can see this working in my classroom.
Depending on the point of the lesson, flexible grouping offers students
with opportunities to work with others with related readiness and interest, or
with dissimilar students. By using flexible grouping assignments you can ensure
that all of your students have the opportunity to work with students that have
both similar and different abilities and levels. The use of peer role-modeling is a definite positive that you can
implement during your instruction.
Once students are grouped you can create and assign specific activities
that respond more to the students’ learning needs.
I believe it is very useful to understand how the
memory works (and doesn’t work). Studying how our memory works will help you to
understand how and why some things “stick” with your pupils (and why others
don’t). The
different learning approaches are not magic; they work because they use what we
know about how our memory functions and are just applications of basic memory
principles. Use your knowledge
about the Information Processing Model, the memory principles, and your student’s
learning style to select appropriate learning strategies and adapt lesson
plans to those needs. In the process of my learning I have discovered that as a
teacher I am weak with rehearsal and feedback on a daily basis. Coming from a high school background, I have
a real tendency to overload my middle school students with too much new
information in daily lessons. By slowing this down and limiting the chunks that
I teach my students, I will give my students more of an opportunity to process
the information better in both their short and long-term memories. Applying
more feedback each and every day will improve their retrieval process and it
may even speed up the completion of assignments as it will be a more organized
review of the material.
Until tomorrow...
Collaborate and connect your curriculum!
