Have you ever wondered how to link your Pinterest board to your Weebly website? Well, you won't have to wonder much longer. Above is my screencast on how to embed Pinterest boards onto your websites. Take a look at this 2 minute tutorial to learn something new today!
In Grant Wiggins' article "A veteran teacher turned coach shadows 2 students for 2 days - a sobering lesson learned," he offers a critique on the way that teachers are approaching student engagement through one teacher's unique schooling experience. Conventional classrooms include the usual student agenda: warm-up, lecture, and semi-engaging activity. Wiggins recites the reflections of one teacher who decides to shadow one student from 10th grade and one student from 12th grade.
Where they walked, she walked. When they ate lunch, she ate lunch. Most importantly, when they sat, she sat. This teacher recalls that she "literally sat down the entire day, except for walking to and from classes." By taking on the perspective of her students, this teacher was able to clearly understand the adjustments that need to be made within the classroom. I agree that the classroom environment needs to change. My short experience as a teacher candidate confirms it. Students are tired of sitting. The suggestions that this teacher presents are radical, but necessary. It is important that we start creating an atmosphere in which students are more hands on. We need to be more intentional about getting our students out of their chairs in a productive way. It is essential that we incorporate movement in all of our lesson plans. One fear that may develop is that this cutting-edge approach will compromise the curriculum. However, this teacher argues that after sitting so long in a chair, the students stop understanding the content anyway. Essentially, the curriculum is already being compromised. It is in my opinion, that it is better for my students to know a few things really well than have a poor understanding of many things. As I begin planning for my next unit, I have caught myself debating whether or not I should do certain activities that require movement. It seems risky, as if it could potentially end in chaos. After reading this single article, I think I'll take the "risk." I believe it is important to remember my past high school classroom experiences as I continue to plan for future lessons. If I don't plan with my students in mind, there really is no point to my teaching. I will lose all of them. This article emphasizes the necessity of doing everything with a high sensitivity to how the students may respond. My new personal goal is to have 100% of my students actively learning rather than passively sitting. Wiggins, Grant. "A veteran teacher turned coach shadows 2 students for 2 days - a sobering lesson learned." 10 October 2014. https://grantwiggins.wordpress.com/2014/10/10/a-veteran-teacher-turned-coach- shadows-2-students-for-2-days-a-sobering-lesson-learned/. Web. 21 October 2015. In a popular TED Talk by Gever Tulley, the concept of teaching through the process of tinkering is presented. Tulley brings the TED Talk audience into a deeper understanding of his tinkering school through an engaging presentation of pictures and videos. Teaching tinkering is justified and founded on the simple idea that one learns by doing.
When the kids come to school there are various tools, materials, and other gadgets just waiting for students to tinker with. The one learning objective for the students is that they leave with a greater understanding of how things work and how to put things together. This unstructured approach to education establishes an unlimited space that allows creativity to abound. Often times the students failed and things did not turn out as they planned. However, through trial and error the students were able to better adjust their approaches in order to achieve a different outcome. This tinkering lead students to creating things such as bicycles, boats, and even miniature roller coasters. The possibilities are endless. This video truly helped me understand that students learn best by doing; that they can never “achieve” unless they are given the opportunity to “do”. By being given the freedom to create, construct, destroy, and rebuild whatever they desire, these kids are learning valuable life lessons about what it means to learn as you go. In terms of how I teach, I think that this video has helped me realize that it is often necessary to unleash students in order to have them reach their full potential. With the countless standards that student must follow to ensure meeting grade-level expectations, it seems as if there is little wiggle room to allow students the freedom to “tinker” and create whatever they desire. Furthermore, I believe that this video clearly expresses the truth that success is measured through the progression of a specific skill. Since it is not necessarily realistic to bring hammers and power tools in my classroom, I would have to have my students “tinker” through technology. It appears that students have an incredible understanding of the digital world in terms of social media. However, they seem to lack foundational digital literacy in anything outside the social media realm. I think that I could utilize the “tinkering” method, by giving students free range to use their technology in a way that appropriately helps apply their knowledge of different lessons. By granting students this freedom, it will help them create, construct, destroy, and rebuild things within a digital context. By cultivating their digital landscape in this way, students will be prepared to participate effectively in this global society. Tulley, Gever. TEDxTalks. (2009, July 1). Gever Tulley teaches life lessons through tinkering. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvHViFc0ekw |
AuthorMiss Craig Archives
May 2016
Categories |