Group items tagged

"As finals approached this year, I had a desire to do something different. In the past I've had students write a timed five-paragraph argument essay about whether Montag, from Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, is a conformist or nonconformist. My students had already written four essays this year, so I decided to ditch the essay. Instead, I had them select a metaphor from the novel and asked them to bring it to life creating a 3D visual metaphor."

"At first, I was not sure how to introduce elements of the Maker philosophy into my English classroom. Much of the conversation around this movement focuses on technology and STEM subjects, but I see value in getting students to design and create in all subject areas. Since I don't have any actual technology in my classroom, I had to get creative in my approach. We were reading (performing is more accurate) Shakespeare's play, Othello. I usually do a mini-lesson on the Globe Theatre to introduce its design, layout, symbolic spaces, and genius construction. That's when I had an idea! Why not ask students to build replicas of the Globe Theatre? To build a model of the Globe, they would have to complete research, get creative with their materials and work collaboratively in groups. I realized that through the act of making their replicas they would probably learn more and have more fun."

"An increasing number of students are returning to school after the winter break with shiny new mobile devices in hand. This excites me as I rely entirely on my students devices and a BYOD policy to integrate technology into my classroom. That said, I've trained lots of teachers who are hesitant to embrace mobile devices. Many teachers fear that allowing students to use their devices in class will only distract them and compromise the learning environment. My experience has been the exact opposite. Allowing students to use their devices in the classroom has been absolutely transformative!"

"Two years ago I began flipping my writing instruction. I created short videos to replace the "mini-lessons" I had traditionally presented in class. I saw value in allowing students the opportunity to control the pace of their learning. As a teacher, I love having a resource I can point a student to if they are continuing to struggle with the structure of an argument body paragraph or how to write a thesis statement. In the past, I had to repeatedly explain these concepts. Flipping my writing instruction also creates more time in the classroom to actually write."

"When asked, "What is the most challenging part of writing an essay?" Most of my students agree, "It's just getting started that's hard." I remember feeling this same way as a student. The blank page was daunting. So, I decided to try a new strategy. The first stage of our formal essay on Shakespeare's play, Othello, was a prewriting activity designed to tap into the collective potential of the class. I wanted students working together to generate ideas and collect textual evidence."

"I led a training last week on blended learning and asked teachers to brainstorm the biggest challenges they face in the classroom. One answer resonated with me. "Learned helplessness." On my drive home, I kept mentally returning to this phrase. Then in my own classroom last week, my students were beginning a research project that would culminate in student presentations. We've done this type of task before, yet I was bombarded with questions: "Tucker, what should we title this?" "Tucker, how big should the font be?" "Tucker, how do we add an image to the background of our slide?" I have a stock response I use in this situation, "Figure it out." That may strike some teacher as harsh, but I disagree. Our students are conditioned from a young age to ask a teacher for help the minute something doesn't go right or the moment they have a question. Where is the curiosity? Why don't they want to figure it out themselves?"

"At the end of Lord of the Flies, there is a section titled "Notes on the Lord of the Flies," in which William Golding says, "The theme [of the novel] is an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature. The moral is that the shape of a society must depend on the ethical nature of the individual and not on any political system however apparently logical or respectable." I asked students to design a thematic art gallery that explored the truth about human nature. Because art often serves as a mirror reflecting people, society and life, I thought this would challenge students to confront the realities of human nature-the good and the bad. It also allowed students to contrast this theme in the text with this same theme in art. Although I used this project to explore the theme of human nature, it can be done to encourage students to think deeply about any theme they are studying."

"As elementary students learn how to read, teachers administer reading fluency tests and listen to students read passages. During these reading fluency tests, teachers listen for speed, accuracy, and expression. Nothing can replace this formal assessment, but it's helpful to teach students to track their words per minute between these reading fluency assessments. Tracking their words per minute can help students to appreciate that the more they practice reading a passage, the more words they will be able to read in a minute. In a coaching session with a second-grade teacher, I suggested we try using Voice Typing in Google Documents to help students track how many words they read in a minute. I hoped that giving them the tools to track their words per minute might motivate them to stay focused on the task of reading a challenging passage."

The events of the last nine months have launched the phrase "blended learning" into the mainstream. I worry that instead of articulating the value of a powerful blend of online and offline learning, teachers are receiving the message that they "must" adopt blended learning to meet the demands of the moment. Yes, blended learning can help teachers navigate the challenges of teaching at this moment. However, the pandemic cannot be the "why" driving a shift to blended learning. This shift should not be viewed as simply a reaction to the pandemic. That isn't a compelling reason and does not encapsulate the value of this shift. Leaders must articulate the purpose and value of weaving together online and offline learning. That way, teachers are inspired and motivated to work through the challenges associated with this shift in designing and facilitating learning.