Articles
Make it Real, Relevant and Personal
Ontario ASCD: April 18, 2008
Nothing fosters learning more than an internal passion for a topic. Once the fire has been lit and the engagement begins, there is no stopping the imagination nor the depth of understanding. It has never been our job, as teachers, to fill a child’s mind with information. Our ultimate goal should be to light the fire in each child’s soul and to create an endless thirst for truth. Our students come to us daily, hearts filled with hopes and dreams. We must do our very best to give them the opportunities they need to meet their goals. We need to give them ownership of their learning and the chance to succeed in ways that are unique to them.
The passion for learning starts with the teacher. Our interest and enthusiasm is contagious and our desire to learn must serve as a model for the students. The students must believe that what they are studying is of importance to all of us. They need to tap into our energy and our excitement. We need to be there to ask the important questions. We need to guide them to make inferences, predictions and interpretations. We need to give them the courage, opportunities and tools to be effective learners. We must give them an audience with whom to share their knowledge and we must truly care about what they say. We must recognize the role that technology plays in their lives and give them the skills to use this technology to their advantage. The more we tie into their world, the better the engagement, the deeper the understanding and the better the chance of developing of a passion for learning and for staying in school.
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Take a Walk on the Real Side
ETFO Voice Magazine: Spring 2005
Our focus as teachers is to prepare our students for the world beyond school, by developing a strong knowledge base, effective learning skills, and most importantly, good moral character. As intermediate teachers, one of our major concerns surrounds motivating our students. How can we engage our students in meaningful learning experiences, and at the same time, create a life long love for learning. We are attempting to address this growing problem by giving our students the opportunity to become totally engaged in their learning experiences.
As an intermediate team, we believe strongly in developing good citizenship, using differentiated instruction, and assessment through awareness of students’ multiple intelligence, and involving all students in meaningful real life experiences. To accomplish our goals, we have embraced experiential learning as a model for learning in today’s world. Through the experiential model, the student is the centre of his/her education, and our role as teachers is to facilitate learning by returning the responsibility to the student. As teachers, we blend enduring understandings (curriculum/knowledge), essential questions, authentic challenges, and assessment targets, while connecting to the real world beyond the walls of the school.
This article, which was published in the ETFO Voice magazine, outlines the story of our journey of discovery.
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Create a Positive Learning Environment
Ontario ASCD: The Trillium, Fall 2008
As teachers we want to create a positive learning environment where all of our students will be successful. Differentiation of instruction and assessment must be key elements in each of our classrooms. Being aware of how our students learn and how they display their understanding is critical as we guide them up the educational mountain. If we agree that students have different combinations of learning styles, multiple intelligence and decision making styles then it makes perfect sense that we must address these differences when we present students with new ideas and skills. Their individual needs have to be addressed if we expect all of our students to meet success. However, there is so much more to creating a positive classroom experience than simply being aware of how our students learn. We must create a learning environment where all students feel accepted and where they can be safe and comfortable to face new learning experiences. We must give each student the opportunity to be a valued team member, to be able to freely express their opinion, to make mistakes, to take risks and simply to be themselves.