As teachers we strive to be prepared, put together lesson plans, build relationships with our students and the list can go on and on. In Instruction: A Models Approach is states, “…the most important, the teacher is responsible for providing students the opportunity to be successful” (pg. 291). Yes, I want my students to be successful and I know just how to provide those opportunities my students need. My classroom is a place where my students feel safe to express their thoughts, be themselves, feel order, and know my expectations. I believe that “…students learn best when they believe they can learn and are challenged” (pg. 294).
I want my students to develop a love for learning, not a love for getting answers right. That means I need to continue learning myself. What better way than to learn from my students. They teach me so much! I also have professional development days where I can learn from and bring insights to my classroom and my teaching. This past year I was a part of a tech training for the whole year. I loved what I learned in this training. I was able to use it in my classroom too and my students benefited from my newfound knowledge. Things like…
I used this app for creating what my students learned or found interesting in our book study groups. They can add pictures, text, backgrounds to make a summary of chapters and interesting facts.
I’m also improving myself and continuing with learning by working on my Gifted and Talented endorsement and my Master’s Degree. It’s been less then a year since I started this journey but I feel like the knowledge I’ve gained has been instrumental in my teaching. Along with being life long learners and in order to have a love for learning I need to motive, encourage, and spark my students curiosity. “…if teachers can pique the curiosity of learners, they will make what they teach interesting to learners” (pg. 300).
I have an advanced gifted group that is called ALO which stands for Advanced Learning Opportunity. With this group we work on various inquiry based learning, cooperative learning, and project-based learning. As I’ve been reading in Invent to Learn by Sylvia Martinez & Garry Stager, P.h.D, I have been creating a list of things I want to explore with these students. There are just so many awesome things to check out, it’s a good thing it’s summer so I can play with them all. “Learning together with students keeps the adventure interesting” (pg. 195). Another new program that I read about from this book that sounds adventurous is Scratch.
My goal for this group is to have them working on projects of interest and at a higher level of learning. My students get one hour a week with me to able to tinker, create and make things and I can’t wait to play with all the fabrications and computing and see what my students create.
I’m also interested in hosting a STEM night or a Maker Day which is similar. Maker Day “…is about creativity and collaboration” (pg. 219). It’s also a night to display and show what students have created. A STEM night is more of trying out programs and projects or demonstrations. Either platform would be an excellent outsource for all students. Some more activities that were suggested in the book that I’d like to try out are:
I feel like a kid in a candy store with all this information at my finger tips. I am fortunate to be able to continue learning and I am grateful that I can use that knowledge to improve my teaching and my students in how they learn.
References
Answergarden.ch
App.bookcreator.com
Edpuzzle.com
Estes H., Thomas. Mintz, L., Susan. Instruction: A Models Approach Seventh Edition. 2016. Pearson Education, Inc.
Scratch.mit.edu
Squishycircuts.com
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