Cleanup on Aisle 4....Classroom Floor

Meaningful involvement of learners in your class....

Many things spring to mind when looking at this statement. I see this as an opportunity whereby learners participate in class in such a way that they are enjoying what they are doing while learning effectively and by themselves. Us as teachers should really just be facilitators and mediators where we slightly guide them in the right direction, if we want to see true learning take place.

No lesson learnt is greater than one you've learnt yourself.

By this I mean, a learner will remember something a lot easier and carry that lesson with them a lot longer if they actually figured it all out by themselves. The article by Wills was a brilliant example of this. She simply set out a set of instructions (the bowl of water and the "do not wet the floor" sign) and let it act as a guideline to teaching the children about keeping calmer and getting in the right state of mind for the lesson. I believe its all about being sneaky with being an effective pedagogue because you need to think up ways to gently nudge learners in the right direction so they can learn certain things for themselves. Many teachers still feel very much like they need to stay in control and just tell them outright "move the tables and keep quiet!" but learners don't respond to that. They respond better to something if they think its fun or their idea. So in Wills' example, they thought it was fun, so it was easier to handle and activated their brains in a way that prepared them for the lesson. I feel that teachers who do not take the time to think of fun ways to aid in students learning effectively are lazy and narrow minded, and should probably consider retiring early.

With "how teachers should be" in mind, that brings on the video that was watched. Firstly I want to say "YOH!!" That was a lot of talking and a lot of content for a little 5 minutes. At first I thought, "Yay! 5 mins! This will be quick and easy!". Well, oh boy was I wrong. I had to rewatch that video and take notes and I honestly did not know Australians, or New Zealanders could talk that fast (phew).

Anyway, besides the point, I really loved the check list they had of how teachers should:

• Be accessible and available to the students
• Create an environment of open communication where a students concerns and worries can be heard
• Provide a solid education in foundation skills (like reading and writing)
• Show empathy and understanding for a student's current circumstance and provide them with the tools to facilitate a positive outcome
• Intervene (as professionals) when students experience bullying and harassment
• Promote "pro-social bonding" which can be done by remembering personal events such as birthdays, family occasions, or just by letting your personality shine through.

This really just screams out that it should bee all about the learner and what is best for them and their learning. By taking all of these points to heart and applying it to your character and teaching style, you will definitely be a lot closer to achieving meaningful learner involvement than those teachers that stay in their boxes.

Well, that's my short say...

I'm Miss Moore, and remember to keep your eyes on the board! 

Call upon Independence

Watching a bit on The Independent Project really was an encouraging thing to see. From what I saw, its a school within a school where learners are the teachers and are completely independent in their learning but still managing to stay disciplined and do what needs to be done. Their days are split in two:

1. Individual Endeavors - this is where the students are allowed to focus on one thing that they absolutely loved. From this there will be a big presenting assignment to bring to class. So they can make a boat, or write a book, or make an album, etc. 
2. Academics - here they pose questions that they need to work through for the week. Then on Friday they all get a chance to teach each other on their findings

One would think that without adult supervision the students would just loaf off and do nothing, just working when we are looking so as to seem busy. However we see in the video that the students are very good at being disciplined and actually working. 

By working amongst themselves they have built up a support group where they can turn to and still receive critique from. They have all started to develop very good independent qualities as they have to be disciplined enough to go through all the work, etc. But with this independence comes freedom with thinking, so with a very creative kid, this is an amazing way to help them to grow. Here they dont need to feel like they are having to make a choice between their creativity and doing well in school. In the Independent Project they can get the best of both worlds. They have the chance to work on their cultural aspects - screen writes, movies, art, etc. yet still study normal everyday school topics. The best part is that while studying these "school subjects" the students realized how to work and teach and learn. And by doing this all themselves, they awaken a thirst and hunger for more knowledge. The Independent Project is an amazing idea, so long as the learners are a good fit and its students who actually want to learn that make it amazing. 

(Airport chime) "Can Social Media please come to the party, Social Media"

I need to admit something. And I know this isn't "Confessions of a Soon to be Teacher" (which is also a fantastic blog - http://thumbsucking101.blogspot.co.za/) but here is my confession none-the-less.

When I think of social media, I think of it socially, which is exactly how Davis said for us not to think about it. I had the misconception that yes, social media could work in classrooms but the kids would be so distracted by the funny videos on Facebook or something profound (or what they would think profound might be) someone said on Twitter, or the crazy photo they just got sent on Snapchat, or posted on Instagram. I felt this way due to the fact that I get distracted by these things in class too (just don't tell the lecturers but I'm pretty sure they already know). With how I end up using social media as a distraction meant I figured the kids would also be like that and so I ended up closing off my mind to the countless other learning opportunities that can arise with social media. Not completely closing off my mind, just thinking more along the lines of:

"Yes in a perfect world it could work"

"If its a good school where the students are disciplined then it might work"

"If there is some program that prevents them from doing anything other than academic work then its worth a try"

This was extremely narrow minded of myself as I forgot one important thing. Kids want to learn!!! And social media facilitates that in a way that has never been done before. Just thinking now back to the articles of ways that social media is being used:

• Tweeting class updates - BRILLIANT idea! Students are there anyway, now they can go onto Twitter and keep up to date with how the class is progressing after school, checking homework and additional resources and links that can aid in their learning and understanding.

• Trending - either on Instagram or Twitter, if the learners are busy with an assignment, or fun group task, etc. they can post updates and photos to record their progress while hash tagging something to connect it all. Just like how we use #PGCEmix. It encourages learners to interact with others that are trending the same thing.

• Blogging - this is a great way to encourage students to read, as I know many don't enjoy it. But if they find an educational blog that they follow and that they interact with then that keeps them exposed to a good form of language and opinion that they might not have gotten from just a textbook. I also find that by students having their own blogs, you can find out more about them and monitor their psychological health. By this I mean, if one of your students are going through depression, it might be easier to pick up on while reading through their posts, etc.

• International Interactions - What an amazing thought!!! Students from all over the world being able to talk and collaborate with each other on content that they have learnt or opinions that they have formed. Its an amazing way to apply learning to the real world and see how different countries learn different things differently. Usually one wouldn't have this opportunity as you would have to physically meet them but now there is so much information and interactions that are made available to us.

• Remind - This is great that you will be able to reach your students after class, but its important to realize not to spam them with useless info or go overboard on the assignments/readings, etc. You need to balance what they NEED to know and what you WANT them to know, as quite often you want them to know more than they can handle. This could make them despondent when you want them to actually be thinking: "Oh yay! Finally!!! Something fun and interesting to add to my day!"

I could literally go on and on but that's just going to turn what already is a long read, into something that just should be filed in a library and left to gather dust. So I'm going to leave the examples there. I'm sure you can see though that social media has endless possibilities. Sure the risks still weigh out in your mind but the more you use social media, the more you will work out ways to keep the learners engaged and occupied on more academic things instead of using it as a distraction. Keeping things short and sweet, interesting and fun should have the students eating out your hand and creating a generation that is thirsty for knowledge with all of it right at their fingertips. 

A little risk, for A LOT of reward.

Thats my say, now keep your eyes on the board!