Getting Students Ready for Their Future

Six qualities I can bring to my classroom to make students more engaged and prepared for their future:

1. Relationships - Know and value students; build trust.
2. Risk - Students can’t be scared to learn from failing; push them to stretch them.
3. Student centered - Students are natural learners; let them drive their learning.
4. Questioning - Learn better by asking your own questions, giving ownership and developing capacity to creatively problem solve and discover.
5. Connections to the world outside our walls - Tap resources; make connections; build empathy and understanding; influence the world.
6. Reflection - Enhance student learning as they consider what was learned and the process taken.

If you have ideas about what are the most important characteristics of instruction or, if this post has generated some thoughts of your own, please share them in the comments. I would appreciate hearing about them.

This post is inspired by Share#YourEduStory. The prompt was “In 100 words or less, describe the most important characteristics of 21st century instruction.”

Being Mindful of Hidden Curriculum

 

The manner in which a teacher sets up the classroom and establishes certain routines creates a hidden curriculum for students.  Within my classroom decisions are made to send and reinforce a message to the students that I feel will help them in the long run.

One thing I consistently do is to answer students’ questions with questions.  

 Does this annoy students? Yes.  

Do they get frustrated at times? Yes.  

Why do I do it?  I am trying to encourage self-reliance.  Students have or can find the answers to most of their questions. I will lead them with the questions that they should be asking themselves as reflective learners so that they may discover their own answers.  Students struggle with meta-cognition.  Helping to model that for them assists them to better embrace that approach.  As the year progresses, they become more adept at quickly answering my questions to their questions or become more self-reliant.

Another part of the the unspoken agenda is the arrangement of the desks.  I never have the desks arranged in rows.  They are always positioned so that students can easily communicate with one another.  Desks are either arranged so that students can turn and speak with someone right next to them easily or do the same with someone right behind/in front of them. The message is that trusting, learning, and processing with their peers is a priority.  Every day, multiple times, students are encouraged to interact.  They learn best with multiple interactions and when they are processing with others.  The more opportunities they have to speak, the greater their learning. Student collaboration is essential for student growth.

  The decor of the classroom also clearly gets across priorities to the students.  

Curiosity is good.  Several artifacts around the room reinforce that students should explore.  There is an Egyptian bust, a flag flown over the U.S. capitol, Gee O. Beast, and a map with the northern and southern hemispheres reversed among other items.  Students are intrigued by these and ask questions.  Their intrinsic desire to learn is touched. 

Posters and a quote board also adorn the classroom.  These reinforce that students are powerful beings who are capable of great things.  I want students to know that, even though they may grapple with learning, with their peers or with other struggles, they can persevere and accomplished much.

The message teachers send their students through the routines and design of the classroom is just as important as content, if not more.  When a teacher is in tune with the hidden curriculum, the classroom can better meet the needs of the students and have a subtle, yet strong, influence.

If you have essential parts of your hidden curriculum or, if this post has generated some thoughts of your own, please share them in the comments. I would appreciate hearing about them.

Trying to Touch Students’ Hearts

As the new school year has started, my inclination is to be better than I was in previous years.  There are always so many different things floating through my mind to improve my instruction and the students’ experiences.  Among my myriad goals, I have prioritized two.

I want my middle school students to realize they can make their mark and influence the world - right now.  To set them off in that direction, they will gain exposure to ideas revealed by International Dot Day to help motivate them to be bold risk takers who can influence the world.  To connect it to the social studies curriculum, I want them to explore issues relating to geography that touch their hearts.  I hope they will be spurred on to try and make a difference in the world and be compassionate.  I want them to realize they have great power and influence as individuals and that they do not need to wait until their adulthood to start leaving their legacies.

Another opportunity I want to offer my students requires doing a better job of breaking down the walls of my classroom.  Currently, my students develop blogs with which they can interact with the world.  I need to do more to have others connect with my students via their blogs.  If I can take appropriate steps, students’ audiences will be broadened and they will connect with others more widely.  Students would also benefit from making connections through Skype.  I believe that meeting people from other places through video conferencing and their blogs will help draw the world nearer to them, make learning and understanding more personal, and, again, touch their hearts, spurring them on to deeper learning and greater accomplishments.

I look forward to bringing these opportunities to my students.  There is a lot of value to students understanding that they, too, can make a difference in the world.  By touching their hearts in dynamic ways, they should be more motivated to reach outside their comfort zones and make an impact on the world.

If you have found ways to touch your students' hearts or taken them beyond the walls of your classroom, or if this post has generated some thoughts of your own, please share them in the comments. I would appreciate hearing about them.