So how do you give more swings at the bat? Most of my teaching experience has been at the middle school level with some high school teaching mixed in for good measure. I have had little experience as a teacher in the elementary level. So I will offer some ideas at the MS and HS level if you have some suggestions at the elementary level, I would love for you to share them. If we had all the time in…
I recently had a conversation with a good friend and colleague of mine; he is a very smart man and knows his stuff. We were discussing how to meet the needs of the varied children in the classroom. We both believe that all children learn, and that they come to the classroom with different skills and experiences, and they have different rates of growth. He has a good metaphor for this “some children just need more swings at the bat.”…
In my last entry I commented that what they [students] needed were options. As teachers we need lots of options as well. We can not create all the options. We need to collaborate, share and communicate. We need to do this together. We need to be members of the learning community. We can not work in isolation. We need to model how knowledge is created, a sharing and building of ideas in community. Whether we talk face-to-face or through the…
We are under a mandate to make sure ALL our students achieve high academic standards. What this means in most places is doing more of the same. We increase class time, cut out electives, and have some kids double up on Math and English. If it wasn’t working the first time why should more of the same be any better? I am oversimplifying. I know individual teachers who are striving to offer a more differentiated learning experience, schools who are…
The current educational system is descendant from the Industrial Revolution, and the vast wave of immigrants that arrived during that time. It was designed around the wonderful new invention; the factory. Its purpose to provide a basic education to the masses to help them assimilate to this new land and provide the much needed work force to support the development of new industries. The factory style educational system led to the compartmentalization of information so that it could be passed…
I have been a classroom science teacher for almost 20 years. When I began in the mid 80s the classroom learning experience was vastly different then today. Back at the beginning of my teaching career I though it was pretty cool how I could take different sheets of colored ditto masters and create colored diagrams for my kids. I could run an 8 mm projector, the slide strip machine, opaque projector and the VCR. I used a text book, dittos…
Whether you teach a face-to-face class, a totally online class or a combination of both it is important to remember that all learning takes place within the student. The purpose of education is to make a change in the learner. This may be the acquisition of knowledge, skills and change in attitude. All courses must have clear measurable objectives. All courses must have a way to assess if objectives are met. No matter what type of course you develop or…