In response to the article What Will I Do to Create Change? School is in a constant state of fluctuation to fit into the current times and keep up with how education is being taught. George Couros talks about in his TEDTalk how teachers need to stay innovative in reaction to students todays learning environment. Students today are learning in one of those period when schools are trying to innovate to new inventions and creations such as the Internet. The Internet has brought on a new age of learning where students have access to unlimited amount of information constantly. I feel that teachers are not doing that great of a job keeping up with the times especially older teachers who are stuck in their ways. Although, I have had a few examples of teachers innovating and keeping up with todays youth.1) Voice
In my AP Physics class we are currently doing a project where we are given a topic and we have a week to study up and learn all we can about. At the end of our studying week, we have to present and give a lecture about our topic. From this project, the class as a whole is learning a new topic from the people who understand it and who understand how they learn, themselves.
2) Problem Solvers/Finders
Also in my AP physics class, we finished a project called The Pringle Challange. The objective of the Pringle Challenge is to find a way to ship a single pringle in the mail, without any special delivery method, to our teacher without breaking the chip based on our knowledge of physics. This project allowed students to create their own ideas and creativity with the power of physics on our side. (P.S. I won the challenge of having the lightest package with an intact pringle!)
3) Self-Assessment
My Eduction and Training class is a very innovative class that understands how students learn and gives them the knowledge and the tools to succeed. In this class we created a self portfolio that highlighted our awards and all of our accomplishments. This portfolio will be of great use later in life when we need to apply for jobs and have easy access to a resume.
1) Opportunities for Innovation
I plan on being a middle/high school history teacher and a lesson I have thought about is to help teach the Reconstruction Era. The Reconstruction Era was all about rebuilding after the civil war and many great technological advances came from this time, my lesson would be to create an invention using the technology and resources they had during that time period. This project would help students understand how limited the resources was for inventors then and unlock a level of creativity.
2) Connected Learning
In my future classroom, I want to be connected with my students at all times via social media. I will have a page where my students can come and share (positive) experiences in my classroom. Students will be able to post suggestions that I could integrate into the classroom so my students could have a voice that matters and is not ignored. This classroom page would be on the most popular social media at the time.
3) Time for Reflection
My future classroom, at the end of the year, will have a day set aside for reflection on what we have learned and how we have progressed throughout the school year. This can be accomplished by keeping folders for each individual that contains their work like essays and tests they have completed during the school year. I think it is beneficial for students to look back and be proud of their accomplishments and all they have achieved in just a short year.
Here are more ideas of connecting with students in the classroom
