Why Teaching Helps Students Learn More Deeply
Teaching Strategies Tulane Public Relations/Flickr Learning, and thinking, are deeply social activities. This is not the traditional view (Rodin’s iconic sculpture, “The Thinker,” is conspicuously alone in his chin-on-fist musings), but it’s the view that is emerging out of several decades of social science research. Our minds often work best in interaction with other people’s minds, and there are particular kinds of relationships that are especially good at evoking our intelligence. One is the master-apprentice relationship. “Student teachers score higher on tests than pupils who are learning only for their own sake.” Students enlisted to tutor others, these researchers have found, work harder to understand the material, recall it more accurately and apply it more effectively. Educators are experimenting with ways to apply this model to academic subjects. Feedback from the teachable agents further enhances the tutors’ learning. Related
Project Happiness | "Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it! Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." – Howard Thurman
Smart Strategies That Help Students Learn How to Learn
Teaching Strategies Bruce Guenter What’s the key to effective learning? One intriguing body of research suggests a rather riddle-like answer: It’s not just what you know. It’s what you know about what you know. To put it in more straightforward terms, anytime a student learns, he or she has to bring in two kinds of prior knowledge: knowledge about the subject at hand (say, mathematics or history) and knowledge about how learning works. In our schools, “the emphasis is on what students need to learn, whereas little emphasis—if any—is placed on training students how they should go about learning the content and what skills will promote efficient studying to support robust learning,” writes John Dunlosky, professor of psychology at Kent State University in Ohio, in an article just published in American Educator. “Teaching students how to learn is as important as teaching them content.” [RELATED: What Students Should Know About Their Own Brains] • What is the topic for today’s lesson? Related
Genius Hour and the 6 Essentials of Personalized Education
There is a difference between differentiation and personalized learning. In the last year, I've been shifting toward the personalized learning aspect of curriculum design. How do I engage my learners and make their classwork more authentic? Last year, my school rolled out iPads for every student, and with the transition to Common Core, it was the perfect time for a massive curriculum shakeup. So what are the essentials of personalized education, and how does something like Genius Hour play a role? 1. To use Genius Hour effectively, get all your pieces together and ready to go so that you can use your valuable face-to-face time with the students. 2. You'll learn more than you ever thought possible by watching your students go through this process. 3. Because you're working so closely with your students, Genius Hour naturally develops a culture of collaboration. I also had the students find a mentor and conduct an interview on their topic. 4. 5. 6. Genius Hour Resources
Online Student Communication Guidelines
To be effective, an online classroom must be a safe space where students feel their voices will be respected, supported and heard. Establishing clear guidelines for online interactions is a critical step in creating an online forum that will be successful long-term. A stronger in-class community will form as a result of establishing and maintaining a safe space in your online site. Strategies for Creating and Maintaining a Safe Space: Use each other’s names. Examples of Strong Sentence Starters: Rebecca’s comment made me think about…. Although Zach made a strong point that__________, I think…. I had not thought about Leigh’s point that…. I respectfully disagree with Lawrence’s assertion…. I really appreciate Deborah’s insight into…. Thank you, Manuel, for sharing…. Great point, Angela! Even though Katie’s point is valid, I tend to…. Building on Dustin’s statement that…. In contrast to Michelle’s point…. Brady highlighted some key ideas when he said… Caitlin, can you clarify your statement that…?
Braingenie
Terrific Mini Guide to Help Stude...
December 26, 2014 Questioning is the key to critical thinking and through questions students get to explore the deep layers of meanings that would otherwise go unnoticed. Of course not all questions have this analytical ability. For instance, closed questions tend to limit the thinking choices available for students. The same with questions that promote factual recalling. In today's post, I am sharing with you this mini guide created by Foundation of Critical Thinking which you can use with your students to help them better comprehend and apply critical thinking in their learning. I learned about this great resource from a post shared by Education to Save The World. Image credit: Foundation of Critical Thinking
What Is Genius Hour and How Can I Try It in My Classroom?
Whether you’re new to teaching or a seasoned veteran looking to keep up with the trends, you’ve probably heard the buzz about Genius Hour. Maybe you’re thinking about giving it a try but aren’t sure where to begin. WeAreTeachers has your back! Here are the basics to get you started. What is Genius Hour? Simply put, Genius Hour is inquiry-based, student-directed learning. How do I fit Genius Hour into my curriculum? With all the demands on the precious little time we have with our students, you may be thinking, “Well, who’s got time for that?” What are the benefits of Genius Hour? Not only does Genius Hour create a pathway for intrinsic motivation, it encourages creativity. What is my role during Genius Hour? In addition to creating the framework and setting the ground rules for Genius Hour in your classroom, your role is to help your students focus and problem solve. How do I keep Genius Hour from turning into a free-for-all? Here is a sample pathway: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Read: Watch:
Dan Pink: How Teachers Can Sell Love of Learning to Students
By Jennie Rose In his new book To Sell is Human, author Daniel Pink reports that education is one of the fastest growing job categories in the country. And with this growth comes the opportunity to change the way educators envision their roles and their classrooms. Guided by findings in educational research and neuroscience, the emphasis on cognitive skills like computation and memorization is evolving to include less tangible, non-cognitive skills, like collaboration and improvisation. Jobs in education, Pink said in a recent interview, are all about moving other people, changing their behavior, like getting kids to pay attention in class; getting teens to understand they need to look at their future and to therefore study harder. “We have a lot of learned behavior of compliance, and hunger for external rewards and no real engagement.” Whether a teacher is presenting to her board or pitching a crowd of 12-year-olds on why Shakespeare was a genius, it’s all the art of persuasion. Related
Public Lessons: Numerical Patterning
This lesson is a re-engagement lesson designed for learners to revisit a problem-solving task they have already experienced. My colleague Stacy Emory best describes re-engagement by comparing it to re-teaching. Re-teaching is a teacher-directed activity where we plan a different lesson to address something that is perceived to be a misconception with our students. As learners enter the 6th grade, they have had many experiences with modeling and describing numeric patterns.
