- Are students empowered in your classroom to contribute?
- Who works harder in your classroom, teachers or students?
- Does the teacher or the student own the learning?
A blog for the parents, students, and Okoboji Middle School community from Principal Ryan Cunningham
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Who Owns the Learning?
This week marks the last full week of summer break for the students of Okoboji. It is completely normal to experience feelings ranging from anxiety to excitement as we all look forward to a year of school. What excites me the most is the potential that every year holds for learning. Two weeks ago the Okoboji administrative team heard Alan November speak to school administrators from around Iowa as he challenged us to create classrooms much different than many which exist today. (Click here for a schedule of when Alan's talk will be aired on IPTV). The classrooms he describes will leverage the power of technology and great teachers to ignite a passion for learning in students and propel them to desire a continuous learning mindset in their lives. While I use the word different to describe the kind of classroom he challenged us to create, I was most impressed by the simplicity of the change. With just a few small tweaks, every classroom teacher can begin to shift their learning environment to help maximize the learning potential for every student. Here are a few simple questions November encouraged us to ask ourselves in order to assess the type of classroom environment which is currently being created and nurtured:
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Great post! Good summary of November's main points. It really all does come down to relevancy doesn't it. If the learning is not relevant or if that relevancy is not communicated to students in a meaningful way, technology becomes just a bell and whistle that does not help us realize our full potential.
ReplyDeleteWhile watching a portion of this presentation I thought of my classes. Are our students contributing to each others learning? I see this happening readily if we ask the older kids to help the younger ones. However, with some students it is still a struggle to "convince" them that what they have to say to their peers is important and everyone has a strength to share. I believe if we use technology as a tool in collaborative learning this will give the "silent" student a chance to contribute. Everyone needs a success to feel confident in sharing their knowledge. This would truly become a student led classroom with the teacher learning from them.
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