Making Project Based Learning a Part of Your Practice

Making Project Based Learning a Part of Your Practice

Though it is important to prepare students for standardized assessments, they are not a true way to evaluate individual student progress.  In our classrooms, we must allow our students to demonstrate their learning through more authentic and individual ways.  By integrating project based learning into our curriculum, we nurture critical and creative thinking among students.  Projects give students the chance to showcase their individual talents and strengths. For example, after students have finished reading a novel, prepare a list of projects students could complete to demonstrate what they have learned about the characters and themes of the novel.  Projects could include anything from creating websites and models to conducting interviews or designing movies.  The possibilities are endless in ways students can express their learning, and if we incorporate projects differentiated by ability, interest, and learning profile, our students will all find the success that traditional assessments do not offer.      

Using Multiple Intelligences to Drive Instruction

Using Multiple Intelligences to Drive Instruction

Cognitive psychologist Harold Gardner believed that if we acknowledge student differences and cater to the areas in which children are “smart”, we will be able to facilitate learning more efficiently.  Gardner stated that there are 8 Intelligences: interpersonal, intrapersonal, kinesthetic, existential, logical, linguistic, or visual, and if we allow students to use strength areas, they will experience increased success.  By using Gardner’s theory in our teaching, we provide students with choice in learning, thereby allowing them to take charge of their own learning.  Numerous quizzes are available online for students of all ages to determine strength areas.  After students take the quiz and see how they are “smart”, begin planning instruction that plays on those areas for individual students.  If students are musical, for example, allow them to create a song or rap about a character from a novel.  If they are kinesthetic, have them complete activities through a hands-on and active approach.  Create assessments that move away from the standard question and essay, and instead, give alternate ways students can demonstrate their learning through projects that cater to how they best learn.  When we look at students as individuals with diverse learning styles, learning is much more meaningful and lasting.   

Pay Attention to the Girls in Your Classroom

Pay Attention to the Girls in Your Classroom

Girls are overshadowed by the boys in our classrooms, who tend to be more aggressive in answering questions and demanding of our time.  As girls progress through school, they tend to fall more and more into the background, not getting the attention they need.  Girls begin to feel as if they are not as smart as the boys, and unfortunately, our society reinforces this.  Boys are given toys that encourage critical and creative thinking, such as LEGOS and robots, whereas girls are given dolls, makeup, and clothes.  Boys are taught to be thinkers, while girls are conditioned to care about their appearance.  In your classroom, it is important to focus on girls as thinkers, leaders, and problem solvers.  Design instruction that places girls in leadership positions and incorporate lessons that place girls at the forefront of hands-on activities.  Choose novels or stories that highlight the accomplishments of female leaders and bring female mentors in the fields of science, technology, and engineering into your classroom as guest speakers.  When we consciously pay attention to the girls in our classes and put a stop to the stereotypes thrust on female learners, we will encourage and inspire our girls as leaders and thinkers.  

Integrating Technology into Your Classroom

Integrating Technology into Your Classroom

Our students live in an ever-changing world with technology at the center.  From Smart phones to tablets, our students are connected and engaged, so it is important that we jump on the technology wave in our classrooms to keep our students’ attention and engagement.  Design lesson plans that will be interactive.  You may create webquests that allow students to research a topic by reading articles, playing games, or viewing videos on the topic.  As the majority of classrooms now have SMART boards, use them with students, who know pretty much everything about them!  You can design games for review or allow students to create their own presentations on them.   Use online discussion boards like Edmodo with your students for easy communication about assignments or submission of homework, and whenever possible, encourage students to create projects using the technology that is available, from designing their own websites or blogs to producing their own videos and movies.  By embracing new technology, we improve the success of our students because we tap in to the world they know and use.         

Nurturing a Classroom Environment of Respect for Academic Success

Nurturing a Classroom Environment of Respect for Academic Success

From the first day of school, you must work very hard to create an environment in your classroom that is welcoming to all students.  Students who actively participate in class and experience success know they are respected and valued by their teacher and peers alike.  Your students need to feel safe and know that your class is one in which they are free to always express their ideas without fear of what others may think.  Spend time in discussion about having respect for others’ perspectives and suspending our judgment of others from the first days of school.  Help students to learn respectful behaviors and understand that their opinions are valued in the community of learners through the activities you plan, the books you read, and the interactions you have with students.  Continually reinforce that you will not tolerate students who do not show respect for others in your class and always remember to model appropriate behaviors with students and other teachers.  When we take the time to show students what behaviors are expected, correct inappropriate behaviors, and continually monitor how our students interact with one another, we will go a long way to promoting our students’ academic success.        

Building the Home-School Partnership

Building the Home-School Partnership

Communication between what you are doing in your classroom and your students’ parents is vital to establishing and maintaining a positive working relationship with parents.  Send home letters, notes, and newsletters with your students frequently to communicate the curricular topics you are addressing in class so parents can easily assist and reinforce what children are learning in school.  Maintain a website with class details and deadlines and email parents, as frequently as possible, about current projects, student progress, or issues.  Though technology and written correspondence are important, an individual phone call home to a parent goes a long way to developing that positive relationship as well.  It expresses to parents just how important their child’s progress is to you when you take the time to reach out on a more personal level.  Additionally, it is important to remember to express positive behaviors to parents in all of your communications as it makes a big difference if there is ever a problem or issue.  When you keep the door of communication open to your parents, children will experience increased success through a team approach to their learning.