I enjoyed this site because it has different issues that teachers can look at through the navigational menu on the left of the page. The only concern was that it was a website that you could only get so much information from and then you would need to find books they sourced/cited to continue finding out more on whatever topic you picked. But the site did give me some good ideas to investigate. For example:
- Providing choices for students (give them autonomy)
- Make it real for them (relevant to their every day life)
- Balance the challenges students have in the classroom (slightly above their ability level)
- Establish a sense of community and belonging (connections and relationships)
Becky,
ReplyDeleteI checked out your website and I agree, it has a lot of information and is definitely a good resource to get a teacher started. It offers a variety of choices to help struggling teachers. However, I also agree that the detail of the website could go a little farther. It's a good starting point but beyond that I'm not sure.
Thanks for the website though! I just book marked it because there are some things I can use right now!
-Luke
This is a great start to the bigger picture. The website offers great resources but I am not so sure that I would take the time to go look up the cited sources that the website refers to. The ideas you received from the website were awesome and I cannot wait to see what you find while you investigate them. I think that all teachers should provide choices, make it real, balance the challenges, and make a fun and welcoming community.
ReplyDeleteI checked out this website and absolutely loved it! Motivation is such a crucial part in the success of our future students. There are so many great examples regarded how to motivate students in a positive. I really enjoyed the example "Make it Real". I think it's important to stimulate students in a way they can relate and connect with. Using real word examples will help students understand the importance of what they are learning. Thanks for the great website!
ReplyDeleteBecci, I also think motivation is key to getting student engaged. I know from experience because the first day we taught science, the students were not motivated at all, and we had lost control of them about 5 minutes into the lesson. We motified the rest of our weeks lessons after that day to get the students motivated and in turn, they did a 180 and were completely engaged and loving learning. This website does give some great examples, but I agree with you, they are just a start and more research must be done as a teacher, but they are a great starting point, especially for beginning teachers.
ReplyDeleteBecky-
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right! I think those are great beginning strategies to get students engaged and motivated. Especially, making the curriculum relevant to students. In any lesson I plan or carry out, I try to relate it in some way to their everyday life or to explain how it will help them in the future. For example, we are currently planning a S.S. unit on the fur trade and in order for students to be engaged, they need to know why they need to know about an event that happened hundreds of years ago. We made sure to tie our unit with trades that happen in the present, such as trading in the stock market, trading pokemon cards or silly bands, etc. I'm hoping that our efforts to relate the fur trade to their own personal trades will entice them to become engaged and active participants in their learning.