Looking at Learning from the Student Perspective

After requesting that students fill the board with one important thing they learned in 2012 and a goal for 2013, I took these phrases and created a word cloud using Tagxedo.  Below, these images summarize important learning to RES students. All input has equal value, and words become bigger in the word cloud when they are repeated by multiple students.  Some of my favorite inputs as a teacher included the following reflections:

*I learned to read

*I learned that anything can happen

*I learned how to use harder math  

*I learned how to work as a team and have more fun that you will expect

*I learned how animals live in different ecosystems

*Finishing Fastmath. Knowing all my math facts.

*There is a difference between rotation and revolution

*Asking myself questions

*I learned to use my imagination

Just to name a few!

I hope that students will be able to meet their learning goals in 2013--after seeing what they accomplished last year--they are on track!

 

 

 

Sharing and Learning

On Friday morning I had the opportunity to take a second grade enrichment class to see third grade non fiction research presentations in the library. It was great to witness the amazing set of presentations by students in Mrs. Ankerson and Mrs. Berliner's classes! Third grade students took pride in their work and were well prepared for their student visitors. I noticed great and confident speaking, well researched facts, referenced material, fabulous posters and excellent listening. In the twenty five minutes we attended, students were engaged and learning. I love seeing the way that students connect with material when it is taught by their peers! Opportunities to connect across the grade levels are powerful and I will continue to seek these out for students whenever possible.

Paper Flowers, Snakes, Ninjas and Bookmaking

Kindergarten students kicked off the new year with the creation of some great centers.

In one class students read a book about flowers and then made tissue paper flowers. They designed their own flowers and worked together to figure out the best way to complete their creations.

In another class one student had the idea of having a station that included snakes and ninjas. After discussions with me he designed a game in which students were the ninjas. After making snakes, one person hid them in some leaf camouflage and then the 'ninjas' took turns trying to capture the snakes. His game was a big hit and can be used again and again!

On Monday one K student created blank books and then set up a center where students could write and draw their own stories. Students enjoyed creating their stories and sharing them with each other. This center was so popular that we saved all the materials to continue next week.

Reflections and Resolutions

Happy New Year 2013!!

In the enrichment room this week we have been using the first few minutes of class to reflect on our learning in 2012 and make learning resolutions for 2013. Students have been excited to fill the board with all the great learning that has been happening in their lives. I have enjoyed hearing the learning that is most important to them and getting ideas about what they want to learn this year.

The biggest struggle during this reflective time has been students picking only one or two things to share---they have learned so much and are so curious!!

Happy Vacation!

I look forward to more great learning in 2013!! Hoping for some real snow over the break!!!

After School Enrichment Forms Due by Friday

Get signed up for session 2 of after school enrichment! Sign ups went home on Tuesday and are due by Friday December the 21st.
Great classes and opportunities to learn with our school community!

Questions? Contact Darcie Rankin at darcie.rankin@cesuvt.org.

Teaching Technology Through Play

I feel very strongly that playful exploration is an excellent method for all types of learning, but have found it especially useful for teaching technology this year. This week in the enrichment room there were two awesome examples of this that I hope will lead to future application!

In fourth grade during our enrichment/ library block we continue to work on media literacy and developing our critical thinking skills through the use of advertising strategies. Students are currently thinking about visual ads that have a video component-- for example TV commercials. As a part of our work together we will be creating book trailers that advertise a book available in the library. I have made movies with students in the past, but limited student involvement to writing the script and acting it out while I did most of the technology work to make the end product. This time we gave students dedicated time to use the tool to play. Students all made a fun trailer which they were able to share by the end of class. Their trailers were really funny and creative! They worked together in small groups and learned by trying. I believe that this playful exploration will lead to the ability for these students to create their book trailers from start to finish independently.

In kindergarten explore time two students approached me and said they wanted to ' do computers'. We had a great discussion about what that meant. These students really just wanted to play with this tool and that was their entire goal! We decided that they would login to a classroom laptop and check out a fantastic library resource called Pebble Go. I watched as they navigated through screens and decided which buttons led to videos or words or pictures. Their natural exploratory playfulness served them well as they taught themselves this new resource!

Watching students learn technology through play reminds me that this way of interacting with new tools and ideas leads to some great new knowledge and skills and it is a method that I as a teacher should not just encourage but also practice.