College of Education
YEAR OF STUDENT LEARNING |
If you want students to be able to invest in your lessons, you need to be able to answer "yes" to most of the following questions: Are you interested in knowing and being with your students? Have you created a classroom where students feel safe enough to share their emotions? Are your lessons vivid? Are you enthusiastic about your subject? Do you build suspense by giving them something to look forward to? Do your lessons take into account the varied learning styles of students? Can all students succeed in your classroom? Is the material relevant to your students' lives? Do your lessons maintain momentum? Do you clearly communicate instructions and expectations? Do your students know why they are learning certain concepts and skills? Are the assessments authentic? Do students know how they are going to be tested? Do they get regular feedback from you? Do the students play a role in the teaching and learning? Do they occasionally have choices? Do your students have proof in your belief in their ability to learn? Source: Wormelli, R. (2001). Meet me in the middle: Becoming an accomplished middle-level teacher. Portland, ME: Stenhouse. |
more food for thought... Safety has always been a priority in public schools. However it is only recently that we have gone beyond physical safety to recognize the critical need for emotional safety in our schools. In schools that heal, all staff members take responsibility for children’s emotional well-being. Each professional in the school building has an important role to play in maintaining the emotional safety of the whole school environment…No in-school mental health component can compensate for the negative effects of an unwelcoming, controlling or demeaning school environment…[C]hildren depend on an emotionally safe environment to become attentive, productive learners. Therefore, the children’s potential to be successful rests in part on the school’s ability to organize around supporting the emotional health of children throughout the school day. Source: Koplow, L. (2002). Creating schools that heal: Real-life solutions. New York: Teachers College Press. |
Student Learning Quotes: |
"Students learn what they care about . . .," Stanford Ericksen has said, but Goethe knew something else: "In all things we learn only from those we love." Add to that Emerson's declaration: "the secret of education lies in respecting the pupil." and we have a formula something like this: "Students learn what they care about, from people they care about and who, they know, care about them . . ." It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. ~Attributed to Harry S. Truman Education is not filling a pail but the lighting of a fire. ~William Butler Yeats Too often we give children answers to remember rather than problems to solve. ~Roger Lewin |