Inspired Teacher Blog:
A Request to Be Radical
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Teachers are a smart bunch. As keepers of the developing intellect of
our population they kind of have to be. They didn't go into the
profession to do what's "wrong" for kids. But several times a month I
hear from teachers who say that they find themselves spending a lot of
time going against their beliefs in the classroom.
They battle
the difficult fight between doing what keeps the people in charge of
their jobs happy and doing what they believe is in the best interests
of the young people in their charge...
They know, and I know,
that you can't make school what it should be for your children if
you're fired from your job in the process.
So this is what I tell my colleagues...
Read More.
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Inspired Activites for Your Classroom
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Advanced Area Activities
Here's and example of how you can make teaching a fairly dry math concept engaging.
Building Discussions
Use the basic act of construction to teach concepts ranging from sociology to math.
Design Your Own Experiments
These are step-by-step guidelines for helping students explore their own scientific questions.
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Center for Inspired Teaching is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that exists to ensure schools make the most of children's innate desire to learn. We do this by investing in teachers. Please visit our website to learn more about our philosophy, programs, and results.
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What's the difference between being compliant versus being engaged?
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If students are working hard in your classroom, behavior problems are
at a minimum, and grades are improving as the months go by - you're a
good teacher, right?
Perhaps,
but this rather generic picture of a classroom could be describing two
very different scenarios from the perspective of the students. Are the
students just being compliant or are they engaged?
Let's look inside two classroom descriptions and see:
In
Mrs. Glover's 7th grade science classroom students sit in pairs at
tables around the room. Her class is quietly working and all students
are "on task." Mrs. Glover has just finished a lecture about the order
of the planets, complimented by a power-point slide show, and now
students are working with partners, filling in a worksheet based on notes
from the lecture and pages in the textbook. This worksheet will serve
as a study guide for an upcoming test.
Mr. Haskill teaches 7th
grade science down the hall. His students are clustered in stations
around the room. The class is quietly working, and
all students are "on task." One group is investigating the
relationship between the seasons and the orbit of the earth around the
sun. They have devised an experiment using a lamp, a globe, and the
"orbit" of the earth, which they've mapped out with tape on the floor.
Another group is crafting arguments for a debate about why Pluto should
still be considered a planet. They are using books and the web to make
their case based on scientific descriptions of planets and those they
have found for Pluto. The other groups are similarly busy researching
and planning for final presentations they will give in a week to teach
the rest of the class about their particular piece of the solar system
unit.
Why are students doing their work in either of these classrooms?
Trevor,
from Mrs. Glover's class, says: "It's what we're supposed to do. We
don't play around in her classroom. She gives us a lot of work to do
and you get written up if you're off task. She's strict but she's a
good teacher, we learn a lot."
Maria, from Mr. Haskill's class,
says: "I picked the seasons project because I always wondered about why
it's cold here at Christmas but it's not in the country where I'm from. I figured out that it's because of how the earth is tilted and
when it moves past the sun at certain times of year some parts are
closer and some are farther away."
In a few weeks Trevor and
Maria take the final exam for the unit, even given the great difference between their learning experiences - both do equally well.
So here
is the conundrum in the "engaged versus compliant" debate. Mr.
Haskill's class is much harder to plan for. It's harder to manage. And
he can't just keep the lesson plans from this unit and use them again
next year because he knows that a completely different set of students
will likely be engaged by a completely different set of questions.
Every year he starts from scratch - the only constants are his strong
skills in the art of teaching and his extensive content knowledge in
science. Mrs. Glover's classes on the other hand could already be
planned for the rest of her teaching career. The type of leadership role she's established for herself in the classroom requires that she establish what it
takes to keep students in line from day one - but then she's
golden for the rest of the year.
Mr. Haskill and Mrs. Glover are required to use the
same textbooks and give the same unit exams - their hands are tied at
that level. But they get to (and we would argue most teachers get to)
make a decision about the way their students learn the material.
So
why on earth would a teacher choose Mr. Haskill's approach over Mrs.
Glover's if the test results are the same? Because school really isn't
about simply preparing children to do well on a test.
School
is about preparing children to do well in life. In the long run, it's
about developing the habits of mind that make you wonder beyond what
you are told, question the authority behind the "facts" you are given,
and take ownership over your own knowledge and what you do with it. Which classroom would prepare students best - to meet such a goal?
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Opportunities and Ideas
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City Blossoms
Looking for unique ways to engage younger students? Check this place out: "City Blossoms is an organization dedicated to working with schools, neighborhood groups, community centers and other organizations to create spaces for children to use their creativity and combined strength and skills to learn how to grow and maintain fantastic yet functioning gardens."
Eight Principles of Fun
Being engaged doesn't always mean you're having fun. To the contrary, some of our most engaging moments are also the most challenging and exhausting. But it is true that when you're having fun you are often more engaged than when you are not. Check out this clever video and see if you're on the right track!
Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science
"The Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching is the highest award a K-12 math or science teacher may receive for outstanding teaching in the U.S. The President officially names up to 108 teachers annually. Awards alternate between elementary and secondary teachers -- with elementary teachers eligible in 2010 -- and are given to teachers from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the outlying territories, and Department of Defense schools. The deadline for 2010 award nominations is May 1, 2010."
 Rethink Learning Now is a national grassroots effort to restore the focus of public education reform to its rightful place: learning and the core conditions that best support it. In addition to releasing three provocative public service announcements (watch them here), the campaign's first step is to invite people to recount their own powerful learning experiences and identify the attributes that made those experiences so successful. Share your story today and learn more about this promising initiative.
The View from Your Classroom
Education Sector's The Quick and the Ed blog has launched a new feature: "The View from Your Classroom."
Send in a photo of the view outside your classroom window to share with blog readers. As the blog said, "Don't pretty it up; just show it as it is. The best window views are those depicting what you see everyday when you look outside. The window frame should be visible. And please protect the privacy of your students-do not send pictures that show individually identifiable children." Send your photos here. Please title the e-mail "The View From Your Classroom" and include the school name, city, state, and grade level or type of classroom. You can also upload your photos to their Flickr pool, Education Sector's View From Your Classroom.
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