I went in today thinking it was not going to be a good day. Rainy days, double indoor recesses can be rough! On top of that, I had a headache, the cards were not stacked in our favour.
After first break, students were yawning, and itching to get outside. I wasn’t sure if it was a good move or not, but I pushed ahead and had them set up the space to continue on the inquiry we’ve been working through, which is part of a larger Project Based Learning experience (more to come on this in a future post!). I didn’t think it would go well. I couldn’t feel the energy in the room, and today, I didn’t have the energy either. It took quite awhile for students to start their investigations, I had to give some reminders to a few to make good choices, people were asking to take a walking break early into the period, it didn’t feel great.
Then, something shifted.
Two boys ran up to me, computer in hand, wanting to show me a video they were watching on the impact of seismic blasting on marine animals. They were excited that the video featured an Inuit perspective. As they were telling me about it, another student had overheard our conversation and said,
“Can you throw that link on classroom, it sounds interesting.”
It was like their energy, their passion was contagious, it began to spread around the room.
A few minutes later someone else called me over to watch a video she had found showing the impact of extracting resources on animals. Before I knew it, half the class were up and were gathered around her computer. We all shared a bit of an emotional moment, and it sparked ideas about how we might use art to make an impact. Off another student went to the idea board.
I suggested that a group tweet out some of what they had found using the hashtag (#goglobalsaveearth) we had developed and try to make some connections. They sat huddled around a chromebook in the hallway, composing a tweet.
Someone else came up, asking if we could have a chart paper up somewhere so that he could put up new learning and thinking that isn’t necessarily connected to any of our questions, but that shouldn’t be forgotten.
I was about to redirect a couple boys who just seemed to be wandering and chatting, I assumed they needed some help to focus or figure out where to go next. As I approached, they turned to me and said,
“So, we were just talking about how money, the government, business, all this stuff we have, it’s just one big endless cycle that we can’t seem to stop.”
It was so neat, because they are doing two completely different questions, but are sharing theories and ideas, finding connections.
By the end of the period, every single student had something to add to our knowledge building board. Arrows were being drawn, connecting ideas. I stood back and watched, listened. Even if they weren’t all talking at that point about their inquiry, I was witnessing something special, a little bit of magic. They were connecting intellectually through the inquiry, by sharing ideas, critical thinking and questions. Perhaps more importantly though, they were connecting as individuals, relationships that we had built over the year were strengthening.
Teaching this way is not easy, it is so messy, so unpredictable. It does not work so beautifully every day. Kids are resistant sometimes, they aren’t always engaged, not every one of them, not all the time. Sometimes I wonder if they are learning enough. Do I give them too much freedom, do things need to be more structured, less structured? Am I giving everyone what they need? Are my expectations high enough?
These questions are important for me to keep asking. We need to be reflective about our practice and what is happening in our classrooms.
Even though it is messy, I believe in it. I’ve seen the impact that teaching like this can have on kids. The power of Knowledge Building and PBL was so clear to me to me today. Teaching this way empowers students, gives everyone a voice, deepens the learning and creates communities of creative and critical thinkers. It helps students develop confidence by discovering their strengths and realizing their passions. Isn’t that what school should be about?
My students make me want to do better.
My students inspire me to learn and to grow.
Their voices are so powerful
when we take the time to listen,
when we let them tell the story.
No comments:
Post a Comment