Who Owns the Learning?
Examples of 5th Graders Running the Show
Goal of this session: To allow educators to walk away with ideas for creating a culture where the students are self-directed enough to run the school day without much support or direction from the teacher.
This workshop is hard to start, because I am describing an abstract belief or a philosophy of teaching, rather than concrete lessons that can be easily conveyed to others. I hope it comes across clearly!!! :)
A bit oversimplified, but... In order to get students to be more self-directed, you need to build their confidence working independently and with their peers. Once they know that they can be successful without the teacher's help, they start taking more risks and seeing how you will react. If you encourage risk-taking and making mistakes, your students will become more self-directed! (Most of the examples below will show the students working independently or in small groups without much teacher direction.)
A bit oversimplified, but... In order to get students to be more self-directed, you need to build their confidence working independently and with their peers. Once they know that they can be successful without the teacher's help, they start taking more risks and seeing how you will react. If you encourage risk-taking and making mistakes, your students will become more self-directed! (Most of the examples below will show the students working independently or in small groups without much teacher direction.)
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(1) Start the year with the personal expectation that your students will rely upon themselves and each other more than you. This might mean that the class is louder than usual, sometimes off-task, sometimes the lessons will take longer. But make it a priority.
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(2) Learn how focusing on the Habits of Mind with your students can cause them to become more self-directed learners.
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(3) Create lots of opportunities to teach the students the importance of working together and relying on each other instead of the teacher. I did this with the following activities/projects (they go in chronological order and get increasingly more advanced):
REARJMCL Passion Projects Revolutionary War Hero Projects Stations Science Fair Energy Debates Writing our own Preamble and Constitution WEX: My Side of the Mountain... |
Our end-of-the-day routine, called REARJMCL.
Click on the image to see all of our projects!
Click on the image above to learn more about Stations.
Click on the image above to see our Science Fair pictures and videos (and even a Blabberize of me wearing a tie!!!)
Click on the image above to see our Energy Debates on video, as well as some photos of the event!
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Weekly News Broadcast Glogster Project Arbor Day Skit The Phantom Tollbooth (roles & homework) Oregon Trail Simulation (Problem-Solving) WEX FIctional Narratives The Westgate Database (Project Citizen) More examples... Blended Learning Reader's Theaters Field Trips Literature Circles / Novel Groups Mystery Skype Check out our Daily Photo Journal (mostly) run by my students! |
Click on the image above to see the directions given for the Glogster Earth Day Contest.
Click on the image above to watch videos of the students practicing the skit that they wrote and to see pictures of the event!
Click on the image above to see the creations my students made while we read The Phantom Tollbooth together as a whole class.
Click on the image above to see all of our problem solving adventures that we took while traveling the Oregon Trail last year!
Click on the image above to listen to our students' podcasts.
Click on the image above to visit the website that my students created last year to help Westgate families drum up more business to make extra money.
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I have a page on my website dedicated to students being self-directed. See some examples of what my kids do without me being involved!!!
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Also, check out the following links for students...
Calendar Printables Spelling Lit Circle Role Sheets History Alive Resources |
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