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Learning Classroom

This is what I think a successful day in the classroom looks like. . .somewhere that I felt students learning. . .where I could see their engagement.  After this post the other day, I really wanted to share what energizes me and keeps me excited about my profession :)
Even though they are working individually in this photo I like that they are all doing their "own thing" at their own pace.  Not one is slouched back or staring aimlessly into space.  They are actively learning which, to me, is the highest pinnacle I can reach in the classroom!  It is differentiated, meaning each student is working on an assignment at their level.  This is a large class -- 30 students -- so I'm extremely pleased that this particular assignment appealed to all of them.  It always helps "discovery instruction" (which is what I was doing on this day) when we have access to the laptop cart.  We only have one for the entire school (800+ students) and only ~20 of them work with consistency. . .not un-heard of in public schools I know.  I do allow students to use their own electronic devices for research if they have them (many do).
This freed me up to walk around and help students individually. . .for instance the girl in front using her textbook was re-doing work that she didn't turn in the first time.  She was struggling with vocabulary and this gave me a chance to lead her into her own discovery rather then just giving her the answer so she could move on (she didn't know what a peninsula was, therefore could not name a state in the contiguous 48 that was one).
Now, here is that same class when I gave them an opportunity for the last 15 minutes to work with someone if they wanted to on the project.
  I especially took these pictures so I could look back later and see who chose to work with whom, who was working on their own, and what media source they were using.
Every day can't be like this (but why?!?) and I want to celebrate the days that are.  Authentic learning.  Learning for a purpose.  When do students stop wanting to learn?  Wanting to be curious?  I've been asking around and many educator's opinions lie in the upper-elementary range.  That doesn't give me a whole lot of hope, smack-dab here in the 7th grade, but I won't stop trying!!!

Comments

  1. I love how engaged your students are and the choice you gave them to work together or alone. Some love to work together and some like me prefer to work alone. Thanks for giving your students that choice!

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