Monday, June 26, 2017
Sarah Kate Chatel- Blog Post 1
Change can be difficult, yet change comes easily within certain dimensions, such as technology where consumers crave the newest gadget or tool in order to be up to date with the current world. Somehow within the world of education we are caught within an outdated approach that has been used for ages. As the outside world continues to evolve and we stay within our stagnant system we are not able to tap into what our world, students and resources have to offer. We have to look beyond the lecture. I was moved by Ken Robinson's TED Talk and his views on the current educational system and the need for a revolution. Throughout my educational career I struggled with a learning disability. Many teachers could not see beyond my reading level and refused to challenge me in different ways because I couldn't read as well as the "gifted kids." my experiences have lead me to become a teacher and work with struggling learners. I want my students to know that they have specific strengths that can be used to enhance our world. I believe that every one has specific talents and agree with Ken Robinson statement that "You have to create the circumstances where your talents show themselves."
I am thrilled to be a part of the project based learning course where I will continue to learn more about fostering individualized student growth through this model. I believe that a PBL classroom is one where students take risks and feel comfortable within their own learning to become advocates for themselves and their education. I want students to feel excited and uncomfortable and to constantly be pushing their limits. I hope that students will be in constant pursuit to better themselves and their work within my classroom. For me, project based learning has become a personal mission and I can not wait to further my knowledge within this approach. One thing I am nervous about this upcoming year is the fear of failure. I am always afraid to try new things initially because it might not go the way I planned or my lack of expertise will show through to my students, but I am hopeful that through the support within this cohort and my school that I will see success within my own teaching and the student's learning.
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I agree that we have to allow students' gifts to be seen. I know that education for students with disabilities has come a long way since I was in middle school. I remember all the students who had disabilities were self contained. We, as regular education students, looked at them as a strange oddity, not as children with gifts of their own. That has changed a great deal. It is not prefect but is getting better. In one of my former schools, I taught a student who was a quadraplegic who was completely mainstreamed. I watched with great joy as her classmates treated as any other student. She had a great group of friends, was in the honors math class, Algebra I, with the highest grade in the class. I think that PBL will allow students to utilize their strengths to help improve other areas of their learning.
ReplyDeleteSara Kate,
ReplyDeleteI loved your statement of " PBL classroom is one where students take risks and feel comfortable within their own learning to become advocates for themselves and their education." This is how I feel with PBL when I began to implement it in my classroom. Students were able to be a part of something that they were of interest in and their really learned to be a part of something. It was always interesting to hear their conversations and the way they would speak out to one another if they didn't like something or felt strongly about the way the project was going. They were in control of their learning and I was along for support. That is one great benefit for the teacher. You are their for support, providing small groups, listening to conversations and constantly providing feedback. I felt so relaxed and it was some of my favorite times in my classroom because my students were doing the work, not me! It is always a little daunting at first but was you start, you won't want to stop!
I believe the word stagnant describes our educational system perfectly. It is hard for people to change and learn. I find it interesting that we want our students to be able to think critically and adapt, however teachers are the most skeptical about adapting. Also, I agree with you that PBL allows the students to take risks. They are able to make mistakes and learn from them.
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah Kate,
ReplyDeleteThe more I learn about you as a person and as a teacher, the more I respect and admire you. I appreciate you sharing your story as a learner and how your experiences have shaped you as a teacher and have helped you realize the importance of individualized instruction and working to provide students with choices in their learning.
You identified fear of failure as an area you wanted to target for growth. As you begin work on your unit plan today, keep these two areas in mind as you work to create your driving question, your culminating product(s), your need to knows, and most of all, the scaffolding and support your students will need to be successful.
Sincerely