Andrea's Recipe for Active Classroom Learning:
1. Flexibility. A teacher must be equipped to adapt to varying student needs. S/he must be able to address and adapt the rich variety of questions and discoveries that continuously surface in the classroom.
2. Knowledge. A firm background in child development will allow a teacher to formulate reasonable expectations and to push his or her students in healthy, constructive ways.
3. Observation. A good teacher observes students continuously, taking notes, writing down quotations, identifying areas that need further clarification or instruction.
4. Play. A certain amount of play is beneficial, so long as it is carried out in meaningful ways. Don't forget Dewey!
5.Respect/Trust. A teacher must respect the abilities and worlds of their students and also trust that children bring a lot of meaningful input into the classroom.
I believe children need... support, love, stability, the attention of adults, guidance without force, respect, safe exploration and good friends.
I believe teachers should... be patient, flexible, good listeners, organized, creative and respectful of the world of children.
I believe schools should... provide support and training to new teachers but also trust that experienced teachers know what works in the classroom. Schools should offer safe, clean environments for student exploration and play. School should reach out to students and families as much as possible to provide support and basic needs.
I believe teachers should... be patient, flexible, good listeners, organized, creative and respectful of the world of children.
I believe schools should... provide support and training to new teachers but also trust that experienced teachers know what works in the classroom. Schools should offer safe, clean environments for student exploration and play. School should reach out to students and families as much as possible to provide support and basic needs.
5 Components of Success:
ReplyDelete1) Security
I believe that first and foremost, before anything else, children need to have a secure and safe environment in the classroom, because there will be many students that have a chaotic homelife, which could be unpredictable. This basic feeling of security is essential for all other learning to occur. Part of security is being sure that children's basic needs are being met, such as nutrition and wellness. I believe that schools should lobby for programs that work in conjunction with the school so that children receive health and dental care, as well as breakfast and lunch. For example, I worked with a kindergarten student whose teeth were completely decayed and I was surpised that nobody in the school seemed to be addressing the issue.
2)Love
Children need to feel that their teachers care about them and are interested in them as people and secondly as students. Growing up, I always felt valued when teachers took time to really know about me and my life, not just feed me information. Every child wants to be loved and understood. The empathy that the teacher has for them will make them want to learn and feel trustworthy.
3)Teamwork
Children need to learn to work together because this is an essential skill for life. Children can learn from one another, learn to rely on one another, and establish trust. This sense of working in community will make them feel like they are a part of something greater than themselves as individuals and will further enhance their learning and self-esteem. When I was a student at Northwestern, one of my professors told me that the students there were very well prepared, competent, and competetive, but they did not know how to work in teams. "What they don't realize," he said, "is that many corporations and businesses depend on teamwork among their employees."
4)Creativity
I believe children should have structure, but should have room for creativity so that they are able to use their imaginations and learn how to think. As a teacher, I will provide for situations of learning where children use their creativity and their curiosity can be fostered.
5)Compentency
Children need to feel a sense of compentency in a certain area so that they acquire the confidence to know they can achieve things. This feeling of competence helps them to be motivated to keep learning new skills and experience the joy of success.
6)Beauty
As Maria Montessori suggested,I think that beauty should be a part of the classroom environment. Good aesthetics develops the human character and helps children develop their own aesthetic sense.