Thinking, Thinking, Thinking

Wow! I look back on the last 6 (and now one-half) days of instruction and feel like I've received at least six weeks of incredible information. I love how the instructors are able to weave each of our current courses together to make a very coherent lesson for the semester. But, does all this information have me thinking!

One of my favorite things to think about lately came from Zalika - "have purposeful goals and flexible roads." This is truly a chunk of treasure! And I love how each instructor captures the essence of this nugget. Between the readings, writings, reflections, role plays, group projects, individual projects, and the constructed learning I've gained valuable insight into why these methodologies work and when would be the appropriate time to use them.

Today I've been thinking much about the comment we heard from Jan this morning (I actually was thinking about it during my morning workout!) "By teaching you learn more." This vital aspect to learning has such tremendous outcomes when used appropriately. But you have to think about not only when to use 'team' or 'partner' exercises or inquiry, but also the actual outcome (goal) you hope the learner(s) to obtain. With each bit of new information we receive I either reflect on my own childhood (which this type of thinking can either be therapeutic or drive me to a therapist) or on my volunteer time last fall in both a kindergarten and fourth grade class.

The formative type of thinking requires much more energy at times and can be so overwhelming that it's difficult for me to actually put my thoughts in writing. The latter experiences help me think about how to analyze other teaching styles and determine if the teacher has Incorporated any of the childhood development theories, or art, or science, or even social justice into their daily class. Also, since both these classrooms had very different cultural and social assets brought in (the kindergarten was all Caucasian and primarily middle class while the fourth graders were from several different ethnic backgrounds - their were eight different languages spoken by the students - and almost all brought very little in the way of assets to their learning), I've been able to think about how would I integrate the disciplines we're exploring this semester into my own classroom that had primarily either advantages or disadvantages that they brought with them to the school.

Tons to think about!