First Week of School

One week is almost over. It seems as if it has been longer than that though. The year seems so different this year. I am in a new classroom in a new part of the building, new faces on campus, some old faces are gone, others seem distracted and distant but the all of my students seem excited about the classes.

I have been doing some research and reading about some more student focused learning.

I was turned on to Consultant Learning by Bill Harris from Mt. Carmel High School outside of San Diego. He gave me a packet produced by Dr. Scott W. Kunkel from University of San Diego. Dr. Kunkel states

... if you are searching for a better way to engage students, motivate students, and structure a classroom so that you don't have to spend the majority of your time enforcing rules, disciplining, and grading, then read on. If you are looking for a better way that frees you to really teach and coach students to do their best work -- then this information is for you.

The students are empowered and in control of their own learning process. Students determine their own grade based on how many hours of work they choose to do. The idea is very interesting to me. It requires the teacher to produce a book of projects and the fee the student will get in return for turning in a professional quality work. I do not know if I know enough about our Robotics curriculum at this point to design a book of projects and the associated fee I think I will experiment with the method with my Robotics II students. The consultant method allows students to structure their learning but the teacher can require a certain number of projects from certain topics or areas.

The second method is one I heard about from Ian Jukes. Ian referenced Ted McCain's book Teaching for Tomorrow, Teaching Content and Problem Solving Skills. McCain lays out a method of teaching that prepares students for their world by using independent study and role playing scenarios.
I began my Robotics I class this year with a role playing scenario. The students had to sort, inventory and organize LEGO Mindstorms kits. Each class had to design how they would go about the process. The plan had to be presented before they could begin. It has been very interesting to see how each class has approached the scenario. It has been a been a very good team building activity as well since I was not the one in charge for each class.

Both of these processes provide a way for students to actively engage and invest in their own learning. I am looking forward to the continued experimentation with these techniques. I will be searching for some answers to my questions: How will these methods effect discipline, off task behavior and grades? Can I sustain the work and not revert back to former methods of teaching and instruction? Will the students learn more? Will they learn skills they need to be successful in today's world that they would not otherwise learn.