[jvarga]

in reply to: Discussion Post Topic: Visions and Actions #9999

How will you prioritize relationship building?
Building relationships is among the most important priorities as a teacher, and the methods to foster relationships in schools need to be constantly adapted to fit individual students as the world around us changes. The first step is to establish a day-one connection. Learn about the student’s background, interests, and goals. A second would be to have daily check-ins to see how students are feeling, any upcoming events in their lives and around the school, and to learn it is okay to take breaks from content. Another step is to create open feedback that fosters positive criticism and allows students a voice in their learning. Another step is to bring student interests into the classroom to illustrate to students that their interests matter.

How will you establish a positive learning community?
I want to have a class where many perspectives and learning styles are welcome. Allowing students to voice what they wish to learn from a given unit, and present choices for how they can present what they learn will be a first step to creating a positive learning environment. Letting students know that mistakes happen, and giving them opportunities to make corrections, or get an assignment turned in can help alleviate possible anxiety about failure. Lastly, allowing student feedback and suggestions will provide greater engagement with students.

How will you bring your curriculum to life for your students?
Teaching history provides multiple opportunities to bring history alive. Things I currently do and will continue to do: mock trials for major events, possible crimes in history, or simulate actual historical trials; reenact events in history with ad-lib play scripts; simulations like a Crusade in the hallways; playing Simon Says to learn about different philosophers from scientific revolution; flipping desks over and having a paper ball fight for trench warfare. There are opportunities to make the content come alive. Yes, students will have fun, but they will get something content-related out of the activity, and more importantly, we are building support and encouragement in their education.

How do your assessment and grading practices align with your vision for learner engagement?
I have deadlines for completion, but at the end of the day, I would rather have students learn the content. At most, I take off 25% for basic completion when turning in late work, but if a student demonstrates they put in some effort into their work, I will gladly give full credit. I often give bonus points to students that go above and beyond the requirements. I want students to be rewarded for putting in the extra effort, especially when you can tell they enjoyed the content they are exploring. This fosters my end game of making kids more confident learners, and become leaders for the next generation.

[jvarga]

in reply to: Feedback and Student Agency #9967

How might utilizing a peer feedback routine increase student engagement?
What is the connection between feedback and student agency in learning?

Teaching social studies, we get a lot of autonomy in how we teach content. Having feedback from students for what and how they want to learn can be beneficial to increase engagement, and have far better student outcomes. When students feel they have a voice, it creates a greater meaning in the outcome. In return, I get students to complete tasks, and students get to learn what they want to learn in a way they choose to learn it.

[jvarga]

in reply to: Expanding Your Tech Toolbox #9839

I have trialed Pear Deck, but this was before it was an add-on to Slides. I can see the usefulness of having interaction for slides, especially when analyzing historical photos, illustrations, etc. I have also used a polling tool like Polls Everywhere. I will need to give centimeter a try. I have seen sites like Canva with built-in timers and polling tools that can be pretty useful and a nice change from Slides.

[jvarga]

in reply to: Establishing Relationships #8815

I have a variety of activities used throughout the year for students to develop relationships in the classroom. One of the first activities we do is “create fire” to simulate the life of cavemen. We go outside, and students in groups of 2-4 receive a stick, a small chuck of wood, and a cotton ball, to attempt to create fire. Students are given zero instructions on how to build a fire. They get a few minutes before we head out to develop a plan. Students must work as a team and cooperate to initiate their plans. It should be noted, that no group has ever created fire (although some think they are close despite the fact the treated wood is used for the activity). This activity works well to develop teamwork outside of the classroom, and kids get an opportunity to experience empathy that cannot be taught in a textbook.

Another activity, as several have pointed out is small group projects. I have a project where students construct bloom balls over an ancient civilization. Directions are provided for each side of the Bloom Ball, and students coordinate who will work on what side based on their strengths and interests.

[jvarga]

in reply to: Learning Communities and Engagement #8808

How might you create new opportunities so that each student begins to actively drive their own learning?
Creating new opportunities for students starts with building strong teacher-student relationships. Checking in on students to see how they are both intellectually and emotionally engaged in the course is a strong starting point to provide an opportunity for student self-advocacy in their learning. Second, providing students opportunities to choose both how they can present their mastery of course content, as well as what content within the framework of the course/ unit can provide personal learning opportunities.

What connections do you see between John Hattie’s advocacy for teacher-learning communities and Amy Berry’s Engagement Continuum?
The biggest connection I see between Hattie’s learning community and Berry’s Engagement Continuum is an environment of collaboration between teachers and students. When teachers collaborate to improve methods for student engagement and learning, teachers develop an investment in student mastery, even among students they do not directly teach. To add, when students watch teachers collaborate in a learning community, they have a framework to model collaboration amongst their peers, as well as develop a sense of belonging in the learning process.

What is the connection between collective teacher expertise and empowering active student engagement?
The more opportunities teachers have to show their expertise and passion, the greater the opportunity to engage students. A collective learning environment with teachers showcasing their strengths and passion has a far greater opportunity to engage students based on their learning needs. As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child. A village of teachers with different skills can create an environment of learning to raise child expectations and learning engagement.

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