Written by When considering the most urgent needs of my students, I initially thought of specific skill sets, which of course are important. However, the more I thought about it, the one thing that I kept coming back to was something that my teaching partner and I are constantly addressing in class…that each student learns differently and it is important to know how they learn best. So 2 of my needs that i addressed go hand in hand:
- For students to recognize who they are as learners and how they learn best
- The second is the self-advocacy aspect – once they know what works best for them, can they ask for help?
In our Montessori classroom, we have a wide variety of learners in class, who each come with their own preferences in which they learn best. When asking about those preferences, they are starting to be able to put “labels” on these strategies and recognize what works for them. We are constantly reminding them what works for one may not work for all and that is more than okay. We are trying to encourage them to be tolerant of other learning styles and recognize the type of learner they may be. It was interesting to hear from one of my grade 4 students about the distractions he finds in class and how he feels he learns best by watching videos or having things written on the board. With some guidance, I loved that he was able to communicate this to me.
3. Skill based need – to investigate what the students find challenging about critical thinking based questions versus content based questions. In choosing our lessons, we are focused on students being able to walk away with acquiring some type of skill, rather than the ability to regurgitate facts. Of course comprehension is important, but providing opportunities for students to apply this understanding where critical thinking is required is clearly needed. When talking with students, they mentioned that these questions are more difficult to write about rather just talking about it. They also find it challenging to respond to these questions because there is no right or wrong answer.
Gives me lots to think about as we approach the end of the first term (how did that happen already????)
@lnurse,
I love that you are starting this post by empathizing with your students; trying to understand their needs as learners. In this case you’ve recognized the need for students to understand their strengths and weaknesses and then know when to ask for help.
I believe having an explicit “shared language” between teachers and students is vital. Simplifying the ministry jargon and putting it into student friendly language that both parties can consistently and explicitly refer to can make a world of difference. Even the act of co-constructing documents such as this will encourage more of your students to use the language of learning, critical thinking, etc. in the classroom and in their reflections. Perhaps you have tried getting the kids to reflect on their learning through their own screencasting, or with software such as Padlet.com that can act as observation/conversation portfolios.
I look forward to seeing you again on Saturday!
@lnurse I have found it really interesting to watch how over the years the “urgency” in the cohort action plans has shifted from “engagement” challenges to “mindset” challenges.
Check out the second slide in https://cohort21.com/action-plans/2017-18-action-plans/
Many of these action plans share a similar question around how to build learners who know themselves and have the tools to stay resilient in the face of challenge and failure.
A worth action plan focus indeed.
@edaigle @amaingot @lmustard @amacrae
Lisa,
What a great post. I too feel it is really valuable to help our students develop the ability to set themselves up for success. Not only are you validating for your students that they learn differently, but you are teaching your students to advocate for themselves. Ultimately, helping our students be more aware of themselves, will improve their well being as it will allow them to feel more comfortable in their own skin.
This was an excellent post! I also found this activity lots to think about. #LisaNurse