Be Active In Your Learning!

One of the great things about being a teacher is that I get summers off, so I can travel and learn about different places around the world!~  
For many years now, I have had the privilege to do some volunteer work overseas. These opportunities have allowed me to visiting many different schools in various countries.  I have seen classrooms of different sorts.  And this has helped me to see some differences and similarities in our teaching practices.  As we look at the idea of Active Learning, I can't help but think how this would look so different depending on where you are and what you have.

In many countries around the world, teaching is still very teacher directed.  It is a one way learning experience where the teacher stands up and lectures to the students.  Most of the time, the students don't say a single word.  They sit listen and write down what is written on the board.  And most certainly they do not talk to one another during a lesson.  The students sit in rows, face forward, and listen.

Many of these classrooms do not have access to computers.  The number of students in a class is usually very high and have vast ranges of ability levels.  In classrooms like this, perhaps Active Learning just means to pay attention and write down note from the board.  Being an active learner in this context, might mean you don't interrupt your teacher during the lecture and listen quietly. Perhaps, in these places, Active Learning is to provide adequate materials to work in school.  However, if you live where I live and teach where I teach, Active Learning would look quite different.

Schools in America have so many resources!  Books, supplies, computers, ipads, and Smartboards, we have it all.  With so much to offer, perhaps teaching in the old traditional way is not the best solution.  With all the resources available, I do believe the way teachers teach can change.   In a culture where students are accessing ipads on a one to one basis, the teaching has to implement more technology to create an opportunity to be more active in their learning.  So, rather than having students all sit in rows and having them listen to a lecture, teachers need to create opportunities to explore and discover for themselves as they find answers.  Using technology to facilitate the students' learning, by expressing creativity and cultivating personal reflections, will allow students to be more involved as they take on the hands on approach to learning.  They will be able to apply their receptive learning to express their understanding.  When students are active in their learning, they are not memorizing facts.  Rather it is expanding the information by applying it to your understanding and expressing it in a matter they understand.  It is individualized.  It is unique.  And it challenges the students to take what they have learned and apply to their learning.  
Also, when students are engaged in active learning, students are sharing and collaborating with peers.  Students learn from one another and this helps the  students learn and retain more.

One of the challenging aspect for teachers in Active Learning is the facilitating factor.  There may be questions and even fear at first, as to how much do I allow the students to be in control of their learning.  Or even what that looks like.  Teacher directed teaching could seem so much easier.  Other concerns could be that the teachers themselves are not that knowledgeable with technology to faciliate, so that can create uneasiness.

Active Learning may not necessarily look the same in all schools.  But, if you are a teacher, and you are lucky enough to teach, then you need to encourage students and facilitate a learning environment so they can be active in their learning! 

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First day of school!~

I am a happy little teacher, working in a happy little classroom with happy little children.  I belong a happy little district and I work with students who do not speak English as their primary language at home.  Of course being a happy little teacher, I'm always looking out for every opportunity to better myself.  So, when this class became available, I decided to sign up!  Because I've always worked in a little classroom, I never had a chance to use the Smartboard or use the cool techie stuff!~  This was my chance to learn and grow!
I had great dreams to become tech savvy.  I hoped I would soar and shine in this class.  But after attending the first class, I'm thinking I bit off more than I can chew!  Yikes!  What am I going to do?!?

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I'm feeling a little lost and scared on the first day of school...