Learning Outcome Seven
Learning Outcome Seven: Apply a variety of teaching strategies to develop a positive teaching/learning environment where all students are encouraged to achieve their highest potential.
I think that one of the most important aspects of being a successful teacher is the ability to apply a variety of teaching strategies to develop a positive teaching/learning environment where all students are encouraged to achieve their highest potential, and I will prove I have done so with a cumulative assignment given to my ninth grade class at FM High School and the sign up sheet for a book club that I started at Grant Middle School.
One piece of evidence that supports my ability to develop a positive learning environment where all students are encouraged to achieve their highest potential is the final assignment I gave to my ninth grade class at FM High School. Students had finished reading Speak and needed a final cumulative assignment. When creating this assignment, I thought of Ken Robinson and his point that changes need to be made in today's education considering that it was developed during the Industrial Revolution. Robinson’s work emphasizes that in order for students to be prepared for the world and economy of today, they need to foster their power of imagination and creativity. I therefore decided that rather than giving a test or paper, I would design an assignment which allowed students to choose what they wanted to do and allowed them to use their creativity to its fullest potential. Their options included a soundtrack to the book, a graphic novel, a comic strip, a blog, or a series of illustrations of different scenes. Students had the chance to achieve their highest potential because they could choose which assignment would give them the best opportunity for success. Artistic students were able to show their feelings about the book through drawing while students who enjoyed technology could create a blog. Every student was able to work on something with which they felt comfortable and confident, and each one produced an outstanding piece of work as a result.
Another example of a strategy I used to develop a positive learning environment was the creation of two book clubs at Grant Middle School. So many kids signed up on the book club sign up sheet that I had to create two separate clubs in order to accommodate everyone’s interest. My seventh graders would meet during lunch once a week to discuss a novel, either Hunger Games or The Face on the Milk Carton. The book club soon became a place for students to make new friends, share experiences, and talk about books. The club helped students speak up and feel more comfortable in front of their peers, an influence that allowed them to become more active during class time. The book club also gave me a chance to form a more personal connection with my students and to get to know each of them very well. Spending more time with them made a good impact on my class time since I had a better understanding of who each of them are both as people and learners. Their increased comfort with me also made class more enjoyable for them and gave them the confidence to ask questions or offer answers. The book club also served as a source of encouragement where students were constantly pushed to read other texts outside of the book club novel and to reach their highest potential as readers. Some students who had never considered themselves to be readers became such active readers that they couldn’t wait to get a hold of a new book. The book club created a comfortable, positive learning environment both during meetings and during class time and became a source of motivation for students to push themselves to become better readers.
I think that one of the most important aspects of being a successful teacher is the ability to apply a variety of teaching strategies to develop a positive teaching/learning environment where all students are encouraged to achieve their highest potential, and I will prove I have done so with a cumulative assignment given to my ninth grade class at FM High School and the sign up sheet for a book club that I started at Grant Middle School.
One piece of evidence that supports my ability to develop a positive learning environment where all students are encouraged to achieve their highest potential is the final assignment I gave to my ninth grade class at FM High School. Students had finished reading Speak and needed a final cumulative assignment. When creating this assignment, I thought of Ken Robinson and his point that changes need to be made in today's education considering that it was developed during the Industrial Revolution. Robinson’s work emphasizes that in order for students to be prepared for the world and economy of today, they need to foster their power of imagination and creativity. I therefore decided that rather than giving a test or paper, I would design an assignment which allowed students to choose what they wanted to do and allowed them to use their creativity to its fullest potential. Their options included a soundtrack to the book, a graphic novel, a comic strip, a blog, or a series of illustrations of different scenes. Students had the chance to achieve their highest potential because they could choose which assignment would give them the best opportunity for success. Artistic students were able to show their feelings about the book through drawing while students who enjoyed technology could create a blog. Every student was able to work on something with which they felt comfortable and confident, and each one produced an outstanding piece of work as a result.
Another example of a strategy I used to develop a positive learning environment was the creation of two book clubs at Grant Middle School. So many kids signed up on the book club sign up sheet that I had to create two separate clubs in order to accommodate everyone’s interest. My seventh graders would meet during lunch once a week to discuss a novel, either Hunger Games or The Face on the Milk Carton. The book club soon became a place for students to make new friends, share experiences, and talk about books. The club helped students speak up and feel more comfortable in front of their peers, an influence that allowed them to become more active during class time. The book club also gave me a chance to form a more personal connection with my students and to get to know each of them very well. Spending more time with them made a good impact on my class time since I had a better understanding of who each of them are both as people and learners. Their increased comfort with me also made class more enjoyable for them and gave them the confidence to ask questions or offer answers. The book club also served as a source of encouragement where students were constantly pushed to read other texts outside of the book club novel and to reach their highest potential as readers. Some students who had never considered themselves to be readers became such active readers that they couldn’t wait to get a hold of a new book. The book club created a comfortable, positive learning environment both during meetings and during class time and became a source of motivation for students to push themselves to become better readers.