There are four strategies that should be a staple in any classroom, especially science. Innovate, collaborate, differentiate, and integrate. Sounds impossible to bring all of these into the forefront of your classroom design, but in reality, not at all, Students will be engaged, motivated, and curious every day if they are allowed to tinker, design, create, and innovate. This can be as simple as a makerspace but if one wants to take it to the next level, set up integrated content stations where students can demonstrate their understanding. These stations can be designed around remediation or enrichment but should always be available to every student and a place where they feel comfortable exploring and discovering relevant and current information.
Stations are a quick easy way to allow students to explore and review vocabulary, individual concepts and even see the big picture by making connections between larger concepts. While some students are exploring the stations other students can be working on a lab activity, reading an article or tinkering in the makerspace. These stations can be left up for a day, creating a quick vocabulary review, displaying a short video or a virtual simulation. They can also be set up to be visited for a week allowing students to revisit to review like a matching game, Brain Pop, simple lab procedure. Either way in a student-centered classroom they are student-paced and there is no stress about when to finish them. This way students will discuss and share generating interest and curiosity.
Innovation is a term used to describe forward-thinking and out-of-the-box teachers. But, it should also be used to describe creative and inspired students for the classroom is their canvas and we merely observers. Students are innovators when they have the opportunity to be held accountable for their learning, not in the form of tests or assessments but in the fact that they are risk-takers and look for unique ways to solve problems. That they fail forward using every chance they get to attempt and tinker and redesign and rethink until they reach their goal. Allow students to design and create stations for each other, this way they can again take ownership and can be held accountable for their learning.
As humans we seek companionship, we want to cooperate and work together. Even reluctant learners enjoy collaborating with their peers. If the lesson is designed around discovery and not mastery these withdrawn students will feel safer to jump in and participate. Confidence is built on conquering the little things, feeling apart of something bigger. It is important for students to talk to one another to solve problems, to work along side one another to build and design, to listen to each other to create a respectful and trusting community that has fun, faces challenges, and cares about one another. This in turn holds them accountable for their own learning. They will take responsibility to be good members of the community.
Differentiation is natural in a student-centered classroom because if it is truly student-led then they are in fact working at their own pace, choosing their own path, providing constructive feedback to one-another, sharing ideas and problem-solving. The blue-prints are the TEK's or standards and the scaffolding and structure comes from their imaginations. Each looking quite unique, but combined create a beautiful skyline. Checking in with the teacher frequently, keeps students on track and lets the teacher know if remediation or enrichment stations are needed for every student. While some students need a little push in the right direction, others are adding the last brick in their structure. Either way, reflection and feedback will cement their knowledge.
Integration of multi-curriculum is also important in any content. Reading, writing, designing, creating, graphing, even history are all brought together in my science classroom. It is crucial for students to understand that there are no isolated subject areas, that combined they build the structure, each floor may be isolated but the staircases and elevators connect them. As learners we must travel every floor of the skyscrapers we build to accommodate our knowledge. We must not skip them because we feel there is nothing we need to know. When we enter the elevator we need to click on every floor and light up the board, and at each floor when the door opens, step out, look around and discover what the rooms have to offer. Then when we reach the top, the roof, we have a well balanced understanding of the world around us, a strong growth mindset, and at the end of a long days journey one can revel at the view.
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