Can I Speak??

If you think back to many of your learning opportunities, they probably looked something like this...

Teacher talked and students listened and then did something with what they had heard to demonstrate mastery.  And that model worked when teachers had the information that students needed.  Now of days, students can learn what we are teaching them without the teacher through the Internet and other forms of media.  That model of "Sage on the Stage" will not produce 21st century students.

We have to move to a more student engaged model that expects students to "step up" and participate in their learning.  In an article written by Charles Morrison entitled From 'Sage on the Stage' to 'Guide on the Side': A Good Start, he shares the following:

" In what follows, it will become clear what I mean by learning ‘deeply’, but for now I will couple the teacher’s shift from ‘sage to guide’ with the corresponding student shift from ‘recipient to participant’. Although somewhat clumsy, the phrase ‘sage-and recipient-to-guide-and-participant’ is an important reminder that teaching and learning involve a dynamic interaction between two partners; it is a reminder that, as the title of this paper suggests, the sage-to-guide shift is only the start, only half of the equation as it were... There are many good examples of new opportunities and responsibilities students are afforded when they become active partners in the teaching-learning process and become more fully engaged as participants rather then merely information recipients. Most of the so-called ‘high-impact practices’ now gaining currency in post-secondary education – practices such as community service learning courses, undergraduate research, flipped classrooms, problem-based education, to name a few – are well documented and so I will not rehearse them in detail here."

I want to ask you to reflect this week on the amount of work/effort you are doing compared to what you are expecting your student to do to contribute to their learning. AND I DON'T MEAN MORE WORK, WORKSHEETS, ETC.  I mean how responsible are your students for the discourse happening in your Math and ELA classes?  Do you only hear student talk when they're confused?

Research shows that students have to hear information in multiple ways to truly understand.  I know I have to recite a phone number aloud before even writing it down to get it right! I encourage you to step aside and let your kids be full participants in their learning...you both deserve it!

Video: Talk Moves in Academic Discussions

Week of February 1-5, 2016

National School Counseling Week 2016

Monday, February 1

• Candygram Sales Begin
• Open Enrollment Begins
• 1st Grade PLC at 11:30
• Committee Mtg at 3:30 in Cafe

Tuesday, February 2

• Progress Monitoring of Red Students Begins
• Hill out 9:40-11:30 for Dr. Appt
• Arts PLC at 10
• 5th/6th PLC at 12:30
• SST Mtg at 3:30

Wednesday, February 3

• Progress Monitoring of Red Students Last day
• IS 4th Block (WCL/Drama) at 10
• 3rd PLC at 1:45

Thursday, February 4

• IS 4th Block (Visual Arts/Media) at 10
• 4th PLC at 11:00
• 2nd PLC at 12:15

Friday, February 5

• FEO Mtg at 8:00 in Theater
• Hill's Winterpalooza (9-12 in the parking lot; schedule to be sent on student rotation by mid week)
• IS 4th Block (Dance/ Music) at 10
• K PLC at 11