I feel like a pretty lucky person, when in one week, multiple teachers send photos to me celebrating a risk they have taken with instruction that has resulted in enhanced learning for students. This was one such week and I want to share the photos and acknowledge the work of the teachers who tried something new.
This picture combines big ideas, essential questions and visible learning. This teacher posted some unit questions for students to explore. As students were learning, they took photos of their processes and posted them next to the questions. What a great way to capture learning and connect it to enduring understanding.
This image shows differentiated instruction and flexible grouping, based on a mid-unit assessment. The students at the back are exploring outcomes to prepare for their summative assessment and the students in the front are working on a project that takes them further into the outcomes because they are ready to do so.
This final image shows an online learning class in one of our rural schools using a fishbowl to track tactics and strategies used by their classmates as they play games. WA10.2 asks the students to become familiar with strategies in various games and this activity allowed them to observe the strategies in action. The whole process was captured on video for the teacher to see, and offer feedback.
I continue to be excited about the learning opportunities available to students in classrooms like these. And I thank these three educators for recognizing that trying new things can and should be celebrated.
Just thinking out loud... 