Active Learning: A School Year in Six Words

Active Learning: A School Year in Six Words

Summing up a school year in 6 words is challenging yet engaging! My group and I examined an active learning assignment done by students at Coonley School. Students from first to seventh grade were asked to sum up their school year in a six word Memoir. The  students were provided were the following prompts...

• Tell something you like about Coonley
• What activity did you really enjoy this school year?
• Write about yourself
• Give advice to others

The students then used Google slides to share their memoir. Some inserted pictures or drawing they thought tied well with their memoir. This is active learning because it engaged students in deep thinking rather than surface learning. It promotes higher order thinking skills. The students had to analyze their school year and create their memoir. 

(Image Source: Padlet)

We started our Padlet our with a summary of the activity. Then we listed the active learning traits displayed in this assignment, Then we listed opportunities for Growth and suggestions, how to modify for students with different needs, and even gave an example of how this could be SPED friendly for students with special needs. Here is the link to our Padlet we created to analyze the activity a little more in depth. Padlet Group Assignment

Active Learning is Key to Mastery

(Image Source: Rockhurst High School Blog)

Teachers MUST keep active learning in mind when developing their lessons. Active learning helps for a better learning environment. The image above shows the three components I believe are necessary to successfully implement active learning; Pedagogy, Space, and technology. Pedagogy is important because it needs to have a foundation in which you are creating it from. Your interactions between your students, and the learning environment are just as important as the learning tasks. How you utilize your space is vital, especially with today's generation. I recently transformed my classroom with flexible seating and I have been left in awe at how beneficial it has been not only for my students with special needs, but for my entire classroom! The students have learned what space works best for them depending on what we are doing in class. It has helped them take ownership of their learning. Lastly, technology is key with our youth. This is their forte, they are the generation that knows nothing but technology and embedding it into active learning lessons helps them prepare for the technological world they will live in. 

As a Middle school Math teacher, I always tell my students you have reached the level of mastery in Math when you can apply what you learned and teach it to others. This is why most of my classwork consists of Real-world based application. I approach the students with real world based problems and have them apply the mathematics they learned. I won't lie and say this was a piece of cake to do. It took time and 3 years of mastering my curriculum before I was able to implement this, and I am still constantly learning and adjusting. But I can speak honestly when I say that the learning outcome has spoken volumes. The level of rigor built from allowing students to work together and share their thoughts through active learning helped them all learn how to problem solve and persevere. Most kids give up when given a challenging math problem, but I have seen my students break the problems down and learn from one another. Active learning in my classroom has created mathematicians and problem solvers! 

Below is in image I thought gave a well written definition of Active learning and provided great strategies! 

(Image Source: PBS Twitter)

There are many teaching strategies that lend themselves to active learning. One new one that many are talking about is the Flipped classroom. The model is exactly what it is titled. The students do the learning at home and come to school and apply the learning in the classroom through a group activity or project with their peers. I have tried this once or twice this year. It is a bit difficult when students do not all have internet access or have a hard time learning thing on their own. But this is something I want to start to implement more next year. 

(Image Source: The University of Texas at Austin)

Here are two other resources that are beneficial for anyone who wants to learn about Active Learning and how to successfully implement it. 

https://cei.umn.edu/active-learning

https://www.prodigygame.com/blog/active-learning-strategies-examples/