Blog Post #11: What Can We Learn About Teaching & Learning From These Teachers?

In Brian Crosby's presentation, Mr. Crosby talks about a hot air balloon project his class conducted. His students created hot air balloons and attached a camera to them so, after landing, they had a video of the balloons’ adventure. While the hot air balloons were aloft, the students could track where they were. The students would also upload videos to their blog where they can write about and reflect on the balloons’ travels. The class was also able to Skype other people that were interested in the project. Mr. Crosby taught me to incorporate fun projects where the students can combine writing, science, and other concepts. Students learn more when the assignment is a project because they exciting and fun. Furthermore, when students write their blog, they are able to share their enthusiasm with the entire world. This idea can be taken a step further by letting students Skype with other students, which allows them to teach what they learned. By sharing in this way, they in effect become teachers themselves.

In Blending Learning Cycle, Mr. Anderson  explains the blending learning cycle which, incorporates blended learning and the learning cycle together. He explains what blended learning includes online, mobile, and classroom while the learning cycle includes engage, explore, explain, expand, and evaluate.  Mr. Anderson teaches viewers that we have to engage our students from the beginning of the lesson and students can watch videos at home which will allow more time for other activities in the classroom. Students will learn and retain much more when the lesson is engaging.

In Super Digital Citizen, Sam Pane has students create their own superhero and a comic to illustrate the importance of staying safe online. He starts his lesson with a quote from Spiderman which draws students in. After everyone created their comic, all the students changed seats and read each others comic. Mr. Pane knows that his students understand how important it is to be safe online through their comic. He shows viewers a creative, effective way to teach students through creating a superhero and comic.

In Project Based Learning, three teachers came together to improve their teaching through project based learning. When they realized one method was not working, they then came up with another method and brought all the students together for three hours. The teachers incorporated history, language arts, and information processing while teaching together. Project based learning was the main focus in the three hour span the students were there.  These teachers taught me that if one method of teaching/learning doesn’t work then to try something else and don’t give up on it. Working together with other teachers can also help you learn what is best for the students.

In Roosevelt Elementary's PBL Program, PBL is explained in a simple and concise manner. This is a great video for teachers to watch because it breaks it down and explains the process. PBL gives students a choice, which can give them self-motivation while they are self-learning. They also learn public speaking skills at a young age so they are not afraid. Developing public speaking skills at a young age may eliminate future fears of speaking in front of an audience. This video teaches viewers what PBL is in a very simple way and show us how to explain what PBL is to other teachers.