Skip to main content

When is Work, Not Work?

When I first started thinking about running a blended learning classroom last year, I envisioned three stations running efficiently and effectively, while at the same time bringing in the 4C's (collaboration, creativity, communication, and critical thinking) daily. For the most part, I finally feel like I am seeing what I envisioned a year ago. But I am also seeing things now that I never envisioned, and I don't think they would have been possible without me trying something new.
Probably the best thing that has come from running a blended learning classroom, that I did not envision, has been the relationships I have been able to build with my students. With having stations, and one being direct instruction, I have been able to meet with no more than nine students at a time. This small group setting allows us to cover the lesson effectively but also more informally, which allows for a more relaxed and social atmosphere. In this small, relaxed, and social atmosphere I have heard more, "Hey, this math is easy. I can do this," then I ever had before.
Another positive that has come from the blended learning classroom has been the significant reduction of classroom disruptions. And it is really no wonder. Students are up moving around after 25 minutes, they are not sitting in the same seat for 70 minutes listening to me, they are building positive relationships with their peers in their collaborative work station, building stronger relationships with me in the direct instruction station, and learning at their own pace in the independent learning station.

The last thing that I have noticed going better than I anticipated, and it was my most worrisome part of the whole venture, has been how well the students have been working together. For many teachers, myself included, noise in the classroom can feel uncomfortable. But when the noise is students discussing ways to solve problems, positively correcting each other's mistakes, and working together, that is a noise that feels anything but uncomfortable. It makes me feel proud of my students seeing them work together to problem solve. If we want students to become "productive members of society," then we have to put them in situations where they can positively interact with others.  

So many great things have happened in my classroom from trying something new. The results are not always what were expected, and that is part of the fun along the way. And work isn't work, if you're having fun.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Force Awakens

Just when I thought I had my blended learning classroom in a good place, everything changed. Half way through the school year, my district decided to pilot a new math series. This meant change. A change I was having trouble dealing with. For about two weeks I struggled and became quite frustrated trying to figure out how this new math series fit into the way I had been running my blended learning classroom. I kept trying to force the math series in but kept getting disastrous results. My struggles and frustration spilled over into my classes. I did not like what I was seeing from the math series, I did not like what I was seeing from my teaching, and I did not like the results I was seeing from my students. Every night I left school feeling disheartened, but determined to make things better the next day. The only problem was I kept trying to force the fix every new day, instead of sitting back, reflecting, and seeing what other solutions came about. I was suffering from a little ca...
Post a Comment
Read more

What I Learned from the Elf on the Shelf

There I was at 7:00 AM, bleeding, blood all over my hands, kneeling over our family's beloved Elf on the Shelf, Oliver, in the dining room, and my six-year-old daughter waking up and coming down the steps. It was my worst case scenario. My little girl was going to come downstairs and see me covered in blood with our Elf on the Shelf laying on the floor and think that I did something terrible to Oliver.  Why was I covered in blood and bleeding at 7:00 AM in the dining room with Oliver laying on the floor next me? Because I was trying to make the Elf on the Shelf experience better for my daughters. The night before, I moved Oliver to a spot in our house that was just okay. I knew it was just okay at the time, but I thought it would do. The next morning I woke up, and decided I could do a better job with my placement of our elf. As I was moving him around in the dining room, so he would be hanging upside down like Batman, (much cooler than my first placement), I bumped a glass tha...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Great Wall

Having 13 devices in my room has been a dream come true. No longer can I complain about not having the tools to move my students' learning into the 21st century. No longer can I complain about not having time in the computer lab (an outdated use of a room anyway). No longer can I sit and wait until change happens. No longer can I make excuses. The responsibility is on me to use the tools, all the tools, in my classroom to make learning happen, meaningful, and wait for it, enjoyable. The 4C's (communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity), that are so widely talked about, are also my responsibility to incorporate into my classroom. What I am starting to realize more than ever, is that the devices I have are just additional tools in my classroom. They are not the be all end all. These tools definitely bring a lot more potential into the classroom, but it is still the pedagogical skills and relationships that are built that make a successful classroom. Th...
Post a Comment
Read more