#ItTakesATeacher

"It takes more than just tools to make a classroom special. It takes a teacher." (Google for Education) 

Google launched the #ItTakesATeacher campaign during the fall of 2016.  The videos on their YouTube playlist are inspiring. Check out this one-minute promo video.  What comes to mind?

I am encouraged by the creativity that each educator demonstrates in their planning and instruction. As I wrote in previous posts about MASH colleagues who contributed to our Flipgrid Show & Tell series, I find it critical in our profession to constantly explore, create and share approaches. Every teacher is an innovator in their own unique way. We grow and improve our practice by studying others. Dr. Shauna King recently shared with our staff about the importance of staying "fresh" as educators and searching for new ways to reach our learners.

I admire how Matt in this second video captures the attention of his 10th grade Chemistry classroom by turning his curriculum into a business model whereby students form teams and competitively design soap products for actual sale in the community.  Take a moment to watch this short video. The students still learn major concepts, but then they immediately apply their newly acquired knowledge and skills to their soap business.  The teams also take on responsibilities such as marketing and plenty of ISTE's digital goals are being met in the process.  This Project Based Learning model continues to spark my interest.  According to the Buck Institute for Education, Project Based Learning is a "teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an authentic, engaging, and complex question, problem, or challenge."  The site also identifies further specifics related to the elements such as student voice and choice and authenticity.  The task should feature a real-world scenario and "speak to students' personal concerns, interests, and issues in their lives."  

I have taken on a partial PBL task once in my career so far and it drastically changed the trajectory of how I teach and my view of the world. You can view the recap video which was produced by several of my students last year for the purpose of thanking the community for their support. Our students teamed up with learners from across the district to help rebuild the Cheery Children's Education Center in the Kibera Slum found in Nairobi, Kenya. I hope to carry out a PBL activity these next several months. Our MASH ELA department continues to do amazing work with the students.  When our learners reach senior year, they take a course called Capstone Communications which includes a cornerstone task rooted in PBL elements.  Students work in teams to help solve a "messy problem" in our local learning community and then they pitch their ideas to the School Board and Administration. This video summarizes the experience from different stake-holders.

I value what Eric Sheninger shared in his post from last year about 10 tips to make learning real. He noted how "the challenge for educators and schools today is to make learning REAL (relevant, engaging, authentic, and lasting) for all students and aligning it more with their world." As teachers, we have the power to make this type of learning happen! It takes the teacher, not the tool, to make a classroom special. 

Let's continue to explore, create, and share and model growth for our students. #ItTakesATeacher