Submitted by Christine (not verified) on February 28, 2008 - 21:05.
What a great example of student success. Relevance is key to any student's success. In order for something to be relevant it must be cared about. For the first time ever our middle school is hosting a Student Achievement night. This evening is open to our small, rural community to showcase what our young members of the community are accomplishing in school. We are trying to give our students a sense of accomplishment and celebrate their hard work. I often think that students don't get the recognition they deserve. Many disciplines are focused on project based learning and we have noticed that achievement increases when our students are working together in self discovery. Through the use of technology and collaboration with their peers, our students are really caring about their end product, but more importantly they care about each other and the whole learning process.
I am a language arts teacher and have found through the years that when my students are thoroughly engaged in what they are doing, the end result is one we are all proud of. But to be engaged they must care about the work. This is no easy task, though. I recently had a high achieving student state to me that he was glad he had to interview his grandfather about the Great Depression for a project we were doing because it was a special time in which they cried together and really connected. This was no longer an assignment, but rather a piece of his life that he really cared about. Needless to say, this will be his Showcase Project for Student Achievement night.
Children, by nature, are social, and I have noticed that when I do collaborative project based tasks they become relevant to the students. But I have learned through experience that my students care about things that they see me care about as well. Building a sense of community within a classroom or school is difficult to do. It takes a lot of teacher collaboration, which is sometimes difficult to get accomplished with all the day-to-day realities of the job.
Celebrating student successes
Submitted by Christine (not verified) on February 28, 2008 - 21:05.
What a great example of student success. Relevance is key to any student's success. In order for something to be relevant it must be cared about. For the first time ever our middle school is hosting a Student Achievement night. This evening is open to our small, rural community to showcase what our young members of the community are accomplishing in school. We are trying to give our students a sense of accomplishment and celebrate their hard work. I often think that students don't get the recognition they deserve. Many disciplines are focused on project based learning and we have noticed that achievement increases when our students are working together in self discovery. Through the use of technology and collaboration with their peers, our students are really caring about their end product, but more importantly they care about each other and the whole learning process.
I am a language arts teacher and have found through the years that when my students are thoroughly engaged in what they are doing, the end result is one we are all proud of. But to be engaged they must care about the work. This is no easy task, though. I recently had a high achieving student state to me that he was glad he had to interview his grandfather about the Great Depression for a project we were doing because it was a special time in which they cried together and really connected. This was no longer an assignment, but rather a piece of his life that he really cared about. Needless to say, this will be his Showcase Project for Student Achievement night.
Children, by nature, are social, and I have noticed that when I do collaborative project based tasks they become relevant to the students. But I have learned through experience that my students care about things that they see me care about as well. Building a sense of community within a classroom or school is difficult to do. It takes a lot of teacher collaboration, which is sometimes difficult to get accomplished with all the day-to-day realities of the job.