When I interviewed for my previous position, that of social studies teacher, I was asked the question, “if you had the opportunity to design any course what would that course be?” Well, that one caught me off-guard. I thought and thought – being wary, of course, that I couldn’t take too much time to respond and I finally came up with, “well, I would design a course about kids.” It was the case of my brain pulling on some knowledge that I had gained in graduate school, but hadn’t consciously paid attention to because as I said the words that continued the explanation, I truly had no idea where I was going – my brain was working in overdrive and my body was along for the ride. Anyway, my explanation consisted of teaching kids about themselves, who they are, how they learn, what they perceive in their world and how to make sense of it all. Little did I know at the time (14 years ago), I was springing into the world of Multiple Intelligences and the principal who interviewed me was very happy with my answer (little did HE know).
While I’ve never gotten the opportunity to design such a course (perhaps someday…), I have always taught with a very open mind to the types of learning that kids are apt to do. Some kids learn well with lecture, some with projects, some with music and so on. I have always incorporated projects and opportunities for students that allow them choice in how they complete it. The basic learnings are the same for all kids, but how they get there can vary 30 different ways in a given class. Project-Based Learning is an ideal strategy for me to employ in the classroom because it allows for tremendous variation catering to each child’s learning style.
I have attended lots of professional development in my career (haven’t we all). I find that the professional developments I’ve attended on the various modes of learning and teaching are, for the most part, useless because they are grounded in so much theory. I have said for years that if you want me to really “grab” what you are saying – fill my toolbox with lots of tools I can use tomorrow in my classroom. We have been preached to for years (decades) about the theories on learning styles, but if we want to truly change our profession and move it in a direction that is amenable to kids’ learning then we have to design our professional development in the same light. Give me choices, make me excited, and turn me on to my own learning.
“If the only tool you have is a hammer, everything around looks like a nail.” – Abraham Maslow
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