3c. Engaging students in learning
Comics in the Classroom.
Engaging students in learning may have its challenges, but when I bring one of my most beloved medium...students are easily involved with important cross-curricular disciplines and visual arts contents. Below are two graphic organizer that I use to engage my students in brainstorming.
Engaging students in learning may have its challenges, but when I bring one of my most beloved medium...students are easily involved with important cross-curricular disciplines and visual arts contents. Below are two graphic organizer that I use to engage my students in brainstorming.
The Superhero Project graphic organizer, students are required to create a superhero with a back story of how the superhero came to be, how he/she got their power, and what events have led that motivate them to be who they are.
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Projects with a writing piece explaining the meaning of the artwork.
Elements of Component 3c are:
Indicators include:
Component 3c: Artifact List
- Activities and assignments: The activities and assignments are the centerpiece of student engagement, since they determine what it is that students are asked to do. Activities and assignments that promote learning are aligned with the goals of the lesson, and require student thinking that emphasizes depth over breadth, and that may allow students to exercise some choice.
- Grouping of students: How students are grouped for instruction is one of the many decisions teachers make every day. There are many options; students of similar background and skill may be clustered together, or the more advanced students may be spread around into the different groups. Alternatively, a teacher might permit students to select their own groups, or they could be formed randomly.
- Instructional materials and resources: The instructional materials a teacher selects to use in the classroom can have an enormous impact on students' experience. While some teachers are obliged to use a school or district's officially sanctioned materials, many teachers use these selectively or supplement them with others of their choosing that are better suited to engaging students in deep learning, for example, the use of primary source materials in social studies.
- Structure and pacing: No one, whether adults or students, likes to be either bored or rushed in completing a task. Keeping things moving, within a well-defined structure, is one of the marks of an experienced teacher. And since much of student learning results from their reflection on what they have done, a well-designed lesson includes time for reflection and closure.
Indicators include:
- Activities aligned with the goals of the lesson
- Student enthusiasm, interest, thinking, problem-solving, etc.
- Learning tasks that require high-level student thinking and are aligned with lesson objectives
- Students are highly motivated to work on all tasks and are persistent even when the tasks are challenging
- Students actively "working," rather than watching while their teacher "works"
Component 3c: Artifact List
- Lessons plans
- Graphic Organizers
- Instructional artifact sheet