The questions that I explored this year have been a part of conversations that I have had with teachers over the past few years. When discussing topics with Elena I explored several different possibilities, but when I mentioned that I had been thinking about changing brain development, the role of technology, and the resulting impact on teaching and learning, she strongly encouraged me to look into this further. I have been curious about whether other learning specialists have also observed changes, and if so, if they have made adjustments to their teaching, and how they have adapted their methods and materials.
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Attempting Change Where Change Was Most Needed
At the start of the year, or even really, before the year began, the questions that framed my self study were fairly general. I have been thinking about how over the past few years, my students have accomplished less in the course of a year. I wondered about my teaching, my approach, my materials, and I wondered about my students learning. Are students coming in with the same ability to learn and are they learning in the same ways as they have in the past? Do I need to do more because they are coming in with less? Do I need to change what I do because they need something different and how people are learning has started to shift in ways that I do not yet fully understand? Continue reading Attempting Change Where Change Was Most Needed
What’s affecting how children learn?
Three years ago my first graders failed to make it through the entire sequence of first grade skills by June. At the time, I assumed that it was a one off–a particular group of children who needed more time than the school year offered us. The following year, I experienced the same thing and then again the year after that. With a trend of three years, it began to become clear that something else was going on. Continue reading What’s affecting how children learn?