Empowering Students: A Reflection on a Valuable Classroom Experience
There are moments that stick out in the process of creating a dynamic and successful classroom, influencing our philosophy of teaching and having a long-lasting effect. Considering one such instance, I’m thrilled to discuss a life-changing classroom encounter that has stoked my desire to give students agency. Along with being exciting, this journey has given me insightful knowledge that will definitely influence my future classroom activities.
The Power of Student Voice
Seeing the strength of student voice was one of the most thrilling parts of the experience. Establishing a setting where students felt appreciated and heard allowed for insightful conversations from a range of viewpoints. This insight underlined how crucial it is to create an atmosphere in which students feel free to voice their opinions. I want to provide more opportunities for student voice in my future classroom so that each student feels like they are a vital part of the learning process.
Cultivating a Growth Mindset
When students adopted a growth mindset, the excitement in the classroom was evident. It changed everything when you encouraged them to see obstacles as chances to grow and learn. When students realized that intelligence could be acquired with hard work and persistence, they approached assignments with a fresh enthusiasm. This experience strengthened my resolve to cultivate resilience and a love of learning in my students by establishing a growth mindset culture in my future classroom.
Inclusive and Collaborative Learning
A key takeaway from this experience was the importance of inclusivity and teamwork. Observing how students helped and learned from each other brought home how important it is to establish a collaborative learning environment. I’m motivated to carry out more group projects going forward to make sure every student feels engaged in their educational process. This fosters a sense of community in the classroom in addition to improving academic results.
WE Virtual Learning Center
A campaign and supportive resource that stuck out to me and that I plan on using in my future classroom is issue cards. There are different topics to discuss that pertain to social and environmental along with multiple others to bring awareness and generate a grand discussion amongst the teacher and students. The issue cards have discussion questions that give specific questions to help students critically think about an answer that gets them to understand the issue on a deeper level. Some of the issues mentioned include cyberbullying, environment, discrimination, poverty, etc.
Changemakers in the Future Classrooms
Using tech for good in our future classrooms is very important.
Tech can be utilized to teach and fosters students educational growth.
This website provided a list of websites teachers can use to help utilize in their classrooms to engage with their students better.
The website also provides other resources like how to fight against racism in classrooms and schools.
There are many other resources like videos as well.
Use this website and the resources provided to make a change in future classrooms. It is important that we utilize these tools to further improve our classrooms and create the best environment for students in the future to learn and foster their education.
Changemakers
“We Embrace Anti-Racism”
I chose to read this in the article because this is so important, especially as an educator for young children who are trying to figure out who they are. Using anti-racism tactics in the classroom and promoting inclusivity the students should want to care about breaking the cycle of racism.
Being connected into a global community of educators, teachers can compare an contrast ideas on how to make the classroom feel welcoming for everyone and how students can take this feeling outside of the classroom and into real life experiences.
As mentioned in the article, the first three steps an educator needs to take in order for their students to want to be apart of the anti-racism movement:
By studying these steps and making the educator, educated, the classroom will be a positive, including experience for all.
Thank you Paul Mancini
Accessibility Tool- JAWS
“JAWS, Job Access With Speech, is the world’s most popular screen reader, developed for computer users whose vision loss prevents them from seeing screen content or navigating with a mouse. JAWS provides speech and Braille output for the most popular computer applications on your PC. You will be able to navigate the Internet, write a document, read an email and create presentations from your office, remote desktop, or from home.” -Freedom Science Team
Providing accommodations for students whose vision loss prevents them from being able to interact fully, allows them to still learn and get involved. There are multiple different things you can do with JAWS that allows the student to participate.
- speech and sound
- braille
- convenient ORC
- text analyzer
This is such a great way to keep students involved in the schools, no matter the disability there is always an accommodation thanks to modern technology!
Thanks!
Paul Mancini
Hyperdocs- What are they?
An interactive digital space that helps the classroom by supplying different resources.
A hyperdoc can take the form of multiple different websites and interactive links. Some of the most popular are, Google Maps, Good Docs, Edpuzzle. Most students use these three hyperdocs everyday! By using interactive sites, students are more likely to want to be involved in the classroom.
Hyperdocs opens up the door for creativity, uniqueness in a student and allows for the teacher to get everyone engaged!
Please refer to this video for further information on Hyperdocs and their effects.
I will definitely use this in my future classroom!
Paul Mancini
Empowering Change Makers: A Dive into WE Charity’s Educational Resources and Tools
Exploring the diverse array of resources and tools offered by WE Charity, particularly through its WE Schools program, reveals an impressive commitment to empowering educators and students alike. These resources are designed to address critical social issues while fostering key skills necessary for students to become confident, future-ready global citizens.
Educational Resources and Training: The WE Teachers hub stands out as a gateway to a trove of free resources and training. This platform supports teachers in addressing critical social issues with their classes. By registering, educators join a community of like-minded professionals and gain exclusive access to tools needed to help students become active, engaged citizens.
WE Schools Service-Learning Resources and Activities: This program offers issues-based lesson plans and activities that encourage students to take action on local and global issues. The focus is on building essential skills like resilience, empathy, and problem-solving. These resources are invaluable for integrating service learning into the curriculum, offering students practical ways to engage with the world around them.
Teacher Resources for Professional Development: Teachers can access resources focused on trauma-informed practices, professional development, and training. This includes building a community with fellow educators who share a commitment to transformative education. These resources aid teachers in enhancing their capacity to handle a range of social and emotional challenges in the educational setting.
Video-on-Demand Library: An innovative feature is the video-on-demand library, which offers access to a range of events and workshops. These resources, featuring special guests and focusing on relevant themes, serve as an excellent educational supplement for both students and teachers.
Service-Learning Student Toolkit: This toolkit includes checklists, worksheets, and other materials to help students explore social issues, track their progress, and reflect on their experiences. It’s particularly useful for students interested in leadership roles in service clubs and provides a structured approach to service learning.
Each of these resources offers a unique approach to education, emphasizing the development of social awareness, emotional intelligence, and practical skills for making a positive impact in the world. WE Charity’s commitment to providing these tools reflects their holistic approach to education, where learning extends beyond the classroom into the realm of social responsibility and global citizenship.
Reference :
- WE Schools , website: we.org/school .
- Grammar Recorrect,Revised and edited by Arnab Das Utsa, using OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Grammarly. Date of revision : December 2, 2023.
The WE Are Innovators Campaign
After visiting the WE Virtual Learning Center, I researched resources and different topics for the classroom. I found this great campaign that will benefit many students as well as people around the world. Many topics are brought to the spotlight in this lesson, and I thought that was a good approach to teaching students about the problems other countries and people face in this world that aren’t talked about enough.
WE Virtual Learning Center has created a campaign called the WE Are Innovators Campaign which will teach students about real-world issues and other countries that are struggling. Not only will the students learn about those issues, but they will learn how to help and make a positive difference in the world.
This screenshot above is the opening page but also does a great way of explaining what the campaign is and what it’s made for. This campaign is made for grades 4-12 and within every age group, there is a lesson plan adapted to their grade and learning levels. There are different activities that are made for every age group.
This lesson plan has different topics to teach students how to be innovative, some of those topics are:
- Inclusive and Sustainable Innovation
- Energy and Housing
- Food Waste
- Transportation Solutions
- Circular Economy and Nature
These are very prominent topics for students to learn about so they will have the opportunity to make a difference and educate others so they can make a difference too.
WE Virtual Learning Center provides many different resources for educators to teach their students about everyday issues. Many different topics can be found on their website, and all of them will be beneficial for students to learn about. Some day I would like to teach my students about these global issues just like WE learning has presented because I think it is very important for students to learn about what is going on in the world.
Thank you for reading!
WE Virtual Learning Resources
After a quick browse through the WE virtual learning center website, you can tell there are many resources to look at. In my future classroom, I want my students to feel comfortable and confident in themselves. Having a good lesson plan is important, but if they aren’t given the tools to succeed, they never well. That is all my opinion.
This is the first resource I looked at and really liked the message behind it. It is about the “Power of Visualization and Affirmation.” It starts off explaining what it means and why it is important for students. Visualization and affirmation have to do with the human mind. They can be used to help you succeed in your work.
I am a big believer and making sure every student has a good mental state. Not having one is often a big cause in poor performance in school, and just life. It does go unnoticed a lot, but that is starting to change as time goes on.
The discussion questions are a great way for students to really understand the content on the first page. It can also help them grasp why the two concepts are important for themselves.
The steps are a great guide for them to apply it to themselves. It is something even educators can use. I think the biggest takeaway from this, is believing you can accomplish your goal. That goal could be finishing an assignment, getting an A on a test, making a good project, or anything similar in school. I know I doubted myself a lot in high school and made some classes more difficult than they should have been.
I would have my students go through this, hoping they can better themselves from it.
Helping students prepare for tests in critical. Not only by reviewing material, but on how to actually take a test. This is something that was never taught to me while in high school.
These are 5 tips given to help study. The first tip is something I never knew. It does make a lot of sense though. Looking at material for a while gets boring and I lose focus. Eating and hydrating seems like it would be obvious, but I know a lot of my friends ignore this. They do it so there is more time to study, but it just makes it worse. If they were taught properly, studying would be more efficient.
Taking a test is very stressful, especially standardized testing. Those would be the absolute worst. It was always talked about something important and something we all must do well in. The days leading up to it were the worst, as everyone was nervous and talking about their anxiety.
Doing anything while stressed and being full of anxiety will only do bad for you. The second and third tips are my favorite from the list.
Thinking about what will come in the future will not do any good. It will only do one thing: cause you worry. The only thing that you can do, is focus on the present. Students should think about the one question they are on and focus on doing their best. It is just one question at a time.
I never heard of the third tip, but it seems very useful. It is telling you to identify a number of things in your surroundings. This is to ground you and help you focus on the present again. Everyone is so worried about the grade they will get, and what will happen from the grade.
I would give this t to my students before the first test, and always remind them to look at it. I would want them to do the best they can. That means having the least amount of stress that could hinder them.