ICS Dynamic Learning - education that is positive
in attitude and full of energy and new ideas
One of the biggest indicators of student success relates to time on task. In short, student academic achievement increases in direct proportion to the amount of time they spend actively engaged in the instructional time.
This approach makes logical sense. The more time spent dribbling a basketball, the better one becomes at dribbling. The more hours occupied in reading, the broader one's vocabulary. More time spent exercising leads to better fitness. Do something more often and become better at it.
But, this time spent practicing must be purposeful; it must be worthwhile. Dribbling a basketball with just one hand while standing still will not affect as much improvement in ball-handling as working with both hands while moving. Vary your movement, pace, hand - more actively engage in the activity - and your skill in that area will improve.
So then, time-on-task entails more than just counting seconds, minutes, hours or days. Instead, it involves making those seconds, minutes, hours and days count.
Flexible / Mobile Seating
*students shouldn't feel trapped in a desk and sitting still shouldn't be a goal in and of itself
Being sedentary leads to health problems including obesity and back problems (https://www.washingtonpost.com/apps/g/page/national/the-health-hazards-of-sitting/750/). Furthermore, being sedentary with our bodies leads to being sedentary with our brains. In his work titled, Brain Rules, Dr. John Medina proposes that our brains work best when our bodies are in motion at a pace of about 1.8 miles per hour (http://www.brainrules.net). In this way, classrooms filled with desks and chairs keep kids both seated and still. While prolonged focus has its benefits, learning - an active process - requires action.
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| Photo from http://flaglerlive.com/69536/learnfits-flagler-schools/ |
Students should be presented with more flexible learning spaces allowing for standing and movement to help promote health and a healthy brain.
Standing desks and bands for students' feet can help to put the body in a posture for greater mental capacity.
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| From http://www.nea.org/tools/47003.htm |
360° Classrooms
*education shouldn't be limited to a notebook; space within the classroom should be maximized for student usage
Another way to incorporate movement into classrooms and promote engagement is to have students out of their "seats" and using all available wall space to work. Most typically used in math, 360 degree classrooms make use of dry erase, chalkboard or glass surfaces in order to give students functional and organic work spaces. 360 degree classrooms can allow for teachers to provide formative feedback easily as student work is readily displayed for the teacher's analysis.
Differentiated Instruction
*time-on-task is most conducive to learning gains when it is appropriately challenging for each student
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| Photo from http://uprepschool.org/our-program/academic/ |
When academic activities offer too much or too little of a challenge for a student, his/her engaged time-on-task decreases. In turn, his/her learning gains will also decrease. Therefore, classrooms should allow for small group instruction and differentiation.
A common practice in early childhood and primary classrooms, small group instruction typically wanes in Upper Elementary and Middle and High School classrooms in favor of tracking and one-size fits all instruction.
Resources available for small group instruction can lead to more specific and individualized plans while at the same time promoting motion and activity within the room.
Student Autonomy
*one of the best strategies for engaged learning is through choice; this also leads to greater self-awareness and meta-cognition
Providing students with choices as to how they can engage in a classroom is an incredibly motivating strategy. Giving students the ability to self-analyze how they best learn - standing, sitting, using a band for their feet, comfortably sitting in a bean bag chair, etc. - and then affording them the ability to utilize that strategy throughout the learning process can awaken and enliven the educational process.
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| Photo from http://mdjonline.com/bookmark/21828760-Students-ditch-desks-for-bean-bags |
This self-analysis can promote self-assessment (one of the most valid assessment strategies) and meta-cognition. A student who is thinking about their thinking and free to choose the setting in which he/she learns best will be more apt to identify their own misconceptions, errors and or gaps in learning. This, in turn, provides formative feedback to both students and teachers, promoting greater differentiation, purposeful instruction and engaged learning.
Environment
*it is said that every classroom has three teachers - the teacher, other students and the room
Classrooms must be structured in a way that promotes engagement. Time spent actively engaged leads to learning gains. Learning gains brings knowledge. Knowledge brings power.
Unleash it.
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| Photo from: http://www.fastcodesign.com/1637619/redesigning-education-why-cant-we-be-in-kindergarten-for-life |
Resources:
http://educationnorthwest.org/sites/default/files/EducationalTimeFactors.pdf
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED192454.pdf
http://www.marzanocenter.com/files/Teaching-for-Rigor-20140318.pdf
http://thethirdteacherplus.com
