Welcome to day 25 of my blogging challenge. In case you missed what it's all about, you can read more about it in Day 1.
Today's challenge: The ideal collaboration between students - what would it look like?
I really enjoy seeing students collaborating without an awareness of the teacher. I like watching students collaborate because they are empowered and because they are directing their learning. When the collaboration is forced, it doesn't work.
For instance, as I am starting our Warrior Tech program for some of our high school students, I have so ideas of how I would like to see it run and I interject every so often, but mostly, I sit back and let them take charge through pointed questions. I ask them to describe what it is they want to see happen at campus and why they joined. And, I work as a note-taker, jotting down their ideas and reading them back to them.
I wish I had done this more as a teacher. In just a month of doing this, I have learned so much and we have already started to make strides - in ways I had not imagined.
Giving students the power and freedom to collaborate is the best way for students to collaborate. I know that sounds ambiguous, but there is a real difference between forced partnering of students and giving them assigned tasks and giving students questions and allowing them to break off in those questions.
When I think about, I know I dislike being paired with my co-workers to complete tasks that someone has assigned me. It feels mindless and I don't feel creative. However, when I collaborate with my peers based upon similar interests (ie. starting the Ninja Academy last year with +Brandie Cain-Heard was done from our mutual desire to bring more learning to our teachers - it was not a forced initiative, but one that we created ourselves), the "sky is the limit."
When we allow our students to do that, learning occurs.
How do you envision an ideal collaboration?
Today's challenge: The ideal collaboration between students - what would it look like?
I really enjoy seeing students collaborating without an awareness of the teacher. I like watching students collaborate because they are empowered and because they are directing their learning. When the collaboration is forced, it doesn't work.
For instance, as I am starting our Warrior Tech program for some of our high school students, I have so ideas of how I would like to see it run and I interject every so often, but mostly, I sit back and let them take charge through pointed questions. I ask them to describe what it is they want to see happen at campus and why they joined. And, I work as a note-taker, jotting down their ideas and reading them back to them.
I wish I had done this more as a teacher. In just a month of doing this, I have learned so much and we have already started to make strides - in ways I had not imagined.
Giving students the power and freedom to collaborate is the best way for students to collaborate. I know that sounds ambiguous, but there is a real difference between forced partnering of students and giving them assigned tasks and giving students questions and allowing them to break off in those questions.
When I think about, I know I dislike being paired with my co-workers to complete tasks that someone has assigned me. It feels mindless and I don't feel creative. However, when I collaborate with my peers based upon similar interests (ie. starting the Ninja Academy last year with +Brandie Cain-Heard was done from our mutual desire to bring more learning to our teachers - it was not a forced initiative, but one that we created ourselves), the "sky is the limit."
When we allow our students to do that, learning occurs.
How do you envision an ideal collaboration?
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