Week 1

Check out how Jon Bergmann is changing education with the flipped model. His creativity is changing the way student are learning! It allows for students to come to class prepared to be active participants and not just consumers of information.

http://www.jonbergmann.com/about-m/   

Does the quote sound familiar to you  “I know what students do at English lessons. They just do grammar exercises and practice writing. They don’t have listening and speaking lessons,” he said. “This is because students learn English just to pass exams, not to use English in daily life.”

This quote really makes me think. I took three years of Spanish in high school and two in college. I can truly say I never took the courses to master the content. On the other hand I defiantly took the courses to fill a requirement and pass a test. 

“I think the practice of listening and speaking skills should be the top priority,” he said.

I wonder if we changed our approach and utilized the flipped model if students would come to class prepared to participate. If this happened I believe that we could have our students participate in student centered learning and actually master the skills.

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/education/164447/students-learn-english-to-pass-exams--not-to-communicate.html


Hopefully, these student centered approaches could allow learners to learn the need skills before it is too late. It is critical to avoid the situations presented in this link. http://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace-relations/the-fatal-consequences-of-miscommunication-between-pilots-and-air-traffic-controllers-20160927-grq1d9.html 

Who would ever think learning a language could be a matter of life and death? 

Take a moment and listen to this Podcast. http://www.jonbergmann.com/how-i-get-my-students-to-own-their-learning/

How can we put the students in charge? What is the role of the teacher? What steps can we take to allow students to take ownership in the classroom and allow the teacher to just be a support system?

https://mtairynews.com/news/44735/city-schools-mapss-success-draws-attention-from-state-education-director

This article continue to talk about the value of putting students in charge of their learning. With increasing access to the internet in the classroom it is really easy to cheat. However, if the students are working on a project based assignment they won't be able to cheat. However, they can learn the value of collaboration and citing their sources.

http://www.trtribune.com/index.php/local-news/item/2758-furman-launches-furman-advantage-with-47-million-endowent

This type of learning is not only happening at grade school level. However, it is being implemented at the college level too! What better learning opportunity than applying real world skills to your learning.

http://www.gazettextra.com/20161005/dual_language_program_shows_a_creative_approach_to_learning

“Language has to be acquired, you can't teach it,”  If this does not speak to the value of student centered learning then I don't know what does. Students cannot just sit back and absorb content. They must be active participators to learn it. This article also talks about how having the students learn another language broke down cultural barriers and allowed friendships to develop. Theses are friendships and experiences the students may have never experienced without this student centered approach. Talk about powerful!


This past week was a very challenging week for me. I really had to work hard to balance all of the new student centered projects. By the end of the week I was really feeling burned out by the implementation. However, I arrived home to a wonderful parent email. In the email the parent thanked me for all of my hard work and allowing the students to explore their passions. This was the little bit of motivation I needed to find my drive. This week made me realize that at times implementing a model like this can be taxing at times. However, I am motivated by knowing my students appreciate it. I also know that soon the ground work will be set and I will then truly be able to focus on the students' needs. Once this happens my time demands will decrease and student engagement will increase. I am sure that it will be time well spent!