This blog is an exercise in course EDM 510 and is being used for educational purposes.
With ever increasing class sizes and workloads for teachers, it is imperative that educators are able to keep students engaged and motivated. It is imperative that students feel there is a sense of community within the class. Students will be more motivated to achieve and interact appropriately with one another if they are invested in the class as a whole.
With ever increasing class sizes and workloads for teachers, it is imperative that educators are able to keep students engaged and motivated. It is imperative that students feel there is a sense of community within the class. Students will be more motivated to achieve and interact appropriately with one another if they are invested in the class as a whole.
What are some
ways we can foster the sense of community in our classes?
I feel, with any grade level, it is crucial that the information the students are receiving somehow feels relevant to them. It is harder to do this when a student is learning geometry, but there are so many resources available to educators, it is possible to find a correlation. It is also important that students work collaboratively in order to prepare them for real life experiences and the workforce.
ReplyDeleteYou make a really good point about students needing to collaborate in order to prepare then for real life. You have to be able to work with all different kinds of people especially when you get into the workforce.
DeleteExcellent points! I agree that students will be more motivated to interact with one another and collaborate appropriately if they are invested in the class as whole. One thing I have seen throughout my time the classroom is that when students feel as though they have a voice and it is heard they feel more included and important and are more open to participating. Leader in Me is a major program growing throughout schools nationwide. One thing this program has insisted educators use not only their personal lives but also the classroom is a mission statement. It is something that is brainstormed, developed, and applied throughout the year. The entire class works on creating this statement and helps to ensure it is applied year long. They discuss what they believe is important and that they should strive for and from there come up with something completely unique to their environment. This helps to foster a community feel in the classroom because every student participates, and is taken seriously. One of the most significants parts of this program is the community wide involvement. It is not something just the teachers do and come up with, but is something that is worked on school wide with students, teachers, and other members of faculty and staff. It even goes as far as getting parents and other people in the community involved through presentations and different community based projects.
ReplyDeleteAs you noted, students are more engaged when they feel their voice is being heard and they feel a freedom from ridicule by their peers. You bring up some good points concerning the Leader in Me program. I may need to learn more about that as I only know about it in the most general terms. I believe that giving everyone a sense of community is vital and anything that can help with that should be utilized.
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