Student-Led Instruction

 

Apparently, today is the day of confessions (see the most recent Sparksnotes if you aren't sure what I'm talking about)!  I must confess that there was a lot I didn't know when I began teaching.  "Dangling modifiers, what the heck are those?  What do you mean you can't end a sentence with a preposition?  You mean, supposibly isn't a word?" 

 

I had to teach myself so much just so I could teach it to students, and through that process I learned a ton!  I'm even somewhat of an expert on those things I didn't know before I taught them. 

 

 

And that's why student-driven instruction is so good for kids.  When they have to learn it to teach it, they really know and understand it.  Check this out!

 

 

Sixth grade students are learning the human body systems from their peers. Students were assigned a group and system, researched content, submitted a lesson plan, prepared and are now teaching their classmates.

 

I have no doubt that these students learned a lot, and that they will retain what they learned.  And as an aside, check out that use of student-driven technology!

Interdisciplinary Impact

Blending multiple subjects into a common unit or assessment has been a hallmark of middle school philosophy for decades.  When students see the connections between multiple subjects and apply those connections to authentic learning experiences, they have richer, more meaningful learning.  They remember what they've learned!

 

 

 

In this activity, students are blending their math and social studies skills to plan for a trip along the Oregon Trail.  They must calculate (practicing that relevant and timely skill of decimals) the cost of their supplies and consider what they need to navigate the geography of the trip.

 

 

The key to a strong interdisciplinary unit is relevance to curriculum.  Yes, we can imbed math into any subject with a graph or two, but to make it relevant to what they are learning at the time adds another layer of authenticity.