In Part 2 of the brainstorming session at the NISCE Launch and Workshop event the focus was on the student perspective.Results paralleled each other in some interesting ways when the educators were asked to take on the role of students and respond to the question of what makes a student feel successful. The following were noted:Positive social interactions during the day Meaningful communication with peers, parents, and educators Having an 'aha' moment when tackling a problem or … [Read more...]
Part 1 – Do You Know What Inspires and Motivates Your Teachers?
In Part 1 of the brainstorming session at the NISCE Launch event the focus was on the educators.When asked to give brief examples of what makes them feel successful after a day's involvement with students:Watching a student truly engage with a lesson Watching students achieve goals they set Watching a student demonstrate self awareness in a tough class projectWhen asked to give brief examples of what helps them feel energized and inspired, they noted the following:Being a mentor to … [Read more...]
Does Your Environment Reflect Student-Centeredness’?
On hearing the term student-centered education, many people will have a pretty good idea of what it means to them. It will probably have something to do with a type of educational environment in which the child or student is the focal point of activity. And what other focus could there be, one might ask?Since it is the student who is being educated, where else would you focus? As it turns out, this is not nearly as obvious as we might hope or imagine. In many learning environments, the focus … [Read more...]
The Need to Move Beyond Curriculum Standards and Traditional Educational Models
A room full of students is not the same as a room full of children. Typically when we consider a child as a student we have already narrowed our point of view. “Student” is a partial identity, occurring only in the context of classroom and education and leaving out many critical aspects of who the learner actually is.In our more expansive view, however, a teacher gazes out on the rows of faces in a classroom and is immediately confronted with the fact that the children in front of her are … [Read more...]
Engage. Inspire. Learn.
Soon after coalescing around a name for their new initiative, NISCE advocates found a tagline that they hope will help them engage educators, parents and students in conversation and will inspire all of us to look closely at what must be present in our schools and classrooms for effective learning to take place. Drawn from an instructional model that is at the core of Schools for Children’s own diverse schools, the new tagline “Engage – Inspire – Learn” leans heavily on the critical importance … [Read more...]