Yesterday I had the pleasure of seeing a lesson demonstrated by 2 very talented social studies teachers at Springville-Griffith Institute. These teachers were doing exactly what I want to see teachers do.......engaging students in their learning. They chose to demonstrate 2 lessons. The first was using students to address the concerns of Hurricane Katrina. "Students" sat on a panel....the president's cabinet. One student represented the Department of the Interior, another Homeland Security, another the Department of Education and of course there was The President Of the United States. The President had 3 Billion Dollars to give out. Each department head had to make a case for why their department deserved the money in an effort to rebuild New Orleans. What a fabulous way for children to learn. They were actually "learning" about government but a current issue was used. Students created multi-media presentations used to make their case.
Another lesson was related to World War II and the holocaust. The students were able to learn about the war and the holocaust in many ways. Reading, interviewing World War II Veterans (at times their own grandparents or great-grandparents) and recording those interviews to be copied onto DVD for each veteran's family to receive. They also made a connection to current events which their school has focused on: the continuing genocide that occurs everyday in Dafur. Students then drew upon their knowledge of the holocaust and were able to make a parallel between the horrible genocide in concentration camps and those that go on in Dafur. The students in this school then created a Club for Dafur and held a variety of fund raisers. They were learning every step of the way and their learning was active, engaging and no textbook was seen.
I believe that this is exactly the kind of learning we want our children engaged in. Kudo's to the principal, assistant principal and superintendent Dr. Peters for creating the atmosphere where teachers can be excited about engaging students and making little use of textbooks and only as a reference when needed.
4 comments:
i'm a student at iroquois and i think that this is a great idea! it would be a lot funner trying to re-enact certain events rather than just reading about it in a boring textbook and then answering questions about it after
Thanks so much for posting. Spread the word.
I am going into my senior year at springville this year and have had the priviledge to be involved with mr. beiter and mr. karb's program.
i can defiantely say from first hand experience, that through those simulations, not only do you have fun, but the things you learn such as the house of reps/senate simulation where you make bills and send them back and forth between the two classrooms one of which is the senate one of which is the house where you learn how laws are made through ccongress and how the legislature operates, these lessons learned stick with you.
Quoting Mr. Beiter from when i was in his class, "through my experience you only remember 30% of what you hear, read, and write; but you remember 90% of what you do and gain a better understanding of the concepts."
As one of his old students i can firmly say that that history class was my favorite i have ever attended as well as the most educational and i firmly believe that more schools should utilize this cirriculum not just throughout the state but the country.
Thanks so much for your comment. I do believe that simulations as close to real life provides students with the most valuable learning experiences. Glad you have had such a positive experience. You have great teachers to lead the way.
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