There are many areas of school life that I'm interested in exploring. Some of those areas of interest are wide open and easy to access, and others are much more closed, problematic, and difficult to access.
I'm tired of the struggle to use those difficult-to-access avenues of school decision making and effort. I want to steer my teaching ship in the direction of the open ocean of exploration, growth, and development. Where do those oceans of open exploration exist? They exist in the following questions that relate to my teaching/learning efforts.
How does the brain best learn math?
How can we teach math with the tools, environments, and resources available in the best possible ways for every learner.
In what ways can we promote "Maker Math."
Students learn well when they construct the learning, thus maker math. There are countless ways to turn math learning into maker activities that review basic concepts and extend to enrichment levels.
How can we create learning communities that maximize care for one another, respect, and team?
This is an important question for any group of learners young or old.
How can we promote STEAM activities that are interdisciplinary, engaging, "floor to ceiling," and enriching?
The spring will bring lots of opportunity to build this curriculum and activity.
How can we model and promote positive planetary citizenship?
Our fifth grade curriculum deals with lots of naturalist study and activity--this is an ideal curriculum for promoting planetary citizenship. I have to look for ways to better model and promote this via classroom teaching/learning efforts.
These are questions that exist within my sphere of influence and work. I'll move in this direction in the days ahead.
