Integrating science into your core subjects is a great way to nurture curiosity and inspire students to explore the curriculum as a way to express their learning.
Students want to communicate what they are intrigued or excited by and science provides the perfect platform to capture their attention.
Students have an incredible desire to share their personal experiences with others. It makes them feel connected, provides a sense of belonging, pride, and builds self-awareness. It is this sense of pride and belonging that we want to capture in our students empowering them to become life-long learners.
YouPlanIt Classroom believes that learning should be a ‘human’ experience where the student can find a space to ‘hold’ their curiosity, play with it, question it, create new knowledge and learn to exercise wisdom.
Ultimately, we want our kids to be communicators of that new knowledge and have the ability to read and write so that their message is clear. However, it is the approach we take which determines the quality, authenticity, and meaning of that learning that matters.
Moving away from a prescribed approach to learning to where students are typically told what to do to a more flexible attitude where students have more ownership over the content for learning enables our students to be pulled by their curiosity and then fall into the curriculum.
It just so happens that the best way to communicate the learning journey is through language, symbols, and text. Students are more likely to master these skills when they have the right motivation to do so, and what better place to start than science, technology, music, dance, poetry or whatever tickles the interest of your student.
Having said all that, “How the dickens do you manage this sort of thing with a ‘gaggle’ of kids?”
Watch the video below to get an idea of how we address this using YouPlanIt Classroom.
Link to video
https://vimeo.com/316466486
Your comments are always welcome. Link
08 Jul
A very challenging read. To do what this psychologist does requires more time listening and showing empathy to those we often react to with frustration and judgment.
14 Jul
I wish I had used and trusted my inner voice and instincts from the very outset of my teaching career.
Why are my students driving me crazy? I’m up against power struggles every day and find myself exhausted just thinking about the next meeting talking about that kid who refuses to listen!