Through scaffolding techniques and the assistance from my advisor Mrs. D'Amour, we worked with the young man to find out which areas of social studies interested him most. He found World War I Trench Warfare the most fascinating. Giving him the challenge of being the class expert in this area, setting the goal of presenting at the white board at least three times during the semester, and being the go-to person during class discussions all gave him a strong sense of purpose.
This experience and the student's continual improvement served as highly effective forms of feedback as well. While much has been written about assessments and metrics in education, one of the most powerful scenarios where they matter most is in the tradition from passive to active learning. Working with this student to give him ownership of a given area and the confidence to contribute in class shows why it is critical to use both qualitative and quantitative assessments. As the Student Teaching Effectiveness evaluations showed, it is better to create a culture of participative learning that take control of the entire learning process. Of the teaching lessons learned from this example, the ability to create the opportunity of continual learning and ownership of the process was the most significant.
This finding correlates with the attributes of excellent schools as defined in the video Learning Matters: School Sleuth - The Case of an Excellent School in that the best schools create a culture that continually underscores not just physical safety, but safety to learn and excel as well. The learning culture of Myra S. Barnes Intermediate School is specifically...
This example also shows that the learning culture at I.S. 24 is deliberately designed to ensure a student is challenged, yet not intimidated by the learning process. This example also shows that creating a passion for learning is also essential for any student to grow, and through scaffolding techniques this occurred.
This example led to reflection of the dominant instructional styles of inductive reasoning, role playing and scaffolding that have been a primary focus during my tenure at I.S. 24. Taken together it is now seen that these techniques can only flourish in a school that is striving to excel, with the student at the center as Dr. James Comer has said. For a school to move from being good enough to excellence, there must be a focus on each aspect of academic excellence. Encompassing not just physical safety but more importantly, the safety to learn in a positive, challenging environment is also crucial. Ensuring the physical facilities and location are all congruent with the goal of creating a highly effective learning environment is also critical. Most importantly, the people in the school and its purpose must be galvanizing around academic excellence, all focused on creating a highly effective foundation for long-term learning and growth.
In conclusion, the role of an educator is to create a passion for learning in students that will serve them well beyond their years in school. Creating as many opportunities for personal growth and the creation of intellectual curiosity in students is far more important, and a mission that is worth committing oneself fully to.
