Our coop teacher promoted different ways of knowing this week in a few different ways.  He often relies on class participation in order to get the class involved in the lessons, the kids are very excited and quick to raise their hands to answer questions; however I notice he tries to spread around the room who gets asked to provide examples.  During a 30-minute work period the students were given an option of four tasks that they could work on and it was up to them which one it would be (Reading alone, reading with others, writing, or word work) but they had to stop and switch to another one of the remaining three tasks after 15 minutes.  I found this to be very effective as the students were able to feel as though they were deciding what they would work on and it seemed to provide positive results.

 

We were lucky enough to be in the classroom on the same day they were crowing their “monthly champions”.  I feel this promotes learning as they have it broke out into four categories, honesty, discipline, academics, and friendliness.  Four separate students were called up one after another to applause from their classmates as they got to pose for a picture with a mock wrestling belt they held over their heads.

 

A few of the key supports that are relied on in our classroom are definitely technology.  There are a handful of Ipad’s in each classroom that the students can use when researching projects.  Also, the use of a Smartboard is utilized in almost every lesson that we have been a part of.  I have seen it used for examples, note taking and even the touch screen capabilities have been used by students to answer math questions.

 

The teachers all just completed a personal development day last week in which they were able to choose an activity for the afternoon in a field of study they were interested in or wanted to gain further knowledge, the options were anything from a walk with Pony Lodge through North Central Regina to introduction to technology and Science.  This, along with additional efforts shows a dedication to building personal knowledge