101 Great Classroom Ideas 1-10! | Help Student Thrive and Succeed with Great Classroom Ideas!
101 Great Classroom Ideas, Articles Generated From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
101. Webb's Depth-of-Knowledge | Cognitive rigor: is a combined model developed by superimposing two existing models for describing rigor that are widely accepted in the education system in the United States. Cognitive Rigor is the superposition of Bloom's Taxonomy and Webb's Depth-of-Knowledge levels and is used to categorize the level of abstraction of questions and activities in education. The Cognitive Rigor Matrix assists applying Cognitive Rigor in the classroom. The intent of these models for use in curriculum development and lesson planning so that students acquire the rigorous skills and knowledge needed for post-secondary education.
The idea of interlacing Bloom’s Taxonomy and Webb's Depth-of-Knowledge to create a new tool for measuring curricular quality was completed two years earlier by Karin Hess of the National Center for Assessment, producing a 4 X 6 matrix (the Cognitive Rigor Matrix or Hess Matrix) for categorizing the Bloom’s Taxonomy and Webb's Depth-of-Knowledge levels for each activity or question appearing in curricular materials. The Cognitive Rigor Matrix aligns the six Bloom’s Taxonomy levels along the columns of the matrix and the four Webb's Depth-of-Knowledge levels along the rows.
100. Montessori education. is an educational approach developed by Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori and characterized by an emphasis on independence, freedom within limits, and respect for a child’s natural psychological, physical, and social development. Although a range of practices exists under the name "Montessori", the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) and the American Montessori Society (AMS) cite these elements as essential:
96. Learning centers: Learning centers are typically set up in a classroom to encourage children to make choices. As they work in the centers they learn to work independently as well as cooperatively. This gives the child more control over what they do. Learning centers offer one easy route to addressing children's individual learning styles.
Basic learning centers: One important learning center that is invaluable to an independent learning environment that fosters creativity and expression is the "art center". According to Dodge, Colker, and Heroman, the art center allows children to visually express themselves. Children also learn how to critically evaluate their artwork, as well as the artwork as others, helping them to practice and develop their cognitive skills, language skills, and aesthetics. Art also offers many opportunities for core subject integration, especially in regard to science, social studies, or language arts. For instance, when studying the anatomy of a flower, the teacher could ask students to draw and color their own flowers based on an accurate representation of a flower or diagram.
Next, the "blocks center" is essential in a pre-kindergarten classroom, and greatly valued in older grades.The blocks center gives children an opportunity to recreate experiences, and explore the elements and complexities of structures. Children learn about their community and its functions while building representations, of common buildings like fire stations, houses, libraries, and zoos. A plethora of other subjects can be integrated in the blocks center, including literacy, mathematics, science, social studies, art, and technology. The blocks center is an especially good place for children to explore the rules of society, relationships, and teamwork.
Another center is "Discovery", a place where children can explore the answers to questions driven by their natural curiosity Science is a special subject in discovery, as gives children the chance to explore life, earth, and the laws of nature. The discovery center sets the stage for students to use the scientific method to predict and find solutions starting during the second half of first grade.
"Dramatic play" centers promote social interaction, role exploration, and abstract thinking. Children are given the opportunity to deeply explore roles of people in their family and community. Pretending is an important part developing abstract thought, such as connecting symbols with real objects and events. Dramatic play greatly enhances a child’s social and emotional development when children cooperate, feel empathy, and control their emotions.
In the United States, literacy is a number one priority for both public and private education. In fact, the United States’ literacy rate is one of the highest in the world, reaching 99% of the population. For this reason, "library centers" are a major contribution to not only learning center curriculum, but all other classroom strategies. In the library center, children learn the importance of reading and writing by engaging in motivational literacy activities through meaningful contexts, The library center also gives the child opportunities to practice reading, have immediate access to print materials for independent reading,participate in read-alouds and retellings (Dodge, Colker, and Heroman, p. 371-373), and share experiences they have had with books. The library center can enhance the theme of any classroom curriculum.For instance, when doing a science unit on mammals, studying human impact on animal life in social studies, and creating pictures of animals in art, the teacher could also facilitate books and activities in the library center about animals, creating connections between subjects. Furthermore, many children are not exposed to literature in their homes, severely limiting their print knowledge. The library center provides these children with regular and active interactions with print.
A pertinent center to the American health and obesity epidemic is the "muscle center". In the muscle center, students engage in activities that exercise their bodies, and subsequently “wake up” their minds.Movement also allows children to outlet their high energy and creativity. During muscle activities, students learn to control their bodies and apply gross motor skills to new types of movement.
Next, the "music center" creates opportunities for children to cooperate in activities that stimulate creativity, listening, and language. By engaging in songs, children learn the natural intonations and rhythms of language. When singing together, children feel harmony with their classmates. Music instruction has also been proven to increase intelligence quotient. Music also offers an easy way for those children on a lower developmental level to participate successfully in a fun group activity.
Lastly, the "table games center" offers a unique way for children to explore established rules, create their own rules, and enforce those rules. Table games also promote healthy competition, giving students a chance to cope with negative feelings in a safe and supportive environment. Children explore mathematical concepts while playing games like cards, dice, and Connect Four. Children must plan strategies in order to problem solve and win the game.
Another important center that should be included in this list is a writing center. Set up an environment that supports and motivates writing. Provide writing materials in all of your learning centers. Once writing becomes established in the classroom, you'll find that it carries over into a variety of activities. Memo pads, notepads, and stationery placed in manipulative, library, or art areas can transform the activities children typically engage in there. These writing materials allow children to create their own activities and play scenarios, reinforcing the important message that there are many uses for writing </ref Neuman ref>.
Encourage independent use of learning centers with these quick and easy tips
95. Cornell Notes: The Cornell method provides a systematic format for condensing and organizing notes. The student divides the paper into two columns: the note-taking column (usually on the right) is twice the size of the questions/key word column (on the left). The student should leave five to seven lines, or about two inches, at the bottom of the page.
Notes from a lecture or teaching are written in the note-taking column; notes usually consist of the main ideas of the text or lecture, and long ideas are paraphrased. Long sentences are avoided; symbols or abbreviations are used instead. To assist with future reviews, relevant questions (which should be recorded as soon as possible so that the lecture and questions will be fresh in the student's mind) or key words are written in the key word column. These notes can be taken from any source of information, such as fiction and nonfiction books, DVDs, lectures, text books, etc.
Within 24 hours of taking the notes, the student must revise and write questions and then write a brief summary in the bottom five to seven lines of the page. This helps to increase understanding of the topic. When studying for either a test or quiz, the student has a concise but detailed and relevant record of previous classes.
When reviewing the material, the student can cover the note-taking (right) column while attempting to answer the questions/keywords in the key word or cue (left) column. The student is encouraged to reflect on the material and review the notes regularly
92. Home Economics: Family and consumer sciences (FCS) is the profession and field of study that deals with the economics and management of the home and community. It is also known as home economics or home science (depending on the country). The field deals with the relationship between individuals, families, and communities, and the environment in which they live.
As a subject of study, FCS is taught in secondary schools, colleges and universities, vocational schools, and in adult education centers; students include women and men. It prepares students for homemaking or professional careers, or to assist in preparing to fulfill real-life responsibilities at home. As an academic profession, it includes educators in the field and human services professionals.
The field represents many disciplines including consumer science, nutrition, food preparation, parenting, early childhood education, family economics, human development, interior design, textiles, apparel design, as well as other related subjects. Family and Consumer Sciences education focuses on individuals and families living in society throughout their lifespan, thus dealing not only with families but also with their interrelationships with the communities.
91. Study abroad: Studying abroad is the act of a student pursuing educational opportunities in a country other than one's own
90. Reading: is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols in order to construct or derive meaning (reading comprehension). It is a means of language acquisition, of communication, and of sharing information and ideas. Like all language, it is a complex interaction between the text and the reader which is shaped by the reader’s prior knowledge, experiences, attitude, and language community which is culturally and socially situated. The reading process requires continuous practice, development, and refinement. In addition, reading requires creativity and critical analysis. Consumers of literature make ventures with each piece, innately deviating from literal words to create images that make sense to them in the unfamiliar places the texts describe. Because reading is such a complex process, it cannot be controlled or restricted to one or two interpretations. There are no concrete laws in reading, but rather allows readers an escape to produce their own products introspectively. This promotes deep exploration of texts during interpretation. Readers use a variety of reading strategies to assist with decoding (to translate symbols into sounds or visual representations of speech) and comprehension. Readers may use context clues to identify the meaning of unknown words. Readers integrate the words they have read into their existing framework of knowledge or schema (schemata theory).
1. Student-Centered Learning: Student-centered learning, also known as learner-centered education, broadly encompasses methods of teaching that shift the focus of instruction from the teacher to the student. In original usage, student-centered learning aims to develop learner autonomy and independence by putting responsibility for the learning path in the hands of students. Student-centered instruction focuses on skills and practices that enable lifelong learning and independent problem-solving. Student-centered learning theory and practice are based on the constructivist learning theory that emphasizes the learner's critical role in constructing meaning from new information and prior experience.
Student-centered learning puts students' interests first, acknowledging student voice as central to the learning experience. In a student-centered classroom, students choose what they will learn, how they will learn, and how they will assess their own learning.
2. Cooperative learning: is an educational approach which aims to organize classroom activities into academic and social learning experiences. There is much more to Cooperative Learning than merely arranging students into groups, and it has been described as "structuring positive interdependence."Students must work in groups to complete tasks collectively toward academic goals. Unlike individual learning, which can be competitive in nature, students learning cooperatively can capitalize on one another’s resources and skills (asking one another for information, evaluating one another’s ideas, monitoring one another’s work, etc.).Furthermore, the teacher's role changes from giving information to facilitating students' learning Everyone succeeds when the group succeeds. Ross and Smyth (1995) describe successful cooperative learning tasks as intellectually demanding, creative, open-ended, and involve higher order thinking tasks. Five essential elements are identified for the successful incorporation of cooperative learning in the classroom.The first and most important element is Positive Interdependence. The second element is individual and group accountability. The third element is (face to face) promotive interaction. The fourth element is teaching the students the required interpersonal and small group skills. The fifth element is group processing. According to Johnson and Johnson's meta-analysis, students in cooperative learning settings compared to those in individualistic or competitive learning settings, achieve more, reason better, gain higher self-esteem, like classmates and the learning tasks more and have more perceived social support.
3. Project-based learning (PBL): is an alternative pedagogical philosophy to standard paper-based published curriculum, rote memorization, or to teacher-led classrooms. Proponents of project-based learning cite numerous benefits to the implementation of its strategies in the classroom - including a greater depth of understanding of concepts, broader knowledge base, improved communication and interpersonal/social skills, enhanced leadership skills, increased creativity, and improved writing skills. Another definition of project-based learning includes a type of instruction, where students work together to solve real-world problems in their schools and communities. Successful problem-solving often requires students to draw on lessons from several disciplines and apply them in a very practical way. The promise of seeing a very real impact becomes the motivation for learning.
5. Active learning: is a model of instruction that focuses the responsibility of learning on learners. It was popularized in the 1990s by its appearance on the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) report (Bonwell & Eison 1991). In this report they discuss a variety of methodologies for promoting "active learning". They cite literature which indicates that to learn, students must do more than just listen: They must read, write, discuss, or be engaged in solving problems. It relates to the three learning domains referred to as knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSA), and that this taxonomy of learning behaviours can be thought of as "the goals of the learning process" (Bloom, 1956). In particular, students must engage in such higher-order thinking tasks as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Active learning engages students in two aspects – doing things and thinking about the things they are doing (Bonwell and Eison, 1991)
6. Spiral curriculum: In a spiral curriculum, learning is spread out over time rather than being concentrated in shorter periods. In a spiral curriculum, material is revisited repeatedly over months and across grades. Different terms are used to describe such an approach, including “distributed” and “spaced.” A spiral approach is often contrasted with “blocked” or “massed” approaches. In a massed approach, learning is concentrated in continuous blocks. In the design of instructional materials, massing is more common than spacing. Spiraling is effective with all learners, including struggling learners. Learning difficulties can be identified when skills and concepts are encountered in the early phases of the spiral and interventions can be implemented when those skills and concepts are encountered again later in the spiral. http://everydaymath.uchicago.edu/about/why-it-works/spiral/
7. Socratic Seminars: Socratic method, also known as method of elenchus, elenctic method, or Socratic debate, is named after the classical Greek philosopher Socrates. It is a form of inquiry and discussion between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas. It is a dialectical method, often involving a discussion in which the defense of one point of view is questioned; one participant may lead another to contradict themselves in some way, thus weakening the defender's point.
The Socratic method is a method of hypothesis elimination, in that better hypotheses are found by steadily identifying and eliminating those that lead to contradictions. The Socratic method searches for general, commonly held truths that shape beliefs, and scrutinizes them to determine their consistency with other beliefs. The basic form is a series ofquestions formulated as tests of logic and fact intended to help a person or group discover their beliefs about some topic, exploring the definitions or logoi (singular logos), seeking to characterize the general characteristics shared by various particular instances. The extent to which this method is employed to bring out definitions implicit in the interlocutors' beliefs, or to help them further their understanding, is called the Maieutic (Midwife) Method. Aristotle attributed to Socrates the discovery of the method of definition and induction, which he regarded as the essence of the scientific method.
9. Formative Handicraft: Educational sloyd's "Käsityö" purpose is formative in its design, and it is thought that the benefits of learning handicrafts "Käsityö" in a public school setting builds character and resilience in children! Educational Sloyd develops self reliance, encourages moral behavior, improves judgment, perseverance, an understanding of quality, encourages students to internalize high standards, develops greater intelligence and industriousness.
"Some aver that a course of scientific training in handicraft gives a boy or girl a new zeal for school work to such an extent that the progress of such a pupil is not only equal, but often exceeds, that of pupils whose attention is concentrated on a literary curriculum. If this is true, even to the extent a pupil under these conditions holds his own, he has the additional advantage of having learnt to use his hands, and his education as a result is "all sided." It has been said that "the true aim of education is the development of all the powers of man to the culminating point of action: and this power in the concrete--the power to do some useful thing for man--this must be the last analysis of educational truth" The Pedagogy of Educational Handicraft by T.W. Berry:1909
Sloyd (Slöjd), also known as Educational sloyd, was a system of
handicraft-based education started by Uno Cygnaeus in Finland in 1865. The system was further refined and promoted worldwide, including adoption in the United States, until the early 20th Century. A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by hand or by using only simple tools. It is a traditional main sector of craft, and applies to a wide range of creative and design activities that are related to making things with one's hands and skill, including work with textiles, moldable and rigid materials, paper, plant fibers, etc. Usually the term is applied to traditional techniques of creating items (whether for personal use or as products) that are both practical and aesthetic.
10. Brain Breaks: Brain breaks are a fun integral part of building a fun, dynamic, engaged and intrinsically motivated classroom of kids. Kids need a brain break at least once an hour to stimulate active learning and encourage focused engagement. Musical brain breaks are a quick and potent form of brain break that gives you and your students the added bonus of stimulating long and short term memory (Real Brain Chemistry that Improves Memory and Focus)!
Social Emotional Brain Breaks, My favorite tool for building, modeling and teaching social-emotional intelligence is inspirational youtube videos! I start my morning meetings at least twice a week with a video with incredible emotional content that helps create a dialogue and inspires students to reach deeper and find the best human traits they want to make part of their hearts.
Using classic music brain breaks are an amazing tool that will inspire all students and help your ADD and ADHD students focus that are your most challenging. Brain Breaks are an important tool in today's classroom with more and more students diagnosed with cognitive disorders like ADD and ADHD. Many students struggle with the mundane task required in today's classroom and struggle to give their full attention. Music and movement breaks give the brain some novelty and a meditative pause that helps move the learning forwards. Playing classic music during quite work time and study hall helps with focus and concentration.
101 Great Classroom Ideas, Articles Generated From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
101. Webb's Depth-of-Knowledge | Cognitive rigor: is a combined model developed by superimposing two existing models for describing rigor that are widely accepted in the education system in the United States. Cognitive Rigor is the superposition of Bloom's Taxonomy and Webb's Depth-of-Knowledge levels and is used to categorize the level of abstraction of questions and activities in education. The Cognitive Rigor Matrix assists applying Cognitive Rigor in the classroom. The intent of these models for use in curriculum development and lesson planning so that students acquire the rigorous skills and knowledge needed for post-secondary education.
The idea of interlacing Bloom’s Taxonomy and Webb's Depth-of-Knowledge to create a new tool for measuring curricular quality was completed two years earlier by Karin Hess of the National Center for Assessment, producing a 4 X 6 matrix (the Cognitive Rigor Matrix or Hess Matrix) for categorizing the Bloom’s Taxonomy and Webb's Depth-of-Knowledge levels for each activity or question appearing in curricular materials. The Cognitive Rigor Matrix aligns the six Bloom’s Taxonomy levels along the columns of the matrix and the four Webb's Depth-of-Knowledge levels along the rows.
100. Montessori education. is an educational approach developed by Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori and characterized by an emphasis on independence, freedom within limits, and respect for a child’s natural psychological, physical, and social development. Although a range of practices exists under the name "Montessori", the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) and the American Montessori Society (AMS) cite these elements as essential:
- Mixed age classrooms, with classrooms for children ages 2½ or 3 to 6 years old by far the most common
- Student choice of activity from within a prescribed range of options
- Uninterrupted blocks of work time, ideally three hours
- A constructivist or "discovery" model, where students learn concepts from working with materials, rather than by direct instruction
- Specialized educational materials developed by Montessori and her collaborators
- Freedom of movement within the classroom
- A trained Montessori teacher
99. Formative assessment: including diagnostic testing is a range of formal and informal assessment procedures conducted by teachers during the learning process in order to modify teaching and learning activities to improve student attainment. It typically involves qualitative feedback (rather than scores) for both student and teacher that focuses on the details of content and performance. It is commonly contrasted with summative assessment, which seeks to monitor educational outcomes, often for purposes of external accountability.
98. Field trips: A field trip or excursion is a journey by a group of people to a place away from their normal environment. The purpose of the trip is usually observation for education, non-experimental research or to provide students with experiences outside their everyday activities, such as going camping with teachers and their classmates. The aim of this research is to observe the subject in its natural state and possibly collect samples. Field trips are also used to produce civilized young men and women who appreciate culture and the arts. It is seen that more-advantaged children may have already experienced cultural institutions outside of school, and field trips provide a common ground with more-advantaged and less-advantaged children to have some of the same cultural experiences in the arts.
Field trips are most often done in 3 steps: preparation, activities and follow-up activity. Preparation applies to both the student and the teacher. Teachers often take the time to learn about the destination and the subject before the trip. Activities that happen on the field trips often include: lectures, tours, worksheets, videos and demonstrations. Follow-up activities are generally discussions that occur in the classroom once the field trip is completed.
Field trips are most often done in 3 steps: preparation, activities and follow-up activity. Preparation applies to both the student and the teacher. Teachers often take the time to learn about the destination and the subject before the trip. Activities that happen on the field trips often include: lectures, tours, worksheets, videos and demonstrations. Follow-up activities are generally discussions that occur in the classroom once the field trip is completed.
97. Interactive whiteboard: An interactive whiteboard (IWB) is a large interactive display that connects to a computer. A projector projects the computer's desktop onto the board's surface where users control the computer using a pen, finger, stylus, or other device. The board is typically mounted to a wall or floor stand.
They are used in a variety of settings, including classrooms at all levels of education, in corporate board rooms and work groups, in training rooms for professional sports coaching, in broadcasting studios, and others.
Uses for interactive whiteboards may include:
They are used in a variety of settings, including classrooms at all levels of education, in corporate board rooms and work groups, in training rooms for professional sports coaching, in broadcasting studios, and others.
Uses for interactive whiteboards may include:
- Running software that is loaded onto the connected PC, such as a web browsers or other software used in the classroom.
- Capturing and saving notes written on a whiteboard to the connected PC
- Capturing notes written on a graphics tablet connected to the whiteboard
- Controlling the PC from the white board using click and drag, markup which annotates a program or presentation
- Using OCR software to translate cursive writing on a graphics tablet into text
- Using an Audience Response System so that presenters can poll a classroom audience or conduct quizzes, capturing feedback onto the whiteboard
96. Learning centers: Learning centers are typically set up in a classroom to encourage children to make choices. As they work in the centers they learn to work independently as well as cooperatively. This gives the child more control over what they do. Learning centers offer one easy route to addressing children's individual learning styles.
Basic learning centers: One important learning center that is invaluable to an independent learning environment that fosters creativity and expression is the "art center". According to Dodge, Colker, and Heroman, the art center allows children to visually express themselves. Children also learn how to critically evaluate their artwork, as well as the artwork as others, helping them to practice and develop their cognitive skills, language skills, and aesthetics. Art also offers many opportunities for core subject integration, especially in regard to science, social studies, or language arts. For instance, when studying the anatomy of a flower, the teacher could ask students to draw and color their own flowers based on an accurate representation of a flower or diagram.
Next, the "blocks center" is essential in a pre-kindergarten classroom, and greatly valued in older grades.The blocks center gives children an opportunity to recreate experiences, and explore the elements and complexities of structures. Children learn about their community and its functions while building representations, of common buildings like fire stations, houses, libraries, and zoos. A plethora of other subjects can be integrated in the blocks center, including literacy, mathematics, science, social studies, art, and technology. The blocks center is an especially good place for children to explore the rules of society, relationships, and teamwork.
Another center is "Discovery", a place where children can explore the answers to questions driven by their natural curiosity Science is a special subject in discovery, as gives children the chance to explore life, earth, and the laws of nature. The discovery center sets the stage for students to use the scientific method to predict and find solutions starting during the second half of first grade.
"Dramatic play" centers promote social interaction, role exploration, and abstract thinking. Children are given the opportunity to deeply explore roles of people in their family and community. Pretending is an important part developing abstract thought, such as connecting symbols with real objects and events. Dramatic play greatly enhances a child’s social and emotional development when children cooperate, feel empathy, and control their emotions.
In the United States, literacy is a number one priority for both public and private education. In fact, the United States’ literacy rate is one of the highest in the world, reaching 99% of the population. For this reason, "library centers" are a major contribution to not only learning center curriculum, but all other classroom strategies. In the library center, children learn the importance of reading and writing by engaging in motivational literacy activities through meaningful contexts, The library center also gives the child opportunities to practice reading, have immediate access to print materials for independent reading,participate in read-alouds and retellings (Dodge, Colker, and Heroman, p. 371-373), and share experiences they have had with books. The library center can enhance the theme of any classroom curriculum.For instance, when doing a science unit on mammals, studying human impact on animal life in social studies, and creating pictures of animals in art, the teacher could also facilitate books and activities in the library center about animals, creating connections between subjects. Furthermore, many children are not exposed to literature in their homes, severely limiting their print knowledge. The library center provides these children with regular and active interactions with print.
A pertinent center to the American health and obesity epidemic is the "muscle center". In the muscle center, students engage in activities that exercise their bodies, and subsequently “wake up” their minds.Movement also allows children to outlet their high energy and creativity. During muscle activities, students learn to control their bodies and apply gross motor skills to new types of movement.
Next, the "music center" creates opportunities for children to cooperate in activities that stimulate creativity, listening, and language. By engaging in songs, children learn the natural intonations and rhythms of language. When singing together, children feel harmony with their classmates. Music instruction has also been proven to increase intelligence quotient. Music also offers an easy way for those children on a lower developmental level to participate successfully in a fun group activity.
Lastly, the "table games center" offers a unique way for children to explore established rules, create their own rules, and enforce those rules. Table games also promote healthy competition, giving students a chance to cope with negative feelings in a safe and supportive environment. Children explore mathematical concepts while playing games like cards, dice, and Connect Four. Children must plan strategies in order to problem solve and win the game.
Another important center that should be included in this list is a writing center. Set up an environment that supports and motivates writing. Provide writing materials in all of your learning centers. Once writing becomes established in the classroom, you'll find that it carries over into a variety of activities. Memo pads, notepads, and stationery placed in manipulative, library, or art areas can transform the activities children typically engage in there. These writing materials allow children to create their own activities and play scenarios, reinforcing the important message that there are many uses for writing </ref Neuman ref>.
Encourage independent use of learning centers with these quick and easy tips
95. Cornell Notes: The Cornell method provides a systematic format for condensing and organizing notes. The student divides the paper into two columns: the note-taking column (usually on the right) is twice the size of the questions/key word column (on the left). The student should leave five to seven lines, or about two inches, at the bottom of the page.
Notes from a lecture or teaching are written in the note-taking column; notes usually consist of the main ideas of the text or lecture, and long ideas are paraphrased. Long sentences are avoided; symbols or abbreviations are used instead. To assist with future reviews, relevant questions (which should be recorded as soon as possible so that the lecture and questions will be fresh in the student's mind) or key words are written in the key word column. These notes can be taken from any source of information, such as fiction and nonfiction books, DVDs, lectures, text books, etc.
Within 24 hours of taking the notes, the student must revise and write questions and then write a brief summary in the bottom five to seven lines of the page. This helps to increase understanding of the topic. When studying for either a test or quiz, the student has a concise but detailed and relevant record of previous classes.
When reviewing the material, the student can cover the note-taking (right) column while attempting to answer the questions/keywords in the key word or cue (left) column. The student is encouraged to reflect on the material and review the notes regularly
94. Recess (break): During recess, children play, and learning through play has been long known as a vital aspect of childhood development. Some of the earliest studies of play began with G. Stanley Hall, in the 1890s. These studies sparked an interest in the developmental, mental and behavioral tendencies of babies and children. Current research emphasizes recess as a place for children to “role-play essential social skills” and as an important time in the academic day that “counterbalances the sedentary life at school.” Play has also been associated with the healthy development of parent-child bonds, establishing social, emotional and cognitive developmental achievements that assist them in relating with others, and managing stress.
Although no formal education exists during recess, sociologists and psychologists consider recess an integral portion of child development, to teach them the importance of social skills and physical education. Play is essential for children to develop not only their physical abilities, but also their intellectual, social, and moral capabilities.Via play, children can learn about the world around them. Some of the known benefits of recess are that students are and more on task during academic activities, have improved memory, are more focused, develop a greater number of neural connections, learn how to negotiate, find ways to demonstrate leadership, are able to teach their own games, learn to take turns, learn how to negotiate conflicts, and that it leads to more physical activity outside of the school setting Psychomotor learning also gives children clues on how the world around them works as they can physically demonstrate such skills. Children need the freedom to play to learn skills necessary to become competent adults such as coping with stress and problem solving. Through the means of caregiver's observations of children’s play, one can identify deficiencies in children’s development. While there are many types of play children engage in that all contribute to development, it has been emphasized that “free, spontaneous play—the kind that occurs on playgrounds—is the most beneficial type of play.”
Recess at its core is a social experience for children and as such, plays a significant part in the development of language. Children’s intentionality with language during recess is tied closely to navigating the social landscape of the playground. Even as early as preschool, children use language to make group decisions and establish authority or a standing in the social setting of the playground. One researcher states that children use language to “invoke play ideas as their own possessions to manage and control the unfolding play,” which engages a bidding war for group leadership. When viewing recess through a language perspective, the individual experience of the playground can vary depending on a willingness to follow other’s ideas, and the development of language to modify play as it unfolds.
Depending on the weather, recess may be held indoors, allowing the students to finish work, play board games or other activities that take more than one to play; this helps encourage group activity and some of the games are also educational. Or, they might play educational computer games or read books. It also may contribute to do something non-educational, to help unwind and de-stress from the daily workload.
Data suggests that students who lack opportunities for play do not grow into happy, well-adjusted adults, and, although schools are now focusing their attention on the test scores while eliminating recess/physical education, studies show that break and/or P.E. actually increase test scores as the students produce dopamine, a neurotransmitter involved in memory and problem-solving. Even though studies have proven that recess has many benefits for the pupils, especially those in elementary school, almost 40% of the US school districts have either decreased the amount of time for recess, gotten rid of it entirely or are considering to do so.
The National Association for the Education of Young Children recommends unstructured physical play as a developmentally crucial means of decreasing stress. More importantly, research shows that increased levels of stress have a negative impact on learning and health. This data coupled with research that suggests that recess can help develop the social skills in children is alarming a growing number of parents, educators, and psychologists, because the amount of time for recess is decreasing. They worry that the children will not have the proper chance to play. Instead, young students are bogged down with test preparation, homework requirements, and demanding out-of-school schedules. The demands placed on the youth has an impact on the amount of time allotted to them to play and exercise. In addition, negative health issues have been associated with children that do not receive the proper amount of exercise and play. For this reason, researchers have been grappling with the problem of incorporating more play time in school. Research shows that 30% of the school day is taken up by routine classroom management activities, such as, lining up, or putting materials away. In turn, the class room management time may take crucial time away from recess. This lack of free and undirected play during recess may contribute to the rise in childhood obesity, anxiety and depression among children, as well as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes are also a major concern as the United States youth do not get the physical outlet needed not only for their cognitive development but for their physical health. Research has shown that 60 minutes of physical activity a day can cumulatively play a valuable role in the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity. Only about half of America’s youth meet the current evidence-based guideline of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department of at least 60 minutes of vigorous or moderate-intensity physical activity daily.
Another important aspect of recess to consider is what time of day it should be implemented. Research suggests that having recess before lunch can improve the nutrition and behavior of elementary students. The traditional placement of lunch before recess, coupled with the recent decline in overall recess time, forces children to make a decision between food and exercise. For this reason, the Recess Before Lunch (RBL) movement was founded in 2002. RBL was established and organized in the Montana Office of Public Instruction when a health team started a year-long pilot to study four schools that decided to make the switch. The results from the study show that the students had increased hunger after recess and therefore, ate more food for lunch. In addition, there were other benefits, such as improved behavior in the classroom. Following the study, RBL began to spread their findings to administrators statewide, and by 2003, they had published, "Recess Before Lunch: A Guide for Success." By 2011, almost 40% of Montana's elementary schools implemented recess before lunch
94. Science fairs: A science fair experiment is generally a competition where contestants present their science project results in the form of a report, display board, and models that they have created. Science fairs allow students in elementary, middle and high schools to compete in science and/or technology activities.
Although writing assignments that take a long time to complete and require multiple drafts are fairly common in US schools, large projects in the sciences (other than science fairs) are rare. Science fairs also provide a mechanism for students with intense interest in the sciences to be paired with mentors from nearby colleges and universities, so that they can get access to instruction and equipment that the local schools could not provide.
In the United States, science fairs first became popular in the early 1950s, with the ISEF, then known as the National Science Fair. Interest in the sciences was at a new high after the world witnessed the use of the first two atomic weapons and the dawn of television. As the decade progressed, science stories in the news, such as Jonas Salk’s vaccine for polio and the launch of Sputnik, brought science fiction to reality and attracted increasing numbers of students to fairs.
93. Chess club: A chess club is a club formed for the purpose of playing the board game of chess. Chess clubs often provide for both informal and tournament games and sometimes offer league play.
Chess is a two-player sports played on a chessboard, a checkered gameboard with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. Chess is played by millions of people worldwide in homes, urban parks, clubs, online, correspondence, and in tournaments. In recent years, chess has become part of some school curricula.
Each player begins the game with 16 pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, and eight pawns. Each of the six piece types moves differently. The most powerful piece is the queen and the least powerful piece is the pawn. The objective is to 'checkmate' the opponent's king by placing it under an inescapable threat of capture. To this end, a player's pieces are used to attack and capture the opponent's pieces, while supporting their own. In addition to checkmate, the game can be won by voluntary resignation by the opponent, which typically occurs when too much material is lost, or if checkmate appears unavoidable. A game may also result in a draw in several ways.
Although no formal education exists during recess, sociologists and psychologists consider recess an integral portion of child development, to teach them the importance of social skills and physical education. Play is essential for children to develop not only their physical abilities, but also their intellectual, social, and moral capabilities.Via play, children can learn about the world around them. Some of the known benefits of recess are that students are and more on task during academic activities, have improved memory, are more focused, develop a greater number of neural connections, learn how to negotiate, find ways to demonstrate leadership, are able to teach their own games, learn to take turns, learn how to negotiate conflicts, and that it leads to more physical activity outside of the school setting Psychomotor learning also gives children clues on how the world around them works as they can physically demonstrate such skills. Children need the freedom to play to learn skills necessary to become competent adults such as coping with stress and problem solving. Through the means of caregiver's observations of children’s play, one can identify deficiencies in children’s development. While there are many types of play children engage in that all contribute to development, it has been emphasized that “free, spontaneous play—the kind that occurs on playgrounds—is the most beneficial type of play.”
Recess at its core is a social experience for children and as such, plays a significant part in the development of language. Children’s intentionality with language during recess is tied closely to navigating the social landscape of the playground. Even as early as preschool, children use language to make group decisions and establish authority or a standing in the social setting of the playground. One researcher states that children use language to “invoke play ideas as their own possessions to manage and control the unfolding play,” which engages a bidding war for group leadership. When viewing recess through a language perspective, the individual experience of the playground can vary depending on a willingness to follow other’s ideas, and the development of language to modify play as it unfolds.
Depending on the weather, recess may be held indoors, allowing the students to finish work, play board games or other activities that take more than one to play; this helps encourage group activity and some of the games are also educational. Or, they might play educational computer games or read books. It also may contribute to do something non-educational, to help unwind and de-stress from the daily workload.
Data suggests that students who lack opportunities for play do not grow into happy, well-adjusted adults, and, although schools are now focusing their attention on the test scores while eliminating recess/physical education, studies show that break and/or P.E. actually increase test scores as the students produce dopamine, a neurotransmitter involved in memory and problem-solving. Even though studies have proven that recess has many benefits for the pupils, especially those in elementary school, almost 40% of the US school districts have either decreased the amount of time for recess, gotten rid of it entirely or are considering to do so.
The National Association for the Education of Young Children recommends unstructured physical play as a developmentally crucial means of decreasing stress. More importantly, research shows that increased levels of stress have a negative impact on learning and health. This data coupled with research that suggests that recess can help develop the social skills in children is alarming a growing number of parents, educators, and psychologists, because the amount of time for recess is decreasing. They worry that the children will not have the proper chance to play. Instead, young students are bogged down with test preparation, homework requirements, and demanding out-of-school schedules. The demands placed on the youth has an impact on the amount of time allotted to them to play and exercise. In addition, negative health issues have been associated with children that do not receive the proper amount of exercise and play. For this reason, researchers have been grappling with the problem of incorporating more play time in school. Research shows that 30% of the school day is taken up by routine classroom management activities, such as, lining up, or putting materials away. In turn, the class room management time may take crucial time away from recess. This lack of free and undirected play during recess may contribute to the rise in childhood obesity, anxiety and depression among children, as well as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes are also a major concern as the United States youth do not get the physical outlet needed not only for their cognitive development but for their physical health. Research has shown that 60 minutes of physical activity a day can cumulatively play a valuable role in the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity. Only about half of America’s youth meet the current evidence-based guideline of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department of at least 60 minutes of vigorous or moderate-intensity physical activity daily.
Another important aspect of recess to consider is what time of day it should be implemented. Research suggests that having recess before lunch can improve the nutrition and behavior of elementary students. The traditional placement of lunch before recess, coupled with the recent decline in overall recess time, forces children to make a decision between food and exercise. For this reason, the Recess Before Lunch (RBL) movement was founded in 2002. RBL was established and organized in the Montana Office of Public Instruction when a health team started a year-long pilot to study four schools that decided to make the switch. The results from the study show that the students had increased hunger after recess and therefore, ate more food for lunch. In addition, there were other benefits, such as improved behavior in the classroom. Following the study, RBL began to spread their findings to administrators statewide, and by 2003, they had published, "Recess Before Lunch: A Guide for Success." By 2011, almost 40% of Montana's elementary schools implemented recess before lunch
94. Science fairs: A science fair experiment is generally a competition where contestants present their science project results in the form of a report, display board, and models that they have created. Science fairs allow students in elementary, middle and high schools to compete in science and/or technology activities.
Although writing assignments that take a long time to complete and require multiple drafts are fairly common in US schools, large projects in the sciences (other than science fairs) are rare. Science fairs also provide a mechanism for students with intense interest in the sciences to be paired with mentors from nearby colleges and universities, so that they can get access to instruction and equipment that the local schools could not provide.
In the United States, science fairs first became popular in the early 1950s, with the ISEF, then known as the National Science Fair. Interest in the sciences was at a new high after the world witnessed the use of the first two atomic weapons and the dawn of television. As the decade progressed, science stories in the news, such as Jonas Salk’s vaccine for polio and the launch of Sputnik, brought science fiction to reality and attracted increasing numbers of students to fairs.
93. Chess club: A chess club is a club formed for the purpose of playing the board game of chess. Chess clubs often provide for both informal and tournament games and sometimes offer league play.
Chess is a two-player sports played on a chessboard, a checkered gameboard with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. Chess is played by millions of people worldwide in homes, urban parks, clubs, online, correspondence, and in tournaments. In recent years, chess has become part of some school curricula.
Each player begins the game with 16 pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, and eight pawns. Each of the six piece types moves differently. The most powerful piece is the queen and the least powerful piece is the pawn. The objective is to 'checkmate' the opponent's king by placing it under an inescapable threat of capture. To this end, a player's pieces are used to attack and capture the opponent's pieces, while supporting their own. In addition to checkmate, the game can be won by voluntary resignation by the opponent, which typically occurs when too much material is lost, or if checkmate appears unavoidable. A game may also result in a draw in several ways.92. Home Economics: Family and consumer sciences (FCS) is the profession and field of study that deals with the economics and management of the home and community. It is also known as home economics or home science (depending on the country). The field deals with the relationship between individuals, families, and communities, and the environment in which they live.
As a subject of study, FCS is taught in secondary schools, colleges and universities, vocational schools, and in adult education centers; students include women and men. It prepares students for homemaking or professional careers, or to assist in preparing to fulfill real-life responsibilities at home. As an academic profession, it includes educators in the field and human services professionals.
The field represents many disciplines including consumer science, nutrition, food preparation, parenting, early childhood education, family economics, human development, interior design, textiles, apparel design, as well as other related subjects. Family and Consumer Sciences education focuses on individuals and families living in society throughout their lifespan, thus dealing not only with families but also with their interrelationships with the communities.
91. Study abroad: Studying abroad is the act of a student pursuing educational opportunities in a country other than one's own
90. Reading: is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols in order to construct or derive meaning (reading comprehension). It is a means of language acquisition, of communication, and of sharing information and ideas. Like all language, it is a complex interaction between the text and the reader which is shaped by the reader’s prior knowledge, experiences, attitude, and language community which is culturally and socially situated. The reading process requires continuous practice, development, and refinement. In addition, reading requires creativity and critical analysis. Consumers of literature make ventures with each piece, innately deviating from literal words to create images that make sense to them in the unfamiliar places the texts describe. Because reading is such a complex process, it cannot be controlled or restricted to one or two interpretations. There are no concrete laws in reading, but rather allows readers an escape to produce their own products introspectively. This promotes deep exploration of texts during interpretation. Readers use a variety of reading strategies to assist with decoding (to translate symbols into sounds or visual representations of speech) and comprehension. Readers may use context clues to identify the meaning of unknown words. Readers integrate the words they have read into their existing framework of knowledge or schema (schemata theory).
1. Student-Centered Learning: Student-centered learning, also known as learner-centered education, broadly encompasses methods of teaching that shift the focus of instruction from the teacher to the student. In original usage, student-centered learning aims to develop learner autonomy and independence by putting responsibility for the learning path in the hands of students. Student-centered instruction focuses on skills and practices that enable lifelong learning and independent problem-solving. Student-centered learning theory and practice are based on the constructivist learning theory that emphasizes the learner's critical role in constructing meaning from new information and prior experience.
Student-centered learning puts students' interests first, acknowledging student voice as central to the learning experience. In a student-centered classroom, students choose what they will learn, how they will learn, and how they will assess their own learning.
2. Cooperative learning: is an educational approach which aims to organize classroom activities into academic and social learning experiences. There is much more to Cooperative Learning than merely arranging students into groups, and it has been described as "structuring positive interdependence."Students must work in groups to complete tasks collectively toward academic goals. Unlike individual learning, which can be competitive in nature, students learning cooperatively can capitalize on one another’s resources and skills (asking one another for information, evaluating one another’s ideas, monitoring one another’s work, etc.).Furthermore, the teacher's role changes from giving information to facilitating students' learning Everyone succeeds when the group succeeds. Ross and Smyth (1995) describe successful cooperative learning tasks as intellectually demanding, creative, open-ended, and involve higher order thinking tasks. Five essential elements are identified for the successful incorporation of cooperative learning in the classroom.The first and most important element is Positive Interdependence. The second element is individual and group accountability. The third element is (face to face) promotive interaction. The fourth element is teaching the students the required interpersonal and small group skills. The fifth element is group processing. According to Johnson and Johnson's meta-analysis, students in cooperative learning settings compared to those in individualistic or competitive learning settings, achieve more, reason better, gain higher self-esteem, like classmates and the learning tasks more and have more perceived social support.
3. Project-based learning (PBL): is an alternative pedagogical philosophy to standard paper-based published curriculum, rote memorization, or to teacher-led classrooms. Proponents of project-based learning cite numerous benefits to the implementation of its strategies in the classroom - including a greater depth of understanding of concepts, broader knowledge base, improved communication and interpersonal/social skills, enhanced leadership skills, increased creativity, and improved writing skills. Another definition of project-based learning includes a type of instruction, where students work together to solve real-world problems in their schools and communities. Successful problem-solving often requires students to draw on lessons from several disciplines and apply them in a very practical way. The promise of seeing a very real impact becomes the motivation for learning.
4. Problem-based learning (PBL): is a student-centered pedagogy in which students learn about a subject through the experience of solving an open-ended problem. Students learn both thinking strategies and domain knowledge. The PBL format originated from the medical school of thought, and is now used in other schools of thought too. It was developed at the McMaster University Medical School in Canada in the 1960s and has since spread around the world. The goals of PBL are to help students develop flexible knowledge, effective problem-solving skills, self-directed learning, effective collaboration skills and intrinsic motivation. Problem-based learning is a style of active learning.
The Socratic method is a method of hypothesis elimination, in that better hypotheses are found by steadily identifying and eliminating those that lead to contradictions. The Socratic method searches for general, commonly held truths that shape beliefs, and scrutinizes them to determine their consistency with other beliefs. The basic form is a series ofquestions formulated as tests of logic and fact intended to help a person or group discover their beliefs about some topic, exploring the definitions or logoi (singular logos), seeking to characterize the general characteristics shared by various particular instances. The extent to which this method is employed to bring out definitions implicit in the interlocutors' beliefs, or to help them further their understanding, is called the Maieutic (Midwife) Method. Aristotle attributed to Socrates the discovery of the method of definition and induction, which he regarded as the essence of the scientific method.
8. Spellers: The Speller was arranged so that it could be easily taught to students, and it progressed by age. From his own experiences as a teacher, Webster thought the Speller should be simple and gave an orderly presentation of words and the rules of spelling and pronunciation. He believed students learned most readily when he broke a complex problem into its component parts and had each pupil master one part before moving to the next. Ellis argues that Webster anticipated some of the insights currently associated with Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Webster said that children pass through distinctive learning phases in which they master increasingly complex or abstract tasks. Therefore, teachers must not try to teach a three-year-old how to read; they could not do it until age five. He organized his speller accordingly, beginning with the alphabet and moving systematically through the different sounds of vowels and consonants, then syllables, then simple words, then more complex words, then sentences. This is the First Tier 1, 2, and 3 Reading Vocabulary Word Work! The National Reading Vocabulary is the Moder Version! http://www.readingkey.com
9. Formative Handicraft: Educational sloyd's "Käsityö" purpose is formative in its design, and it is thought that the benefits of learning handicrafts "Käsityö" in a public school setting builds character and resilience in children! Educational Sloyd develops self reliance, encourages moral behavior, improves judgment, perseverance, an understanding of quality, encourages students to internalize high standards, develops greater intelligence and industriousness."Some aver that a course of scientific training in handicraft gives a boy or girl a new zeal for school work to such an extent that the progress of such a pupil is not only equal, but often exceeds, that of pupils whose attention is concentrated on a literary curriculum. If this is true, even to the extent a pupil under these conditions holds his own, he has the additional advantage of having learnt to use his hands, and his education as a result is "all sided." It has been said that "the true aim of education is the development of all the powers of man to the culminating point of action: and this power in the concrete--the power to do some useful thing for man--this must be the last analysis of educational truth" The Pedagogy of Educational Handicraft by T.W. Berry:1909
Sloyd (Slöjd), also known as Educational sloyd, was a system of
handicraft-based education started by Uno Cygnaeus in Finland in 1865. The system was further refined and promoted worldwide, including adoption in the United States, until the early 20th Century. A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by hand or by using only simple tools. It is a traditional main sector of craft, and applies to a wide range of creative and design activities that are related to making things with one's hands and skill, including work with textiles, moldable and rigid materials, paper, plant fibers, etc. Usually the term is applied to traditional techniques of creating items (whether for personal use or as products) that are both practical and aesthetic.
10. Brain Breaks: Brain breaks are a fun integral part of building a fun, dynamic, engaged and intrinsically motivated classroom of kids. Kids need a brain break at least once an hour to stimulate active learning and encourage focused engagement. Musical brain breaks are a quick and potent form of brain break that gives you and your students the added bonus of stimulating long and short term memory (Real Brain Chemistry that Improves Memory and Focus)!
Social Emotional Brain Breaks, My favorite tool for building, modeling and teaching social-emotional intelligence is inspirational youtube videos! I start my morning meetings at least twice a week with a video with incredible emotional content that helps create a dialogue and inspires students to reach deeper and find the best human traits they want to make part of their hearts.
Using classic music brain breaks are an amazing tool that will inspire all students and help your ADD and ADHD students focus that are your most challenging. Brain Breaks are an important tool in today's classroom with more and more students diagnosed with cognitive disorders like ADD and ADHD. Many students struggle with the mundane task required in today's classroom and struggle to give their full attention. Music and movement breaks give the brain some novelty and a meditative pause that helps move the learning forwards. Playing classic music during quite work time and study hall helps with focus and concentration.
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