7-learning-zones-classroom-veronica-lopez?crlt_pid=camp There are many elements to consider as you plan for the next school year. You always review critical pieces like standards, curriculum, instructional activities, and testing, but you also think about the classroom space and how to arrange desks, set up bulletin boards, and organize materials. You can bring these seemingly disconnected components together in a system of seven learning zones. The discovery, news, supplies, community, quiet, teacher, and subject area zones will help you establish routines, save time, and maintain your sanity from the first through the last days of school. 1. Discovery Zone The discovery zone houses all those items that spark imagination. 2. The news zone will help you manage your classroom calendar, assignments and projects, school-wide events, holidays, upcoming celebrations, weather, temperature, and community and world news. 3. The supplies zone is sure to save your sanity. 4. A community zone serves multiple purposes. 5. 6. 7.
Problem-Solving Using Cause and Effect Diagram - Designorate Solving problems is considered an initial part of designers’ tasks; they tend to solve consumer or company problems through providing a wide range of solutions depending on the design field, such as service design, product design, or interaction design. However, a clear definition for the problem should be highlighted in order to target the proper solution, including analyzing the causes behind this problem and its impact on the business. Problem-solving tools such as TRIZ and Cause and Effect Diagram are commonly used to allow designers to explore a specific problem before providing the proper solution. The term was first coined by professor Kaoru Ishikawa in his book “Introduction to Quality Control,” published in 1990. Manufacturing industry (5 Ms): Machine, Method, Material, Man Power, and MeasurementMarketing industry (7 Ps): Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Process, and Physical EvidenceService industry (5 Ss): Surrounding, Suppliers, Systems, Skills, and Safety
Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) Got to Teach!: Four Corners: A Cooperative Learning Strategy (Post 4 of 5) Thanks for checking out this post on using "Four Corners" as a cooperative learning activity in the classroom. If you would like to view the other posts in this series of Cooperative Learning Strategies, you can find them here: "Expert Groups," "Q&A Match-Up," and "Circle Chats." How It Works: Choose four aspects of a topic that your class is currently focusing on.Assign each of these aspects to a corner (or an area) of your room.Present the topic and the four related aspects to the whole group and give the students some "think time." Why I Love This: Student Choice: Students LOVE when they are given an opportunity to choose. If you're feeling like a lesson needs a quick boost of engagement, keep this strategy in mind!
Design Thinking in Schools: Building a Generation of Innovators - Designorate Observing today’s world can tell us much about tomorrow and what human beings need to meet future challenges. Along with the increasing challenges that we face everyday from economical challenges and climate change to extremism and the increasing language of hate between nations, we should raise a generation that is able to meet these challenges and find innovative solutions for tomorrow’s problems. In a previous article, Can we Apply Design Thinking in Education, we discussed how the current education systems still depend on the some core education pedagogy since decades. Although there is a sustaining innovation in some education systems, these future challenges seek a disruptive innovative that can contribute to building a generation programmed to solve problems rather than dealing with them. Why Do We Need Design Thinking? So, how can this methodology contribute to changing our education system to become more innovation and creativity-biased? Design Thinking Models for Education
6 Tips for Getting Started with Genius Hour Posted 05/22/2014 2:36PM | Last Commented 02/02/2015 11:36AM Genius hour is a great way to allow students to drive their own personalized instruction but where to begin such a big project? How to Get Started There are a lot of resources out there already, and most of the teachers that are embarking on this process are willing to share what they have or help you problem solve. The following all have something to offer: Practical Tips Face to Face time is invaluable: While the students are working independently you are still there helping them focus and problem solve.
Got to Teach!: Expert Groups: A Cooperative Learning Strategy {Post 1 of 5} One of the most important elements of teaching is providing students with plenty of opportunities to actively engage in learning with their peers. I have decided to start a five-part series of posts that will outline my favorite cooperative learning strategies that I have used in my classroom. I will begin with "Expert Groups," a strategy that can easily be used in grades 3-8+, and one that I find especially useful when teaching a class of diverse learners. Group your students into 4 equal "Expert Groups" (e.g. Group A, Group B, etc.). These groups should be strategically organized in heterogenous groups in regards to student ability. The number of "Expert Groups" and "Numbered Groups" are totally flexible depending on the topics you are studying and the number of students in your class. Less Overwhelming- The students can focus their learning on one aspect of a topic, which allows for greater understanding of a concept. How have you used "Expert Groups" in your classroom?
‘Diversity Does Not Happen By Accident’ and Other Lessons About Equity in the Maker Movement It has never been easier to hop onboard the Maker movement. In recent years, the prices of expensive tools, such as 3D printers, have dropped drastically. Project-based learning, as an alternative to the traditional lecture-based instructional approach, has won admirers among academics and teachers as a better way to help students develop 21st century skills. Today there are more makerspaces in schools, and more teachers willing to become part of this community. But do all students—regardless of background—have the same opportunity to be part of this movement? Sadly, the answer is no. Artist-educator Corinne Okada Takara kicked off the event with a lightning talk, inviting the audience to ask students "what did you make today at school?" Here are the four things we learned about equity in the Maker movement after this panel. 1. Including underrepresented groups in the Maker movement is not something that will happen naturally, argues Blikstein. 2. 3.
Genius Hour Resources | Engage Their Minds Genius Hour is a time given during the school day to allow students to follow their passions and learn about topics that interest them. My gifted 5th graders participate in this project, and present their learning when they are ready. This page is devoted to sharing some of the resources I’ve collected over the past two years with anyone else who is interested in starting a classroom Genius Hour. *As of 1/2/14, you can now download all of my current Genius Hour resources in a bundle on Teachers Pay Teachers for $5. Or, you can still download them separately (for free) by clicking on the links below. My posts on Genius Hour so far (in chronological order from earliest to most recent): The Twenty Percent Project 100 Minutes of Genius Genius Hour Update, Part I Genius Hour Update, Part II Genius Hour Update, Part III Genius Hour 2013, Part I Genius Hour 2013, Part II Next Year Will Be Even Better Blast off to Genius Hour! Genius Hour – Don’t Forget to Reflect! Genius Hour – Show What You Know! Make!
Got to Teach!: Q and A Match-Up: A Cooperative Learning Strategy (Post 2 of 5) In my first post of this 5-part series, I talked about using Expert Groups as a cooperative learning strategy in your classroom. Today I am going to outline the use of what I have termed "Q&A Match-Up." I first saw this strategy used by one of my student teachers as a review activity before a science unit test; my students and I LOVED it! Since then I have used it countless times with just about any subject and/or topic. Create a set of questions and answers based on the topic your class is studying. Versatility: This strategy can be used with almost all content and with varying size classrooms. I hope you find this strategy as engaging and meaningful in your classroom as I do in mine.
edsurge Dumpster diving and dollar stores. Purse-shaped post-it's and animal lubricant. When you're building a makerspace on a budget, you learn that resources are everywhere—and they aren't always what you expect. For three years I and my fellow cofounders Kim Martin and Beth Compton, have created, developed, and run Canada’s first mobile makerspace—the MakerBus. As an entirely community-driven (pun intended) makerspace, we have had to master doing a lot with very little. As we have learned, while money is extremely useful, no amount of it can replace the value of an engaged, creative community. Creativity is priceless When it comes to creating a makerspace, large amounts of creativity can easily overcome not having large amounts of money. Library makerspaces have access to old books and can create community drop boxes for donations of unwanted technology. A Budget Mindset When creating a makerspace on a budget, ask yourself this question: Do you really need that _______?
Got to Teach!: The Fish Bowl: A Cooperative Learning Strategy {Post 5 of 5} Well this wraps up my 5-part series on some of my favorite cooperative learning activities I have used over the years. If you missed the first 4, you can find them here: "Expert Groups," "Q and A Match-Up," "Four Corners,"and "Circle Chats." How It Works: Divide your class in half. One half will form the center circle, facing inward. Why I Love It: Eases Discussion Management: Since only half the class is discussing at a time, this makes it much easier to manage than a whole-class discussion. Alright!