Leadership Opportunity #1: Authentic Learning
One of my goals with my action
research is to embed its process into my every day classroom instruction as
much as possible. As I think about
the implications of my research for future educators, I really want my action
research to serve as a model for incorporating big ideas into public education
where district mandates regulate curriculum and teacher instruction. As I embarked on my research journey, I
knew I would have to facilitate as many connections between what I was already
doing with what I wanted to do.
Without these connections, I would become inundated with the amount of
tasks I would have to squeeze into a short amount of time. Any additional activities would
conflict with the carefully scripted and planned for minutes of my day. So, what does this all have to do with
my WALO (Wicked Awesome Leardership Opportunity) you ask yourself? Like my
action research, I wanted my WALO to be something that complimented my action
research and pre-planned day. If
my WALO had little or no connection to what I was already doing, then I would
grow to dread its existence.
The goal of my action research is to assist my students in seeing the purpose of their learning beyond classroom walls and to increase community relations between my students and the people around them. Though community service learning, I hope to achieve this goal. For my WALO, I asked myself, “How can I demonstrate teacher leadership yet assist my students in purposeful learning and community relations?” Needless to say, it took me a while to figure out the solution to my WALO dilemma.
Around the beginning of October every year, our grade level reaches one of the pre-planned stories in our language arts district pacing guide. It’s an old and outdated non-fiction story about a trip some students take to a firehouse. It’s incredibly dry and boring and both students and teachers dread reading it. Many of my students have never seen a firehouse, let alone a fireman up close. They had minimal background experience to motivate their interest in the story topic. My students saw little purpose in reading this story, yet they still had to read it. In attempts to expand my teacher leadership skills, I decided to make a change in our routine reading of this text. I met with my grade level team, and suggested that we contact a local firehouse and see if they would come to our school and speak to our students. At first my team partners were hesitant to this change in our normal story routine. Usually students read the story, learn some new vocabulary terms, answer some comprehension questions, and move on. Where would we fit in a visit from the local firehouse? I assured my team members that I would do all the work needed to arrange the visit and that I would find a way to incorporate into our already existing lesson plans.
Since our district pacing guide leaves little room for plan modifications, I knew I would need to schedule a visit from the local fire station quickly. I called the main San Diego fire headquarters, and they willingly connected me with our local fire station. The gentlemen at the local fire station were happy to come to our school. They stated that they are rarely contacted for visits these days and that they would be happy to speak to our students about the importance of fire safety. They also noted that the timing was perfect because October was National Fire Safety Month. I scheduled a visit for the following week. After scheduling a visit, I asked my team members to meet to discuss possible lesson ideas leading up to our community visitors. We agreed to switch two of the stories in our district pacing guide in order to align the firehouse story to the visit from the local fire station. We selected key vocabulary terms that students would be able to “see” for themselves when the firemen arrived. All lesson activities were to have the purpose of helping students better understand the community members they would be meeting.
I was very excited to announce the surprise twist in normal story routine to my students. I explained that we would be reading a story about some students who were visiting a firehouse. I told my students that instead of going to a firehouse themselves, the local firemen were coming to them! They were extremely excited and motivated to read the story. They analyzed and studied every new fire term and piece of information. They were energized to learn more these community members. To assist my action research, I also wanted to push the community service-learning piece. I explained that they would be using their knowledge they learned the firefighters to teach other students at our school about fire safety. My students now saw the purpose in their learning. They asked to reread the story in their free time. They counted the days until the firemen arrived. I was helping my students create a background experience that could be drawn from in the future; something that my low-income students rarely get to do.
The special day finally arrived. Students were eager to review important firehouse vocabulary. Our grade level assembled and squished into one classroom. Even with 75 students crammed in one small room, a pin drop could be heard when the firemen entered. They spent ample time reviewing fire safety information. They asked for student volunteers to simulate various scenarios. They allowed the children to touch different pieces of equipment. When all seemed to come to an end, the firemen announced that they had a special surprise for the students outside. They asked the children to meet them at the school baseball field in ten minutes. Students nervously awaited the next activity. They chatted about their favorite part thus far ad detailed what they would tell their parents when they got home. As I gazed around the room, I noticed the smiles on my teaching partners’ faces. They could see how alive their students had become and were elated to see how powerful their students’ learning had become. I walked over to one of my partners and asked them what they thought so far. She responded, “I can feel the passion I had when I first started teaching.”
As the children filed outside to the baseball field, cries of excitement and bewilderment erupted as they saw the large, bright red fire engine waiting for them. The firemen took the children around the fire engine for a tour. After the tour, the firemen hooked up the long fire hose and let each and every single child spray the powerful hose. Student faces were frozen in happiness. They had heard the firemen explain how the fire hose was used to extinguish hefty fires, but they had never imagined being able to use the fire hose themselves! As the visit ended, students posed around various parts of the fire engine for photos. As pictures were being taken, the firemen received a completely unscripted emergency call. They quickly packed up their things and boarded their fire engine within seconds. Students witnessed the fire engine light up and roar away, complete with a siren, right before their eyes. It was a perfect ending to a memorable community experience.
When my students returned to my class, they were excited to get started on their community service-learning project. I found time at lunch to recap with my grade level colleagues about the day’s events. Both teachers were impressed with the community visit and wanted to plan the same experience the following year. I was excited to hear my colleagues WANT to have more hands-on learning experiences. We discussed the potential of other community connections to stories and content areas to be covered in the coming months. This WALO helped me realize that my grade level team members are happy to create amazing learning experiences for their students, they just need someone to take the reigns and guide the way. With district mandates and protocols, we sometimes lose our creativity and passion for teaching. We forget the importance of authentic learning opportunities and replace tangible experiences for pictures in a book. I’m glad my team is on board for a shift in our teaching approach and I’m happy to lead the way.
The goal of my action research is to assist my students in seeing the purpose of their learning beyond classroom walls and to increase community relations between my students and the people around them. Though community service learning, I hope to achieve this goal. For my WALO, I asked myself, “How can I demonstrate teacher leadership yet assist my students in purposeful learning and community relations?” Needless to say, it took me a while to figure out the solution to my WALO dilemma.
Around the beginning of October every year, our grade level reaches one of the pre-planned stories in our language arts district pacing guide. It’s an old and outdated non-fiction story about a trip some students take to a firehouse. It’s incredibly dry and boring and both students and teachers dread reading it. Many of my students have never seen a firehouse, let alone a fireman up close. They had minimal background experience to motivate their interest in the story topic. My students saw little purpose in reading this story, yet they still had to read it. In attempts to expand my teacher leadership skills, I decided to make a change in our routine reading of this text. I met with my grade level team, and suggested that we contact a local firehouse and see if they would come to our school and speak to our students. At first my team partners were hesitant to this change in our normal story routine. Usually students read the story, learn some new vocabulary terms, answer some comprehension questions, and move on. Where would we fit in a visit from the local firehouse? I assured my team members that I would do all the work needed to arrange the visit and that I would find a way to incorporate into our already existing lesson plans.
Since our district pacing guide leaves little room for plan modifications, I knew I would need to schedule a visit from the local fire station quickly. I called the main San Diego fire headquarters, and they willingly connected me with our local fire station. The gentlemen at the local fire station were happy to come to our school. They stated that they are rarely contacted for visits these days and that they would be happy to speak to our students about the importance of fire safety. They also noted that the timing was perfect because October was National Fire Safety Month. I scheduled a visit for the following week. After scheduling a visit, I asked my team members to meet to discuss possible lesson ideas leading up to our community visitors. We agreed to switch two of the stories in our district pacing guide in order to align the firehouse story to the visit from the local fire station. We selected key vocabulary terms that students would be able to “see” for themselves when the firemen arrived. All lesson activities were to have the purpose of helping students better understand the community members they would be meeting.
I was very excited to announce the surprise twist in normal story routine to my students. I explained that we would be reading a story about some students who were visiting a firehouse. I told my students that instead of going to a firehouse themselves, the local firemen were coming to them! They were extremely excited and motivated to read the story. They analyzed and studied every new fire term and piece of information. They were energized to learn more these community members. To assist my action research, I also wanted to push the community service-learning piece. I explained that they would be using their knowledge they learned the firefighters to teach other students at our school about fire safety. My students now saw the purpose in their learning. They asked to reread the story in their free time. They counted the days until the firemen arrived. I was helping my students create a background experience that could be drawn from in the future; something that my low-income students rarely get to do.
The special day finally arrived. Students were eager to review important firehouse vocabulary. Our grade level assembled and squished into one classroom. Even with 75 students crammed in one small room, a pin drop could be heard when the firemen entered. They spent ample time reviewing fire safety information. They asked for student volunteers to simulate various scenarios. They allowed the children to touch different pieces of equipment. When all seemed to come to an end, the firemen announced that they had a special surprise for the students outside. They asked the children to meet them at the school baseball field in ten minutes. Students nervously awaited the next activity. They chatted about their favorite part thus far ad detailed what they would tell their parents when they got home. As I gazed around the room, I noticed the smiles on my teaching partners’ faces. They could see how alive their students had become and were elated to see how powerful their students’ learning had become. I walked over to one of my partners and asked them what they thought so far. She responded, “I can feel the passion I had when I first started teaching.”
As the children filed outside to the baseball field, cries of excitement and bewilderment erupted as they saw the large, bright red fire engine waiting for them. The firemen took the children around the fire engine for a tour. After the tour, the firemen hooked up the long fire hose and let each and every single child spray the powerful hose. Student faces were frozen in happiness. They had heard the firemen explain how the fire hose was used to extinguish hefty fires, but they had never imagined being able to use the fire hose themselves! As the visit ended, students posed around various parts of the fire engine for photos. As pictures were being taken, the firemen received a completely unscripted emergency call. They quickly packed up their things and boarded their fire engine within seconds. Students witnessed the fire engine light up and roar away, complete with a siren, right before their eyes. It was a perfect ending to a memorable community experience.
When my students returned to my class, they were excited to get started on their community service-learning project. I found time at lunch to recap with my grade level colleagues about the day’s events. Both teachers were impressed with the community visit and wanted to plan the same experience the following year. I was excited to hear my colleagues WANT to have more hands-on learning experiences. We discussed the potential of other community connections to stories and content areas to be covered in the coming months. This WALO helped me realize that my grade level team members are happy to create amazing learning experiences for their students, they just need someone to take the reigns and guide the way. With district mandates and protocols, we sometimes lose our creativity and passion for teaching. We forget the importance of authentic learning opportunities and replace tangible experiences for pictures in a book. I’m glad my team is on board for a shift in our teaching approach and I’m happy to lead the way.