Expanding...

When I think about real learning...real, deep learning, there's one thing that comes to mind: relevance. So often, students ask us questions that we don't know how to answer this. I think of my own students, and their lamenting: "When will we ever use this in the real world?" It is a legitimate question, and one that should not be brushed off. Students need to see the real world connections between their learning, and real life. One way that many teachers across the world are achieving this, is by branching out with their classrooms. Any teacher can make connections with experts and other schools. It takes time, but a teacher can generate a list of experts who are willing to help. Another way, is by connecting students to other classrooms around the world. Some classes have even made connections with university students who provided elementary students with feedback on their projects via comments on the students' blogs. The EAST (Environmental and Spatial Technology) initiative model of learning is a technology and collaboration based model that allows for project-based learning to occur using student driven learning. One of the most important aspects of this initiative, is the idea of student driven learning. As teachers, if we see potential in a student to excel at something outside the box, we should let them! Not only that, we should be thrilled that they want to take the information and run with it in a way that makes sense to them. We don't have to "micromanage" as one educator put it, because the outlines we have for projects will not always fit each individual student. I think it will be interesting to see how students respond to our project using "My Fair Lady". Connecting with the class in Europe will definitely be helpful, and we'll work on trying to get ahold of an expert in this field, perhaps a former star of the show, or a historian who knows all of the ins and outs of the show itself. Furthermore, students will always be encouraged to expand their knowledge in their own way...even if it means stepping out of the box and trying something completely different.