2 More Fabulous Examples of Engaged Learning

My cohorts came up with great examples of engaged learning as well.  If I could I’d take an aspect of each of them and bundle them into 1 project.  (That’s my goal with my own engaged learning project)  Two things I noticed that were consistent with all of the films: 1) Standards studied by the students were not identified and 2) types of assessments of the projects were not discussed.  As one person commented, the purpose of the video may have been to show students actively engaged in learning, not the standards or assessments used.  As an educator, I’d say it is fair to argue we’ve almost gotten standard-based learning and formative assessment down (always room for improvement, of course) but let’s hide the textbooks and see what we (the class) can come up with.

It wasn’t easy choosing my favorite and runner-up, but here they are:

Kudos to The Technology Techie, LeTilia for finding a perfect introduction to what engaged learning is all about. This video provides an overview of the technique used. It explains the roles of the students, teachers and, yes, even the community.  If followed correctly, your class will be active on the “Evaluation” level of Blooms taxonomy, as shown in the video.  The potential is great for students to achieve a level 5 or 6 on the level of technology use implementaion (LoTi). It involves creative use of available technology and, let’s face it, kids can be more creative with technology than adults.  If you teach elementary grades, do not be disheartened by the high school example.  I teach kindergarten and I am already coming up with ways to get my students more active while learning the standards. My runner-up shows an example of a younger group involved in engaged learning.

My runner-up was Nathalie’s video, “Learning Landscape: Kids Monitor Terrain with Tech”. The school highlighted was completing a very meaningful project to their local environment. They used sophisticated equipment, took responsibility for their learning and collaborated well with students from different grades.  The students shared their findings with scientists. (I kind of wish the kids typed the e-mail, not the teacher) The students learn globabally thanks to the internet and reliable educational sights, such as Journey North and JASON.  The teacher in the video felt technology was a huge catalyst for self-learning in the students. This is the ultimate goal of engaged learning. Great job Nathalie!