What does learning look like at Garden City?  

That's what we are asking our students right now.  The words of students can give us information on what learning is like for them and help us as teachers to think about the "how" of teaching.

Emily says, "Learning, talking, boring."

Charles says, "I am very happy when I learning in school.  I see teacher are writing on the board, and people are learning."

Mohamed says, "Learning looks like understanding and discovering new things.  Learning is making friends and talking to new people."

Stephanie says, "People communicating.  Sharing ideas.  Sitting for long periods of time. No electronic devices during recess and other break times. Explaining things clearly.  Learning at school looks like people communicating their ideas and sharing their thoughts even if they are not sure."

Phoebe says, "I don't like when teachers talk and we have to listen only and write notes.  I like learning in fun ways."

WHAT NOW?

After hearing back from our students we are asking ourselves,  How can we teach in order to engage our students in the learning?  Who drives the learning in our classroom? How do we give choice without creating chaos?

Reading Empower by John Spencer and A.J. Juliani in a teacher book club study group is giving us inspiration on how to take some steps towards student empowerment - students creating their own learning path with the guidance and facilitation of the teacher. 

We will keep you posted on how it's going...