At my current school site, four out of the five school days in a week are block days. This means that students sit through three of their six classes for two hours each. I like the block schedule because it allows enough time for students to encounter the content, explore, and experiment before the bell rings. On the downside, I think my students might say that two hours feels like forever in some of their classrooms! In my class, students are up, out of their seats for at least one activity. Students often participate in presentations, rotate stations, and work with other groups. I hope that these types of activities break up some of the monotony in their days and do not leave them feeling drained after a day of school. In the article, Wiggins describes his experience shadowing a couple students. His three key takeways were the following: students sit all day and sitting is exhausting, high school students are sitting passively and listening during approximately 90% of their classes, and you feel a little bit like a nuisance all day long. I feel that many of the current reforms in education are making teachers rethink how they run their classrooms and I would hope that my students are not sitting passively 90% of the time in other classes. These takeaways accurately describe the way that I remember my high school experience. I, like the student in the article, did not think that it mattered if I was absent. I did not feel that my absence would affect the class in any way. My educational beliefs align well with the ideas presented in Wiggins’ article. I know that it is crucial for students to be engaged in order to learn and to get students engaged, we as teachers must do more than listen to ourselves speak. In my classroom, I am a facilitator. I facilitate group work, meaningful conversations, and an environment for learning.
Here is the link to the article I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Here is the link to the article I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!