Collaboration - an education buzz word that gets thrown around as much as a baseball at spring training. But what happens when we ignore the buzz and truly reflect on what it means to collaborate as educators and to promote true collaboration with our students? Our next guest blogger, Malena Schrauben - Central Middle School, Science and Computer Science - reflects on those very questions after her MACUL 2016 experience.
#Collaboration
“How many of you can tell me the first four presidents of the United States? Not many right? But, if I gave you 30 seconds to collaborate all of you could do it.” -Jaime Casap, Google
These words, from the opening keynote of MACUL ‘16, really hit home for me. I promote a blended learning classroom, and I am constantly looking for ways to make the most of my learning environment. Learning in isolation is a thing of the past and does not promote an environment where our children will exist in the future. With our transition to 1-1 technology in Portage we have an amazing opportunity to cater to all learning styles in a collaborative manner. I’ve often thought of these words, “If my students can Google it, then why am I teaching it?” Teaching is transforming into providing students with the opportunity to think creatively and collaboratively. Instead of identifying the answer, let’s solve the problem, better yet let’s find the problem to be solved! We live in a world of opportunity where our students have the power to define the future! And, we, the classroom teachers, have the power to show them how to do that within our classroom walls. Teachers are just as important now as they have ever been. Blended learning takes the best of two worlds and provides engaging, productive, and collaborative learning to all students! #happyblending ~Malena Schrauben, Central Middle SchoolSo, the questions remains, how will you promote collaboration in your classroom?
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