Learning is not a passive process. Teachers cannot assume they will have each students’ attention all the time simply by standing in the front of the room and talking. Having engaging visuals and interactive elements within a lesson can help to keep students interested, but to be an effective teacher, we need to help our kids take ownership of their learning. It’s unlikely that, given the option, most students would ever choose to learn trigonometry or take a test on animal classifications. All teachers have standards and skills they need to teach, but that doesn’t mean you can’t provide truly meaningful choices to your students along the way!
One way to help students to have choice and voice with their own learning is by posting “Wow Work” to Seesaw. What is Wow Work? It might be one’s best work – work that a student has taken a lot of time and effort on. It could be work that has taken a lot of thought. Wow Work probably wouldn’t be a picture of a snack or a silly drawing. It could be something that a student has struggled with but finally figured out, or something they did for the first time. Wow Work could also be something that a student could teach to others. When a student shares his or her Wow Work, they are sharing something they are proud of for others to see and hear.
Get a copy of this poster from Seesaw
Check out how one teacher with only a few devices sets up a place and time in her classroom for students to post Wow Work to their Seesaw journal.
BITS AND PIECES 