Week 3 Post 1

I am nearing the end of my research and really trying to wrap up my main ideas.
I am trying to contact one of my previous teachers so she can give me a view of how teachers may be able to incorporate alternative learning into their classrooms, I am excited to see what she might have to say.

I have already began addressing some of the ways teachers may be able to implement new types of learning and what some obstacles might be. For example, many of these non-traditional learning environments require a small student base which many public schools cannot offer. However this can be a glass half-full half-empty situation, the quality of the education can override the quantity of students. By showing students good teaching methods and new ways to learn, they can learn to help the students around them, even if a teacher cannot pay full attention to a singular student they can draw from the opinions of their peers. Something else to consider is motivation, many kids are motivated to get the grade and move on, not to retain or enjoy their lessons. By setting a yearlong goal for the classroom teachers can provide a better outsource of motivation. Many kids will strive to meet a goal of a standard, so the higher the expectation may be the more they will work, the lower the expectation the lower the quality of work. Another motivation method is letting students learn about what they wish to learn. For some classes, such as mathematics, this seems difficult. However, maybe a student is a visual learner, but maybe the student sitting to their left is a auditory learner. By providing different mediums (internet, models, presentation, etc.) for students to draw from they may be able to understand the topic more easily. For classes that are more open to interpretation, maybe higher level english, teacher can let students write about or research a topic of their choosing. By doing this, students could improve their writing skills while still being interested in their topic. If this is too broad students could be assigned a category (i.e. Politics, Literature, Technology)

The previous examples were focused mainly inside the classroom and coursework, but from time to time teachers underestimate the value of outside teaching sources. While it may seem cliche, professionals from the community are sometimes able to donate their time and teach students about new or interesting topics from a view point of someone in the workforce. Even getting materials to let the students use hands on could be helpful, this may seem less applicable in a math class opposed to a science class but even by using visual or physical representations in a math class students may be able to more fully understand a topic. An obstacle for using material items in teaching is that they cost money. Some schools are unable to fund individual teachers, however, teachers can apply for grants that go directly to their classroom, as long as it is a individual specified grant and the teacher can show what the money was used for.

So far I am waiting on a response from my previous teacher and I am looking into the best way to present the application guide in my magazine.

Until next time!