A Glimpse: An Engaging Class on World War I

history.howstuffworks.com

As we continue to incorporate strategies to engage students in education in order to develop critical thinking and analysis skills, I visited Mr. Vogel's 8th grade classroom and saw the lesson described below.

Mr. Vogel’s 8th grade social studies class began with a framing question of How was WW1 different from previous wars?


Mr. Vogel assembled nine stations, each consisting of engineering draft-pictures of WW1 military technologies, an outline of how the weapon was used, and the estimated number of casualties this weapon was responsible for in certain WWI battles. The nine stations included the airplane, flamethrower, artillery, trench system, battleship, machine gun, German U- boat, tank, and poison gas.

After a brief introduction, students read about each technology and made initial predictions on how it might have changed the war experience for soldiers, analyzed and matched primary source document excerpts to the nine stations, and revised their original predictions about how the technologies affected soldiers’ experiences.

Finally, as a reflection, students created “human bar graphs” to evaluate (1) the technology they thought was most feared by soldiers, (2) the technology they thought most changed the way war was fought, and (3) the technology they thought left the most lasting impact on future warfare.
 
This lesson also incorporated the Plan, Work, Reflect cycle which Developmental Designs infuses into our everyday operations as a division. As we go forward, we will continue to develop lessons and projects which target these 21st century skills in ways that are engaging to students.

A Full Week, A Whole Child

There are often fleeting moments of reflection these days as we enter the whirlwind of the final days of school. However, I was able to find one of those moments last night as I walked off the field after our lacrosse game. I saw Ben S. trudging off the field with a wide smile on his face. As we all know, that's pretty typical from Ben, but I have a feeling last night he was smiling because he had had a full week.

On Monday, he delivered his 8th grade sermon with poise in front of the entire school community (students, faculty, staff, parents, and guests) from the pulpit in Phillips Chapel. On Wednesday night, he starred in the Canterbury Players' production of Bye Bye Birdie as Albert Peterson. He (and the rest of the cast) received a standing ovation for his performance. On Thursday, Ben went to classes, spent the afternoon reprising his role in Bye Bye Birdie for the student body, and that night, scored a goal in his lacrosse game. Tonight he will finish out his role with the final showing of Bye Bye Birdie at Berry Hall, but first he needs to take a math quiz.

If we are looking for an example of teaching the whole child, I'm convinced Ben S. embodied it this week. Our students do these things all year long, and it is important that we take a moment, notice it, and be satisfied that our goal of a whole child is being met.

Effects of Stress on the Developing Brain - Dana Foundation

A good read for parents about how important a consistent home life is for children. Check it out: Effects of Stress on the Developing Brain - Dana Foundation

Dana Foundation Blog: What neuroscience can tell us about morality

I came across this article this morning and thought it a fascinating approach to morality. It brings up some great points for discussion in an ethics class or an advisory, and could be a great way to demonstrate the concrete benefits of morality in society to adolescents who believe it is a structure created by adults for the mollification of their children and/or students.... Dana Foundation Blog: What neuroscience can tell us about morality

Learning is for a Lifetime: The Brain Research Confirms



http://www.sharpbrains.com/

 We've heard many times before that we should be lifelong learners, but many people come into that statement with a preconceived notion that once past a certain age, the brain can no longer change to become an expert in something. For example, many people believe they may be too old to learn a new language or a new instrument. The brain research that is coming out these days refutes this belief. Below is an article from the SharpBrains website outlining the plasticity of the brain and its ability to adapt to new information throughout our lives.

Some wonderful related work you should check out is JoAnn Deak's website and books on learning (especially as it relates to adolescent girls), Daniel Pink's work on motivation (which comes from a number of psychologist's work but Pink puts in a more "pop-culture" context), as well as the SharpBrains website which offers tools to help your brain become more plastic.

Brain Plasticity: How Learning Changes Your Brain

Study: Promoting Students' Personal and Social Development Boosts Academic Outcomes, a Guest Blog by Joseph Durlak | Edutopia

The middle school vision at Canterbury hoolds that we must address the whole child and support their social and emotional well being. The meta-analysis below confirms something we've known for a long time: the more safe, secure, and happy children feel, the more they learn. Through our work with Developmental Designs (the entire faculty will be taking a week long course for the second training stage of Developmental Designs this summer), we are able to use the language and structures to promote a learnng community that has as its foundation sound social and emotional teachings.

Study: Promoting Students' Personal and Social Development Boosts Academic Outcomes, a Guest Blog by Joseph Durlak Edutopia