Members of the District Technology Committee were recently asked to share a teaching and/or learning tactic, tip, recommendation, or resource in one or more of the "4 Cs:" Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, and/or Critical Thinking. We highlight two teachers with ideas in the areas of Communication, Creativity, and Critical Thinking.
K–5 STEM Teacher at Roslyn Road and Hough School
Becky McDowell has recently started using the online system Seesaw for STEM to share and document learning and ideas to encourage Communication. According to Seesaw, “Teachers find or create activities to share with students. Students take pics, draw, record videos, and more to capture learning in a portfolio. Families see their child’s work and leave comments and encouragement.”
Becky adds, “This app is great for communication because it allows multiple ways for students to share their ideas—text, pictures with caption, drawings, audio, and video! Plus, parents can see and comment on student work, and I can directly comment them as well.”
Barrington High Teacher Librarian Jennifer Walsh shared a great example of Creativity and Critical Thinking in her description of “Speed Book Dating.” When students engage in speed book dating, the room is set up with 5-6 genre tables with 10-12 books at each table. Students spend 5 minutes at each table with various tasks to complete on a timed schedule:
- Minute 1: look at covers, read backs.
- Minutes 2-3: choose 1 or 2 books and read book jacket blurb
- Minutes 3-5: choose 1 book, and begin reading the first few pages of the book
Speed Book Dating allows students to discover new books that match existing interests or spark new ones. They also learn strategies to quickly evaluate many aspects of a printed source.
Becky,
ReplyDeleteI love Seesaw as well. I'm glad you find it useful with your STEM activities. I'm going to remember that when the kinders start their STEM classes.
Thanks for the great idea,
Beth