Heather's EDET668 Blog

ESSENTIAL QUESTION 2: What role does professional satisfaction play in the effectiveness of a classroom? "Mediocrity is incapable of motivating." (Burgess, 2012, p. 147).  It seems so obvious that if we are not fulfilled by our careers as teachers, we cannot inspire our students to do great things.  But, on some days more than others, it is difficult to find that inspiration.  So when the topic we are supposed to teach isn't our favorite or the kids are really wearing us down how are we to dig deep and come out on top?  Dave Burgess says it hinges on a "mighty purpose".  He says there is no higher calling than being teacher because we are shaping the future.  "We're uplifting lives and helping students fulfill their human potential." (Burgess, 2012, p. 150) Burgess really sent this home for me when he quoted George Bernard Shaw in saying "This is the true joy in life; the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one....

ESSENTIAL QUESTION 1: How do we keep our lessons engaging? Does innovation play a part in this?  When I googled "innovation in the classroom" the entire first page of the results was filled with lists that give ways to bring innovation into the classroom and how to foster creativity and ultimately increase student engagement. As I reflect on my own classroom, engagement and innovation go hand in hand. My students are certainly most engaged whenever I challenge them with something new and different. I find that at first they struggle and complain, but in the end I have the highest numbers of participation and the best outcomes when we are learning by doing. James Davis wrote that he learned "from speaking to students that they prefer work where they can have hands-on activities and get to collaborate with their peers. They tend to be less engaged when listening to teacher lectures or doing repetitive tasks and 'busy work'." (AMLE, 2017).  It seems so obvio...