Activities That Connect Learning to Real-World Experiences
If we want teachers to design learning that’s real-world, meaningful and hands-on, we need to radically re-think Professional Development for teachers. Here are 3 ideas to shake-up your PD in August before school starts:
#1: For real-world connection:
Partner with 3-4 non-profit groups in your community. For a 1/2 day, send your teachers out. Have them volunteer with the groups. Learn what they’re about and build relationships. For the 1/2 half, teachers create a presentation for their colleagues about how the organisation could be integrated into project-design, exhibition spaces or learning experiences for kids.
Outcome: knowledge of local organizations combating local issues. Contact people within these organizations. Easier real-world integration learning.
BONUS: Invite guests from other local community organizations during your ongoing PD over the year to give 1 hour presentations about their mission and what they do.
#2: For subject-relevance:
Partner with local companies that are integrating academic learning into what they do. Send your English teachers to a publishing company or the local newspaper. Send your science teachers to the bio-tech company in the next town. Send your math teachers to visit engineers. Use 1/2 the day to visit these places, talk about the real processes they use academic learning in. For the 1/2 have of the day, teachers work in their subject groups to dive deep into how their subjects can be connected to real careers in project design.
Outcome: experience for how subject learning is used in content and processes outside of school. Relationships with professionals who can be experts for kids, projects that support kids to become writers, scientists, mathematicians, engineers, etc.
#3: For MAKING:
Use what teachers have planned for the first project of the year and spend 1/2 of the day having your teachers MAKE the product they want their students to make. Want kids to make a film? Go out and make a film. Portrait drawing? Draw it. Use 1/2 of the day de-constructing the making process. What steps are necessary? What supports are necessary for kids? Use this experience to help understand better planning for Project-Based Learning.
Outcome: More scaffolding for kids in the making process. Creating frames to give freedom and allowing for more student-driven work that is high-quality and integrating a “learning by doing” experience in PBL.
BONUS: Make this a regular part of project planning. From the wise words of Jeffrey Robin: Do the project yourself, first.
Basically, get teachers OUT. Move PD from academic learning and into experiential learning. We cannot expect teaching for kids to change unless we change how teachers are learning.
Need help? Reach out. info@imagineif.dk
📸 : 2023: Lynghede School partnering with Kongernes Jelling where teachers became students and used the museum to create a whole-staff theater performance in one day.