If you walk into any
school or any classroom, one of the expectations you will probably notice with
have something to do with respect. Respect is incorporated into school and
classroom rules, expectations, outcomes and possibly even mission statements.
Respect is taught and valued in our education system. It is desired and
acknowledged in daily routines. Many people; educators, parents, community
members lament that “the problems today exist because students don’t have
enough respect.” So the question becomes, how exactly do we instill respect in
our students to help them become successful, productive citizens of our
society?
Many classrooms and
schools attempt to teach respect through implicit instruction, modeling, examples,
scenarios and role play. While this is most likely an important part of
teaching students what respect is, it certainly isn’t enough by itself.
Instead, we should be teaching students what it means to have a “respectful
mind”, (Gardner, 2008) by incorporating it into classroom work, activities, and
projects. After all, in the work world, we are expected to be able to interact
respectfully with our colleagues and fellow employees, so it only makes sense
to teach our students to do the same through practice. But how might this
actually look in a classroom?
One of the ultimate goals I
have this year to help my students gain a better understanding of the
respectful mind through collaboration and connections outside of the classroom
walls. I use a lot of projects with my students that require them to work
collaboratively in groups. This type of work helps them understand that in
order to successfully finish a project and develop a high quality product,
group members must be respectful of each other and of the process they have to
use in working together. I want to extend this experience so that students are
working collaboratively with students in other classrooms as well as outside of
our school building. Our team, which consists of two literacy teachers, one
math teacher, one science, and one social studies teacher, has been working to
develop an interdisciplinary unit that will incorporate aspects from all
subject areas. Two aspects of the project that will have students working with
students beyond their own classroom groups include asynchronous work with
partners in a literacy and social studies class to develop an informational
flyer about the region they will be studying (encompassing ecosystems and
culture of a region of the world) and connecting with a student from that
region through blogging.
This project will see
students working together with students outside the classroom walls to develop content
that fosters a better understanding of another student’s culture. Students will
ask questions to get information about the environment and culture of other
parts of the world. Students will then engage in virtual discussions through
blogging and responses using a site such as Kidblog. Students will be
responsible for different pieces of collaborative projects to help develop and understanding
of the importance of their role in completion of a group project. Through these
activities, we can provide authentic experiences for our students.
Additionally, we would
like to use a culminating activity where students apply what they have learned
by doing an activity such as Mystery Skype. Through this activity,
students can use clues from what they have learned and the work of other groups
to determine where in the world the person they are Skyping with is located.
Vicki Davis and Julie
Lindsay describe a seven step plan for the process of “flattening the classroom”
in their interview on FutureofEducation.com.
In the taxonomy of global connection,
they describe the 5 levels of global connection: Level 1: Intra-connection;
within the classroom, level 2: Inter-connection; within the school or district,
level 3: Managed global connection, level 4: student to student with teacher
management, and level 5: student to student with student management (Future of
Education, 2014). So far, I have achieved level 1, within my classroom. With
this interdisciplinary unit, we will be able to move to level 2 and level 3 by
developing connections with classrooms outside of our school environment,
possibly across the world. By having
students make connections with students from other environments and cultures,
we will create opportunities for our students to develop understandings about
the lives of people around the world. This will foster respect for other cultures
through real-world experiences. It will also provide opportunities for students
to understand their importance when working with a group who rely on them to
complete their portion of a project. Giving students opportunities to see how
their choices and actions affect the “good of the group” helps them develop a
better understanding of the importance of respect. These activities can also
help develop their “ethical mind” through interactions with people from other
cultures and being responsible for their part of a group project.
By using projects and
activities to provide opportunities for students to practice respect and
ethical behavior, we are giving our students real-world experiences for when
they leave the world of education and join the world of work. These practice
opportunities are more effective than just instructing students in the
importance of these skills. If we are to truly equip our students to be
successful members of society, our classrooms need to move beyond the classroom
walls into the world. With the technologies available today, we have the perfect
opportunity to enhance the educational experiences of our students to be more
authentic to prepare them as valuable members of the society they live in.
References:
Future of Education. (2014). Julie Lindsay and Vicki
Davis on “flattening classrooms”. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/RVZuwIhjQvA .
Gardner, Howard. (2008). Five minds of the future.
Boston, Massachusetts. Harvard Business School Publishing.
Mosca, T. (2015). Mystery skype; Connecting classrooms
around the world. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/eRf7_nX74PA
.
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