We will demonstrate how a culture of collaboration among staff and students leads to an inclusive environment that is more engaging and stimulating for all involved. Our transformation from teacher directed to facilitator of learning creates an environment that nurtures curiosity and creativity; reconnecting students with that feeling of excitement that should come with learning. Learning should be dynamic and exciting; we continue to move far from the prescribed and stagnant learning environment where the teacher was in charge of student learning.
Outcomes:
– Receive valuable information from experienced teachers on how an entire K – Grade 8 school can be transformed from a teacher directed environment to one based on student inquiry and collaboration.
– Discuss the challenges faced and the solutions that were developed. The merits of increased student directives will be discussed, as will the changing role of the teacher.
– Discover initial fears that this model leads to an increased work load is far from the truth.
– By using students as a resource of knowledge that act as one large brain rather than a group of individuals you will develop the environment where students explore concepts far more deeply than within the teacher directed model; and this creates fewer demands on the teacher.
