After watching Steve Wheeler’s (2015) keynote address I reflected on my recent casual teaching day, teaching Year 6. During Maths, students had to use problem solving to draw a perfect pentagon with equal sides and angles. What was a simple instruction turned out to take most of the lesson. Students were challenged, engaged and focused on problem solving as they realised the solution was not a simple one. Some were quicker than others to work it out and some turned to their neighbour to get some ideas. I allowed the students who worked it out to give their friends some pointers. They were all learning by doing. We later watched an instructional video that demonstrated the process, but I think they learned more from working it out themselves or from a little guidance from their friend.
This collaborative problem solving kept students engaged most of the lesson. I saw the level of deep learning that occurred through this hands-on learning experience was more effective than any instruction from me or the video in this situation. It got me excited about my own teaching practice and embedding more flipped learning experiences where students learned from each other. I recognised the value of embedding digital tools that also offered flipped learning opportunities for deep learning to occur. I looked forward to learning more in this subject, knowing I was on a path of discovery of learning and trying new things.
IATED. (2015, March 17). Steve Wheeler: Digital learning futures: Mind the gap! [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/t7EftCFQHVg