In the school library, students may wander the shelves aimlessly, pulling books at random, only to return them unread or unfinished because the difficulty, the subject matter, or the writing style simply wasn’t a good match. Not every book is for everyone, but it’s hard to know what you’ll like at first glance … especially if you don’t want to judge the book by its cover (which you shouldn’t, of course).
I was once enrolled in a course called Professional Writing, where we discussed not only workplace communication but also basic principles of graphic design. My professor’s catchphrase that semester was “naming gives you power.” If we were able to articulate why we made the design choices we made—and articulate them using authentic design terminology—our work would be stronger. Better yet, we would understand why it was stronger, which would allow us to continue making strong choices.
“Busywork”: every student’s nightmare. The word conjures flashbacks of endless fill-in-the-blank packets, “educational” videos with surface-level question sheets, and insultingly easy problem sets.
The tremendous power of a river is diminished when it is fragmented into little streams. However, when the streams are channeled together, it then can develop a deep flow. So it is with learning.
—Author and educator Ben Johnson
Cross-curricular learning is one of the most powerful ways educators can help students understand and retain information. By making connections to their daily lives and other areas of study, students give themselves more “hooks” for remembering concepts and make their schoolwork more meaningful.
Have you heard of the Reggio Emilia approach to education?
This hands-on, student-directed style of learning emerged in a small Italian town in the aftermath of WWII. Today, Reggio Emilia classrooms are becoming more popular, and although Kendall Hunt Religious Publishing Division (RPD) programs aren’t explicitly developed in the Reggio Emilia style, our custom curricula have a lot in common with this innovative approach. Check out these features of the Reggio Emilia method, and see how our programs incorporate them.
Reggio Emilia …
My first taste of literature circles came in sixth grade, when our teacher put a list of five books on the board. The book we chose, she said, would form the group with whom we would share and discuss that text for the next few weeks. That kind of educational choice was thrilling, and the three books I read in literature circles that year—Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry; The Call of The Wild; and The Giver—are among those that I remember most vividly from my entire English education.
Do you group students by ability level, placing the high achievers with their dedicated peers? Or do you strategically split up those high achievers, hoping their motivation will inspire the less enthusiastic learners?
The first option is homogeneous grouping, also known somewhat infamously as ability grouping. Lately, it’s caught a lot of flak from educators who say that it can reinforce negative student self-conceptions and doesn’t always improve the quality of education.
