Over the weekend my husband and I were talking about how the older our youngest daughter gets, the easier it is becoming to understand her wants. While her language is improving as she grows, her ability to communicate in other ways is improving as well. Now that she is mobile she is able to walk and use gestures to express her wants.
Over the weekend my husband and I were talking about how the older our youngest daughter gets, the easier it is becoming to understand her wants. While her language is improving as she grows, her ability to communicate in other ways is improving as well. Now that she is mobile she is able to walk and use gestures to express her wants.
This had me thinking, that while most of our students have a wide vocabulary, they all still have other ways that they may prefer to communicate with us. With that said, technology allows many different opportunities for students to communicate their understanding of the curriculum you are currently teaching. This could include videos, audio recordings, drawings, brain maps, etc. The best part is that you can encourage students to choose the format that best suits them. By providing the opportunity of choice, you will get a genuine understanding of student learning. The opportunity to express themselves in different ways, helps to eliminate the obstacles that may interfere with them showcasing their learning. For example, a student who is not strong with their typing abilities, may choose to record an audio file instead. You as the teacher are still getting a product of their understanding, without students encountering obstacles that will interfere with them being able to truly express themselves.
This had me thinking, that while most of our students have a wide vocabulary, they all still have other ways that they may prefer to communicate with us. With that said, technology allows many different opportunities for students to communicate their understanding of the curriculum you are currently teaching. This could include videos, audio recordings, drawings, brain maps, etc. The best part is that you can encourage students to choose the format that best suits them. By providing the opportunity of choice, you will get a genuine understanding of student learning. The opportunity to express themselves in different ways, helps to eliminate the obstacles that may interfere with them showcasing their learning. For example, a student who is not strong with their typing abilities, may choose to record an audio file instead. You as the teacher are still getting a product of their understanding, without students encountering obstacles that will interfere with them being able to truly express themselves.
While it is great to give students options on different ways that they can communicate with us, we do not want to overwhelm them or ourselves with too many options. One great way to provide choice, while still keeping options manageable is through the use of a choice board. I have included a sample below of what a choice board may look like for your students to choose their mode of communication. I have left the assignments very broad, however I am hoping these activities can give you some inspiration as to different activities you can incorporate into your lessons. Included below, is also an option to create your own template, in which you can customize the choice board to better fit yours and your students needs.
While it is great to give students options on different ways that they can communicate with us, we do not want to overwhelm them or ourselves with too many options. One great way to provide choice, while still keeping options manageable is through the use of a choice board. I have included a sample below of what a choice board may look like for your students to choose their mode of communication. I have left the assignments very broad, however I am hoping these activities can give you some inspiration as to different activities you can incorporate into your lessons. Included below, is also an option to create your own template, in which you can customize the choice board to better fit yours and your students needs.
While this option may not work for every assignment, I encourage you to try it with at least one assignment. Then reflect on your understanding of student learning, student engagement, and the over all impact that it had in the classroom.
While this option may not work for every assignment, I encourage you to try it with at least one assignment. Then reflect on your understanding of student learning, student engagement, and the over all impact that it had in the classroom.
