TPE 2

TPE 2.2: Create learning environments (i.e., traditional, blended, and online) that promote productive student learning, encourage positive interactions among students, reflect diversity and multiple perspectives, and are culturally responsive.

What is this?
This is a set of photos from an activity I completed during my full-time student teaching. As part of our colony unit, students were tasked with organizing a list of crops, ranging from food to flowers, and determining whether they came from the "old world" (England) or the "new world" (America). Students worked with their table groups to complete this activity. They were permitted to use a whiteboard marker on their desks to draw a T-graph, as seen above. The activity was collaborative and drew on students' ability to access their prior funds of knowledge. This also taught students how to effectively review their notes for relevant information, as they used their history journals to look for hints about where certain crops originated.

Why did I choose this?
I chose this activity because it demonstrates my ability to create an effective learning environment for students. Using the results of a student interest survey as well as my own classroom observations, I decided to make this a collaborative activity, as this is the students' preferred method of working. The activity encouraged positive interactions among students as they engaged in healthy debate, asked one another for ideas, and worked as a team to make choices.

What did l learn?
I learned that interaction among students is very important. Students go to school not only to learn content, but how to interact with others in a social setting. I liked this activity because I got to teach students how to effectively communicate with one another.