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How do you promote, model and scaffold sustainable action within your classroom?
Action underpins many international schools as an important component that is linked with the types of learners teachers want to engender. Examining what planning, teaching and assessment policies and practices foster student self-‐efficacy with regards to action, and identifying key understandings that lead to purposeful and beneficial action are important steps in facilitating a learning community that promotes and empowers student generated action. Many international schools' inquiry based education programs culminate with wanting the learners to take authentic action. Usually, that action is a one-off event, like raising money for children in far off places, less fortunate then those in the international school community. But is that what we really want as educators? How do you promote sustained action- or action that continues, evolves and grows beyond the classroom? How do you as an educator model taking action in your learning communities? How do you scaffold for that action? Do you assess your students' action? Where does action fall within the inquiry cycle? How do you celebrate action that is taken? Share your ideas and thoughts as we collaboratively build a model for best practice with regards to sustained action.
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Robert Winner 50+
My point is that when you help your neighbor it is mopre meaningful than to send some cans off in the mail. Make it personal and local. "Authenic action" is not always measurable. The joy of a widow who gets help and offers her very sincere thanks because that is all she has is beyond a grade or a measure. It lasts a lifetime.
Any ways just thoughts from a old guy. All the best. Bob.
Fritzie Reisner 100+
I like the projects for the fact that contact with the recipients of service is a step in building awareness and empathy. This seems more powerful and connecting to me than watching a movie and collecting money for a cause.
Each service day involves pre-service reflections the previous day and a debriefing thereafter.
The commitment of fourth full days to this during the year underscores the importance to the school.
Tosca Killoran 500+
Yes!! These program ideas are great! I totally agree with you that start local- think global is important. I like that the schools/people you speak of are supporting the programs and that they are building community ties/empathy etc.. All super, and I am excited by your posts!
Now, we take an additional step, I wonder how support the students' interests in order to sustain the action? For example there are a few websites that I frequent and they are: http://wearewhatwedo.org/ & http://www.actiontracker.org.uk/. These sites, are examples of action that is sustained. As a TEDXYouth organizer, I try to provide a forum for the students in my community to share their ideas and actions with the world. The students take local action, then the teachers help the students learn the skills to create ibooks, websites, published books, videos etc.. in order for others to share their passion and be inspired to take action themselves. This sustains the action beyond a one time occurrence for the student.
You could also organize a TEDxYouth event in your community for the amazing kids you work with... http://www.ted.com/pages/organize_tedx_event
The programs you speak of sound great, now how can we take that and make it part of a national curriculum? Something like Robert said, a Peace Corp for kids?
Great posts, love the ideas!
Fritzie Reisner 100+
Another program that may interest you is Bridges to Understanding, which connects younger children to a specific area of action, or what to me is part of action.