Why Students Should Test Ideas Via Active Experimentation

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As a firm believer in progressivism, I believe that education should be focused on the whole child, rather than on the content or the teacher. I believe students should test ideas via active experimentation. Students should question and explore, not simply receive facts and information from their teacher. “Learning is rooted in the questions of learners that arise through experiencing the world” (oregonstate.edu). I grew up in a worksheet type of classroom, and as a visual learner that suited me just fine. I would play teacher and every imaginary student started their day with a worksheet bell ringer, because that’s all I knew. Next, we would listen to the teacher lecture or read from the textbook. I learned just fine, so I imagined my…show more content…
He also did not receive free or reduced lunch because his parents never submitted the paperwork, and he had no money for lunch. Luckily his teacher had packed for themselves, one giving him her sandwich, one giving him her grapes and he could take chips from the office. It broke my heart knowing these students experience such awful things so young in life. It was then that I learned the importance of catering to the whole child. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs states that primarily a person needs to be physiologically taken care of, and this boy was a prime example. He must be fed before we can switch his brain to focus on academics. He needs to know his teachers care about him, his peers accept him and his presence is important before he can bring his attention solely on learning. In my own classroom, I hope to adhere to this philosophy by creating ongoing projects that allow students to choose how they will demonstrate their learning. This project stimulates the workshop environment and meets many standards. I would also be sure to integrate technology, as it’s important for educators to stay current with educational advancements and technology is such a big part of young students lives. Along with ongoing projects, I would reduce homework as best I could. I believe homework is a teacher centered idea, along with grades and test scores, because each are at the control of the teacher, and not the student’s
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