It has been a new experience being a leader in the classroom; therefore, my primary goal this first year of teaching was to ensure that my students were learning the content and staying engaged while doing so. In fact, the mission statement of the school in which I work, Mariner High School, is "to ensure student learning through purposeful student engagement." In order to achieve this goal, my administrative team sent me to a pre-school Kagan training seminar. The training was a great experience for me. One of the main tenets of Kagan is cooperative learning, which entails a variety of benefits, including "actively involving students in learning" and providing opportunities for "personal feedback" ("What are the Benefits?", 2004) that can result in students taking more responsibility for their work. Even with only several months of experience in the classroom, I have witnessed firsthand how valuable these strategies are for improving student engagement.
I also intend to use this blog to share my personal perspective and research into different cooperative teaching strategies. Every other week, I intend to write about a new teaching strategy, its practical applications in the classroom, my own use of it, and what the research says about that tool. For example, for my first installment, I believe I will focus on partner brainstorming, described as a "process for generating multiple ideas/options in which judgment is suspended until a maximum number of ideas has been generated" (Wehrli & Nyquist, 2003). I would very much like for other educators to feel welcome to offer any comments, feedback, or personal experiences they have had on the strategies and resources discussed here. If even one other teacher finds this blog valuable, then it will have helped serve its purpose.
Lastly, I cannot help but feel pumped up about being an educator after being given the incredible experience this Summer 2016 to attend The Collegium for the Advancement of Education. Provided below are some photos of the week-long training. I met some wonderful people and learned some wonderful things about Choosing Excellence in the classroom. Truly, friends, fellow educators, and readers, teaching is a profession that can make such great change. I am so proud and honored to call myself a teacher. Our primary purpose is always our students. They are the future, and they are the reason we work so hard and plan effective lessons and pour ourselves into our instruction so we might help guide the leaders of tomorrow. Thank you again for taking the time to read my blog. I hope you enjoy this journey with me!
Sincerely,
Ryan Arciero
References
Wehrli, G., & Nyquist, G.J. (2003). Teaching strategies/methodologies: Advantages, disadvantages, cautions, and keys to success. Creating an Educational Curriculum for Learners at Any Level.
What are the benefits of cooperative learning? (2004). Concept2ClassThirteen.org.