Uncovering Learning

Innovation for innovation's sake has no value. The essential question every teacher should ask when designing a learning experience should relate to the why. Walking into a traditional classroom of uninspired students who had loaded  workbooks full of answers that required little thought, I immediately recognized the challenge. This was not about tests and grades, this had to be about learning. How could I transform this group into hungry minds demanding to inquire about the world? How could I establish an environment where they could engage in the learning design and care about ideas, thoughts, words? I am a risk taker. I will not play it safe in the classroom, because minds are at stake. So, when the time came for my second evaluation, I went into my preconference with the idea that I was going to continue my quest and involve my mentor in this quest. So, I explained that my summative experience for my students to determine their understanding of nonfiction tex