Increased Level of Engagement at Taylor Prairie Written By LeahRae Rusu Over the course of the year teachers at Taylor Prairie have been working on implementing the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework as a way to engage students, give them choice, and to provide them with multiple ways to experience new information and express what they have learned. Here are a few highlights using UDL, Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM), and Project-Based Learning as a way to engage students in learning and provide them with a choice in how to express what they know. Pre-K: Choice is such a powerful motivator for students! Mrs. Nachreiner's 4K friends are using choice boards with learning goals so that they can make choices about which activities they want to work on to reach their goals and self-assess. Students and parents participated in a survey in which students provided information about what they want to learn while in Mrs. Nachreiner’s class. These learning desires were then incorporated into the students’ daily learning and became part of the students’ learning goals. All activities are hands-on and play-based. Students enjoy coloring in the stars on their goal sheets, and celebrating their accomplishments!
Transcript
Increased Level of Engagement at Taylor Prairie
Written By LeahRae Rusu
Over the course of the year teachers at Taylor Prairie have been working on
implementing the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework as a way to engage
students, give them choice, and to provide them with multiple ways to experience new
information and express what they have learned. Here are a few highlights using UDL,
Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM), and Project-Based Learning as a way
to engage students in learning and provide them with a choice in how to express what
they know.
Pre-K:
Choice is such a powerful motivator for students! Mrs. Nachreiner's 4K friends are using
choice boards with learning goals so that they can make choices about which activities
they want to work on to reach their goals and self-assess. Students and parents
participated in a survey in which students provided information about what they want
to learn while in Mrs. Nachreiner’s class. These learning desires were then incorporated
into the students’ daily learning and became part of the students’ learning goals. All
activities are hands-on and play-based. Students enjoy coloring in the stars on their goal
sheets, and celebrating their accomplishments!
Kindergarten:
Throughout the year, Ms. Bretl, Ms. Keuler, Ms. Reinhart, and Mrs. Suchomel's
kindergarteners have been involved in many project-based activities that include
student choice and creativity in expression. For example, students did research on an
animal that interested them. As a final project they were able to choose how they
shared that information with others. Projects included videos, posters, acting, books,
and more! Another focus in these kindergarten classrooms has been collaborative, play-
based learning as an alternative to worksheets. Teachers are noticing that students are
more engaged, learning to work together, and developing a deeper understanding of
concepts.
First Grade:
STEM and Project-Based Learning lend themselves well to the UDL framework. They
provide students with an opportunity to engage in problem solving, develop critical
thinking skills, employ self-management strategies, learn how to be persistent and apply
a growth mindset. They also push students to manage materials and concepts in an
organized way through planning and learning how to apply learned information and
schema to new situations. Several classes used these frameworks to help students
engage in a deeper understanding. Ms. Wojta, Ms. Connor, Ms. Steine, Ms. Leanna, Ms.
Riley, and Ms. Rusu all have used these techniques over the course of the 2016-2017
school year.
Ms. Riley's 1st grade class at Taylor Prairie School was given a STEM (Science Technology
Engineering and Math) challenge. Their mission was to make "homes" for their stuffed
animals using only index cards. The homes were required to have 3 walls, a roof, and
the structure could not lean or rest on the stuffed animal. The students were
determined. Everyone started out trying to balance index cards against index
cards. Eventually someone thought of folding the cards. That engineering technique
spread through the classroom like the latest Wikileak! Finally, the students were
introduced to a strategy using slots and tabs by way of visuals of Lincoln logs, dove
tails and other woodworking techniques. The children were extremely engaged in
coming up with their own unique plan. It was an excellent way to work on problem
solving skills and to reinforce the importance of perseverance.
Students in Ms. Rusu’s 1st
grade class were given an engineering challenge: design and
build a city that is safe, healthy, sustainable, and a fun place to live. They spent several
weeks following the engineering process to plan and build a zero emission city that had
its own food source, water treatment center, solar power plant and security from the
“no bad guys” team. Students chose their teams, materials, and goals with guidance
from Ms. Rusu and a guest engineer, Heather Lynch, in an expert mentor role.
They also recently wrapped up a forces & motion exploration where students designed
and built inventions that used simple machines to help them accomplish a goal. One
team designed series of machines that made music using pushes and pulls on pulleys,
pendulums, and levers. They invited Paul Backstrom, Music Teacher, to join the
presentations as a guest mentor/advisor. Another team used a train to push some
dominoes in order to launch trash into a train car using a lever/catapult. The final team
used ramps to help a train move up a track in order to switch the light off. Students
explained what machines they used in their designs and which forces were used to
