#8: Creating Space for Learning Experiences (Back-to-School Countdown)

Editor's Note: Find the full 10-Day Back-to-School Countdown here.

In This Vlog with Sarah Brown Wessling:

In order to create the kinds of learning experiences that really motivate students (such as the grant project in this video), I have to understand the non-negotiables of my department/district/state by looking at the assessments. What are the assessments that I'm working with? How do they fit into my vision? How do I make them relevant and authentic? How do I make space for learning experiences outside of these assessments?

And what is a great learning experience? To me, it's a different way of thinking about a project or assignment. I want the culture of my classroom to feel purposeful and relevant -- I don't want my students to feel like I'm just giving them busy-work. Here are the qualities I value in a great learning experience:

• The experience has to be relevant
• Students need to have an audience -- a real audience like the community or other students
• They have to be challenged; students can't feel like their time is wasted
• They have to have an element of unpredictability, so students have to think on their feet

Your Turn:

1. What qualities do you look for in great learning experiences for your students? Please share your thoughts below in the comments section.

2. Take a look at some videos showing great learning experiences:

• Grant Writing: Blending Literature and Community
• Engaging Students in Work that Matters
• Making The Declaration of Independence Come Alive
• Table for 22: A Real-World Geometry Project
• Farming in the Gilded Age: A Simulation

Want a reminder so you don't miss a thing? Join Teaching Channel's Back-to-School Countdown "class" on Remind, and we will text or email you a daily link through this free (and private) service: https://www.remind.com/join/tchchannel.

(What's Remind? It's a safe and simple product that helps teachers communicate with their classes through text messages or emails. Download the app on the App Store or on Google Play.)

Sarah Brown Wessling is a high school English teacher in Johnston, Iowa. She is the 2010 National Teacher of the Year and is the Teacher Laureate for Teaching Channel. Connect with Sarah on Twitter – @SarahWessling.