Thinking Treks - Activities to Avoid Window Gazing
Summer in Australia… I have vivid memories
of sitting at my school desk, gazing out the window and imagining I was
somewhere else in a bid to ignore the stream of sweat trickling down my back. Three
o’clock couldn’t come fast enough! Sometimes I still have days like that! Installing air
conditioning in classrooms that regularly reach temperatures well over 33° C (about
91° F) would certainly improve learning (not to mention my temperament) but that’s another
story!
My worst ‘drifting off’ moments were almost
always during traditional chalk and talk lessons when the teacher stood out the
front and we sat and dutifully listened, or at least pretended to! I know I
still have the same tendency, especially during professional development
sessions, and have to keep check on my wayward thoughts so I don’t mentally wander off. This is not a reflection on the presenters of
PD, rather it’s an observation about my sadly limited inability to
maintain focus.
I think most teachers are all too familiar
with the glazed over look that descends on a class when they are absolutely
certain something is going to be boorrriing. One of the things I’ve tried hard
to do during my teaching career is to keep those glazed-over-window-gazing
moments to a minimum. I love to see kids truly engaged and excited about what
they’re learning.
The Thinking Treks products I've made are based on some of the most successful activities I've used in terms of student engagement and enjoyment. Not a window gazer in sight! Socially mediated learning using open ended tasks lends itself to deep learning in a range of different contexts and subject areas. Here are links to sample Thinking Treks if you're interested in learning more.
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| Christmas Thinking Treks Sample |
