Week #6: Five Minute Film Festival

I recently watched Ramsey Musallam's video from the Five Minute Film Festival, and I love the three rules he used to "spark" learning. It made me think of a question my student teacher asked me recently..."How do you go about designing a lesson?" It was a great question and made me think about my own practices. The three rules that Musallam mentions are great starters for developing a lesson that requires students to be active participants in their own relative, engaging, and long-lasting learning.

Musallam's Three Rules:
1. Curiosity comes first- I taught 5th grade before becoming a math/tech coach, and one thing I always wondered was why students didn't have the same curiosity they once had in kindergarten. After teaching and observing over the past several years, I've realized that we as teachers talk too much. We don't let our students question concepts to develop a relationship with the content that creates meaning and relevance in their lives. As a result, students sit quietly and wait for information to be given to them.
2. Embrace the mess- Teaching is messy. Literally and figuratively. There is no one size fits all instructional method, nor is there time for teaching to become complacent in their teaching abilities. We must embrace trying new methods and use our mistakes as an avenue to clarify and refine our practice.
3. Practice reflection- Effective instruction requires revision to our teaching process and our view of education. We need to teach with the mindset that what we do might "save lives".