Toledo Central Catholic professional development focuses on students |
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Written by MICHELE JUREK, Special to the Chronicle
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Thursday, 25 September 2008 01:00 |
TOLEDO—As part of the annual back-to-school professional development seminar for faculty and staff at Toledo Central Catholic High School (CCHS), students were invited to address teachers and discuss how they learn.
A panel of six students worked with Bay McLaughlin, a creative professional from San Francisco, and the CCHS faculty members Aug. 14.
Teachers asked the students the following questions in order to create new ways of achieving the highest level of education possible:
• What experiences in school really engage you?
• How do you use technology in school as opposed to outside of school?
• Describe the ideal classroom and what learning would look like.
Teachers were also able to ask individual questions to get feedback from the students about how they liked Central Catholic’s laptop program and how they find the right balance between using technology and pursuing other aspects of daily life.
Student participants indicated interactive learning, group projects and using technology in the classroom keep them most engaged. They feel having their own laptops has helped improve student performance and makes research and learning easier and they can do many assignments more quickly and thoroughly.
Their ideal classroom would include elements such as online textbooks and worksheets, virtual field trips, activities to get students up and moving, hands-on learning catered to each student’s needs and learning from peers.
The goal of this teacher-student exercise was to focus not just on teaching, but on learning. Central Catholic administrators hope to increase the use of technology at CCHS, to include students in the design and creation of the curriculum from day one through graduation, to collaborate across disciplines, use challenge-based learning and increase engagement and student accountability.
Mr. McLaughlin spent several days with various Central Catholic teachers, brainstorming curriculum ideas and interdisciplinary collaboration. He started a forum on Moodle, Central Catholic’s course management system that helps educators create effective online learning communities. In the forum, he and the teachers discussed curriculum ideas and ways to integrate PowerPoint, photography, photobooks, slideshows, music, podcasts and movies into the educational process.
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Last Updated on Monday, 01 December 2008 10:12 |
