Blog Post # 12

Blog Post #12:
Read Cherra-Lynne Olthof's Blog Post: Giving Up Control in Your Classroom.
Also, watch the video posted by: JustListen2011 "Brainstorming My Senior Project".
Think about how excited these students are and write about your thoughts.

Mrs. Olthof is letting her students take control of the lesson planning for a change. They decided on Mythology as the core unit. She asks them: “So what is it you want to learn in this unit anyways?”
Of course, after asking 20 grade 8 students this question, she was given many different ideas. They worked on it and were able to narrow down to two general questions.

1. What is the difference between a myth and a legend?
2. What makes up a “good” myth?

She then asked them, “Whoa, how do you answer that?” On their own they decided they would need to research, read and gather data, and in small group discussions and large classroom debate they would use critical thinking. After all of this, she asked "And then what?" They decided they could write their own.
"And then what do we do with them?" she asked. They weren't sure what to do next, so she encouraged them to publish them. She asked how they would like to publish them to a potential audience of 6 billion people, she proposed putting them online.
The students are extremely excited about this unit, they own it and are ready to dive in. They are currently working on this project so the finished product is not yet posted. I will stay tuned, I can't wait to read them.
After reading a little about Mrs. Olthof, she is excited about being a teacher in the 21st Century. She understands that as a learner in this century you must gain knowledge of technology, and it is her responsibility to bring it into her classroom.

In the video by JustListen2011, "Brainstorming My Senior Project" the student talks about how excited she is about being able to make the decision about her senior project. She tells listeners how she got so wrapped up in talking about her topic that she was five minutes late for her next class. She is very excited about being able to take control of her learning journey.