A Window into MJDS Classrooms

By Dr. Dale Truding, a Learning Partner at MJDS and a Learning Partner for 48 years

September 11, 2017

As I wander through the halls of MJDS and visit classrooms, I am in awe of the level of engagement of the students and the teachers. At times, I can be in a classroom for ten minutes, and no one will even notice my presence. That is an authentic assessment of the type of learning happening.

My post today is about the power of technology to enhance the home school connection. Today I wandered into Geveret Lansing’s Kindergarten room as her students were actively participating in a classroom meeting. They were discussing their “Sunday in the Park” with their parents and their teacher. They were also discussing their “Thank You Fridays”. This is an opportunity for the students to say, “thank you” to someone who enriches their lives at MJDS.

As the students were discussing their “Sunday at Park”, Geveret Lansing pulled up her blog on the smartboard to share pictures she had taken at the park. The children loved to see the pictures. They also liked seeing all of the comments from their parents and neighbors, although they weren’t able to read them….yet. What they loved the most was the opportunity to listen to the messages from two of their kindergarten friends who weren’t able to be in school on Friday. What a wonderful opportunity! Although, those two students weren’t in school, they were still able to enjoy the pictures and communicate with their teacher and their friends in meaningful ways and feel like they were a part of the activities. It is obvious that their parents are committed to do whatever they can to include their children in the classroom, even when they can’t be at school.

On another note, the teachers at MJDS have truly embraced the idea of “learning out loud” with the students.  Geveret Lansing did an outstanding job of sharing her learning “out loud” with her students today. She shared how she “noodled” around on her phone and eventually figured out how to make a picture collage to add to the blog. She shared her genuine excitement about how good it feels to figure something out on your own. What a wonderful way to model for students.

Each time you figure out something new, please consider sharing it with your children. They need to understand that taking learning risks and figuring things out by trying different strategies is what learning is all about….

Until my next visit….

Always,

Dale