Resources for Facilitating Learning

A good teacher's goal is to facilitate learning. I am of the opinion that students are more willing to learn when they are actively participating and engaged in the classroom community. Learning no longer involves the teacher scribbling knowledge onto the blank slates of children's minds for 40 minutes. Children do not have blank slates; instead, they come to class with unique interests and experiences. A "good teacher" needs to be conscious of their own character and dispositions in order to create an environment that fosters respect for the knowledge and experiences that we all bring to the table. It is my goal to use the resources below to develop lessons that will encourage students to share their experience and participate in classroom dialogue in order to facilitate learning. When students are making connections, asking questions, and developing arguments, then that demonstrates to the teacher that the content is being understood and thought about critically. 

Cool Cat Teacher - Reasons to Blog with your Students

Creating blogs extends the discussion beyond the classroom walls. Students are encouraged to post responses to classroom discussions, readings, and comment on their classmates' posts. Blogging is a great way to get students excited about writing. In addition, blogging increases their comfort writing in stream of consciousness while also being mindful that they need to edit their work before clicking "Publish Post"! Blogging also helps teachers learn more about their students' interests, which is useful for differentiating instruction. 

Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo + Juliet" Compared to Shakespeare

Name any text that is traditionally taught in middle or high school English classes and chances are a movie adaptation exists. Movies based on plays and books taught in the classroom are prevalent, and while they may not always capture the entire intent of author, these movies can support classroom dialogue. The YouTube link above shows the last 8 minutes of Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. After the class finishes reading Romeo and Juliet, I would then show this brief clip. After viewing the clip, students could be broken in the groups to tackle discussion questions and prepare arguments to share in classroom dialogue. 


English teachers cannot be afraid to bring movie adaptations to the classroom. Visual media appeals to many learners and movie clips would likely provoke those types of students. Specifically, I believe this exercise illustrates that many of the plays and texts covered in middle and high school English have archaic themes that transcend different time periods and cultures.

Peer Review using Google Docs

I frequently use Google docs in my personal life; however, I never imagined Google docs leaving that sphere. I'm now learning through my work as a pre-service teacher how valuable this technology can be in the classroom. The article suggests how Google doc technology can be used to engage students in the writing process. 

1. Begin a lesson on the writing process by reviewing and revising an essay as a class. The teacher in this article displays a past student's essay stored on Google docs on the Smart Board. As a class, the teacher and class review the document and make changes, additions and corrections. After showing a few examples of edits, I would then ask students to come up and make revisions on the Smart Board. This exercise would give students hands-on experience doing revisions in Google docs. Having students learn how to highlight passages, insert text, and add their own comments in another color as a class gives students the tools to review and revise their own work as well as their peers. 

2. Upon completing the introductory lesson on peer review, it is now time to put those skills into practice. Pair students up to begin the peer review process. The student will upload their document to Google docs, share the document with their partner, and their partner will independently review and revise the original document using the skills they learned in the previous lesson. The process is repeated for the other student, so that both students are reviewing each other’s work. 

Not only does this exercise make the writing process more accessible to the digital generation, but it also gives students experience on how "real world" peer reviews occur in many work environments.