W.E. Revolution Part 2

Woody's Pictures 260, originally uploaded by wdelauder2002.

The revolution is working without many hiccups. I know that many teachers across the world use limited worksheets. However, I am trying to prove a point. Students and Teachers make more meaningful connections to the world by "doing" more meaningful assignments.

3rd grade assignment. Create an accurate map of the United States that will be used to show landforms and bodies of water. Once the maps are created, they will have a totally student created topographical map of the United States. Other additions to the map will be student driven... fault lines, tectonic plates.

Students have become perceptive to the changes I am making. I discussed everything with each class. I talked to them about the importance of making meaningful connections to the curriculum. I discussed with them that the products we will be creating will be completed by them alone. They will have stake in the final product. Most information will be presented online using programs such as Google Earth and Wikipedia.

I explained to the students that these changes are not going to make their school day easier, but will allow them to actually learn and retain the knowledge easier. Most students are all grins. Most students love a challenge. I say "most students" because there are always a few students that take a little longer to jump on board at no fault of their own.

By the way... the idea of tracing the map from the LCD projector was student generated. Yes, 3rd grade students (8 year olds) do have a decision making voice here.

More to come about this assignment, as it will probably take a while to complete.

W.E. Revolution

W.E. Revolution refers to what I like to call the Worksheet Elimination Revolution. This has been a topic brewing in my mind for a while now. Schools seem to use the "Worksheet" to save time and make every ones job easier. There are many problems with the use of the simple worksheet.

The use of worksheets...

1. Uses an unspeakable amount of paper. Most of the paper goes unused and is discarded in the trash or recycled.
2. Creates teachers that begin to rely on a 1-dimensional teaching method. Introduce... teach... have them fill in the blanks.
3. Creates dependent learners. Students depend on the teacher to direct their learning. Discovery and reflection are put on the back-burner.
4. Creates a sense of monotony and boredom amongst most students. Pass out the paper, put your name and date on it, read the directions, answer the questions, fill in the blanks, pass your papers in.
5. Dilutes creativity. Students begin to lose the creative aspect of learning. They start to feel comfortable filling in the blanks. It's easy!
6. Creates a stack of graded worksheets that is taken home and thrown away. Why should the students care about the worksheet? They didn't create it. They don't own it. They have no stake in it except for the grade.
7. Creates teachers that don't want to grade the worksheets and end up throwing some of them away, meaning that students did the work for absolutely no reason.
8. Creates teachers that share worksheets and just use ones others have created. This results in teachers using worksheets that don't truly match what they are currently teaching or can even be at odds with the learning.
(#'s 7 and 8 were added by Jenny)

I could probably continue to write the ill effects of worksheets until Monday morning.
I am not claiming that I don't use worksheets. I do sometimes, when I feel it's necessary. My point is... it is easy to fall into the worksheet rut.
I am making an effort at the present time to completely eliminate the worksheet from the classroom. I feel that our time can be spent doing more meaningful activities. When I say "our time", I mean my time and the students time. The plan for this effort has been a creeping turtle. I have been thinking/planning this type of reform for a while now. I will follow this post up with a few ideas for engaging activities, but for now, until next blog...