Learn Like a PIRATE: Empower Your Students to Collaborate, Lead, and Succeed

by Paul Solarz

Overview

Collaboration. Empowerment. Student Leadership. These buzz words get a lot of press, but what do they really mean for today's students? Can students really handle the responsibility of leading the class? Can they actually learn what they need to if they are working together so often? Won't all this freedom cause chaos in the classroom? Not if you're teaching them to learn like PIRATES! Peer collaboration builds community and supports teamwork and cooperation. Improvement-focused learning challenges students to constantly strive to be their best. Responsibility for daily tasks builds ownership in the classroom. Active learning turns boring lessons into fun and memorable experiences. Twenty-first century skills engage students now and prepare them for their futures. Empowerment allows students to become confident risk-takers who make bold decisions. In Learn Like a PIRATE, teachers will discover practical strategies for creating a student-led classroom in which students are inspired and empowered to take charge of their learning experience. You'll learn strategies for: Crafting active, relevant, and interesting lessons Creating opportunities for student leadership Providing effective and beneficial feedback Instilling confidence so students can take risks Increasing curiosity and passion for learning Incorporate the techniques and strategies Paul Solarz uses in his student-led classroom and watch your students transform into confident, collaborative leaders.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780996989633
Publisher:	Dave Burgess Consulting
Publication date:	03/09/2015
Pages:	274
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.63(d)

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Foreword Dave burgess xii

Get More out of Learn like a Pirate xvii

Introduction 1

Section 1 Student-Led Classrooms

1 What is a Student-Led Classroom? 7

2 Common Concerns About Student-Led Classrooms 13

Section 2 Learn Like a Pirate: Six elements that promote student leadership in your classroom:

3 Peer Collaboration-To have students leading each other and following one another's lead, collaboration skills must be honed 37

4 Improvement Focus vs. Grade Focus-Focusing on constant improvement, rather than summative feedback, helps students enjoy the learning process and take risks without the fear of failure 79

5 Responsibility-When students know they are expected to take ownership of their education and are encouraged to show initiative in the classroom, they develop responsibility and leadership skills 105

6 Active Learning-For students to avoid distractions and off-task behavior, they need to be learning actively and moving around the room 143

7 Twenty-First Century Skills-When feedback focuses on twenty-first century skills rather than simply the lessons content, students gain a deeper understanding of the material and are able to transfer knowledge to future experiences 177

8 Empowerment-Students learn to lead the class, help their peers, own their education, and maximize their time on task, when you empower them to make decisions on their own 213

Our Purpose as Educators 245

Additional resources 252

About the Author 255