I am thrilled to talk to you today about something that I’m really passionate about, which is shared learning. Our current culture is all about sharing (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Blogging, etc.). When students share what they have learned it sticks, and completes the learning process for that specific event. It all comes back to Confucius, “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”

In middle school I still remember Mrs. Marler. She was my 6th grade English teacher and was one of the nicest teachers I knew. English was not my favorite subject, but I specifically remember a project that she had each of us do. She assigned each of us a short lesson (probably a review lesson), told us to look over the instructions in the book, teach the lesson and assign practice for the class. She said to be as creative as we wanted to be with it. I’m not sure how “creative” I was, but I loved planning and teaching the lesson to my peers. I was so excited to be “in charge.” I also remember that the lesson that I taught was over how to make contractions. Not only was the creativity, or engagement important, but she sharing as well.

In high school I had a similar experience with my physics teacher Mr. Wiley. We were to team up with another student in the class and design a bridge that could hold the most weight. We could only use the supplies that he gave us in the classroom and each type of supply cost us a certain dollar amount. We then had to take out a loan from “his bank.” The loan would then be part of how he calculated our grade. We drew top, front & side views of our proposed models to scale. He had to approve of the “blue prints” before we could even start constructing. Once we started constructing, we realized that our “blue prints” need to change. We edited what we need and continued on. I the midst of all of this, we were allowed to talk to our partners and our peers to make decision and see what other people had found in their research (although many of them didn’t want to share for fear of their idea being stolen). The day of the competition I was a little upset (emotional) because my bridge didn’t “win,” but I did learn what improvements to make on the bridge after it snapped exactly in half. Not only did I have to learn how to work with someone (I remember it not being so easy at times), but we were constantly sharing with our peers and the teacher.

As a teacher, some of my favorite classroom experiences are from students given the ability to share their learning. Before I start, I want to give you a little background about myself first. My mom has a degree in special education and my aunt (my mom’s sister, Martha) has down syndrome. I love my aunt Martha beyond words! She is still alive and lives with my grandparents (who are in their 90s), but has the temperament and innocence of a sweet child. So, because of my background, I feel very close to any child who is in special education or anyone who works with them. Having such a short planning period, I would often get inspired and grab some of my students from their specials teacher.  We would then present science experiments for the students who were in the special education department. Before I even brought them in to the special education classroom I told them about how these students were different and very child-like. I told them to be sure and teach them respectfully. Not only did the students who were teaching the experiments learn through their sharing, but the students in the special education class did too!

There have been many other times where I have taken my entire class of students to the kindergarten classroom to share what we were learning about in math, a science or show them a project we had put together. The idea of shared learning is not anything new. Yes, it takes a little of strategic planning and coordinating, but it is well worth it. It’s so important, shared learning is one of the “Fundamental Five.”

-Think Pair Share (purposeful talk)

-Sharing/teaching in front of the class

-Sharing and paring with students from another grade level

-Having groups share/teach their peers or students from another grade level

-Sharing with students who have special needs

-Sharing with a parent or another adult (teacher)

-Sharing with a specialist (geologist, pilot, engineer, etc.)

-Sharing with the community (special event)

-Memorable experiences students will take with them

-Lessons that make it into a students long term memory

-Students learning hospitality (manners) and appropriate social skills

-Learning how to work with others

-Solving community-related problems

-More engaged, students behavior

-Meaningful lessons

-Allows students to be proud of and value their work

-Possible mentors with other grade levels

-Creates role models

-Makes students feel special or important

-Fosters future career decisions

Speaking of SHARING… I would love to share one of my FREE RESOURCES with YOU! Here are some great ideas on how to have your students share what they know or have learned about food chains and webs! Click on the photo below to download this great resource!

If you have any additional comments or ideas/experiences that you have had with shared learning, please feel free to comment below. Thank you for reading! I hope that this post inspires you incorporate different ways that kids can share their learning. You can find my Science Girl Lessons TpT Store here.

My name is Rebecca Valera and I have been teaching for about 8 years know and am currently taking a break to raise my three beautiful children. My main specialization (and what I have mainly taught) is math and science for grades 3-8. I have taught in both public and parochial (Catholic) schools in Texas. I play a variety of instruments (guitar, flute, percussion), love my growing family and am very passionate about my Catholic faith. With three kids 3 and under, I enjoy blogging & developing curriculum in my “free time.” My family and I currently reside in Garland, TX.