Siddharth Sharma's Blog

This week in lab I learned about the characteristics of living things. They all have cellular composition in which some are multicellular or unicellular. They also must be able to reproduce. We also learned about the structure of a seed. I can apply what I learned in teaching because I now have an idea of how I can visually teach students about living things and their structure. Putting the seed in the cup with water was a great way for students to understand that seeds need water and sunlight to grow. They can slowly see how it grows on a weekly basis. One I have are what are more creative ways we can teach our students the structure of living things? How do we balance lecturing and hands-on learning while still making sure our students are retaining necessary information?

The questions we are investigating are what will our future classroom look like and how will we keep our students engaged? To investigate this question in lab we drew a rough sketch of our classroom layout. My partner and I drew cubbies, cabinet space, a library, and more. We felt that decorating the library with comfortable chairs and placing posters throughout the room would keep our students engaged. We made sure to create group tables, so we can let our students collaborate and communicate throughout the day. We figured out that many groups had a space for students to sit on the carpet. Students must have the opportunity to sit somewhere else that is not their desk. It refreshes the mind and will keep them engaged. A majority of the groups had group tables rather than individual seats. They must have done this for the sake of collaboration and communication. What are some classroom essentials to keep students engaged? How can we motivate our students?