What Can First Grade Teach the Harvard Business Review?

What can the “Harvard Business Review”  learn from first grade?  Maybe a lot! 

     One of my favorite blogs to read is the “Harvard Business Review”.   I enjoy reading about the 21^st century skills that are valued in the business world, as this is the world that my students will one day enter.   I want my students to be prepared.  A couple weeks ago I read Adam Richardson’s “Collaboration is a Team Sport and You Need to Warm Up” on the Harvard Business Review blog and carefully considered the following comment:

But there are barriers to collaboration, many of which exist even before somebody arrives for their first day of work. In the US, our education system is largely focused on individual efforts, and team work is not actively taught in the classroom even at the graduate level. 

Richardson elaborates and says that collaboration does not just happen but goes through a “warm-up” process first by creating a personable atmosphere of trust and relationship building.  

As I read this I had to laugh, clearly Richardson has not been in an elementary school lately!

      In my first grade I value, encourage and teach collaboration.   In the beginning of our school year we work on creating and building a learning community based on trust and respect.  .  I use strategies like Think-Pair –Share, team discussions, partner reading to encourage repectful listening and sharing.  Throughout the year students collaborate on reading extension activities, creating power points, using centers, SMARTboard and SMART table.  In math students are put in small groups to engage in and solve real-life problems.  Nothing gives me greater than pleasure than listening to students plan strategies and try to come to a consensus.  Our room is set up to support collaboration.  Desks are arranged to make teams/tables.  Students also work collaboratively in centers around the room.  This fall we are looking forward to removing desks and replacing them with tables in order to further support an environment of collaboration.   

      I know my classroom is similar to many other classrooms that teach and encourage collaboration.   I have to wonder about Richardson’s comment. When will the business world see the results of the collaboration found in our grade schools?  I see our educational system as encouraging a collaborative spirit.  What are your thoughts?  How do you encourage collaboration in your classroom? 

Is It Passion-Based Learning?

What was more interesting today. . .

A first grade ‘expert’ standing alongside of an interactive whiteboard  guiding the audience through a presentation on African wild dogs, pointing to maps depicting the dogs habitat, discussing the need for this carnivorous animal to have jagged fangs, while pointing to a picture of its sharp teeth.   

Or maybe. . .

A first grade audience engrossed in their classmates’ presentations on endangered animals, processing information, making connections to prior learning experiences, recalling their own research on whales and asking “Do white spotted dolphins have blubber too?” 

Or perhaps. . .

The teacher sitting in the back of the room listening to her young experts, assisting by tapping the forward button on the power point presentation in case it should stick.  

Today was a wonderful day as my first grade students presented their power point presentation on endangered animals to their class.  They demonstrated leadership and pride beyond first grade as the spoke with authority about their research, and discussed each image in the power point.   The whole process that led to this culminating event was very educational for me.   My students were very engaged from the time they began their research to the time the presented their power point.  They even asked on several days if they could come up after lunch recess to work on their power point. 

 

As I reflect on the process, I find myself asking:  What kept them engaged? Was it completing research?   Working on the computer?   Creating the power point?  Searching for images?  Sharing with their classmates?  Leading a question and answer session?  I have to think it was the whole process.   The students selected an endangered animal and became the expert.  The animal became “theirs” and the desire to share what was “theirs” with classmates was sincere.   Is this what passion-based learning looks like in first grade?  I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Passion Based Learning in First Grade

I just read Wes Fryer’s “Passion, Learning and Innovation”.  I loved his question: "Is your curriculum wide enough that it can provide room for students to connect with, deepen their knowledge of and share topics about which they are passionate?"  Much of what we read in education today deals with passion-based learning, allowing students to explore topics that they are passionate about.  In my own classroom experience, I have learned that passion-based learning increases student engagement.

A topic of interest with one of my guided reading groups this year has been animals/wildlife. I capitalized on this topic in this group by finding reading material about wild life.  My students wanted to delve further into the animal life that they were introduced to by completing more research.  They wanted to share the information with their classmates.  We worked together on creating Power Point presentations.  The experience allowed the students to develop many skills:  main idea/details, organization, story boarding, relating pictures with details, public speaking, power point etiquette and collaboration.  A couple of students created their power point presentations at home.  Their enthusiasm spread throughout the class.  Soon all of my reading groups wanted to do similar work.  This week one of my groups has completed research and a power point on endangered animals.  Each student selected an endangered animal to become “the expert” on.  They incorporated a way to help protect the endangered animal. 

This experience has been very exciting and educational for me!  This upcoming year I will spend more time with passion based learning by learning what my students are passionate about and incorporating that into my planning!

How are you using passion based learning in your class?  I love to hear ideas (especially in the primary grades)!