“Learning is not attained by chance; it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.” ―Abigail Adams. …
In our fast-paced world, where we have always adapted to situations, it is always important to acknowledge feats that show determination! Our P2 learners have taken on the challenge of learning virtually and have truly passed various hurdles by building on their skills through the inquiry track!
Throughout the 6 weeks of our virtual learning journey, they have explored and inquired into what makes a healthy and a balanced lifestyle. They learned about the different facets of both physical health as well as mental health. With the help of videos, stories and hands-on engagements, the learners gathered information, made connections and gained both perspective and conceptual understanding.
Just like an athlete learns best when he or she opts to train in their chosen field, our learners chose to showcase their understanding in a medium of their choice. To guide their effort, research and knowledge they selected specific success criteria.
Students need to see what success looks like and what they need to do to in order to achieve it. By co-constructing success criteria, students and their teacher develop a common understanding and language about what makes success. That is exactly what happened during several of the P2 Google Meets. In accordance with the medium they chose, the students set criteria that will help them not only organize their work but evaluate it.
Criteria in hand, the learners used the overview to help lead their project. While brainstorming, they chose two topics. They then delved into their research making connections between their chosen areas and the unit. Using their developing ICT skills, they presented their work using Google Slides, Canva, or basic videos. Reflecting after every step of the way helped the learners gain perspective and confidence.
With learning and teaching happening virtually it was only natural for the projects to be presented virtually. During the week of April 27th and for three consecutive days, the P2 students presented their works to their peers and teachers using Google Meet. They listened intently to each other and offered constructive feedback to each other. At the end of each presentation, the co- constructed success criteria was used by the students to self-evaluate themselves, their peers to evaluate their work and finally the teacher.
This co-constructed health-based learning engagement laid the foundation to motivate children and convince them that they are able to improve their performance through their own efforts and empower them to take control of their own learning.
It clearly allowed for student agency and helped to build the skills and mindset of assessment capable learners.
P2 Team.