I have reached the end of the semester of classes and created a final project about learning theories. It wasn't until I began thinking about this projec that the learning theories we had been discussing in class began to move from abstract to concrete. I took a little different look at the learning theories. I decided to take the theory put forth by Jerome Bruner and put it into practice. Bruner talks alot about how culture, interest and social activity are keys in the learning of children. When I looked back over this semester, I decided to delve deeper into a community or culture that I know nothing about; skateboarding. I decided to ask a few of my students to teach me to skateboard. The goal was to understand their learning process, develop a deeper understanding of the skateboarding culture and to engage the students in an area of interest. I can say that this project was one of the most enjoyable adventures undertaken with my students. (My hip didn't think so but the rest of me did!!) Anyway, I created a video detailing the experience of learning to skateboard. The most awesome outcome of this project was the active engagement of the students in the classroom material. The participation within the class of the students that are a part of the skateboarding community has increased and they are always checking on my progress. The students that served as my teachers meet with me daily and are always trying to find a way to weave the skateboard into our lessons. When I told them we could use it during our Forces and Motions exploration, they went out and researched those topics coming back with ideas on how to use the skateboard. The positive outcome of this project has cemented the importance of making the material interesting to the students, knowing what their interests are, and allowing them to build on their own knowledge. This final project fits right into my action research project and has given me much food for thought. The video portion is attached, so get some popcorn, sit back and enjoy as you watch learning theory put into practice.
