By Sherryl Maglione, Teaching Faculty Member, Faculty of Academic and Career Preparation, VIU
Today revealed one of those ‘aha’ moments that teachers are occasionally humbled to experience.
At the beginning of the term, my main focus as facilitator is to create a community of learners who feel safe, are comfortable with each other, become alert, take risks, and are ready to learn. My English 067 students are just beginning to get to know each other this first week and have begun working on an upcoming public speaking presentation in the form of a slam poetry event. Public speaking is stressful for many people, but is a necessary skill to practice and develop. Students must brainstorm, draft, and perform their personal slam poem.
To get them started, I put a large handful of magnetic poetry tiles into Ziploc bags. Students can work in groups of two or three and create poems by working cooperatively. Once they have drafted a few poems (start with teaching the haiku form and provide samples), they read their poems to the larger group. Then the students switch groups, work with someone they have not worked with yet, and repeat the process. What this does is form supportive connections between small groups of students and the larger cohort group. Everyone responds positively to the poems that are group-created, which gives students impetus and confidence to create their own poems. After listening to impromptu performances by the groups, students are exposed to endless creative possibilities.
My particular ‘aha’ moment today came when I moved forward with the lesson by switching poetic forms from the haiku to the cinquain. The students thought that I was going to ask them to put away the magnetic words, and there was a collective, disappointed, “awwwww!” from the group. I was completely surprised by their reaction. The students were completely focused, having fun, enjoying their creative collaborations, and engaged in a transformative learning process.
Teachers just can’t buy those types of learning experiences!