My students need mp3 players, dry erase sheets, fitness balls, lapdesks, pillows, rugs, and gaming chairs to help them work in their individual learning style. These items will foster a 21st century learner.
This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My Students
My goal as an educator is to pass my students on with the metacognitive ability to know what they understand and how they can best learn more. A flexible learning environment will allow students to explore their individual learning style so their education is more effective.
For many of my students, our school is like home.
It is a place where they can eat twice a day, trust their surroundings, and actually be children. My elementary school mainly services children in low-income families who are at risk of not graduating high school. That does not mean, however, that our students are incapable of earning their diploma. In all of my time around students, including my years as one, I have never encountered children so excited to come to school and learn tools to help them succeed. Every day, I am lucky enough to see my students walk down our hallway in the morning with a smile that stretches from ear to ear. Unfortunately, their excitement disappears throughout the day as they have to sit in chairs behind desks and simply watch me teach. A flexible learning environment will help to maintain my students' natural eagerness to learn by allowing them to work in their best learning style.
My Project
Children are active and have great imaginations, so without an outlet for their energy, most students do not learn best in the rigid structure of a traditional classroom with uncomfortable chairs and desks. As an alternative, I plan to incorporate fitness balls, gaming chairs, pillows, rugs, lapdesks, and mats into my classroom to increase my students' focus. Additionally, I will use mp3 players to provide music to students who work better with background noise, and dry erase sheets to create a table students can use as a work space.
During the first few weeks of school, they will be able to discover which of these tools will help them to be successful and which ones will distract them. They will then utilize these resources independently for the rest of the year, enabling them to develop the skills to make responsible choices regarding their learning. Knowing how they best learn is invaluable knowledge that will last throughout my students' lifetime.
Your donations will help me create a flexible learning environment that will teach students how to make choices that cater to their individual learning style.
These children will move on in their educational careers with the ability to adapt their surroundings to fit their learning needs. As Margaret Mead said, "Children must be taught how to think, not what to think," and these resources will allow me to do just that.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Marcin and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.