{"id":1150,"date":"2018-09-18T14:10:58","date_gmt":"2018-09-18T18:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/edt431-531\/?p=1150"},"modified":"2018-09-19T19:10:28","modified_gmt":"2018-09-19T23:10:28","slug":"teaching-in-the-margins-where-diversity-of-learning-flourishes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/exemplary-science-teaching\/2018\/09\/teaching-in-the-margins-where-diversity-of-learning-flourishes\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching in the Margins: Where Diversity of Learning Flourishes"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"\"Just like a coral reef in the ocean, The margins is where life flourishes and learning grows.<\/p>\n

What does it Mean to Teach in the Margins?<\/strong>
\nWhat is teaching in the margins? That is a good question! Before I walked into this class, I had no idea what it was. I read an excellent article by Ann E. Oliphant of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. The article was titled, Exploration, Risk Taking, and Wonderment: Traveling to the Margins of Instruction\u201d. By reading such an amazing article and discussing margins in class, I have a somewhat clear picture of what it is and how to utilize it in my classroom. In this blog, I will summarize the ideas that were in the article and also summarize the discussions that took place in class. Before taking this class, I had no idea HOW to teach. I wanted to, but was confused on how to engage learners. Now things make more sense and I have more confidence in myself as a teacher and student.<\/p>\n

Teaching in the margins is education that is not standardized, boring, or just teacher-led. Teaching in the margins is flexible and allows the class to deviate from the norms to learn new things that wouldn\u2019t be necessarily part of the curriculum. For example, if there was something in the news that needed to be shared within a science class, it would be shared and a lesson would be planned, regardless of what the class was doing that day. This could be any current event. In a science class, we are interested in biological, geological, or chemistry-related events. For example, if an oil spill happened in your community. The best way to feed the students\u2019 curiosity about it is doing a lesson on oil spills. It could be doing an experiment with olive oil and water or watching a video on how we can use microbes to clean up oil spills.<\/p>\n

Teaching in the margins means that your classes are student-lead, with the teacher as a guide to the learning process. The environment is not sterile and boring. Learning takes place! This happens through hands on activities and projects that allow the students to learn things for themselves. When students are in charge of their learning, they will retain the information better because they are the ones who discovered it! Teaching in the margins also means deviating from the normal lesson and teaching students skills that they will use for the rest of their lives. These skills include problem-solving skills and critical thinking skills. The margins also foster curiosity and creativity for students. They learn how to think \u201cOutside the Box\u201d to solve problems and discover useful information.<\/p>\n

\"\"Some Characteristics of the Margins include:<\/strong>
\n\u2022 Student-lead learning
\n\u2022 Hands on activities that teach concepts in ways that are not obvious
\n\u2022 Lessons that teach important life skills
\n\u2022 Lessons that promote problem solving and critical thinking
\n\u2022 Flexibility in what is taught
\n\u2022 Unique ways of presenting material
\n\u2022 NO busy work or very little
\n\u2022 Allows students to discover key principles on their own
\n\u2022 Fosters creativity and love of learning
\n\u2022 Shows students real-life uses for the skill
\n\u2022 \u201cOutside of the Box\u201d thinking
\n\u2022 Lessons have meaning<\/p>\n

Difference Between \u201cTeachable Moments\u201d and Teaching in the Margins<\/strong>
\nThere is a difference in \u201cteachable moments\u201d and teaching in the margins Teaching in the Margins requires much more than just coming up with \u201cteachable moments.\u201d. It requires less lecturing and more doing, it requires teaching important skills, and it is a lot less standardized than \u201cteachable moments\u201d. During \u201cteachable moments\u201d, Something is pointed out and lectured about, usually. There is not always thinking and cognition involved on the part of the child. The child does not get to figure out or think outside the box to discover something by themselves. The information is given to them. I find that if children find out or discover information on their own, they retain it better. Teaching in the margins involves a lot more thinking and addition of time and planning than \u201cteachable moments\u201d. Teaching in the Margins is usually planned out in a way and is more student-led. It fosters the curiosity and creativity of children, when \u201cteachable moments\u201d just show a child something or demonstrate something. Teaching in the margins is a time for intellectual growth and learning for the child that \u201cteachable moments\u201d do not always accomplish.<\/p>\n

\"\"An example of a teacher teaching in the margins, letting the class be student centered and allowing kids to be critical thinkers is Cesar Harada in a school in Hong Kong. The children went to a beach and found that 80% of the oceans are filled with plastic. This is a problem, so Mr. Harada helps his kids work on fixing the problem through science. The design machines to remove plastic, study the chemistry of plastic, and how it effects life in the ocean! This is an example of teaching in the margins because it is student-led, it allows students to problem solve, and it goes above and beyond your normal standards!<\/p>\n