{"id":4619,"date":"2022-09-23T20:45:20","date_gmt":"2022-09-24T00:45:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/edt431-531\/?p=4619"},"modified":"2022-09-25T19:19:04","modified_gmt":"2022-09-25T23:19:04","slug":"teaching-in-the-margins-you-cant-plan-to-be-spontaneous","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/exemplary-science-teaching\/2022\/09\/teaching-in-the-margins-you-cant-plan-to-be-spontaneous\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching in the “Margins”: You Can’t Plan to be Spontaneous!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Does this student look engaged to you??<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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If you said “no way!” you’re correct! This student is bored of being in the center all the time. Take your students to the margins!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First, I’ll explain what the “margins” is in real life. If you look around, you can see “margins” happening everywhere: at the edges of ecosystems and farm fields, in the ditch along the road. You see an explosion of diverse life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Margins in Nature<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
  • Surround a “center.”<\/strong> A center is a controlled monoculture. The center in the picture above would be the farm field. Attention is directed at the center most of the time. <\/li>
  • A diverse polyculture<\/strong>. The populations in the margins are diverse, there are many different species that dwell here.<\/li>
  • Occurred by chance. <\/strong>The margins were not purposefully created by anyone, they were left to their own devices and created themselves. <\/li>
  • Life here is messy<\/strong> and might not look appealing. <\/strong>Anything created in the margins spontaneously might not look perfect and pruned like the center. That doesn’t mean that it lacks beauty. Life in the margins is rich and diverse. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Margins in the Classroom<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    • Student driven.<\/strong> Students are in control of their learning in the margins. Everything is student-led and student initiated. I provided a video down below about student-centered learning. <\/li>
    • Inquiry-based. <\/strong>On a similar note, learning in the margins is facilitated by a student’s curiosity. This means that students use scientific inquiry to investigate an interest or explore something new. <\/li>
    • Spontaneous<\/strong>. You cannot plan for the margins to happen! Students will lead you to the margins as long as you allow them to. This might feel chaotic, but when you let students investigate something they’re truly passionate about, they will take the lead.<\/li>
    • Areas of risk and chance.<\/strong> Since the margins are not part of a curriculum or lesson plan, there is a chance that the class might get behind on something. However, what students learn from each other in the margins is just as, if not more, valuable than what you have to teach them. Embrace this risk!<\/li>
    • Part of exemplary science teaching.<\/strong> A final point, exemplary teachers will go to the margins to make their classroom something special. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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