{"id":5225,"date":"2023-09-27T23:20:32","date_gmt":"2023-09-28T03:20:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/exemplary-science-teaching\/?p=5225"},"modified":"2023-09-27T23:20:34","modified_gmt":"2023-09-28T03:20:34","slug":"reaching-the-margins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/exemplary-science-teaching\/2023\/09\/reaching-the-margins\/","title":{"rendered":"Reaching the Margins"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"
Great Plains meets the Rocky Mountains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
\n

What are margins? The areas on the side of the paper? The boundaries between two biomes? The fence between two houses? All of these hinge on the topic of what they are not. The center is the unified portion. On paper, the center is where the words are written, the uniformity of a forest is the center, and the house on the property is the center. The center is the place of uniformity, a sense of sameness while the margins are the intersections between two centers. What happens when two distinct items meet? Margins focus on the interactions that happen when not everything is the same. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Getting into the margins<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

In the same way, margins appear in the classroom as areas of intersections with specific defining features. Among these features are<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Interactions between differing cultures<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Risk-taking<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Entertaining differences<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Memorable times<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Novelty<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
    <\/div>
    <\/div><\/div>
    \n
    \n
    \n

    Margins are when students move away from the center of the classroom. Instead of focusing on lectures, notes, homework, and exams, students are invited into a space where they can fully perform as learners invested in the class. The image on the right shows a classroom that has moved away from the center and brought teaching toward the margins<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

    \n
    \"\"
    Source: Affolter et al. (2022)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Margins vs. Teachable Moments<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \n
    \n
    \n
    \n

    Margins have to be camped in for success. A classroom does not move from the center to the margins for a few minutes, but a large portion of time must be set aside for novelty and discussion such that students can create experiences and memories. Teachable moments are the snapshots that focus on one particular message that the teacher can dive into for a moment and move right back into the center. A teachable moment drives a specific point while margins are open to many different inputs and directions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

    \n
    \n