I recently visited Erin Jewett’s history class at Smithfield Middle School. I noticed highly engaged students actively working on a variety of assignments. After a closer look, I saw a variety of resources, projects and assignments clipped to a large dry erase board. As I explored more and spoke with students, they told me that they worked through the different tasks at their own pace and received assistance from their teacher when needed. It was obvious that they knew the procedure and routine as they got right to work when they entered the classroom.
Mrs. Jewett walked throughout the classroom
helping students that required a little guidance. There was no lecture or whole-group teaching. The assignments were varied and very
detailed, containing rubrics, directions and places for students to take notes.
They watched videos on laptops using headphones while they took notes on the
subject matter. Then they moved on to the
next part of the lesson. It was obvious
that this type of instructional model took significant planning in order to
have all the modules in place at the start of the unit. This allowed students
to progress through the assignments with time to research, explore on their own
and create solutions.
Some of the
activities students completed in Mrs. Jewett’s class included a World War II
Leaders Interview Project. Students
created comic strips where the characters were World War II leaders who were answering
interview questions. Another
assignment focused on Life in the 1920s and 1930s. The students completed an activity where they
researched specific questions about the two decades with the ultimate goal of
responding to the following: “Would you have wanted to live during this time
period? Why or why not? Your answer must
be at least 15 sentences long. Think
about all of the different things you have learned about the 1920s and the
1930s and use those to help you come up with your answer.”
Altogether
there were seven different activities that the students had to complete. This put the learning in the hands of her
students. I talked with several students
who commented that they enjoyed finding the information and being able to use
their research in a variety of different projects.
Mrs. Jewett
tried out this style of teaching last year with a few topics. She said the
format worked well with her classes, and her students really enjoyed the
model. She made a decision to transform
all of her units this year to this new style and has had no regrets. Her principal, Mr. Eng, stated that this model
allows Mrs. Jewett to work closely with the students who really need her
help. I appreciate Mrs. Jewett taking a
risk and trying a different approach with her classes. While she is constantly evaluating her
lessons to make improvements, as all teachers do, she seems to have hit upon a
model that works for her but, most importantly, for her students.
To see a video of Mrs. Jewett's class, click the following link: Keeping the Pace in Mrs. Jewett's Class.
