DLMOOC

• Think of a time during your youth when you had a significant learning experience (in or out of school). What was it and why was it so significant?

I can think of two a experiences where I felt I had a significant learning experience. The first was when we studied the senses in 3rd grade, and we each had to choose one to diagram.  I drew a huge poster of the human eye and labeled all of it's parts and functions.  I was very proud of my work, and felt smart and competent. (Not a common feeling for me back then.)

The second experience was in 6th grade, when I had a teacher recognize I had a penchant for the dramatic and was musical.  Mr. Richardson, in Hasting MI, allowed me to read a book,  and collaborate to write a script, make costumes, arrange music, build a set and perform the play for the school.  This experience impacted me in such a way, that when I became a teacher I automatically incorporated the arts into all content areas. Book reports became TV commercials that were scripted by the students; had to be 60 seconds long, had to "sell their book" and were actually recorded and viewed but he class.  A unit on the solar system became a to scale-model that took up the entire classroom ceiling, made from paper mache, painted, and researched by the students. Two students that wanted to work together and requested to research a constellation instead were granted permission and guided to resources that would help them.  On their own, they created a pin box constellation that projected out onto the ceiling. Our unit of study of the civil war became a play scripted by the students who researched the war; selected the people they wanted to represent, who memorized  their characters' speeches, created backdrops, costumes, selected music and elements of the production, to include singing, dance, gymnastics, poppers and a tug of war scene to indicate the war rather than using guns in school. We were all fully immersed, never bored, and I was often in trouble with the custodian for having a "messy floor." :/