STLinATL

One of the challenges faced by educators who are increasingly trying to move students away from their electronic devices is how to activate them both physically and mentally in positive class participation and discussion. This presentation offers practical techniques for facilitating interpersonal interaction between students to engage them in thoughtful discussion and collaborative problem solving. These strategies incorporate ideas for how to get students up out of their desks and moving while thinking and interacting. Participants will have the opportunity to try some of these strategies firsthand, and will be encouraged to participate in brainstorming and discussion regarding how they might be implemented in their classrooms.

Students still learn in silos where knowledge is broken down into small unrelated elements; however, when students are given the opportunity to explore, they draw from different disciplines and go beyond the departmental constraints we created for them to try and understand the issue at hand. In this spotlight, we will share our different approaches to make student learning more of a transdisciplinary inquiry through an action-oriented, collaborative exploration of an authentic task that fosters student agency, choice, and interest. Through this nonlinear approach students engage in deeper learning as they construct, make meaning, and transfer knowledge. They learn to read the world through multiple lenses. Come, hear about, and share ideas that promote student inquiry through an un-siloed approach to learning.