A bit about me (the new moderator) and my classroom...

First, let me introduce myself: I am Jennifer Bevill, I have been teaching for 13 years. My undergraduate degree is in Elementary Education and I have a Master’s Degree in Educational Technology. I have experience in the elementary, middle, and high school classroom; I am currently teaching a variety of informational technology courses to grades 10-12 in a K-12 school. I am a 2014 Microsoft Innovative Expert Educator and have been part of the Partners in Learning network since 2012.

I have never been a teacher to teach from a book, even when the subject I taught offered one. I have always examined the state or national curriculum in the subject area and taught in units based on projects, or project based learning as we call it now. This is the way teaching comes naturally for me.

Project based teaching comes naturally, but I do need help with figuring out exactly how to capture the attention of my students and motivate their involvement and learning. After a few years of teaching I finally asked myself why I was guessing what the students were interested in or passionate about; I had the simple idea to ask them. They were thrilled to share their voice and be involved in the planning process! All of the sudden I had motivated and involved students and less work. It seemed to good to be true.

I begin each school year getting to know my students, showing them that what they have to say is important, and emphasizing we are a team. We work together to teach, learn, and make the classroom a place of respect and trust. From there students begin to build confidence to share their voice about what they want, but more importantly share what they have learned with the class, community, and globally. Students share what they learn through digital media, as teams they create plans to change injustices to humans and the environment, and it is my goal that they leave my class knowing their voice matters.

I look forward to sharing with you and learning from you. Please participate in the hot topic because YOUR voice matters!

Please comment below: what is one word you associate with student voice (besides student and voice)?