Research projects allow students to become thoroughly informed about an engaging topic. They encompass a lot of different skills and can be integrated into any subject area. Best of all they prepare students for real-life learning by teaching them how to gather information. The benefits don't end there. There are many other reasons to make them a part of your classroom including the following: TIME MANAGEMENT Research projects provide opportunities to practice time management skills. This takes time. The more guided practice students are given, the better they become at knowing how to pace themselves. EXPLORATION OF INTERESTS More and more often students are told what to read and what to learn. Research projects give them some choice. Choosing what to learn about makes practicing those important reading and writing skills so much more enjoyable which results in increased learning. REPLICATES THE REAL WORLD Students are not going to be students forever. As...
How do I get kids excited about math? That’s a question I hear a lot from upper elementary teachers who are having to compete against science classes with cool experiments and class animals, or language arts classes where kids are getting to read their favorite chapter books. Math teachers who love what they do know that the concepts they teach are important, fascinating, and fun, but it’s hard getting through to kids who’ve already decided that they “hate math,” “aren’t good at math,” or think “math is boring.” It’s all a question of student engagement.                               What is Engagement? Engagement gets thrown around a lot. Is an engaged kid just a kid who’s there, and not just a body in a chair? A recent report from the Institute of Education Sciences REL Southeast Lab tries to answer this question, and it’s actually more complicated than you might think. The report describes three different kinds of engagement: behavioral, emotional, and co...