Endeavor students engage in teaching
Pamela Henson’s students at Endeavor Elementary School are ‘getting in on the act’ in the classroom.
Henson works as literacy teacher for 78 fourth-graders at Endeavor. “I ensure students are receiving necessary tools to comprehend and utilize critical thinking to problem solve,” she said.
To motivate her students, Henson allows them to teach lessons in the classroom after she models learning.
Henson strives to engage students in interactive lessons that improve peer collaboration. “Utilizing students to present the lesson provides an interactive way to develop ownership of student learning and mastery of skills,” Henson said. “It’s also an authentic way to assess student mastery of objectives.”
To build their content knowledge, students have been working on fluency, oral presentations, vocabulary building and comprehension strategies. They’re teaching reading skills, like prediction, context clues and story retell, she said.
“My role is to observe, monitor, diagnose miscues and provide supportive feedback to further active engagement in learning,” Henson said. To help with lessons, students must participate actively in class activities and Henson’s guided instruction.
Henson decided to try this “cooperative approach” to learning to meet the needs of all learning styles in her class. “Using my expertise in teaching, I’ve learned that students perform best when they are given hands-on opportunities to share their learning with their peers,” she said.
When students model the lessons for peers, collaborative learning results. “Direct teacher instruction and peer coaching directly impacts student achievement” more efficiently, Henson said.
From this experience, fourth-grader Riley Foster “sees teaching through Mrs. Henson’s eyes. Actually teaching (the lesson) helps me learn it more thoroughly.”
Dasia Smartt likes the approach because “sometimes I have a hard time reading and understanding things when I study alone.”
Henson also has designed a secure Youtube site for parents to bridge the gap between home and school.
Henson’s class is preparing for Fluency Day on Feb. 15 with a focus on Black History Month. Several speakers will visit, including Jamel Lanee with WAFF-TV.
