From MY Time to OUR Time

During my foray into student engagement, I stumbled upon an app called Pear Deck. A few years later and Pear Deck has redefined itself, and what it offers is pure differentiation, that both blends the learning, and offers student’s voice. As much as we try to build and design around the “student-centered” classroom, there are those pesky moments in which direct instruction makes sense. As a review. To build background. To emphasize importance or tell a neat story that adds clarification to the topic being discussed. But what makes direct instruction difficult, is finding ways to UP the engagement factor. To make it interactive. Too often, these moments leave the classroom in a daze, with no interaction between student and teacher, and minimal feedback for the teacher to use to help modify the lesson or unit.