Best Teaching Practices for Reaching All Learners by Sofman Randi B.;

Author:Sofman, Randi B.; [Stone, Randi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 1994252
Publisher: Corwin Press
Published: 2004-12-03T00:00:00+00:00

Using Culminating Activities to Reach All Learners

Lorine M. Lee

Flowery Branch, Georgia

Throughout my years of teaching I have had the opportunity to instruct students from a variety of backgrounds and abilities. My first year of teaching was a difficult one. I taught five classes per day, three of them regular education classes and two project success classes. In these two types of classes were a variety of issues I had to deal with. Some of the issues I dealt with each day involved family problems, student drug abuse, hyperactivity, and low achievement. After trying the traditional method of teaching—read the book, answer the questions, teach the material—I realized this method was not effective for my students. So I began to explore my options. During my exploration, I began to work with another teacher on an activity that involved different learning styles. This activity, called a culminating activity, seemed to be the right solution for the learning issues I observed in my classroom. The first time I used this activity I was amazed. While all of the students did not perform to their greatest capacity, they did improve. Improvement was the key. As I observed the changes in my students I also felt their success. I became a facilitator and coach in the classroom.

So the question is, what is a culminating activity? A culminating activity is a planned exploration of a product in which the final step involves an exciting final action. In other words, our activities throughout the week, two weeks, or the month focus on a particular goal or end product and the resulting activity. What do I mean by that? Read further as I outline the process.

First I ask myself, “What do the students need to achieve?” (i.e., “What does the state require?”). Then I ask myself how I can get my students to understand these concepts while addressing all their learning styles. Then I go to work designing culminating activities. The first culminating activity I designed involved rockets and Newton’s laws of motion. I first developed a guide that would lead my students through the process. The guide involved different activity steps, the first being to research rockets and their design. The next activity involved reviewing the facts of Newton’s laws of motion and the discovery of how the laws apply to rockets (this is also done through research). Through exploration and a minimal amount of lecture my students write a paper describing what they’ve learned (linguistic/auditory). Once their papers have been read and approved, students move on to the next step—a laboratory activity.

The laboratory activity contains integrated mathematical analysis, requiring students to find the height of objects around the school using the Pythagorean theorem. Once done the students can use the knowledge they gained to assess the performance of their rockets on launching day. Further, students use mathematical equations to calculate the speed of their rocket (spatial, logical).

To learn the scientific aspects of speed my students also participate in labs that involve speed calculators. We have running races (kinesthetic).

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