Open mind = endless possibilities

I believe that having a curriculum that is appealing to diversified interests is the best way to spark learning in all students. I know for myself, when I am interested in something, I tend to find out everything there is to know about the subject.

I experienced this type of interest when I had the opportunity to choose what I would do for my final presentation in my performance and healing class. I chose to do a project about how singing is a therapeutic release for me. I’m a very artistic person and instead of writing a paper about my hobby, I chose to do a documentary. I was able to visually show what it was like for me when I sang and also was able to talk about the way singing makes me feel. Being able to be artistic and be involved with the movie making process, while also talking about my hobby, I was able to take away a deeper understanding and realization about what singing was like for me. I feel that having the opportunity to choose what I was studying, enabled me to learn more than what I would have learned with just being told to learn. This was a great experience for me and it’s a lesson that will stay with me forever.

It seems that when students, like myself, are told what to do, we tend to just regurgitate information without thinking or going further into the subject. Since all students learn differently, I believe that it is a must that lessons should have more than one way of being learned. Some students learn from lectures, but I discovered some time ago that when I’m visually able to see what I’m learning or when I’m engaged in an activity, I take more from the lesson than just sitting down and listening. As teachers, we need to be able to engage in all different learning styles, in order for students to learn on a deeper level. Ayers points out that having the motivation could lead to more discoveries in learning. Experiencing the lessons more deeply, one is able to activate all senses and learn more intensely.

I think that when it comes to curriculum, a guide and a few rules are needed, but offering students the opportunity to learn about what interest them could lead to a higher learning. Teachers need to allow for students to have the opportunity to think for themselves so that they can come up with their own problem solving abilities - after all, this is one key point of learning. When students are liberated, they are not only interested in what they are doing, but they are coming up with their own thoughts and problem solving skills that help them make connections that coincide with their life.