Prensky Chapter 3: Think People and Passions Rather Than Classes and Content

Each student in a class has their own personality and interests. No two students in a class will have the same personality, passions and interests. It is extremely important for us as teachers and facilitators in the partnering classroom to get to know our students. It is useful for the teacher to know the students passions and interests. With this information the teacher will be able to reach the student and really make a difference. Knowing the passions of our students we can work to motivate each student on an individual basis. I feel that knowing the passions of each student will really help during the assessment period as well. As I said, no two students are alike and what one may do great another may struggle with. Being open to different types of assessment may work great in a partnering environment. What I mean by this is, by giving the students options about how they want to present the information they have found. Perhaps one student wants to role play, while another wants to write a song. You may have one student that wants to write a story. It is important to be flexible and allow the students to share what they have learned in a way that works well for them. Another way we can use passions and interest is to use this information to base our teaching. Student learning can be filtered through their preferences, likes, and dislikes. Using partnering we can see how students learn best and what they want to learn about. Within this partnering environment it is also important for the teacher to remember that he or she should act as a coach or guide. I agree with Penskey that the teacher should be there to coach the students through the subject and lesson at hand rather than be there to “instruct” them. In this partnering environment, teachers and students can work together to find the optimal learning and assessment mode for every individual.