Education at an Amusement Park?

You don't understand anything until you learn it more than one way. ~ Marvin Minsky

As a cross curricular literacy coach I visit classrooms outside of English to see how Think Literacy strategies can be incorporated into the curriculum. The Ontario Ministry of Education has excellent material which breaks down the skill development in reading (pre, during, after), oral communication, and writing. This skill development is not relegated solely to the English teacher's domain.

The guidelines echo somewhat Douglas Fisher's groundbreaking progress at Herbert Hoover High School in San Diego, California. He is author of Creating Literacy Rich Schools for Adolescents. I had the good fortune of hearing him speak at CORE (Conference of Reading Excellence) in San Francisco in February, 2007. His vision is to give students in high school seven literacy strategies that are repeated throughout the curriculum. The proven theory is that with familiarity comes proficiency. Without getting into detail his strategies are: Read-alouds, KWL charts, (Know, Wonder, Learn),Graphic Organizers, Vocabulary Instruction, Writing to Learn, Structured Note taking, and Reciprocal Teaching.

Last week I spent an enjoyable time with a Grade 10 math teacher. How does one incorporate Think Literacy strategies in math? By the end of the week we had found several ways to see geometry go beyond equations to admiring architecture, building bridges, and solving word problems. I also found an enlightening article about a phenomenal math teacher who teaches at East Harlem Tech. Kay Toliver (this article is most interesting) has won numerous awards including Presidential Award for Teaching Excellence, and Outstanding Teacher for Mathematics Instruction. She sees math as a communication art, students write journals, and participate in math fairs. She also takes them on walks in the neighbourhood where she points out numerous applications in their everyday environment which apply to mathematics. When students arrive back in class, they write their own math problems based on the observations they have seen on their walks.

On Saturday an article appeared in the newspaper about a trustee having reservations about sending a Grade 12 Physics class to Cedar Point, Ohio - a phenomenal destination of hair raising rides. Won't students just be having fun? From my experience I would give a resounding NO! The right teacher will provide these students with a very rich learning experience, an experience which will enable them to apply principles of physics in an every day context, and give some of them the motivation to be physics all stars their whole life.

Richard Karen, dean of science at the University of Windsor, said, " Amusement parks, particularly roller-coasters, are a perfect place to teach all of the basic concepts of physics to high school students. I cannot think of a better opportunity to apply the concepts of physics to every day life."