Do-It+To-It+Inc.+MEL+Project

Welcome to Do-It To-It Inc.!
//Where learning is fun!//

Watch our movie for an enjoyable learning experience!

media type="file" key="Do-It To-It MEL Project.mov"

Movie Provided by: Do-It and To-It Music: Arthur Theme Song, The Toonetts

//In case you missed it in the movie or wanted more time to think about the nine components of the Meaningful Engaged Learning Model, here are the pictures presented in the movie with short explanations of what they are, and how we addressed each one.//



This was demonstrated in the movie by giving the students two different assignments based on what the teacher had come to know about their intelligences and how they learn. This is something that may be difficult to do at the beginning of a school year because the teacher might not know the students well enough to make these types of decisions. Tapping into students' different intelligences when teaching a lesson will motivate the student to learn and achieve high goals in their learning. Every student has the right to learn and just because one student learns differently from another does not mean we as teachers cannot try and find a way that would help them learn. This was demonstrated in the movie by allowing the students in the classroom to pick their own partners for the project. Once those partners were chosen they decided as a group what type of hands on activity they would like to do to prover their mastery of the subject. As stated in the slide before, some students learn differently from others because they think with a different intelligence, and may be stronger in some intelligences. Some students learn through hands-on activities, allowing them to visualize the content versus just seeing it written on paper. We demonstrate the scenario of a student who has completed work that was not as her usual level, and the teacher holds high expectations for this student to achieve better grades because she believes in the student's ability.The teacher helps the student succeed in this scenario as she allows her to redo the assignment. When students know that the teacher is willing to help them learn and help them succeed they feel more safe in their classroom. They also feel more confident because they will not be afraid to ask the teacher for help if needed. When the teacher is funny and humorous, while still being professional, the students feel a sense of safety in the classroom. If students feel safe they are more likely to learn more and achieve more. The idea of respect and being emotionally safe is demonstrated in this video as the teacher talks to the student about her pet, and reassuringly pats her on the arm to comfort her. She respects the student's sadness at this time in her life by granting her an assignment extension and redo. This is demonstrated in the movie by having students fill out a family tree before the teacher starts a new lesson. This is the hook to the lesson. This product can then be used to refer back to and be used as an example in future classes. It also ties in the student's personal life, making the lesson a little more personal and interesting to them. Referring back to old information or old lessons helps students learn new things because they can apply the new knowledge to the old knowledge. This way they are remembering the old information while learning the new. Connecting the lesson to students' lives is a great way to have students learn. Connecting it and making it personal allows them to analyze their life while trying to learn the new information, and so they will see the information as meaningful to them. This is demonstrated in the movie when the teacher, who has realized that a student loves animals, gives a student a different book to read and work on based on her personal interests. This shows that the teacher is aware of her classroom and knows that the student wants to learn, but that she just is not motivated by the books that the teacher had required for all students for the course. An example from our video that demonstrates how rewards do not work in the classroom is when a student is disobeying the rules and the teacher asks the student to stop. The student does not stop, so the teacher offers her candy. This results in the student doing what they are told, but it encourages another student to ask for candy as well. This demonstrates poor classroom management, and the situation could easily get out of hand. Bribing or offering rewards for bad behavior will show up level students that you are a little weak and you will bend easier then some of their more strict teachers. Even offering rewards like candy for answering a question right could be harmful. It could make another student feel uncomfortable because they do not know the answer or are too embarrassed to share with the class. We demonstrated the use of choice and decision-making through creating a scenario where the teacher had previously provided a list of options for project topics, and she allowed the students to vote on their top choices. In the video, the teacher has narrowed down the list of choices to the students' top two choices, and then had the students choose between those two. The students responded well to having the choices and getting to decide what they would do a project on, and it made them even more motivated to do the project.
 * See Environment - Helping Students Succeed slide
 * See Meaning - Connections slide.