Demonstrations of Innovative Pedagogy

Passion Project

I co-taught students who were challenged to dream up and complete a passion project. The project ran through the semester and culminated with a gallery walk. The class struggled with the idea at first, then quickly embraced it and were proud to share their work with the class. Below is are two of the passion projects created during the class. The video is shared with permission.

Stretch the Imagination

Innovation breeds innovation! Stretching the imagination and challenging ourselves is a great way to find innovative pedagogical practices!

This is a class topic I taught. The challenge was to do things that seemed impossible, put a straw through a potato. Through the challenges, not only did we succeed in spearing a potato with a straw, we gained a deeper understanding of pedagogical theories.

Introducing the "nota." The idea is simple. See this pencil? Great then use the pencil to create anything but a pencil, so "nota" pencil. This idea was first introduced to me in my child's 5th grade class. Since then I have seen it implemented in various higher ed courses. Sometimes, in higher ed, we need to practice, or have at least two projects because the first time it was tried, many of our students were not able to catch the vision of the project.

Summative Exams

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Gamification

It isn't very often that I look forward to a cumulative final exam. ET 449 I couldn't wait for it! Dr. Williams and I created an escape room with a plethora of puzzles, challenges, and surprises! Each of which mandated that students apply materials they had learned during the course of the semester. It was challenging, engaging and fun! Innovative Pedagogy is not limited to teaching styles, clearly, it can encompass learning activities and assessments as well.

Choice plays a big part in a student's motivation. Given a choice on choose how to present the final project. I chose to create a "cootie catcher." This little game engaged the entire class as they got to pick which word to spell out and ultimately the direction the conversation went. It was probably more work for me because I needed to be ready to present the information in any order. It was worth the smiles and break from tradition!

Learning is limitless

I have learned over and over that learning is without bounds. It need not be limited by location, time or any other parameter. I also want to emphasize that it is okay to borrow, incorporate and change others' ideas. Be sure to give credit to the originator! Below are a couple of examples from my time outside of the classroom!

The kids wanted to test if big was better than small. They decided to build a giant airplane and test its' ability to fly against a small paper airplane, and two sizes of paper chompers.

These tiny doors are scattered all over Atlanta, GA. An artist created them throughout the city for people to find. They are strategically placed to show different parts and histories in Atlanta. I didn't find them all (we found them a couple of hours before our flight left). What follows are a few of my favorites. This scavenger hunt was addicting and educational! It is also a great example to pay attention to the details in your pedagogical practices.

Humor and the unexpected go a long way in learning. Take this giant, talking, KFC chicken for example. Who knew you could learn so much history from a talking chicken who has his own radio broadcast! I only include a split-second snippet, but if you have time, you can go find out how long this chicken can cluck in Marietta, GA!