MIDDLE SCHOOL
FROM "POWS" TO "WOWS"
A
FINDING JOY IN LEARNING IN TODAY’S WORLD By Caitlin Jones, Middle School English
As a coach, I talk to my golf and softball teams about turning “pows” into “wows”. “Pows” can be areas of improvement or low moments in a golf round or game. I challenge them to reflect on the “pows” and how to change them into “wows”. Before a “pow” can change into a “wow” there has to be a mindset shift. This shift causes you to reevaluate your game plan, make changes, and improve. Through this process, you discover that on the other side you are stronger and more equipped. As the Middle School began preparing for an unprecedented school year, we knew there would be some “pows” along the way just because of changes that had to be made for the safety of our school community. Over the past two years, the Middle School has striven to develop a classroom environment that is student-centered. An environment that places the student at the center of the learning, where the student is the producer and the teacher is the facilitator. Through this focus on student engagement, the Middle School has found a new joy in learning. A joy that has deepened teacher-student relationships and turned the classroom inside out. As I tell my teams, “When the momentum shifts to the other team, our team loses ground.” We did not want to lose the momentum that had begun in Middle School. Going back to the fundamentals of structuring an effective lesson, we reflected on where to start. We began with writing essential questions to match our standards that would help us maximize and structure the learning time in the classroom. Recognizing this we knew we had to tweek old strategies and find new creative ones to ensure that we continued to foster collaboration, communication, and creative 6 THE WARRIOR • WINTER 2021
thinking. It was important to us that the joy of learning remained at the forefront of the school year. As you walk the hallways of the Middle School you will find that social distancing and masks have not stopped students from engaging in learning opportunities, such as solving ratio problems in math with fruit loops, having hearty Harkness discussions, collaborating on group projects, dissecting sheep brains, and future meteorologists giving the daily weather report. Moving the classroom outdoors has given students the space to work together and move. This also has opened the door for virtual students
