Michael Laurent

Background

About Michael Laurent

As an educator, I have the opportunity to help students grow in maturity and understanding of a world that is changing every day. It is my job to prepare them for their world – not ours. To better accomplish this goal, I encourage my students to use technology to come up with creative solutions to new problems, that they can use in real world applications – to make knowledgeable, principled, open-minded communicators who take risks and think outside the box. In the classroom, I use constructivism to guide students to their own conclusions by asking them questions instead of directly answering theirs. I allow students to come up with their own answers and present them with an opportunity to teach their classmates what they have learned. These opportunities are differentiated to the students’ strengths so that they can get the most out of the experience. Learning takes place not only inside the classroom, but also outside, as I have provided students with a forum via Edmodo to share what they find online while researching topics. Studying is no good without practical application. Therefore, my students find applications outside of the classroom as much as possible – they observe social patterns, predict areas of conflict or issue, theorize strategies to resolve it, anticipate responses, and respond in kind, all from pre-determined points of view (especially those that are not their own). After all of this, they develop an opinion based on facts. Finally, and most importantly, they take action wherever possible. Encouraging students to find practical applications and to make real world connections and taking action creates the internationally minded global citizens that so many schools seek to nurture.